Reference & Health Guides

The reference and health guides are designed to help you in your business and health transactions with CalPERS. We encourage you to make the applicable guides available to all staff who process enrollments or convey retirement and/or health benefit information.

Reference Guides

• Public Agency & Schools Reference Guide (PDF, 3 MB)
• State Reference Guide (PDF, 2.2 MB)*

Health Benefits Guides

• Public Agency & Schools Health Benefits Guide (PDF)
• State Health Benefits Guide (PDF)

Retirement Resource Guides

• Disability Retirement / Industrial Disability Retirement Resource Guide (PDF)

These guides provide simplified explanations for often complex laws. Should there be a conflict between the language in either the reference or health guides, and the California Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL) or Public Employees’ Medical & Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA), the PERL and PEMHCA will prevail. If you have comments or suggestions for future editions of these guides, contact us.

*For questions regarding account codes, or requests for account code corrections, adjustments, and/or verifications contact the State Controller's Office retirement liaison at (916) 324-1471.