Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act: postemployment health benefits: the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.

Existing law requires the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to administer the Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act. Existing law permits a contracting agency to elect to be subject to the act for its employees and annuitants, provided that the contracting agency and each employee or annuitant contribute a portion of the cost of providing the benefit coverage afforded under the health benefit plan approved or maintained by the board in which the employee or annuitant may be enrolled. Existing law specifies that the employer contribution of a contracting agency begins on the effective date of enrollment and is the amount fixed from time to time by resolution of the governing body of the agency. Existing law provides an optional vesting schedule, for contracting agencies, that links the employer contribution, as specified, to percentages associated with an employee's credited years of service. Under this formulation, the employer contribution for the contracting agency reaches 100% of a specified amount when the employee attains 20 years of credited service, with certain exceptions. Existing law requires accounts to be maintained in the Public Employees' Contingency Reserve Fund to consist of administrative costs required to be contributed by contracting agencies and of health plan premiums paid by contracting agencies, which are continuously appropriated for specified purposes. This bill would authorize the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District to make employer contributions for postretirement health benefit coverage for the district's employees who are first hired on or after January 1, 2014. This bill would require the employer contributions to be based on percentages associated with the annuitant's credited years of service with the district, as provided. Under this formulation, the employer contribution would be 50% for 10 years of credited service, increasing incrementally by 10% each credited year of service, and reaching 100% if the annuitant attained 15 years of credited service, with a specified exception for those employees who retire for disability. The bill would provide that its provisions apply only to retirements after it becomes effective.