Article 9. Deferred Retirement of California Government Code >> Division 4. >> Title 3. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 9.

(a) Any member, whether over or under the minimum age of voluntary service retirement, who leaves county service after completing five years of service or who leaves county service and within 90 days, or six months if Section 31840.4 applies, becomes a member of the Public Employees' Retirement System, a retirement system established under this chapter in another county, the State Teachers' Retirement System, or a retirement system of any other public agency of the state that has established reciprocity with the Public Employees' Retirement System subject to the conditions of Section 31840.2, may elect in writing, within 90 days after establishing eligibility for reciprocity, to leave his or her accumulated contributions in the retirement fund and be granted a deferred retirement allowance to become effective either:
  (1) Upon the option of the member, at any time at which he or she could have retired had he or she remained in county service in a full-time position.
  (2) Not later than the first day of the month following that in which he or she attains the applicable compulsory retirement age, if any.
  (b) Any member who is eligible to be granted a deferred retirement allowance under subdivision (a) because he or she has completed five years of service but who fails to so elect, shall be deemed to have elected a deferred retirement.
  (c) Any member, regardless of service, whose retirement system coverage ceases but who does not terminate employment shall leave his or her accumulated contributions in the retirement fund, and interest shall continue to be credited pursuant to Section 31591, until the member retires or terminates employment.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, any member with more than 10 years service who resigns his position and is granted a deferred retirement under this chapter, to accept an appointment by any court of record or judge thereof in a reciprocal county, shall not be considered as breaking his continuity of service and such member shall be eligible for reinstatement within five years to the position from which he resigned or one in a lower class in the same or related series requiring similar qualifications, knowledges and abilities. The intent provision of Article 15 of this chapter shall apply to this section.

Any member may elect to rescind in writing his election and withdraw his accumulated contributions pursuant to Section 31628 at any time before the effective date of his retirement except that if within 90 days after discontinuing service under this system, he became a member of the State Employees' Retirement System or a system established in another county under this chapter, he may not rescind or withdraw any of his accumulated contributions while in service as such a member.

Upon the death of any member before the effective date of his deferred retirement allowance, his accumulated contributions shall be paid to his estate or to such person as he nominates by written designation duly executed and filed with the board.

Any member upon the effective date of the member's deferred retirement allowance shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance as provided in Sections 31662 to 31664.65, inclusive, Sections 31673 to 31677, inclusive, or Section 31751, or Section 31808.5, or Section 31808.6, whichever is applicable. Any member who elected deferred retirement while subject to Section 31751 shall have a retirement allowance computed in accordance with Sections 31676.11 and 31808 for service which occurred prior to the date Section 31751 was applicable to the member.

If any member elects to have his or her deferred retirement allowance calculated in accordance with Section 31762, 31763, 31764, or 31764.5, he or she shall present his or her election in writing to the board at least six months prior to the effective date of his or her deferred retirement allowance.

The retirement allowance shall be calculated according to the provisions of this chapter, or the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013, whichever is applicable, as they exist at the time of the commencement of the retirement allowance.

Any member who has left county service and has elected to leave accumulated contributions in the retirement fund or who is deemed to have elected a deferred retirement pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 31700 and has attained age 70 but has not yet applied for a deferred retirement allowance and who is not a reciprocal member of a retirement system established pursuant to this chapter or the Public Employees' Retirement Law shall be notified in writing by the treasurer, or other entity authorized by the board, that the member is eligible to apply for and shall begin receiving a deferred retirement allowance by April 1 of the year following the year in which the member attains age 70 1/2. The notification shall be made at the time the deferred member attains age 70 and shall be sent by certified mail to the member's last known address, or to the member's last known employer, as shown by the records of the retirement system. If the member can be located but does not make proper application for a deferred retirement allowance with retirement to be effective by April 1 of the year in which the member attains age 70 1/2, the retirement system shall commence paying an unmodified allowance to the member. If the member cannot be located by April 1 of the year following the year in which the member attains age 70 1/2, all of the member's accumulated contributions and interest thereon shall be deposited in, and become a part of, the current pension reserve fund of the retirement system. The board may at any time after transfer of proceeds to the reserve fund upon receipt of proper information satisfactory to it, redeposit the proceeds to the credit of the claimant, to be administered in the manner provided under this law. This section shall not apply to a member while the member is actively employed past mandatory retirement age in a retirement system established under the provisions of this chapter or the Public Employees' Retirement Law.