Existing law, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, prescribes retirement benefits for members of specified county and district retirement systems. Existing law establishes the Deferred Retirement Option Program as an optional benefit program for specified safety members of those systems that, by ordinance or resolution by the county board of supervisors or the governing body, elect to adopt it. The program provides eligible members access, upon service retirement, to a lump sum or, in some cases, monthly payments in addition to a monthly retirement allowance, as specified.
Existing law, the Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) , creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of contracting agencies and prescribes the rights and duties of members of the system and their beneficiaries. Existing law vests management and control of PERS in its board of administration. PERS provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations.
This bill would establish the Deferred Retirement Option Program as a voluntary program within PERS for employees of State Bargaining Units 5 (Highway Patrol) and 8 (Firefighters) . The bill would require these state bargaining units to bargain with the Department of Human Resources to implement the program. The bill would also require the program to result in a cost savings or be cost neutral. The bill would further require the department to work with the board of PERS to develop the program.

Statutes affected:
AB 1054: 20000 GOV
02/20/25 - Introduced: 20000 GOV
03/24/25 - Amended Assembly: 20000 GOV