After the semiannual application of Section 31615, earnings of the retirement fund in excess of the total interest credited to contributions and reserves shall remain in the fund as a reserve against deficiencies in interest earnings, losses on investments, or payments made pursuant to Section 31588.1 or 31589.1, if applicable.

These funds shall be placed in an account known hereafter as the Contingency Reserve Account. The size of this account shall be determined semiannually by the board but shall not exceed 3 percent of the total assets of the retirement fund.

If, at the end of any semiannual period, the balance of the Contingency Reserve Account falls below 1 percent of system assets, the board shall, by the end of the subsequent semiannual period, provide funds from earnings of fund assets from the subsequent semiannual period, to bring the level of the Contingency Reserve Account to at least 1 percent of system assets.

No funds in the Contingency Reserve Account shall be available for the payment of benefits.

Net earnings remaining after the application of this section shall be applied as provided in Sections 31617, 31618, and 31619.

(Added by renumbering Section 31510.6 by Stats. 1984, Ch. 193, Sec. 60.)