California Legal Codes and Statutes

§ 21503

Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 199, Sec. 24. (AB 2404) Effective January 1, 2017.

The board may select an optional settlement under Article 6 (commencing with Section 21450) or Article 7 (commencing with Section 21470) of Chapter 13, as applicable, on behalf of the surviving spouse of a member who applied for retirement but who died prior to the mailing of a retirement allowance warrant and prior to an election in accordance with that article if all of the following conditions are met:

(a)The application for retirement was received by this system, prior to the date of death.
(b)The document containing the application for retirement received by this system did not provide for a temporary election of the optional

settlement in Sections 21456 and 21459, or in Section 21475.

(c)The deceased member had separated from state service at least one day prior to the effective date of retirement.
(d)The deceased member was alive on the effective date of retirement.
(e)The beneficiary designated on the application for retirement is the surviving spouse who requests in writing that the board make the selection. Upon formal action by the board approving the request, the request shall become irrevocable.

A retirement allowance provided in accordance with this section shall be calculated as if the member had elected Sections 21456 and 21459 if his or her retirement date is on or before December 31, 2017, or Section 21475 if his or her retirement date is on or after January 1,

2018.

Cite this section

Cal. Gov. Code § 21503 (2026)
https://ca.codecond.com/codes/gov/title-2-government-of-the-state-of-california/division-5-personnel/part-3-public-employees-retirement-system/chapter-14-death-benefits/article-1-general-provisions/section-21503

Other sections in Article 1 - General Provisions

§ 21490§ 21491§ 21492§ 21493§ 21494§ 21495§ 21496§ 21497§ 21498§ 21499…§ 21501§ 21502§ 21503§ 21504§ 21505§ 21506§ 21507§ 21508§ 21509§ 21510

This content is for reference, learning, and study purposes only. All legal text should be verified against the official California Legislative Information website, which is the authoritative source for California law. Data last processed: February 15, 2026.