(a) A participant retired for service under this part may perform retired participant activities, but the participant shall not make contributions to the plan or accrue service credit under the Defined Benefit Program based on compensation earned from that service. The employer shall maintain accurate records of the earnings of the retired participant and report those earnings monthly to the system and retired participant.

(b) If a participant is retired for service under this part, the annualized rate of pay for retired participant activities performed by that participant shall not be less than the minimum, nor exceed the maximum, paid by the employer to other employees performing comparable duties.

(c) A participant retired for service under this part shall not be required to reinstate for performing retired participant activities.

(d) (1) If all of the following apply to a participant retired for service under this part, the participant’s annuity shall be reduced by the amount of the compensation:

(A) The participant is receiving an annuity under the Cash Balance Benefit Program.

(B) The participant is below normal retirement age or retired on or after January 1, 2014.

(C) The participant earns compensation paid in cash for performing retired participant activities, excluding reimbursements paid by an employer for expenses incurred by the participant in which payment of the expenses by the participant is substantiated.

(2) The reduction in paragraph (1) shall only be made for compensation paid in cash during the first 180 calendar days after a participant retired for service under this part. The amount of the reduction in an individual month shall be no more than the monthly annuity payable in that month, and the total amount of the reduction shall not exceed the amount of the annuity payable during the first 180 calendar days after a participant retired for service under this part. For written agreements pertaining to the performance of retired participant activities entered into, extended, renewed, or amended on or after January 1, 2014, the reduction in paragraph (1) shall also be made for payments made for the performance of retired participant activities, including, but not limited to, those for participation in a deferred compensation plan; to purchase an annuity contract, tax-deferred retirement plan, or insurance program; and for contributions to a plan that meets the requirements of Section 125, 401(a), 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or 457(f) of Title 26 of the United States Code when the cost is covered by an employer.

(3) Subject to the limitation described in paragraph (4), if all of the following apply to a participant retired for service under this part, the participant’s application for the retirement benefit shall automatically be canceled:

(A) The participant is anticipated to receive the retirement benefit in the form of a lump-sum payment.

(B) The participant earns compensation for performing creditable service within 180 calendar days following the date of termination of employment.

(4) Paragraph (3) does not apply if the participant has reached that age at which the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 requires a distribution of benefits. A participant who has reached that age shall receive a distribution commencing on the earlier of the date that the participant has met the conditions of subdivision (b) of Section 26806 or the conditions of subdivision (c) of Section 26004.

(e) Subdivision (d) shall not apply if the Superintendent, the county superintendent of schools, or the chief executive officer of a community college submits a request for exemption to the system with certification, under penalty of perjury, of the following:

(1) The nature of the employment.

(2) That the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position before 180 calendar days have passed.

(3) That the participant is not ineligible for application of this subdivision pursuant to subdivision (g).

(4) That the termination of employment of the retired participant with the employer is not the basis for the need to acquire the services of the participant.

(5) That the employer did not have a reduction-in-force layoff pursuant to Section 45117, 44955, or 44955.5, or pursuant to any other similar state law authorizing the termination of its employees, within the prior 18 months.

(f) The Superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or a chief executive officer of a community college district shall provide a written copy or written copies of the completed documentation required by this section submitted to the system pursuant to subdivision (e) that substantiates the need for the exemption to the exclusive representative of employees prior to the retired participant’s performance of retired participant activities.

(g) Subdivision (e) shall not apply to a retired participant if any of the following conditions exist:

(1) The participant has not attained normal retirement age at the time the compensation is earned.

(2) The participant’s termination of employment with the employer is the basis for the need to acquire the services of the participant.

(3) The participant received additional service credit pursuant to Section 22714 or 22715 or received from any public employer any financial inducement to retire. For purposes of this section, “financial inducement to retire” includes, but is not limited to, any form of compensation or other payment that is paid directly or indirectly by a public employer to the participant, even if not in cash, either before or after retirement, if the participant retires for service on or before a specific date or specific range of dates established by a public employer on or before the date the inducement is offered. The system shall liberally interpret this paragraph to further the Legislature’s intent to make subdivision (e) inapplicable to participants if the participant received a financial incentive from any public employer to retire or otherwise terminate employment with a public employer.

(h) The completed documentation required by this section shall be received by the system prior to the retired participant’s performance of retired participant activities.

(i) Within 30 calendar days of the receipt of all documentation required by the system pursuant to this section, the system shall inform the entity seeking application of the exemption specified in subdivision (e) and the retired participant whether the compensation paid to the participant will be subject to the limitation specified in subdivision (d).

(j) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024. This section shall become inoperative as of July 1, 2026, and as of January 1, 2027, is repealed.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 885, Sec. 7. (SB 765) Effective January 1, 2024. Operative July 1, 2024, by its own provisions. Inoperative July 1, 2026, by its own provisions. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions.)