Section 20904.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, when any county superintendent of schools determines that because of an impending curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing service, the best interests of the county superintendent of schools would be served, a school member shall be eligible to receive additional service credit if the following conditions exist:

(a) The member is employed in a job classification or an organizational unit designated by the county superintendent of schools and retires within any period designated in and subsequent to the effective date of the contract amendment provided the period is not less than 90 days nor more than 180 days.

(b) The county superintendent of schools transmits to the retirement fund an amount determined by the board that is equal to the actuarial equivalent of the difference between the allowance the member receives after the receipt of service credit under this section and the amount he or she would have received without the service credit. The transfer to the retirement fund shall be made in a manner and time period acceptable to the employer and the board.

(c) The county superintendent of schools shall certify that it is his or her intention at the time that this section is made operative that if any early retirements are granted after receipt of service credit pursuant to this section, that the retirements will either: (1) result in a net savings to the district or county superintendent of schools, or (2) result in an overall reduction in the work force of the organizational unit because of impending mandatory transfers, demotions, and layoffs that constitute at least 1 percent of the job classification, as designated by the county superintendent of schools, resulting from the curtailment of, or change in the manner of performing, its services.

The amount of service credit shall not be more than two years regardless of credited service and shall not exceed the number of years intervening between the date of his or her retirement and the date he or she would be required to be retired because of age.

A county superintendent of schools that elects to make the payment prescribed by subdivision (b) shall make the payment with respect to all eligible employees who retire during the specified period.

This section shall not be applicable to any member otherwise eligible if the member receives any unemployment insurance payments during the specified period.

Any member who qualifies under this section, upon subsequent reentry to this system shall forfeit the service credit acquired under this section.

This section shall not apply to any member who is not employed by the county superintendent of schools during the period designated in subdivision (a) and who has less than five years of service credit.

This section shall not apply to any county superintendent of schools unless and until the county superintendent of schools elects to be subject to this section by amendment to the contract made in the manner prescribed for approval of contracts, except an election among the employees is not required, or, in the case of contracts made after July 30, 1982, by express provision in the contract making the county superintendent of schools subject to the provisions of this section.

Notwithstanding Section 20790, an election to become subject to this section shall not exclude a county superintendent of schools from the definition of "employer" for purposes of Section 20790.

(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 379, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1996.)