DATE: October 20, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Donald C. Kendig, CPA, Retirement Administrator
SUBJECT: Adoption of County Employees Retirement Law Article 8.4, Government Code §§ 31685-31685.97 - Community Property
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt and authorize the Chairman to execute a Resolution adopting Article 8.4 of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL) pursuant to Government Code § 31685.97, authorizing the Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association (FCERA) to establish separate retirement accounts for a member and nonmember spouse when required by a qualifying court order dividing the parties’ community property interest in the member’s retirement benefits.
REPORT
Article 8.4 of the CERL provides an alternative method for dividing retirement benefits. Upon receipt and qualification of a court order, FCERA may divide the member’s account and establish separate accounts for the member and nonmember spouse. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may not adopt Article 8.4. If Article 8.4 is not adopted, FCERA will continue to administer divided community property interests under its current procedures, generally requiring the nonmember spouse to wait until the member receives a retirement benefit before receiving the nonmember spouse’s share.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the County resulting from the adoption of Article 8.4. FCERA will be responsible for administering the provisions of Article 8.4.
DISCUSSION:
Government Code § 31685.97 authorizes your Board to adopt a resolution by majority vote to make Article 8.4 of the CERL, Government Code §§ 31685-31685.97, operative for the County.
Under FCERA’s current procedures, when a member’s retirement benefit is divided as community property following a divorce or legal separation, the nonmember spouse’s interest remains tied to the member’s account. As a result, the nonmember spouse cannot begin receiving their share of the retirement benefit until the member retires and begins receiving a benefit.
Article 8.4 of the CERL provides an alternative method for dividing retirement benefits. Upon receipt and qualification of an applicable court order, Article 8.4 allows FCERA to divide the member’s account and establish separate accounts for the member and nonmember spouse. (Gov. Code § 31685, subd. (b).) Once the account is divided, each party’s interest may be administered independently, subject to the requirements of the CERL.
Among other provisions, Article 8.4 may allow a nonmember spouse to independently take the following actions:
• Retire upon meeting the applicable eligibility requirements;
• Request a refund of the nonmember spouse’s allocated accumulated contributions; and
• Exercise other rights applicable to the nonmember spouse’s separate account under Article 8.4.
These actions would no longer be dependent upon the member’s continued employment or decision to retire.
FCERA has received inquiries from both members and nonmember spouses regarding the availability of separate accounts following the division of retirement benefits. Separate accounts provide the parties with greater independence in managing their respective interests following a divorce or legal separation and allows FCERA to administer each party’s interest separately in accordance with the applicable court order and the CERL.
Implementation of Article 8.4 requires programming and system configuration within FCERA’s Pension Administration System (PAS) to establish, maintain, and administer separate member and nonmember spouse accounts. FCERA is currently implementing an upgrade to the current PAS, with implementation estimated to take approximately 32 months. Accordingly, although adoption by your Board will make Article 8.4 applicable in Fresno County, FCERA will not be able to operationally implement the provisions of Article 8.4 until the necessary PAS programming and configuration are complete. Until implementation is complete, FCERA will continue to administer community property divisions under its existing procedures.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
At its April 15, 2026, meeting, the FCERA Board of Retirement considered the implementation of Article 8.4 and supported its adoption. Adoption by your Board is required before Article 8.4 may become applicable to FCERA. Accordingly, FCERA recommends that your Board adopt Article 8.4 and approve the accompanying resolution making Government Code §§ 31685 through 31685.97 applicable in Fresno County.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Resolution
FCERA Board of Retirement Agenda Item, April 15, 2026
FCERA Board of Retirement Minutes, Regular Board Meeting, April 15, 2026
CAO ANALYST:
Paige Benavides