What is reciprocity?

OCERS maintains a special relationship with certain other California public retirement systems. This relationship, known as reciprocity, was established by statute to encourage career public service and to protect retirement benefits earned by employees under two or more systems. Under reciprocity, your years of service earned under the reciprocal system will count toward meeting OCERS’ service credit requirements for retirement.

Your retirement allowance from both OCERS and the reciprocal system will be based on your higher final compensation, regardless of whether you earned that compensation as a member of OCERS or the reciprocal system.

Do I have to elect to establish reciprocity?

If you have funds on deposit in a reciprocal system after terminating from employment covered by such system, and you become an OCERS member within 180 days of termination, reciprocity will be automatically established upon reporting of the prior public service to OCERS.  When joining an OCERS-covered Employer, you will have the opportunity to “opt out” of Reciprocity when completing the Member Affidavit form with your Employer. 

How does establishing reciprocity benefit me?

Reciprocity may benefit you in several different ways. 

Reciprocal systems coordinate salary information so benefits are paid on the highest salary earned in either system.

Service years from both systems are combined for determining eligibility for retirement benefits as well as death benefits.

When contributions are based on age, your employee contributions to the second system will be based on the age you entered the first system.

I don’t know if my last job is reciprocal with OCERS. How do I find out?

First, check our list of reciprocal retirement systems below. If you do not know which retirement system is associated with your last job, contact OCERS with the name of your previous employer (public agency or district, city or town, county, school district, etc.), and we can determine the corresponding retirement system. If the system is reciprocal, we will contact that system for information to determine your eligibility for reciprocity.

Alameda County Employees Retirement Association 
Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association 
Federated City Employees Retirement System
Fresno County Employees Retirement Association 
Imperial County Employees Retirement System 
Judicial Retirement System 
Kern County Employees Retirement Association 
Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System 
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association 
Marin County Employees Retirement Association 
Mendocino County Employees Retirement Association 
Merced County Employees Retirement Association 
Metropolitan Trans Authority 
Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)
Sacramento County Employees Retirement Association 
San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association 
San Clemente City 
San Diego City Retirement System
San Diego County Employees Retirement Association 
San Francisco County Retirement System 
San Joaquin County Employees Retirement Association 
San Luis Obispo Trust 
San Mateo County Employees Retirement Association 
Santa Barbara County Employees Retirement System 
Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association 
Stanislaus County Employees Retirement Association 
State Teachers Retirement System
Tulare County Employees Retirement Association 
Ventura County Employees Retirement Association

To qualify for reciprocity, what is the time limit for moving from one reciprocal retirement system to another?

To qualify for reciprocity, your date of hire with the second system must be within six months following the termination of your employment with the first system. Your employment at one public agency must terminate before employment at the next public agency begins. Overlapping service, even service due to vacation or sick time, may cause disqualification for reciprocity.​