California · Education Code

EDC §24204: (a) A service retirement allowance under this part shall become effective upon any date designated by the member, provided all of the following conditions are met: (1) An application for service retir

What this law says, in plain English

A service retirement allowance becomes effective on a member-designated date if specific conditions are met, including submission of an application for service retirement.

Read the full statutory text
(a) A service retirement allowance under this part shall become effective upon any date designated by the member, provided all of the following conditions are met: (1) An application for service retirement allowance is filed on a form provided by the system, which is executed no earlier than six months before the effective date of retirement allowance. (2) The effective date of a member who files an application for retirement pursuant to Section 24201 is no earlier than 270 calendar days prior to when the application for service retirement is received by the system. (3) The effective date is later than the last day the member earned creditable compensation pursuant to Section 22119.2 or 22119.3. (4) The effective date is no earlier than one day after the date on which the retirement allowance was terminated under Section 24208. (5) The effective date is no earlier than one year following the date on which the retirement allowance was terminated under subdivision (a) of Section 24117. (6) The effective date is no earlier than the date upon and continuously after which the member is determined to the satisfaction of the board to have been mentally incompetent. (7) The effective date is no earlier than one day after the date upon which the member completes payment of a service credit purchase pursuant to Section 22801, 22820, or 22826, or payment of a redeposit of contributions pursuant to Section 23200, except as provided in Section 22801 or 22829. (b) A member who files an application for service retirement may change or cancel their retirement application if all of the following are met: (1) The form provided by the system is received by the system no later than 30 days from the date the member’s initial benefit payment for the member’s most recent retirement under the Defined Benefit Program is paid by the system. (2) The member returns the total gross distribution amount of all payments for any canceled benefit, including a lump-sum payment being changed to an annuity, to the system no later than 45 days from the date of the member’s initial benefit payment. The member shall be liable for any adverse tax consequences that may result from these actions. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow a member to receive more than one type of retirement or disability allowance for the same period of time by virtue of the member’s own membership. (d) (1) The board shall determine a date based on when the system has the capacity to implement the changes made by the act that added this subdivision. The date determined by the board shall be posted on the website of the system no later than January 1, 2026. (2) This section shall become operative on the date determined by the board pursuant to paragraph (1).

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

Facing this? Know exactly what happens next.

MOFRD turns this code section into your situation: the deadlines that apply to you, the forms your county uses, and the resolution paths people in your position actually take. Free for 3 days — no card required.

This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.