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HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 5Pt. 3Ch. 5Art. 1§ 20479 Equal Retirement Benefits Rule

§ 20479 Equal Retirement Benefits Rule

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 20479 Equal Retirement Benefits Rule

Key Takeaways

  • •If a group of workers (like police, firefighters, or school safety) gets retirement benefits, everyone in that group must get the same benefits—no picking favorites.
  • •You can’t give better retirement deals to some people in the same job group just because they’re in a different team or union.
  • •You can move people to a different job group with different benefits, but you can’t leave some out while giving others extra perks.

Example

A city wants to give firefighters who work in one part of town better retirement money than firefighters in another part.

This is not allowed. All firefighters in the city must get the same retirement benefits—no special deals for some.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 20479 Equal Retirement Benefits Rule

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1, no contract or contract amendment shall be made to provide retirement benefits for some, but not all members of the following membership classifications: local miscellaneous members, local police officers, local firefighters, county peace officers, local sheriffs, local safety officers, or school safety members. No contract or contract amendments shall provide different retirement benefits for a subgroup, including, but not limited to, bargaining units or unrepresented groups, within those membership classifications. This section does not preclude changing membership classification from one membership classification to another membership classification or exclusion of groups of members by contract. For purposes of this section, “benefit” shall not be limited to the benefits set forth in Section 20020. (Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 130, Sec. 21. (AB 966) Effective January 1, 2010.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

retirement benefitsmembership classificationslocal miscellaneous memberslocal police officersbargaining unitscontract amendment

Related Statutes

  • § 20471.2 County Court Contract Separation
  • § 20512 Contracting Agency Election Rights
  • § 12402 Controller Office Organization
  • § 12403 Controller Oath Administration
  • § 12404 Controller’S Executive Appointments

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 20479.
View Official Source