Los Angeles Municipal Code Art. 5 Reciprocal Benefits Between Lacers and Other Retirement Systems

(Formerly Article 4, renumbered by Ord. No. 184,134, Eff. 1-22-16.)

Section

Membership in the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System and for Members Who Change Membership from the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System to the Water and Power Employees' Retirement Plan.

Sec. 4.1095. Benefits for Employees Upon Their Change of Membership from the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan to Membership in the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System and for Members Who Change Membership from the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System to the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan.

(a) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System will be referred to as “LACERS”

and the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan as “WPERP.” Members of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System will be referred to as “System Members,” and the members of the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan will be referred to as “Plan Members.”

City Service or Service shall mean only those periods during which a member received compensation from the City as an employee and for which the member made contributions to either the LACERS or the WPERP.

With respect to all other terms used in this section the definitions contained in Articles 1 and 2 of this chapter shall be applicable unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context.

(b) Membership in the LACERS. A Plan Member shall become a system member immediately upon changing employment from the Department of Water and Power to such other office, class, or position established by the City of Los Angeles as would make the Plan Member eligible for membership in the LACERS; provided, however, that there is no break in service of more than seven calendar days. If there is a break in service of more than seven calendar days, the former Plan Member shall become a System Member on the date that the former Plan Member’s entrance into such employment with the City of Los Angeles makes the former Plan Member eligible to become a System Member.

If a Plan Member participates in the reciprocal retirement benefit arrangement established in this Section, the Plan Member shall become a member of Tier 1 upon becoming a System Member, provided that the Plan Member’s employment with the DWP commenced prior to February 21, 2016, and there is no break in service of more than seven calendar days, as provided in the preceding paragraph. If a Plan Member becomes a System Member on or after February 21, 2016, the Plan Member shall become a member of Tier 3 upon becoming a System Member if: (1) the Plan Member did not commence employment with the DWP prior to February 21, 2016; (2) the Plan Member commenced employment with the DWP prior to February 21, 2016, but there was a break in service of more than seven calendar days upon the change in employment from the DWP; or (3) the system member elects not to participate in the reciprocal retirement benefits arrangement as provided in Subsection (d) herein.

Membership shall entitle the system member to all benefits for retirement, disability and death for which the system member would qualify based upon the system member’s total service in both the LACERS and the WPERP.

(c) Contributions of System Members Who Transfer from the Department of Water and Power. A Plan Member who becomes a System Member shall contribute to LACERS at the rate provided in Tier 1 or Tier 3, as applicable.

(d) Election Not to Participate in the Reciprocal Retirement Benefits Arrangement. A System Member may, at any time prior to the expiration of a seven (7) month period following a change of employment from the Department of Water and Power, elect, in writing, as prescribed by the Board of Administration of the LACERS, to commence membership with the LACERS as if such member had no previous City service if (a) the member withdraws the member’s contributions from the WPERP or (b) leaves the member’s contributions on deposit with the WPERP in order to qualify for a deferred retirement allowance from WPERP in the future.

Notwithstanding the seven-month period specified above, a System Member who changed employment on a protective leave status pursuant to Civil Service Rule 7.7 or Charter Section 1001(e), as applicable, from the Department of Water and Power (DWP) to the City and qualified for reciprocity on or before December 31, 2013, and who continues to be employed by the City on such protective leave status as of December 31, 2013, shall have until thirty (30) days following the termination of the System Member’s protective leave or until the expiration of a seven-month period from the System Member’s entry into City service, whichever occurs later, to elect in writing not to participate in the reciprocal retirement benefits arrangement provided in this section.

(e) Transfer of Members’ Accumulated Contributions and Service Credit between WPERP and LACERS. A member’s

accumulated contributions in the WPERP will be transferred from the WPERP to the LACERS in accordance with necessary administrative procedures to be developed between the WPERP Board of Administration and the LACERS Board of Administration, unless the System Member has made one of the elections provided in Subsection (d) of this section.

In the case of a System Member who becomes a Plan Member by virtue of the System Member’s change of employment to the Department of Water and Power, and who has not made an election pursuant to the terms of the WPERP, the LACERS upon an appropriate demand for such transfer by the WPERP, shall pay to the WPERP the former System Member’s accumulated contributions to the LACERS.

(f) Treatment of Uncompleted Service Purchases. System Members who, at the time of their transfer to membership in the LACERS, have commenced making service purchases with the WPERP for service, but have not completed payment of the obligation undertaken by them, may complete the payment thereof with the LACERS at the same rate that was to be payable by them pursuant to the arrangements with WPERP to make such service purchase.

(g) Continuous Service. Continuous service to determine a System Member’s eligibility for service or disability retirement shall include City service as defined in this section, and not as defined in Sections 4.1001 or 4.1080.1 of this Code; provided however, that the System Member has not exercised one of the elections provided in Subsection (d) of this section.

(h) Family Death Benefit Plan. The phrase “Death Benefit Plan Service” as used in Section 4.1090 of this Chapter, shall, in the case of a Plan Member who transfers to the LACERS, include such City service as a Plan Member for which the System Member has made back contributions in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 4.1090(i) of this Chapter.

A System member, in order to be eligible to make back contributions, must not have exercised one of the elections provided in Subsection (d) of this section.

The mode of paying such back contributions in a lump sum or on an installment basis shall be decided by the Board of Administration of the

LACERS, which Board shall, within a reasonable time after the effective date of this section, adopt appropriate rules for the implementation of the provisions of this subsection.

(i) Prohibition Against Dual Benefits. Benefits provided to System Members as a result of the enactment of this section shall not be in addition to benefits provided by the WPERP on account of the occurrence or non-occurrence of any contingency or event which would, under the provisions of the WPERP, generate entitlement to a benefit or benefits.

(j) Application of this Section to Persons Who Were System Members on February 15, 1980; Waiver by LACERS of Funds from WPERP and the General Fund. Any person who was a system member on February 15, 1980, who has been a Plan Member of the WPERP prior to the person’s membership in LACERS, and who has not transferred or withdrawn the person’s accumulated contributions from WPERP, shall be entitled to the benefits herein described upon making application for such benefits as provided herein, provided however, that no funds shall be provided by WPERP or the General Fund of the City in excess of a Plan Member’s accumulated contributions.

(k) Reciprocity of Benefit Provisions and Conditions Affecting this Section. It is the intent and purpose of this section to provide, or help to provide, portability between the LACERS and the WPERP. The achievement of complete portability of benefits is dependent upon appropriate action by the governing body of the WPERP. Should the implementation of any provisions of this section be possible only if some specific action is taken by the WPERP, then, and as to such provisions only, the effect of this section shall be suspended until appropriate action has been taken by the WPERP.

(l) Suspension of the Reciprocal Retirement Arrangement. Employees who change employment from the DWP to other positions with the City that make them eligible for membership in LACERS on or after January 1, 2014, shall not be eligible to participate in the reciprocal retirement arrangement established in this section. Reciprocity on the terms and conditions set forth in this section shall only be provided to those employees who changed employment from the DWP to other positions with the City that made them eligible for membership in LACERS prior to January 1, 2014.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13. Amended by: Subsec. (d) amended and Subsec. (l) added, Ord. No. 182,824, Eff. 12-19-13; Subsecs. (b), (c) and (g), Ord. No. 188,756, Eff. 11-16-25.

(a) Uniform Reciprocal Provisions. The purpose of these reciprocal provisions is to extend to the members of other public agency retirement systems (hereinafter “reciprocal system”) that adopt similar reciprocal provisions into their retirement ordinances or plans pursuant to Sections 20351, 20353, 31840.2 and 45310.5 of the Government Code, and who, by contract, agree to extend the benefits thereof to the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System (hereinafter “this system”), the following rights in this system, provided such member enters into employment under this system or the reciprocal system within six (6) months of terminating the member’s employment under such other or this system:

(1) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Plan or a reciprocal system plan in the matter of vesting, a member whose movement
between systems occurs as herein specified shall have the right to elect to leave the member’s accumulated contributions on deposit,
irrespective of the amount of such contributions or the length of service credited to the member.

(2) The age of entry for a person entering this system for purposes of fixing member contribution rates from a reciprocal system
shall be the member’s age at entry into such reciprocal system.

(3) The average monthly salary during any period of service as a member of a reciprocal system shall be considered compensation
earnable by a member of this system for purposes of computing final compensation for such member, provided the member retires
concurrently under both systems and is credited with such period of service under the reciprocal system at the time of retirement.

(4) Service, solely for purposes of meeting minimum service qualifications for benefits and retirement allowances under this
system, shall also include service rendered as an officer or employee of a reciprocal system if the salary for such service constitutes
compensation earnable by a member of this system.

(5) A member shall be retired for disability and receive a retirement allowance based on the service credited to the member at the
time of retirement during any period in which the member receives a disability retirement allowance under a reciprocal system;
provided, that such allowance shall not exceed an amount which, when added to the allowance paid under the reciprocal system,
equals the allowance which would be paid for a non-industrial disability if all the member’s service had been credited under the
reciprocal system; and provided further that such allowance shall in no event be less than an annuity which is the actuarial equivalent
of the member’s contributions, whether or not the disability is for industrial reasons.

(6) The death benefit for a member who dies from non-industrial causes as a member of a reciprocal system shall not exceed an
amount which when added to the death benefit paid for such member under the reciprocal system equals the maximum death benefit
payable under that system; provided, however, that such death benefit shall be at least the amount of the accumulated contributions;
and provided further that, if death is caused by industrial injury or disease in the reciprocal system, the death benefit shall be the
amount of the member’s accumulated contributions.

(7) The governing body of this system shall on the request of a reciprocal system supply information and data necessary for
administration of such system as it is affected by membership in, and service credited under, this system.

(8) Interpretation of these provisions shall be made with reference to interpretations that have been made relative to the Public Employees’ Retirement System - 1937 Act County Employees’ Retirement reciprocal provisions upon which they are based.

(9) These provisions shall apply only to a member whose termination and entry into employment resulting in a change in
membership from this system to such other system or from such other system to this system occurred after such acceptance by the
Board or after the effective date specified in the agreement; provided, however, that provisions relating to computation of final
compensation shall apply to any other member if such provision would have applied had the termination and entry into employment
occurred after such acceptance or determination by a system’s governing board.

(10) Rights under this system shall be modified as necessary to conform to amendments to the Public Employees’ Retirement Law
or the County Employees’ Retirement Law of 1937 as provided in Section 20353, Government Code.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.