Article 5. The Retirement Fund of California Government Code >> Division 5. >> Title 2. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 5.

The Public Employees' Retirement Fund in the State Treasury is continued in existence. The Public Employees' Retirement Fund is a trust fund created, and administered in accordance with this part, solely for the benefit of the members and retired members of this system and their survivors and beneficiaries.

The board has the exclusive control of the administration and investment of the retirement fund.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board may retain a bank or trust company to serve as custodian for safekeeping, delivery, securities valuation, investment performance reporting, and other services in connection with investment of the retirement fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340, all moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for payments which shall be made upon warrants drawn by the Controller upon demands made by the board. Upon demand of the board, warrants shall be drawn for the purpose of making payments by electronic fund transfers.

Costs of administration of this system shall be paid from funds appropriated for interest income from the retirement fund.

Interest earned on any cash deposit in a bank by the Treasurer and income on other assets constituting a part of the fund shall be credited to the fund as received. Income, of whatever nature, earned on the retirement fund during any fiscal year, in excess of the interest credited to contributions during that year shall be retained in the fund as a reserve against deficiencies in interest earned in other years, losses under investments, court-mandated costs, and actuarial losses resulting from terminations, mergers, and dissolutions of contracting agencies. Unless specifically authorized by this part, no funds in the reserve against deficiencies shall be available for the payment of benefits. The board, however, may apply to reduce the book value of securities purchased all or part of the excess of the proceeds of the sale or the redemption prior to maturity of securities over the book value of the securities sold (a) if the purchase of securities is made with those proceeds and (b) if the terms of both securities from the date of sale, redemption prior to maturity, or purchase, as the case may be, to the respective dates of maturity do not differ by more than five years. All applications of these excess proceeds, even with greater differences in terms, heretofore made by the board are hereby validated and confirmed. At the end of each fiscal year, the amount in the reserve against deficiencies that exceeds 0.20 percent of the total assets of this system shall be credited to other accounts as prescribed by this part.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds in the reserve against deficiencies shall not be used to pay any employers' contribution required by this chapter to be paid by the state, any school employer, or any contracting agency.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds in the retirement fund shall be expended for any purpose other than the cost of administration of this system, investments for the benefit of this system, the reduction of employer contributions, and the provision of benefits to the members and retired members of this system and their survivors and beneficiaries.

The board shall deposit monthly in the State Treasury to the credit of the retirement fund all amounts received by it under this part.

(a) The board shall credit all contributions of members in the retirement fund with interest at an interest crediting rate of 6 percent compounded at each June 30. The retired member reserves in the retirement fund shall be credited with the lesser of the current actuarial interest rate or the current annual interest rate compounded at each June 30. The interest amount that would have been credited to the member's account on and after June 30, 1991, had the account been credited with the lesser of the current actuarial interest rate or the current annual interest rate, rather than at the 6-percent interest crediting rate, shall be credited to retired member reserves.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the difference between the interest amount that was credited to the account of any state or school member of this system who was paid his or her accumulated contributions on or after June 30, 1991, and the lesser of the current actuarial interest rate or the current annual interest rate, shall be transferred to the state or school account, as appropriate, established by the board under Section 21337 to fund the purchasing power protection allowance for retirees, survivors, or beneficiaries of state or school employers.
  (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if the current net earnings rate for state or school members exceeds the interest rate used to credit the retired member accounts of state or school employers, in addition to the amounts transferred to the separate accounts established for state and school employers under Section 21337, the remaining amounts shall be credited to employer accounts.
  (d) The current annual interest rate may be lower than the current actuarial interest rate.