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HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 5Pt. 3Ch. 13Art. 1§ 21252 Retirement Application Deadlines

§ 21252 Retirement Application Deadlines

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

§ 21252 Retirement Application Deadlines

Key Takeaways

  • •If you want to retire, you must send in your request within 9 months of leaving your job. If you do, it’s like you asked on your last day of work.
  • •If you wait longer than 9 months to ask for retirement, your retirement starts on the first day of the month your request is received.
  • •You can only ask for retirement if you’re alive when the request is received. If you’re too sick to ask yourself, your guardian can ask for you, but it can’t start earlier than one year before they ask.
  • •If you’re switching from another retirement system that works with this one, you can still ask for retirement within 9 months and it will be treated the same way.

Example

John quits his state job on January 15th but doesn’t send in his retirement papers until October 1st of the same year.

Since John sent his retirement request within 9 months of quitting, it’s like he asked on his last day of work (January 15th). His retirement benefits start from that date.

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

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 21252 Retirement Application Deadlines

(a) A member’s written application for retirement, if submitted to the board within nine months after the date the member discontinued his or her state service, and, in the case of retirement for disability, if the member was physically or mentally incapacitated to perform his or her duties from the date the member discontinued state service to the time the written application for retirement was submitted to the board, shall be deemed to have been submitted on the last day for which salary was payable. The effective date of a written application for retirement submitted to the board more than nine months after the member’s discontinuance of state service shall be the first day of the month in which the member’s application is received at an office of the board or by an employee of this system designated by the board. (b) An application for retirement may only be submitted by or for a member who is living on the date the application is actually received by the system. If the member has been deemed incompetent to act on his or her own behalf continuously from the last day for which salary was payable, the effective date of retirement may not be earlier than one year prior to the month in which an application submitted by the guardian of the member’s estate is received by the system. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a member who separates from a retirement system that has established reciprocity with this system with the intention of retiring concurrently under both systems and who submits his or her application for retirement for service to the board within nine months after that separation, may have his or her application received and acted upon by this system as if the application were submitted pursuant to this section. (Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 130, Sec. 28. (AB 966) Effective January 1, 2010.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

written application for retirementnine monthslast day for which salary was payableeffective dateincompetentguardian of the member’s estate

Related Statutes

  • § 21250 Pension Payment Installments
  • § 21251 Emergency Benefit Payment Account
  • § 21251.13 Pension Funding Implementation Conditions
  • § 21251.15 Retirement Allowance After Account Division
  • § 21254 Pension Tax Exemption

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 21252.
View Official Source