2005 California Government Code Sections 9361-9361.5 Article 7. Optional Settlements

9361.  In lieu of the retirement allowance for his life alone, a
member or retired member may elect, or revoke or change a previous
election, to have the actuarial equivalent of his retirement
allowance as of the date of retirement applied to a lesser retirement
allowance, in accordance with one of the optional settlements
specified in this article.
9361.1.  (a) The election, revocation, or change of election set
forth in Section 9361 may be made at any time before the effective
date of retirement or after the effective date and prior to the
making of the first payment on account of any retirement allowance.
   (b) If at any time before the making of the first payment on
account of the member's retirement allowance, his or her spouse dies,
or his or her marriage is terminated by a final judgment of divorce
or annulment, the election of the member is automatically void, and
the member may make a new election.
   (c) A member who has elected an optional settlement providing for
the payment of a benefit to his or her spouse may at any time before
the making of the first payment on account of his or her retirement
allowance substitute a different optional settlement.
   (d) The election, revocation, or change of election shall be made
by a writing filed with the board.
   (e) If a member who is eligible for retirement has elected one of
the optional settlements specified in this article, the surviving
spouse of that member shall receive the same benefits as the
surviving spouse would have received if the date of his or her death
had also been the date of his or her retirement and if retirement had
preceded death.  If in that event benefits are paid to a surviving
spouse, no payment shall be made pursuant to Section 9359.8.  If a
member dies without having elected an optional settlement and there
is a surviving spouse, he or she shall be deemed for the purposes of
this paragraph to have elected Optional Settlement No. 2.  In either
case, the benefits payable to the surviving spouse shall be in the
same amount as if the member had elected to receive credit for
service rendered prior to the date he or she became a member of this
system and had paid the full amount of the contributions in respect
to that service.
   (f) Any election filed under this section prior to the effective
date of the amendments to this section enacted by the Legislature at
the 1957 Regular Session shall continue to be effective in accordance
with the terms of this section as it read prior to those amendments
and may thereafter be revoked or changed or become void only in
accordance with this section as it read prior to such amendment.
9361.12.  Notwithstanding any provision of this part, a retired
member who was a Member of the Senate or Assembly may revoke an
optional settlement and may designate a different beneficiary by a
writing filed with the board.  The new beneficiary shall receive an
allowance based upon the actuarial equivalent, as of the date of the
election, of the retired member's allowance payable for the remainder
of the lifetime of the retired member under one of the optional
settlements specified in this article.
9361.15.  A member may designate one or more persons as
beneficiaries.  If more than one person is designated under an
optional settlement involving life contingency of the beneficiary,
the member will be deemed to have elected such optional settlement on
an equal portion of his allowance independently for each
beneficiary.
9361.2.  Optional Settlement 1 consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death and if he
or she dies before he or she receives the amount of his or her
accumulated contributions at retirement, to have the balance at death
paid to his or her beneficiary or estate.
9361.3.  Optional Settlement 2 consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death and
thereafter to his or her beneficiary for life.
9361.4.  Optional Settlement 3 consists of the right to have a
retirement allowance paid him or her until his or her death, and
thereafter to have one-half of his or her retirement allowance paid
to his or her beneficiary for life.
9361.5.  Optional Settlement 4 consists of such other benefits as
are the actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance, that he may
select subject to the approval of the board.