2010 California Code
Government Code
Article 2.1. Additional Plan For Counties Of The First Class

31510.  (a) This article shall be applicable to all members of the
retirement system of any county of the first class, as defined by
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.
   (b) The purpose of this article is to provide a defined
contribution plan which, in conjunction with retirement benefit
provisions otherwise contained in this chapter, will provide
approximately the same level of retirement benefits to persons who
first become members on or after January 1, 1990, and are subject to
the limitations set forth in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as they would receive under the other retirement benefit
provisions in the absence of those limitations, while not affecting
the rate of either member or employer contributions to the retirement
system. In addition, it is intended that subdivisions (c) and (d)
constitute an election under Section 415(b)(10)(C) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to all retirement plans within the
retirement system.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the benefits
payable to any person who first becomes a member on or after January
1, 1990, shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Section
415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as adjusted pursuant to
Section 415(d)(1)(A) and (B).
   (d) Notwithstanding any other law, the benefits payable to any
person who first became a member prior to January 1, 1990, shall not
be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 415(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except to the extent required by
subsection (b)(10)(A) of Section 415.
   (e) The election described in subdivision (b) shall apply to all
employers whose employees are members of the retirement system of the
county on December 31, 1989.
   (f) The retirement benefits of all persons who first become
members of the retirement system on or after January 1, 1990, and
participate in Safety Plan B or General Plan D shall be governed by
this chapter applicable to those plans and by this article.
   (g)  Subdivisions (c) and (d) shall not become operative until the
board of supervisors has taken the actions required by subdivision
(a) of Section 31510.2.
   (h) In the event of a conflict, this article shall supersede and
prevail over other provisions or application of provisions otherwise
contained in this chapter.



31510.1.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
contained in this section govern the construction of this article.
   (a) "Board" means the board of retirement.
   (b) "Employer" means the county, district, or agency whose
employees are members of the retirement system of the county.
   (c) "General Plan F" means the defined contribution plan
established in accordance with this article for the benefit of
certain members of General Plan D.
   (d) "Plan F" means General Plan F and Safety Plan F, collectively.
   (e) "Prior plan" means Safety Plan B or General Plan D, as the
context requires.
   (f) "Safety Plan F" means the defined contribution plan
established in accordance with this article for the benefit of
certain members in Safety Plan B.



31510.2.  (a) The board of supervisors of any county subject to this
article shall establish two defined contribution retirement plans
authorized by Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The
terms of the plans shall be mutually agreed to by the employer and
employee representatives of affected employees prior to adoption or
amendment by the board of supervisors. The plans shall be known as
General Plan F and Safety Plan F and are referred to collectively as
plan F.
   (b) Any general member described in subdivision (f) of Section
31510 shall participate in General Plan F, and any safety member
described in subdivision (f) of Section 31510 shall participate in
Safety Plan F, after commencement of his or her participation in the
prior plan.
   (c) The board, upon the advice of the actuary, shall determine the
portion of the member contributions otherwise required under the
prior plan that shall be credited to plan F in lieu of being credited
to the other plan. In doing so, the board shall provide for the
level of contributions to plan F that is the minimum amount
sufficient to satisfy the purposes set forth in subdivision (b) of
Section 31510.
   (d) The right of the member to benefits derived from member
contributions vests under plan F upon the commencement of
participation in plan F.
   (e) If a member or beneficiary becomes entitled to receive a
benefit in the form of an annuity under the terms of the prior plan,
the member's account in plan F shall be converted to the same form of
annuity as is payable to the member or beneficiary from the prior
plan. The amount of the annuity payable under the prior plan,
calculated prior to the application of this article (including the
limitations set forth in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986), shall be reduced by the amount of the annuity generated under
plan F as described in the preceding sentence. The amount payable
from plan F shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as
the annuity payable from the prior plan and may be provided through
an annuity contract purchased from an insurance company, at the
discretion of the board. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the member'
s account in plan F does not exceed three thousand five hundred
dollars ($3,500), it shall be paid to the member or beneficiary as a
lump-sum payment, in lieu of the benefit otherwise payable under plan
F.
   (f) If a member or beneficiary becomes entitled to receive the
member's accumulated contributions and interest from the prior plan,
the member or beneficiary shall receive the member's account balance
from plan F consisting of the member's accumulated contributions and
actual earnings at the same time and in the same manner.
   (g) In applying the limitations set forth in Section 415 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, benefits or annual additions in
qualified retirement plans maintained by an employer separate from
the retirement system shall be reduced first. Any additional
reduction shall be made to the benefits from plans within the
retirement system other than plan F, and then lastly to the annual
addition to plan F.
   (h) Plan F shall be administered in accordance with subsection (a)
of Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Treasury
Regulations issued thereunder. The plan shall state that it is
intended to be a profit-sharing plan wherein contributions are
determined without regard to current or accumulated profits.
   (i) For the purpose of this article, the term "annuity" means the
combined benefit provided by an annuity, as defined in Section 31457,
and the pension, as defined in Section 31471.
   (j) To the extent any county subject to this article terminates
General Plan F or Safety Plan F, or both of them, with respect to any
group of members and in accordance with their terms and adopts a
replacement benefits program under Section 31899.4 for those members
in lieu of that plan or plans, this section shall be inoperative in
that county with respect to those members. In any event, the election
made pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 31510, the provisions of
subdivisions (c), (d), (e), (f), and (h) of Section 31510, and the
provisions of Section 31510.3 shall remain operative in that county.




31510.3.  It is intended that disability benefits payable from the
retirement system pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section
31720), in the event of the member's termination of employment for
disability, are compensation for personal injury or sickness, and
therefore would not be subject to the limitations set forth in
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. If the Internal
Revenue Service rules that the disability benefits are subject to
those limitations, any employer which is subject to this article
shall provide an alternate disability benefit equal to the decrease
in the disability benefit caused by application of those limitations,
through a long-term disability plan which shall be separate from the
retirement system. The terms of that long-term disability plan shall
be mutually agreed to by the employer and employee representatives
and adopted by the board of supervisors.



31510.4.  It is intended that the maintenance of plan F not affect
the rate of either member or employer contributions to the retirement
system. The board may set a rate of regular interest credited to
contributions to the prior plan made with respect to members
participating in plan F that is different than the rate of regular
interest credited to contributions made with respect to members not
participating in plan F, if necessary to effectuate that intent.