The city council may enter into a contract with the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for participation in that system of the city and employees who are, as of the effective date of any such contract, safety members of the Sacramento City Employees' Retirement System (SCERS). Any such contract (hereafter "new contract") shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) The new contract shall cover all active safety employees who are members of SCERS.
(b) The existing contract with PERS for participation in that system or the city and employees whose date of city employment is on or after January 29, 1977 shall continue in effect, as amended by the city council from time to time.
(c) The new contract shall specify that active safety employees shall be transferred to PERS and become PERS local safety members.
(d) The benefits prescribed in the new contract shall, for safety employees, be as follows:
(1) 2% at age 50 with 3% cost-of-living allowance for transferred active safety SCERS employees.
(2) 2.5% at age 55 with 2% cost-of-living allowance for employees hired after the effective date of the new contract, with the statutory employee contribution rate. If the statutory employee contribution rate is other than 9%, the actual employee contribution rate shall be 9% of compensation.
(e) The procedures specified in Government Code Sections 20457 and 20458, as those sections may be amended or renumbered from time to time, relating to the holding of an election among the safety members of SCERS, shall be followed.
(f) The new contract shall specify that an allocable proportion of the assets and funds of SCERS shall be transferred to PERS pursuant to Government Code Sections 20522 and 20523, or some comparable procedure approved by the city council.
(g) The city council, if it enters into such contract, is authorized to take any action on behalf of the city required or permitted under the Public Employees' Retirement Law.
(h) The new contract shall provide that active safety employees who are SCERS members and who are transferred to PERS shall pay to PERS the same contribution rates as they were paying to SCERS, pursuant to Government Code Section 20605.5. In the event that the procedures specified in this paragraph require modification, the city council shall have the authority to adopt such modification by ordinance prior to approving a new contract with PERS.
(i) Any application for retirement or death benefit which is pending as of the effective date of these amendments to the Sacramento City Charter shall be deemed to be an application under PERS. For purposes of this subsection (1) an application is "pending" when:
(1) it is pending before the retirement system manager; or
(2) an appeal relating to the application is pending before the Retirement Hearing Commission; or
(3) the Retirement Hearing Commission has determined the appeal and the time for seeking judicial review has not expired; or
(4) the Retirement Hearing Commission has determined the appeal and judicial review has been timely sought by any party to the appeal, and no final judgment has been entered in the Superior Court; or
(5) a final judgment has been entered in the Superior Court and the appellate period has not expired, or timely appellate review has been sought and no final appellate judgment has been issued.
(Amended June 6, 1989)