Section 1: General FAQ's from the Secretary of State's Office
Contains questions and answers taken from the
California
Secretary of State's Web site. They are included here for your convenience. Questions
specific to CalSTRS members are answered in Section 2.
Section 2: FAQs Related to CalSTRS
The following questions apply to members of the Defined Benefit
Program and the Cash Balance Benefit Program, unless otherwise
noted:
The following questions apply only to Defined
Benefit members:
If you and your partner are of the same sex, or if you and
your partner are opposite sexes and one partner is at least
62 years old, then you may be eligible to register a domestic
partnership with the Secretary of State. You may register
by completing an application, having both partners' signatures
notarized, and submitting it to the Secretary of State's office
with the appropriate fee. The application is available at
the Secretary of State’s office or download the form
here.
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The eligibility criteria for registration was set by the
California State Legislature and signed by the Governor in
1999. During the legislative process, eligibility of opposite
sex couples was limited to senior citizens. The Secretary
of State has no authority to change the criteria set by the
legislature.
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No. You don't have to re-register. The new rights and responsibilities
automatically apply to you. Since notices of changes in the
law are mailed by the Secretary of State's office, please
keep your address current. You may notify the Secretary of
State’s Office of your change
of address online.
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"Basic living expenses" means housing, utilities
(for example, gas, water, and electricity), and the costs
of maintaining your shared home. It also includes any other
costs, such as medical care, if some or all of the cost is
paid as a benefit because a person is another person's domestic
partner (see CA
Family Code Section 297(d)).
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No. You must be registered with California's statewide registry
in order to be eligible for the rights and responsibilities
of domestic partnerships under California law. Registration
forms online are available here.
After completing the form online, print, sign and have both
partners' signatures notarized. You may hand carry the form
and filing fee to any of the Secretary of State's offices,
which are located in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
San Diego, or Fresno, or mail it to the Sacramento office
with the appropriate filing fee.
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Upon termination of a domestic partnership, at least one
former partner must complete a Notice of Termination
of Domestic Partnership form and send it to the California
Secretary of State by certified mail and to the last known
address of the other partner. In addition, if you used your
Declaration of Domestic Partnership to get benefits from a
third party, you must notify that party that the domestic
partnership has been terminated within 60 days of the termination
(see CA
Family Code Section 299).
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Yes. The domestic partnership is not considered terminated
until a Notice
of Termination of Domestic Partnership is filed with the
California Secretary of State (see CA
Family Code Section 299). Without the filing of the Notice
of Termination of Domestic Partnership, you and your partner
continue to have legal responsibilities and rights as domestic
partners. You also cannot file a new Declaration
of Domestic Partnership until at least six months after
the date that a Notice
of Termination of Domestic Partnership was filed with
the Secretary of State.
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Yes. The domestic partnership is not considered
terminated until a Notice
of Termination of Domestic Partnership is filed with
California’s Secretary of State.
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Click here
to view the text of Assembly Bill 205.
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You may inform CalSTRS that you are registered
as a domestic partner. To provide proof, send us a clear,
unaltered copy of your Declaration
of Domestic Partnership showing the stamp and file
number from the Secretary of State’s office. If
you do not notify us of your partnership before you die,
your partner may be eligible for benefits, but would first
have to provide proof that you were registered domestic
partners prior to the occurrence of the injury or diagnosis
of the illness that resulted in your death. This may cause
a delay in paying benefits to your survivors.
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It may extend survivor benefits to your
registered domestic partner. If a Defined Benefit member
is approved for a disability benefit and the benefit
effective date is on or after January 1, 2005, the member
may be eligible for an additional 10 percent of final
compensation for each financially dependent eligible
child of a registered domestic partner. (Survivor and
disability benefits for domestic partners do not apply
to Cash Balance participants because there are no spousal
benefits in that program.) You can Contact
Us at www.calstrs.com or call us at 800-228-5453
to find out if you are eligible.
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Termination: Your former registered domestic
partner may no longer be entitled to CalSTRS benefits.
For specific information regarding your situation, please
contact us at 800-228-5453. You can also Contact
Us at www.calstrs.com.
Dissolution: If you dissolve your registered
domestic partnership, your retirement benefits will
be distributed according to the court dissolution order.
You must provide us with a clear, endorsed copy of the
court order.
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It depends on your individual situation.
Please contact us at 800-228-5453. You can also Contact
Us at www.calstrs.com.
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You must file a Notice
of Termination of Domestic Partnership form with
the California Secretary of State. After you file this
form, the Secretary of State will return a “filed
copy” to you with a file number and stamp from
the Secretary of State.
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To be eligible for CalSTRS benefits under
the new law, you must be registered as a domestic partner
with the state of California. If you are registered
in any other state, except Vermont, which has substantially
equivalent civil union laws, you’ll still need
to register with the California Secretary of State’s
office. We cannot recognize partnerships from other
states unless you have documents proving the state where
you registered has civil union laws substantially equivalent
to California’s registered domestic partner law.
However, even if you registered in Vermont or a state
that you can prove has equivalent laws, you may still
want to register in California to prevent any question
of your partnership’s legal status in California.
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You must ensure that your registered domestic
partner signs any forms that currently require a spouse’s
signature as of January 1, 2005.
It is also your responsibility to review
your one-time death benefit recipient designation (formerly
referred to as the Beneficiary Designation form). If
someone other than your registered domestic partner
is named as your recipient, you must complete a new
One-Time
Death Benefit Recipient form if you wish to name
your partner as your recipient. You may name someone
other than your registered domestic partner, but your
partner must sign the form, acknowledging your decision.
If you are a Cash Balance participant and someone other
than your registered domestic partner is named as your
beneficiary, you must complete a new Cash
Balance Beneficiary Designation form if you wish
to name your partner as your beneficiary. You may name
someone other than your registered domestic partner,
but your partner must sign the form, acknowledging your
decision.
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Assembly Bill 205 imposes important financial
and legal responsibilities on domestic partners. If
you are not yet registered, you and your partner may
wish to get advice from an attorney or a financial planner
before taking on this responsibility.
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The federal government does not currently
recognize California’s registered domestic partner
law. As such, some pension benefits given to a spouse
under federal law may not apply to registered domestic
partners.
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Yes, although notices of changes in the
law related to registered domestic partners are mailed
by the California Secretary of State’s office,
anytime you change your address you should notify CalSTRS
to keep your address current in our records. You may
change your address by registering at myCalSTRS.
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Registering as a domestic partner does
not affect your selection of an option, except that
if you do not name your domestic partner, you will still
have to obtain your partner’s signature to indicate
your registered domestic partner’s acknowledgement
that you named someone else.
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You may add, change or cancel your option only
if you marry, register as a domestic partner, divorce, dissolve
or terminate a registered domestic partnership after you retire,
and under limited circumstances. These limited circumstances,
which are described for spouses in the current CalSTRS Member
Handbook, also apply to registered domestic partners.
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The survivor benefits your registered domestic
partner may be entitled to depend on whether you have Coverage
A or Coverage B. You can see a description of these plans
in the Member
Handbook. The spousal benefits described in the handbook
would also apply to your registered domestic partner. Refer
to your Annual Statement of Account to find out which type
of coverage you have.
Your registered domestic partner may
also be entitled to an ongoing monthly benefit if you
are eligible to retire and submitted a Pre-Retirement
Election of an Option form naming your partner as your
option beneficiary. However, if you cancel or change
your option election prior to retirement your monthly
retirement benefit may be reduced for life.
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If your registered domestic partner is named
as your one-time death benefit recipient, your partner may
be entitled to the same death benefits described in the Member
Handbook.
Your registered domestic partner may
also be entitled to an ongoing monthly payment if you
elected an option at retirement and named your partner
as your option beneficiary. The amount of the payment
depends on the option you chose.
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Wherever a spouse’s signature is
currently required on a CalSTRS form, a registered domestic
partner’s signature will also be required as of
January 1, 2005.
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You do not have to be registered to name
your domestic partner as your option beneficiary or
your one-time death benefit recipient. However, only
a registered domestic partner may be entitled to receive
survivor benefits that are currently extended to a spouse.
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