22119.2.
(a) “Creditable compensation” means salary and other remuneration payable in cash by an employer to a member for creditable service. Creditable compensation shall include:(1) Money paid in accordance with a salary schedule based on years of training and years of experience for creditable service performed up to and including the full-time equivalent for the position in which the service is performed.
(2) For members not paid according to a salary schedule, money paid for creditable service performed up to and including the full-time equivalent for the position in which the service is performed.
(3) Money paid for the member’s absence from performance of creditable service as approved by the employer, except as provided in paragraph (7) of subdivision (b).
(4) Member contributions picked up by an employer pursuant to Section 22903 or 22904.
(5) Amounts deducted by an employer from the member’s salary, including deductions for participation in a deferred compensation plan; deductions for the purchase of annuity contracts, tax-deferred retirement plans, or other insurance programs; and deductions for participation in a plan that meets the requirements of Section 125, 401(k), or 403(b) of Title 26 of the United States Code.
(6) Money paid by an employer in addition to salary paid under paragraph (1) or (2) if paid to all employees in a class in the same dollar amount, the same percentage of salary, or the same percentage of the amount being distributed.
(7) Money paid in accordance with a salary schedule by an employer to an employee for achieving certification from a national board awarding certifications, in which eligibility for this certification is based, in part, on years of training or years of experience in teaching service, if the compensation is paid by the employer to all employees who achieved this certification.
(8) Any other payments the board determines to be “creditable compensation.”
(b) “Creditable compensation” does not mean and shall not include:
(1) Money paid for service performed in excess of the full-time equivalent for the position.
(2) Money paid for overtime or summer school service, or money paid for the aggregate service performed as a member of the Defined Benefit Program in excess of one year of service credit for any one school year.
(3) Money paid for service that is not creditable service pursuant to Section 22119.5.
(4) Money paid by an employer in addition to salary paid under paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) if not paid to all employees in a class in the same dollar amount, the same percentage of salary, or the same percentage of the amount being distributed, except as provided in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a).
(5) Fringe benefits provided by an employer.
(6) Job-related expenses paid or reimbursed by an employer.
(7) Money paid for unused accumulated leave.
(8) Severance pay or compensatory damages or money paid to a member in excess of salary as a compromise settlement.
(9) Annuity contracts, tax-deferred retirement programs, or other insurance programs, including, but not limited to, plans that meet the requirements of Section 125, 401(k), or 403(b) of Title 26 of the United States Code that are purchased by an employer for the member and are not deducted from the member’s salary.
(10) Any payments determined by the board to have been made by an employer for the principal purpose of enhancing a member’s benefits under the Defined Benefit Program. An increase in the salary of a member who is the only employee in a class pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 22112.5 that arises out of an employer’s restructuring of compensation during the member’s final compensation period shall be presumed to have been granted for the principal purpose of enhancing benefits under the Defined Benefit Program and shall not be creditable compensation. If the board determines sufficient evidence is provided to the system to rebut this presumption, the increase in salary shall be deemed creditable compensation.
(11) Any other payments the board determines not to be “creditable compensation.”
(c) Any employer or person who knowingly or willfully reports compensation in a manner inconsistent with subdivision (a) or (b) shall reimburse the plan for any overpayment of benefits that occurs because of that inconsistent reporting and may be subject to prosecution for fraud, theft, or embezzlement in accordance with the Penal Code. The system may establish procedures to ensure that compensation reported by an employer is in compliance with this section.
(d) The definition of “creditable compensation” in this section is designed in accordance with sound funding principles that support the integrity of the retirement fund. These principles include, but are not limited to, consistent treatment of compensation throughout the career of the individual member, consistent treatment of compensation for an entire class of employees, the prevention of adverse selection, and the exclusion of adjustments to, or increases in, compensation for the principal purpose of enhancing benefits.
(e) This section shall be deemed to have become operative on July 1, 1996.
(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2002, if the revenue limit cost-of-living adjustment computed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 2001–02 fiscal year is equal to or greater than 3.5 percent. Otherwise this section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2003 and as of January 1, 2004, this section is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2004, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.