FROM: Barbara Hannah, Chief Counsel
SUBJECT: SACRS Legislative Proposals
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommend that the Board support legislative proposals to SACRS on survivor continuance payments to children over 18 and military service purchases.
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BACKGROUND:
The State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS) encourages legislative proposals from member systems. Proposals are generally focused on improving and clarifying the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL). Proposals are first submitted to the SACRS Legislative Committee for review and recommendation. Once a proposal has been vetted by the Legislative Committee, it is put before the membership for vote at one of the biannual SACRS business meetings. Upon approval by the membership, the proposal is presented to potential sponsors in the Legislature.
Currently, the Legislative Committee is working on proposals for a CERL omnibus bill that will address a number of issues in the CERL such as correcting erroneous cross references, aligning CERL system retirement application deadlines with CalPERS, and clarifying service retirement dates.
SBCERA staff is recommending two proposals for the omnibus bill. The first would clarify existing language regarding survivor continuance payments to children over the age of 18. The second would bring the CERL into compliance with federal law concerning service purchases of leaves of absence for service in the armed forces. Those two proposals are discussed in further detail below, and in the accompanying legislative proposal worksheets.
Survivor Continuance Payments to Children Over 18
The CERL contains multiple sections that provide for survivor continuance payments to spouses and children. Payments to children are generally made to children up to age 18 if there is no surviving spouse. If a child remains unmarried and is enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited school, the benefit continues "through the age of 21."
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