March 29, 2017
Circular Letter: 200-012-17
Topic: Membership

To: State Colleges, Universities, County Superintendents of Schools, and Individual School Districts

Purpose

The purpose of this Circular Letter is to provide information about the Reduced Workload Program under Government Code section 20900.

A member participating in the Reduced Workload Program will reduce his or her time base from full-time to part-time. While employed part-time the member shall receive the service credit that he or she would have earned if he or she was employed on a full-time basis, provided the member and his or her employer both elect to contribute to the California State Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) the amount that would have been contributed if the member was employed on a full-time basis.

Employer personnel departments, in conjunction with CalPERS administrative staff, are responsible for the administration of the Reduced Workload Program and are required to verify the eligibility of the applicant for the Reduced Workload Program. In order to be eligible to participate in the Reduced Workload Program, members must meet the following criteria:

1. The member must be one of the following:
   1. An academic employee of a California State University
   2. A certificated employee of a school district
   3. An academic employee of a community college district
2. The member must meet the criteria provided in Education Code sections 44922, 87483, or 89516
3. The member must not be older than 70 years of age
4. The member’s appointment under the Reduced Workload Program is limited to a period of five years of part-time service

Procedure for Requesting Participation in the Reduced Workload Program

CalPERS members seeking to participate in the Reduced Workload Program must complete the Reduced Workload Program Eligibility and Election Certification Form and submit this form to their respective employers for completion. This form can be downloaded from the CalPERS website under Forms & Publications. After the employer completes the form, a copy must be submitted to CalPERS at the address below to verify the eligibility requirements. The original should be placed in the member’s personnel file and the employer shall keep the necessary records to separately identify each employee receiving credit pursuant to the Reduced Workload Program.

Note: If a California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) member is seeking to participate in the Reduced Workload Program, follow CalSTRS requirements for eligibility.

Payroll Reporting

For payroll purposes, employers shall report the member who is participating in the Reduced Workload Program as if he or she is working full-time (i.e., report the pay rate and earnings the member would have received if employed on a full-time basis). The member will be required to pay member contributions based on the full-time earnings reported to CalPERS. This will result in full-time earned service credit and benefits based on full salary levels. The employer contributions shall also be based on the employee’s full-time earnings and will automatically pay for the cost of the program.

Questions

If you have questions, contact the CalPERS Customer Contact Center at 888 CalPERS (or 888-225-7377888-225-7377).

 

Renee Ostrander, Chief
Employer Account Management Division

Attachment: Reduced Workload Program Eligibility and Election Certification Form (PDF)