(a) In accordance with Section 31899.3, the retirement benefits for any person who for the first time became a member of the system on or after January 1, 1990, shall be subject to the payment limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code. The retirement benefits for any person who became a member of the system before January 1, 1990, also shall be subject to the payment limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that those benefits are not exempt from those limitations under the “grandfather” election that has been made under that section and this section.

(b) The “grandfather” election in Section 415(b)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code is hereby made. All members of a retirement system who joined the system prior to January 1, 1990, are exempt from the Section 415 limits to the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code.

(c) This section does not apply in a county of the first class as defined in Section 28020, as amended by Chapter 1204 of the Statutes of 1971, and Section 28022, as amended by Chapter 43 of the Statutes of 1961, which county is instead subject to Article 2.1 (commencing with Section 31510) of Chapter 3.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 520, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2004.)