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

Health Benefits Guides

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.

Revision History

You can view a summary of the revisions made to our guides by selecting the desired link below. For content that received substantive changes, a PDF link is also available in the summary. To stay informed about changes to CalPERS policies and procedures, review our Circular Letters or subscribe to the Employer Bulletin.

Public Agency & Schools Health Benefits Guide

Topic/Summary	Revision Date
Important CalPERS Health Plan Contact Information (for Members & Employers) Added Contact Information for PORAC COBRA/Cal-COBRA (Group Continuation) Updated qualifying events for COBRA coverage Employee Separations Capturing employee signatures either electronically or physically	May 2018 (PDF)
Health Benefits into Retirement Clarified when coverage into retirement will begin Billing Instructions Effective 1/1/2018, all payments must be made via Electronic Funds Transfer Formatting your monthly billing roster	Mar 2018 (PDF)
Declaration of Health Coverage form HBD-12A Deleted all references to obsolete Declaration of Health Coverage form HBD-12A	Feb 2018 (PDF)
Important Contact Information for Employers and Members Update to addresses Health Eligibility Requirements Updated Eligibility & Supporting Documentation to Certified "Parent-Child Relationship" School Employers: 10-Month Work Schedule Update to Separation requirement Employee Separations Update to Separation for Disability Retirement Medicare Addition of Medicare Enrollment Information for those Under Age 65	Aug 2017 (PDF)

Public Agency & Schools Reference Guide

Chapter/Summary	Revision Date
Introduction Added PEPRA information to service retirement topic	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Contract Coverage Procedures Clarified process to Initiate a New Contact and Updated Cost Estimate Factors for providing Two Years Additional Service Credit	Apr 2018 (PDF)
Contract Coverage Procedures Updated Reduced Workload Program for County Schools	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Membership Clarified Member Reciprocal Self-Certification as it relates to PEPRA and updates to the School Employment: CalPERS or CalSTRS topic	Apr 2018 (PDF)
Compensation Review Compensation Limits and New Member Contribution Caps updated for 2018	Feb 2018 (PDF)
Compensation Review Updates to General Information for All Reporting Methods, Employers Paying Member Contributions, and Compensation Limits	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Payroll Reporting Procedures Updates to Reporting Deadlines & Penalties, Pay Rate and Earnings Relationship, and Payment of Contributions Using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Benefits Procedures Substantial updates throughout chapter	Sep 2017 (PDF)
Web Services & Publications Updated Subscriptions Services	Nov 2017 (PDF)
Education & Other Resources Member Education Bulletin information added	Nov 2017 (PDF)
Appendix Updates to Resolutions No. 1 and No. 2	Apr 2017 (PDF)

State Health Benefits Guide

Topic/Summary	Revision Date
Health Benefit Officer and Employee Separations Capturing employee signatures either electronically or physically	May 2018 (PDF)
Summary of Health Benefit Forms & Publications Deleted obsolete Declaration of Health Coverage form HBD-12A	Feb 2018 (PDF)
Post-Retirement Health Vesting Updated Important Dates First Hired by the State based on Bargaining Unit	Dec 2017 (PDF)
Summary of Benefits and Coverage & Uniform Glossary Updated Additional Information	Sep 2017 (PDF)
Health Plan Options Update to eligibility zip code Health Eligibility Requirements Update to Eligibility & Supporting Documentation Certified Parent-Child Relationship Medicare Update to Medicare enrollment for those Under Age 65 Retiree Dental and Vision Coverage Update to Dental Eligibility for CSU retirees	Aug 2017 (PDF)

State Reference Guide

Chapter/Summary	Revision Date
Introduction Added PEPRA information to service retirement topic	Jul 2017 (PDF)
General Membership Information Updates to Positions Excluded by Retirement Law from CalPERS Coverage and CalPERS or CalSTRS? topics	May 2018 (PDF)
CSU-Only Membership Update to the California State University topic	May 2018 (PDF)
CSU-Only Membership Updated information for the Reduced Workload Program - CSU Faculty	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Pay Rate & Service Credit Updates to the Reportable/Non-Reportable Compensation topic	Jul 2018 (PDF)
Pay Rate & Service Credit Compensation Limits and New Member Contribution Caps updated for 2018	Feb 2018 (PDF)
Pay Rate & Service Credit Updates to Reportable/Non-Reportable Compensation	Jul 2017 (PDF)
Benefits Procedures Substantial updates throughout chapter	Oct 2017 (PDF)
Benefits Procedures Added new topic regarding Social Security and Public Employees	May 2017 (PDF)
Web Services & Publications Updated Subscription Services	Nov 2017 (PDF)
Education & Other Resources Member Education Bulletin information added	Nov 2017 (PDF)
Appendix Removed outdated forms	Sep 2013

Policies & Procedures

Resources

Forms & Publications

Is the employer required to provide CalPERS with the original agreement?
An original or certified copy of the agreement is acceptable. If the employer wishes to have an original signed copy of the agreement, it should send two copies with original signatures to CalPERS. After approval, CalPERS will sign both copies and return one to the employer.