§ 20813 40-Year Amortization Period

• •The government can take up to 40 years to pay off money it owes for workers' retirement benefits.
• •This rule applies to regular state workers and police/firefighters.
• •It’s like taking a really long loan to pay for promises made to workers.

Imagine the state promised police officers a certain amount of money when they retire, but doesn’t have all the money saved up yet.

The state can spread out paying back that missing money over 40 years, like paying a little bit each year instead of all at once.