ARTICLE 8.4. Community Property [31685. - 31685.97.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 8.4.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685. Section 31685.

(a) Upon the legal separation or dissolution of marriage of a member, after joining the retirement system as a party to the proceeding pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2060) of Part 1 of Division 6 of the Family Code, the court shall include in the judgment or a court order the date on which the parties separated. (b) If the court orders the division of the community property interest in the system pursuant to Section 2610 of the Family Code, the accumulated contributions and service credit attributable to periods of service during the marriage shall be divided into two separate and distinct accounts in the name of the member and nonmember, respectively. Any service credit or accumulated contributions that are not explicitly awarded by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member. (c) Upon receipt of the court order separating the account of the member and the nonmember pursuant to this section, the board shall determine the rights of the nonmember, taking into consideration the court order and the account of the member. These rights may include the following: (1) The right to a retirement allowance. (2) The right to a refund of accumulated retirement contributions. (3) The right to redeposit accumulated contributions that are eligible for redeposit by the member. (4) The right to purchase service credit that is eligible for purchase by the member. (5) The right to designate a beneficiary to receive his or her accumulated contributions payable where death occurs prior to retirement. (6) The right to designate a beneficiary for any unpaid allowance payable at the time of the nonmember’s death. (d) In the capacity of nonmember, the nonmember shall not be entitled to any disability retirement allowance.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.1. Section 31685.1.

“Nonmember,” as used in this article, means the spouse or former spouse, or child or other dependent as ordered by the court, of a member, who as a result of petitioning the court for the division of community property, has been awarded a distinct and separate account reflecting specific credited service and accumulated contributions.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.01. Section 31685.01.

Benefits enumerated in this article shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, whichever is applicable.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.2. Section 31685.2.

(a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account shall have the right to a refund of the accumulated contributions and interest credited in the separate account of the nonmember. (b) The nonmember shall file an application on a form provided by the system to obtain the refund. (c) The refund shall be effective when the system deposits in the United States mail an initial warrant drawn in favor of the nonmember and addressed to the latest address for the nonmember on file with the system. (d) The nonmember is deemed to have permanently waived all rights in the system and all rights to any future retirement benefits pertaining to the service credit accumulated contributions, or both, when the refund becomes effective. (e) The nonmember may not cancel a refund once it has become effective. (f) The nonmember shall have no right to elect to redeposit the refunded accumulated contributions from the nonmember’s account after the refund is effective, and shall have no right to redeposit or to purchase service credit after the refund becomes effective. (g) If at the time of the marriage dissolution or legal separation, the member does not have the necessary minimum credited service to elect deferred retirement, the nonmember shall receive a refund of the accumulated contributions and credited interest placed in the nonmember’s account. (h) If the nonmember receives a refund under this section, the member may elect to redeposit accumulated contributions and interest refunded to the nonmember and to receive credit for the service time that had been forfeited by the nonmember. The election shall be made within five years of receipt of notice from the board of eligibility to redeposit the contributions. The board shall establish the manner of payment and the time period within which the redeposit of contributions may be made. The interest rate established by the board shall be the same as that charged to members on all other redeposits.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.3. Section 31685.3.

(a) The nonmember who is awarded a separate account may redeposit accumulated contributions and interest previously refunded to the member in accordance with the determination of the court required by Section 31685. (b) The nonmember may redeposit only those accumulated contributions and interest that were previously refunded to the member and that the court has determined to be the community property interest of the nonmember in the accumulated contributions. (c) If the nonmember elects to redeposit, he or she shall repay the accumulated contributions and interest. (d) An election to redeposit shall be considered an election to repay all accumulated contributions and interest previously refunded that the nonmember is entitled to redeposit. (e) The right of the nonmember to redeposit is subject to the regulations of the board. (f) The member has no right to the court-determined nonmember share of any previously refunded accumulated contributions and interest whether or not the nonmember elects to redeposit until the effective date of any refund requested by the nonmember pursuant to Section 31685.2, or the nonmember dies before redeposit is completed. However, any right to redeposit previously refunded accumulated contributions and interest not explicitly awarded to the nonmember by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member. (g) Any redeposit by the nonmember shall be made by lump sum before retirement.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.4. Section 31685.4.

(a) The nonmember shall have the right to purchase service credit pursuant to the determination of the court required by Section 31685. (b) The nonmember may purchase only that service credit that the court has determined to be the community property share of the nonmember spouse. (c) If the nonmember elects to purchase service credit, he or she shall pay, prior to retirement, the contributions and interest pursuant to the regulations of the board. (d) The nonmember shall have no right to purchase the service credit after the effective date of a refund of the accumulated contributions in the separate account of the nonmember. (e) The member has no right to the court-determined nonmember share of the service credit whether or not the nonmember elects to purchase the service credit until the effective date of any refund requested by the nonmember pursuant to Section 31685.2, or the nonmember dies before the service credit is purchased. However, any service credit eligible for purchase that is not explicitly awarded to the nonmember by the judgment or court order shall be deemed the exclusive property of the member.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.5. Section 31685.5.

A nonmember shall be retired upon his or her written application to the board if all of the following conditions are met: (a) The member or nonmember has attained the minimum age prescribed by the applicable service retirement formula of the member. (b) On the date of retirement, the member had sufficient credited service to retire for service, notwithstanding any service credit awarded to the nonmember.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.6. Section 31685.6.

Retirement shall be effective and the retirement allowance shall begin to accrue as of the date designated in the nonmember’s application as the effective date of retirement, or the day following the date of court order dividing the community property of the member and nonmember, if later. In no event shall the retirement become effective or the retirement allowance begin to accrue earlier than the first day of the month in which the nonmember’s application is received at an office of the board or by an employee of the system designated by the board.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.7. Section 31685.7.

(a) If the nonmember retires before the member retires, “final compensation” means the highest average annual compensation earnable by the member during the three consecutive years, or one year where applicable, prior to the date the nonmember retires. The nonmember may designate an earlier period to be used where the time period of the nonmember’s marriage to the member and membership correspond. (b) If the member has retired before the nonmember, the “final compensation” for the nonmember shall be the final compensation used in calculating the member’s retirement. (c) Upon receipt of an application for retirement by the member, the board shall notify the nonmember that his or her final compensation will not increase any further and shall identify which options are available to the nonmember and the impact thereof.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.8. Section 31685.8.

A nonmember entitled to receive a retirement allowance shall receive a retirement allowance based on the service retirement formula applicable to the service credited to the nonmember.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.9. Section 31685.9.

If a member becomes disabled, the combined benefit payments to both the member and nonmember shall not exceed the amount that would otherwise be paid to the member alone.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.95. Section 31685.95.

(a) Under no circumstances shall a retirement plan be required to make payments in any manner that will result in an increase in the amount of benefits provided under the plan. (b) All benefits determined pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 2610) of Division 7 of the Family Code and this article shall be determined on the basis of the actuarial economic and demographic assumptions and values prescribed by the board of the affected retirement plan.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.96. Section 31685.96.

(a) The age factor applicable to the nonmember shall be based on the age of the nonmember at the time of his or her retirement. (b) The board shall adopt age factors as recommended by the actuary.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 31685.97. Section 31685.97.

This article shall not be operative in any county until the board of supervisors shall, by resolution adopted by a majority vote, make this article applicable in the county.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026