Cal. Educ. Code § 22115
Definitions
Redline — January 1, 2013 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2025
As of January 1, 2013
(a) “Compensation earnable” means the creditable compensation a person could earn in a school year for creditable service performed on a full-time basis, excluding service for which contributions are credited by the system to the Defined Benefit Supplement Program.
(b) The board may determine compensation earnable for persons employed on a part-time basis.
(c) If service credit for a school year is less than 1.000, compensation earnable shall be the quotient obtained when creditable compensation paid in that year is divided by the service credit for that year, except as provided in subdivision (d).
(a) “Compensation earnable” means the sum of the following:
(1) The average annualized pay rate, which shall be determined as the quotient obtained when salary, as described in Section 22119.3, earned in a school year is divided by the service credited for that salary pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 22701. The quotient shall not exceed the member’s highest annualized pay rate for that school year.
(2) Special pay, as described in Section 22119.3, for the same school year referenced in paragraph (1).
(b) If a member earns salary at multiple annualized pay rates during a school year and service credited at the highest annualized pay rate is at least 0.900 of a year, compensation earnable shall be determined as if all salary for that year had been earned at the highest annualized pay rate.
(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (f), for purposes of determining compensation earnable for a member employed by a community college prior to July 1, 1996, full time shall be defined pursuant to Section 22138.5 and pursuant to Section 20521 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as those provisions read on June 30, 1996, if application of that definition will increase the compensation earnable or otherwise enhance the benefits of the member.
(2) For purposes of administering this subdivision, the board shall have the authority to do both of the following:
(A) Establish and implement factors and assumptions necessary to calculate and compare the benefits payable under the definition of compensation earnable described in this subdivision. Those factors and assumptions may be based on information reported by the employer, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Base hours.
(ii) Actual earnings.
(iii) Compensation earnable.
(B) Review member benefit calculations that were performed using the factors and assumptions described in subparagraph (A). If the board determines that an employer failed to identify part-time service performed, the board shall consider that part-time service to be performed in a part-time lecture assignment as defined by the employer. If the board determines by the review of the member benefit calculations that the required information reported by the employer is inaccurate, incomplete, or the factors and assumptions were applied incorrectly, the board may recalculate member benefits using additional factors and assumptions that may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Base hours.
(ii) Actual earnings.
(iii) Compensation earnable.
(3) This subdivision shall apply to a member employed by a community college prior to July 1, 1996, if the community college subsequently acts to reduce the minimum standard for full time as described in subdivision (c) of Section 22138.5 for the class of employees, and that community college provides written notice to the system of the act of the community college to reduce that minimum standard.
(4) This subdivision shall not apply to a member employed by a community college that has not reduced the minimum standard as described in subdivision (c) of Section 22138.5.
(f) Subdivision (e) shall not apply to a member subject to the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013.
(c) Compensation earnable excludes all supplemental pay and any creditable compensation for which contributions are credited by the system to the Defined Benefit Supplement Program.
(d) Compensation earnable shall not exceed the limits described in Section 22317.5.
(e) This definition of “compensation earnable” reflects sound principles that support the integrity of the retirement fund. Those principles include, but are not limited to, consistent treatment of compensation earnable throughout a member’s career, consistent treatment of compensation earnable among an entire class of employees, consistent treatment of compensation earnable for the position, preventing adverse selection, and excluding from compensation earnable remuneration that is paid to enhance a member’s benefits. This definition is also consistent with the definition of “pensionable compensation” under Section 7522.34 of the Government Code for members who are subject to the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013.
(f) A presumption by the system that creditable compensation was paid or reported to enhance the member’s benefits may be rebutted by the member or by the employer on behalf of the member. Upon receipt of sufficient evidence to the contrary, a presumption by the system that creditable compensation was paid to enhance the member’s benefits may be reversed.
(g) (1) The board shall determine a date based on when the system has the capacity to implement the changes made by the act that added this subdivision. The date determined by the board shall be posted on the internet website of the system no later than July 1, 2027.
(2) This section shall become operative on the date determined by the board pursuant to paragraph (1).
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.