Partial Service Retirement

The Partial Service Retirement Program (PSRP) was developed in 1983 as a means of giving State employees the opportunity to reduce their work time and ease into retirement. This program offers voluntary partial service retirement to eligible employees where feasible. PSRP employees are considered to be “active” employees with a reduced time base. The appointing authority has the discretion to approve or deny an employee’s request to reduce their work time for partial service retirement to the extent that necessary work at the department will continue to be performed.

Eligibility and Employee Benefits

You are eligible for partial service retirement if:

  • You are a full-time State Miscellaneous, State Industrial, or public agency member, and
  • You are a State First Tier or public agency member at least age 50 with 20 years of State service, or
  • You are a State Second Tier member at least age 55 with 20 years of State service, or
  • You have met the minimum requirement for years of service credit and age at retirement, and your age and years of service total 65 years or more.

Employee Benefits
Employees participating in PSRP are not considered “retired” until they elect full retirement. Therefore, benefits are earned in the following manner:

Benefit Eligibility
Health, Dental & Vision Benefits All participants are entitled to the same benefits as are provided by law for employees under the same circumstances who are employed full time.
FlexElect Benefits All participants are eligible to participate in the FlexElect cafeteria benefits program as provided by law for employees under the same circumstance who are employed full time.
Holidays (includes Personal Holiday)
  • Compensation is the proportionate amount of the workday based on time base.
  • Holiday credit for holidays falling on non-work days is credited as Holiday Credit hours: Leave Credits must be supplemented for holidays falling on an eight-hour workday.
Life Insurance This benefit is available to employees who are members of CalPERS regardless of time base.
Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) This benefit is available to employees regardless of their fractional time base.
Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) This benefit is available to employees regardless of their fractional time base.
Merit & Special In-Grade Salary Adjustments Employees are eligible to receive a prorated amount of the MSA or SISA after completion of the required 6 or 12 months of continuous service.
Sick Leave Sick Leave is credited on a prorated basis on the first day of the monthly pay period following completion of a qualifying month.
Retirement Contributions
  • Employees coordinated with Social Security will continue to pay 5 percent of their total monthly salary in excess of $513.00 per month.
  • Employees who are not coordinated with Social Security will continue to pay 6 percent of their total monthly salary in excess of $317.00 per month.
Vacation Vacation is credited on a prorated basis on the first day of the monthly pay period following a qualifying pay period.
Annual Leave Annual leave is credited on a prorated basis on the first day of the monthly pay period following a qualifying pay period.

NOTE: Where provisions of this law are in conflict with the provisions of a Memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached pursuant to Government Code section 3517.5, the MOU shall be controlling.

Method of Payment

Participants will receive two warrants; one warrant represents the retirement allowance and is issued from CalPERS. Retirement allowances are recalculated only when the employee has a change in time base or applies for services retirement.

The second warrant represents the corresponding portion of the full-time monthly rate for the employee’s classification; participants are taxed on the earned portion of the fractional time base; any taxes and all payroll deductions will be taken from this warrant. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure there is enough net income to cover any deductions.

Procedure

The following table depicts the roles and responsibilities for the Partial Service Retirement Program.

Role  Responsibility
Employee With your employer’s approval, submit the PSRP application form (CalHR 062) to CalPERS. The application must be submitted at least 60 days before the effective date of partial retirement.
Supervisor
  • Must agree to the workload reduction before the member can apply for partial service retirement.
  • Workload reduction may be for no less than 20 percent and no more than 60 percent.
  • Notify Employee Resource Liaison of request.
Employee Resource Liaison Submit Request for Personnel Action (RPA) in ABMS.
Personnel Transactions Unit

Process the RPA for a fractional time base transaction.

The effective date must be the same date of the work time reduction and can be the first day of any pay period.

Resources

Responsible Control Agency

  • California Department of Human Resources
  • CalPERS

Laws and Regulations

  • Government Code article 1.7, section 19996.30-.40

Other Resource Materials

Contact

Personnel Transactions Unit

Department of General Services
Office of Human Resources

707 3rd Street, 7th Floor
West Sacramento, CA 95605
Contact your assigned Personnel Specialist.