Benefits Administration Manual

PST Retirement Program (Part-Time, Seasonal, and Temporary)

1023. Mandatory Coverage

Employees in the PST Program are not covered by Social Security. Moreover, they are presently excluded from a pension through the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) based upon their length of employment or time base.

• There are no employer contributions or matching of funds.
• Participation in the PST Program does not limit employee contributions to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

Typically, the following employees will be covered:

• Part-time employees, who work less than one half-time
• Seasonal employees (except for individuals employed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), who are required to be members of CalPERS
• Temporary and permanent-intermittent employees, including members of boards and commissions, who work less than six months or 125 days, if employed on a daily basis, or less than 1,000 hours in a given fiscal year (July 1 through June 30), if employed on an hourly basis. (Members of boards and commissions are compensated for meeting attendance and services rendered.)
• Half-time California State University (CSU) employees, who have less than one academic year of credited service.

Note: Student Assistants, hired through the Hornet Foundation and other CSU Foundations, are not enrolled in the PST Program.

Employees Who Are Excluded from Mandatory Participation

Some PST employees do not participate in the PST program. The following employees are NOT eligible to participate in the program:

• Full-time students regularly attending classes in the institutions in which they are working.
• Employees hired temporarily to handle disaster emergencies such as fires, floods, storms, earthquakes, etc.
• Election officials and election workers paid less than $100 in a calendar year.
• Persons hired through programs to relieve unemployment such as summer youth programs.
• Persons who have retired from the State or other public employment which was covered by CalPERS.
• Authorized, non-resident aliens with F or J visas or M teaching visas.
• Individuals paid for services performed in a hospital, home or other institution in which they are housed.
• Persons who have CalPERS coverage through concurrent public agency employment.
• Employees who are employed in multiple positions with the State and/or CSU system; one position must be covered by Social Security, CalPERS, Judges' Retirement System (JRS), or the Legislators' Retirement System (LRS).
• "Casual" employees who are provided health and welfare benefits. Typically these individuals are employed between 60 and 90 days in a calendar year.
• CSU employees who are required to participate in an alternative qualified retirement plan for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
• Self-employed individuals who render services to the state and make Social Security payments on wages earned from their state contract. To request this exemption, they must submit a Letter of Intent to their personnel office indicating they will pay Social Security taxes on their earnings along with a copy of their Self-Employment Tax Form from the previous year.

Updated April 6, 2010 at 11:27 AM.