LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 4Pt. 3Ch. 3Art. 15.6§ 31855 County Retirement Benefit Alternative

§ 31855 County Retirement Benefit Alternative

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

§ 31855 County Retirement Benefit Alternative

Key Takeaways

  • •This law lets counties give their workers a choice between two types of benefits after they retire: regular retirement benefits or special benefits instead of social security survivorship benefits.
  • •The county leaders must first vote to offer this choice, and then the workers must vote to agree to it.
  • •More than half of the workers must vote, and most of them must say yes to the change.
  • •This law only applies if the county and its workers agree to it together.

Example

A county offers its firefighters a choice between keeping their current retirement benefits or switching to a new plan that doesn’t include extra social security benefits for their families after they die.

The county leaders vote to let the firefighters choose. Then, the firefighters vote. If more than half of them vote and most say yes, the new plan starts. If not, things stay the same.

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

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 31855 County Retirement Benefit Alternative

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide by this article a means by which any county which has provided all or any of officers and employees with both retirement benefits pursuant to this chapter and federal social security benefits on a nonintegrated basis may provide the benefits set forth herein as an alternative to survivorship benefits under social security. Accordingly, this article shall not be operative in any county until such time as the board of supervisors shall, by resolution adopted by majority vote and specifying the class or classes of employees to which it applies, make the provisions of this article applicable in such county, and a majority of the members of the affected class or classes voting at an election held during 1974 with more than 50 percent of the members participating favor the termination of supplemental survivorship benefits under social security. Any such resolution may specify a date subsequent to the date of adoption as the operative date for implementation of this article. (Amended by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1000.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

retirementresolutionsecurityterminationadoptionbenefitsofferemployee

Related Statutes

  • § 31692 Retirement Benefit Amendment Limits
  • § 31484.5 County Employee Benefit Termination
  • § 31484.7 County Employee Benefit Termination
  • § 31484.8 County Benefit Termination Option
  • § 31485 County Employee Benefit Termination

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 31855.
View Official Source