Article 4. Pension And Retirement Systems of California Water Code >> Division 11. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 4.

The board may establish or modify any existing plan or system, so as to provide for a pension or retirement plan or system for the benefit of officers, including directors, and employees of the district and therein provide for the payment of annuities, pensions, retirement benefits, disability payments and death benefits or any one or more of them.

The district may maintain its own pension, retirement, disability benefit and death benefit fund or may provide for benefits to eligible officers and employees, or their beneficiaries, by means of group insurance, group annuities or other insurance, or by such means as in the opinion of the board will satisfactorily provide an adequate and sure method of meeting the payments contemplated by its plan or system.

This article does not affect the authority of any district to participate in the State Employees' Retirement System or any county employees' retirement system.

If a district has terminated a plan which did provide retirement benefits and has entered into a contract to participate in the Public Employees' Retirement System, it may adopt a plan to increase retirement benefits for former employees who had retired prior to provision being made in the contract with the Public Employees' Retirement System for past service credit. Such plan shall be designed to provide increased retirement benefits based on cost-of-living changes as determined by the board. Payments shall be from the general fund of the district and shall be limited to the benefits set forth in the terminated plan, plus the cost-of-living increases determined by the board.