Governor Brown signed pension reform legislation (AB 340 and AB 197) into law on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.  The pension reform legislation became effective on January 1, 2013.  The legislation is lengthy and complex, and requires in-depth analysis as to its impact on CCCERA and its members. 

The legislation includes two main parts.  The first part is the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (“PEPRA”), which mainly impacts new members.  The second part of the legislation includes changes to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (“CERL”), which impacts current as well as new members.

PEPRA changes the way pension benefits are calculated for new members, generally those entering CCCERA on or after January 1, 2013.  PEPRA does not impact retired members, other than their ability to return to work while simultaneously receiving a retirement benefit from CCCERA.  CCCERA presented the following information about PEPRA in a Retirement Board study session open to the public and all members and employers on October 10, 2012.  The materials (in pdf format) are available here:

PEPRA Slideshow

Along with PEPRA, the legislature included changes to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (“CERL”).  Some of the changes entail a significant reduction in what could be included in pension calculations, and have become the subject of a lawsuit.  These legislative changes were also presented in the October 10, 2012 Retirement Board study session. The materials (in pdf format) are available here:

1937 Act Changes

The text of the chaptered bill is below in .pdf format. 

AB 197

Updates about the lawsuit can be found under CCCERA’s “Important Notices” link: 

Important Notices web page for 2013 Pension Reform Legislation