Public employment: military service: credit.

The Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension and other benefits to public employees, which are funded by employee and employer contributions and investment returns. PERS provides defined benefits to its members based on their final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. Existing law provides a member with an absence due to military service or service with the uniformed services with the right to receive credit for service for the period of that absence and requires the member's employer to contribute both the employee and employer contributions for that period if specified conditions are met. This bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System to provide a separate and unique form to be used by a member to receive credit for his or her military service and would require the form to clearly state that the member has no obligation to pay for any portion of the employer contribution if eligibility is determined pursuant to certain provisions, as specified. The bill would require employers to both provide the member with that form and inform the member of his or her rights to receive that credit with employer-paid contributions within 30 days of the member's return to state service and until April 1, 2017, would further require state appointing authorities to provide letters or electronic communications to all employees informing them of those rights. Existing law authorizes a member to elect at any time prior to retirement, in accordance with regulations of the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, to receive credit for public service, in addition to his or her current and prior service credit. This bill would require an employer to inform a new employee at the time of hire of his or her rights to purchase service credit for certain active service, prior to the person's first employment with that employer or entrance into the retirement system, in the Armed Forces of the United States or in the Merchant Marine of the United States, as specified.