Part V.
Texas County and District Retirement System
Chapter 101.
Practice and Procedure Regarding Claims
34 TAC §101.6
The Texas County and District Retirement System proposes
an amendment to §101.6, concerning the Time for Filing of Retirement
Applications. The proposed amendment will implement and administer changes
made by §§26, 34, and 35, Senate Bill 1129, 76th Legislature (1999),
which provide that applications for retirement may now be filed with the system
on or before the date designated by the member as the member's effective retirement
date, and that a member is no longer precluded from retiring with less than
one year of membership in those instances in which the member is otherwise
eligible and whose most recent credited service is with a subdivision that
has been participating in the system for more than one year. The proposed
amendment clarifies that although the system will recognize an application
for retirement that is filed on or before the effective retirement date designated
on the application as having been timely filed with respect to the designated
retirement date, this does not impose an affirmative duty on a subdivision
to modify its current administrative practices and procedures with respect
to processing retirement applications of its members for filing with the system.
Terry Horton, Director of the Texas County and District Retirement System,
has determined that for the first five-year period the rule is in effect there
will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of
enforcing or administering the rule.
Mr. Horton has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the rule is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of administering
the rule will be more flexibility allowed to a member when planning and electing
an effective retirement date. There will be no costs to small businesses.
There are no anticipated economic costs to persons who are required to comply
with the rule as proposed.
Comments on the proposed new rule may be submitted to Terry Horton, Director,
Texas County and District Retirement System, P.O. Box 2034, Austin, TX 78768-2034.
The rule is proposed under the Government Code, §845.102,
which provides the board of trustee of the Texas County and District Retirement
System with the authority to adopt rules necessary or desirable for efficient
administration of the system.
The Government Code, §§844.003, 844.101, 844.301 and 844.302
are affected by this proposed rule.
§101.6. Time for Filing of Retirement Applications.
(a)
All applications for retirement,
whether for service or for disability, must be filed on or before the date
specified by the member as the effective date of the member's retirement.
(b)
The date specified as the
effective date for retirement must be the last day of a calendar month and
may not precede the first anniversary of the earlier of the effective date
of the person's membership in the retirement system or the effective date
of participation of the subdivision from which the member had most recently
earned credited service.
(c)
The date specified as the
effective date of retirement may not be a date preceding the termination of
the member's employment with all participating subdivisions except as permitted
by §844.003(d) of the Act.
(d)
Although the system will recognize a retirement
application filed on or before the effective retirement date designated on
the application as having been timely filed with respect to that designated
retirement date, this section shall not be construed to require a subdivision
to process, by the end of the month, a retirement application submitted to
it at any time during the month. A subdivision may establish reasonable administrative
rules and procedures, including submission schedules, for the monthly processing
of retirement applications for filing with the system.
[
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State, on
August 2, 1999.
TRD-9904719
Terry Horton
Director
Texas County and District Retirement System
Proposed date of adoption: September 16, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 328-8889
34 TAC §103.3
The Texas County and District Retirement System proposes
an amendment to §103.3, concerning the Beneficiary Designations and Payment
Elections Requiring Spousal Consent. The proposed amendment requires that
the member now certify to the member's current marital status on any document
filed with the system on which the member makes a beneficiary designation
or benefit payment election, and allows the system and employees of the system
to rely upon the member's certification when making payment of benefits in
accordance with the certification without liability to any other person even
if the certification was untrue on its date of execution. The amendment also
modifies the spousal consent rules to now require spousal consent whenever
the member files a document with the system on which the member designates
a person other than the member's spouse as primary beneficiary, and whenever
a member who is eligible to apply for and receive a retirement annuity applies
for a refund. The amendment eliminates the requirement of spousal consent
if no service performed by the member as an employee of a participating subdivision
and credited in the system, was performed during the marriage of the member
and the spouse. The proposed amendment will also implement the change made
by §38, Senate Bill 1129, 76th Legislature (1999), which provides that
an unrevoked beneficiary designation in effect on December 31, 1999, continues
in effect.
Terry Horton, Director of the Texas County and District Retirement System,
has determined that for the first five-year period the rule is in effect there
will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of
enforcing or administering the rule.
Mr. Horton has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the rule is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of administering
the rule will be greater conformity with the property code in recognizing
the member's separate property interest in benefits earned before marriage;
and in recognizing the spouse's community property interest in the member's
benefit earned during marriage. There will be no costs to small businesses.
There are no anticipated economic costs to persons who are required to comply
with the rule as proposed.
Comments on the proposed new rule may be submitted to Terry Horton, Director,
Texas County and District Retirement System, P.O. Box 2034, Austin, TX 78768-2034.
The rule is proposed under the Government Code, §845.102,
which provides the board of trustee of the Texas County and District Retirement
System with the authority to adopt rules necessary or desirable for efficient
administration of the system.
The Government Code, §844.407 is affected by this proposed rule.
Beneficiary Designations and Payment
Elections Requiring
[
(a)
A member must certify to the current marital status
of the member on each document filed with the system after December 31, 1999,
on which the member designates a primary beneficiary or selects the form of
payment of a retirement benefit or survivor annuity, except for the designation
of a beneficiary to receive a supplemental death benefit.
[
(1)
A member who is currently married may
not designate a primary beneficiary other than the member's spouse, or select
a form of payment of a retirement benefit or a survivor annuity other than
as a qualified joint-and-survivor annuity, unless the member's spouse consents
to the designation or selection.
(2)
A member eligible to apply for and
receive a service retirement annuity who is currently married may not withdraw
from membership and receive a refund, unless the member's spouse consents
to the refund.
(3)
A member who is currently unmarried
may designate any beneficiary and select any form of payment of a retirement
benefit or a survivor annuity permitted under the Act.
(b)
The consent of a spouse required by subsection (a) of
this section must be in writing and either witnessed by an officer or employee
of the system or acknowledged by a notary public.
(c)
The consent required by subsection (a) of this section
is not required if it is established to the satisfaction of the system that:
(1)
there is no spouse;
(2)
the spouse cannot be located;
(3)
the spouse has been judicially declared incompetent
in which case the consent may be given by the guardian or other ad item;
(4)
a duly licensed physician has determined that the
spouse is not mentally capable of managing his or her own affairs and the
director is satisfied that a guardianship of the estate is not necessary;
(5)
the spouse and the member will have been married
for less than one year as of the date
the member files a valid application
for a refund of the member's accumulated deposits, or as of the effective
retirement date designated by the member on the member's valid application
for retirement
[
(6)
no service performed by the member as an employee
of a participating subdivision and credited in the system was performed during
the marriage of the member and the spouse
[
(d)
For the purposes of this section, the term "
qualified
joint-and survivor annuity [
(e)
An unrevoked beneficiary designation
on file with the system as of December 31, 1999, or filed thereafter in accordance
with this section remains valid until revoked by the member, or, if the member's
spouse is a designated beneficiary, until the member and the spouse become
divorced.
(f)
The system and employees of
the system may rely upon the certification of the member filed under this
section, and are not liable to any person for making payments of any benefits
in accordance with the certification even though the certification is later
shown to have been untrue on the date of execution.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State, on
August 2, 1999.
TRD-9904720
Terry Horton
Director
Texas County and District Retirement System
Proposed date of adoption: September 16, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 328-8889
§103.3.34 TAC §103.9
The Texas County and District Retirement System proposes
new §103.9 to administer the Partial Lump—Sum Distribution on Service
Retirement option created by House Bill 2152, 76th Legislature (1999), which
allows an eligible member of an adopting subdivision to elect to receive a
portion of the member's retirement benefit in the form of a lump sum distribution
on service retirement. New §103.9 establishes rules and procedures relating
to the time and manner in which an eligible member may elect to receive a
portion of the member's service retirement benefit in the form of a single
payment; the manner in which the partial lump sum distribution may be paid;
the manner in which the partial lump sum distribution and any related cost
basis will be allocated; and the treatment of the partial lump sum distribution
for purposes of calculating the amount and taxation of the member's retirement
benefit.
Terry Horton, Director of the Texas County and District Retirement System,
has determined that for the first five-year period the rule is in effect there
will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of
administering the rule.
Mr. Horton has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the rule is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of administering
the rule will be an expansion in the retirement benefit payment options allowing
an eligible member greater personal financial planning opportunities. There
will be no costs to small businesses. There are no anticipated economic costs
to persons who are required to comply with the rule as proposed.
Comments on the proposed new rule may be submitted to Terry Horton, Director,
Texas County and District Retirement System, P.O. Box 2034, Austin, TX 78768-2034.
The rule is proposed under the Government Code, §845.102,
which provides the board of trustee of the Texas County and District Retirement
System with the authority to adopt rules necessary or desirable for efficient
administration of the system.
The Government Code, §844.009 is affected by this proposed rule.
§103.9. Partial Lump-Sum Distribution on Service Retirement.
(a)
The following words and terms, when used in this section
shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
Act - Subtitle F, Title 8, Government Code as amended.
(2)
Subdivision - A subdivision participating in the
retirement system that is subject to the provisions of §844.009 of the
Act, authorizing a member to elect to receive a portion of the member's retirement
benefit in the form of a single payment.
(3)
Basic annuity - An annuity payable from the Current
Service Annuity Reserve Fund and actuarially determined from the sum of the
member's individual account balance and current service credit accumulated
at interest, as provided under the Act. A retired member receives a separate
basic annuity for credited service with each subdivision.
(4)
Eligible rollover distribution - The portion of the
partial lump sum distribution that is eligible to be rolled over to a qualified
plan in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. In general, the portion
of a partial lump sum distribution that would be includible in the gross income
of the member or alternate payee is an eligible rollover distribution.
(5)
Individual account - The account maintained by the
retirement system in the name of a member reflecting monetary credit and which
consists of the contributions deducted from the compensation the member received
from the subdivision, the deposits the member made to the account, and interest
credited to the account, as provided under the Act. A member has a separate
individual account with respect to each subdivision with which the member
has credited service.
(6)
Member - A member of the retirement system who is
eligible to apply for and receive a service retirement annuity based on service
credited with a subdivision subject to §844.009 of the Act.
(7)
Retirement account - The reserves on which the member's
retirement benefit is determined and which consists of the sum of the member's
individual account balance, current service credit accumulated at interest,
prior service credit accumulated at interest, and multiple matching credit
accumulated at interest, as provided in the Act. A retired member has a separate
retirement account with respect to each subdivision with which the member
has credited service.
(8)
Partial Lump Sum Distribution - The portion of the
member's retirement benefit elected by the member to be paid to the member
or to the alternate payee in the form of a single payment at the time of service
retirement of the member. A partial lump sum distribution may not exceed 100
percent of the balances of the member's individual accounts with all subdivisions
from which the member will retire.
(b)
To be eligible to receive a partial lump sum distribution
on service retirement, a member must file:
(1)
an application for service retirement in accordance with
the provisions of the Act; and
(2)
an application for a partial lump sum distribution
on or after the date the member files an application for service retirement
and before the date the first annuity payment becomes due.
(c)
An application for a partial lump sum distribution is
a document subject to the certification and spousal consent requirements of
§103.3 of this title (relating to Beneficiary Designations and Payment
Elections Requiring Spousal Consent).
(d)
A member may revoke an application for a partial lump
sum distribution or reduce the amount of the partial lump sum distribution
at any time before the date the first annuity payment becomes due by filing
written notice of the revocation or reduction with the system. The amount
of a partial lump sum distribution may not be increased except by the timely
filing of a new application.
(e)
The portion of the partial lump sum distribution that
is an eligible rollover distribution is a non-periodic distribution for income
tax withholding purposes. A member or alternate payee receiving a partial
lump sum distribution may elect to have the portion of the partial lump sum
distribution that is an eligible rollover distribution transferred directly
to a qualified plan, in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code.
(f)
A member, or an alternate payee, receiving a partial lump
sum distribution under this section may make, change, modify or revoke a rollover
election, provided all checks issued by the system relating to the partial
lump sum distribution paid to the member, or to the alternate payee, are returned
and received by the system within 30 days of the date on which the retirement
system mailed the check or checks.
(g)
The sum available to provide the member's basic annuity
shall be reduced by the amount of the partial lump sum distribution.
(h)
When a member who has retirement accounts with two or
more subdivisions applies for a partial lump sum distribution, the reduction
in the amounts of annuity payments the member will receive in the future as
a result of electing a partial lump sum distribution shall be allocated proportionally
among the several basic annuities the member will receive from such retirement
accounts. The sum available to provide the basic annuity shall be reduced
by the amount derived from dividing the member's individual account balance
by the total of the member's combined individual account balances with all
subdivisions, and multiplying that fraction by the amount of the partial lump
sum distribution. A member may not designate the allocation of the partial
lump sum distribution among retirement accounts.
(i)
The member's cost basis in a retirement account will be
allocated proportionally between the allocated amount of the partial lump
sum distribution and the remaining reserves available to provide the member
with a service retirement annuity.
(j)
The amount of the partial lump sum distribution allocated
to a retirement account is considered to be an annuity payment for purposes
of determining whether the amount in the member's individual account at retirement
exceeds the total amount of annuity payments made from the retirement account.
(k)
No portion of the benefit awarded to an alternate payee
under a qualified domestic relations order may be distributed in the form
of a partial lump sum distribution under this section, except that a member
and the alternate payee may agree in writing that instead of the benefits
awarded to the alternate payee under the qualified domestic relations order
the alternate payee should receive all or a portion of the partial lump sum
distribution elected by the member under this section.
(l)
An alternate payee may not receive both a partial lump
sum distribution under this section and a retirement annuity under a qualified
domestic relations order. The direct payment by the system to an alternate
payee of a partial lump sum distribution elected by the member under this
section and in accordance with the written agreement between the member and
the alternate payee is full payment and in complete satisfaction of the alternate
payee's marital property rights and interest in the member's benefit. The
direct payment to the alternate payee of a partial lump sum distribution under
this section is a non-periodic payment made directly to a former spouse for
purposes of taxation, withholding requirements and rollover eligibility under
the Internal Revenue Code.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State, on
August 2, 1999.
TRD-9904738
Terry Horton
Director
Texas County and District Retirement System
Proposed date of adoption: September 16, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 328-8889
34 TAC §105.3
(Editor's note: The text of the following section proposed for
repeal will not be published. The section may be examined in the offices of
the Texas County and District Retirement System or in the Texas Register office,
Room 245, James Earl Rudder Building, 1019 Brazos Street, Austin.)
The Texas County and District Retirement System
proposes the repeal of §105.3, concerning the Definition of Periods of “Organized
Conflict or Crisis”. The proposed repeal is necessary because of the
change made by §19, Senate Bill 1129, 76th Legislature (1999), which
eliminated the requirement that only that military service performed during
periods of organized conflict or crisis could be used to establish credit
in the retirement system for military service. The change allows any military
service performed under honorable conditions to be used in the calculation
of current service credit for military service.
Terry Horton, Director of the Texas County and District Retirement System,
has determined that for the first five-year period the repeal of the rule
is in effect there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government
as a result of repealing the rule.
Mr. Horton has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the repeal of the rule is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result
will be a greater recognition of the contribution made by members who served
in the military, and the more equitable application of the benefit. There
will be no costs to small businesses. There are no anticipated economic costs
to persons who are required to comply with the repeal of the rule as proposed.
Comments on the proposed new rule may be submitted to Terry Horton, Director,
Texas County and District Retirement System, P.O. Box 2034, Austin, TX 78768-2034.
The repeal of the rule is proposed under the Government Code,
§845.102, which provides the board of trustee of the Texas County and
District Retirement System with the authority to adopt rules necessary or
desirable for efficient administration of the system.
The Government Code, §843.601 is affected by this proposed repeal.
§105.3. Definition of Periods of "Organized Conflict or Crisis".
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been
reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State, on
August 2, 1999.
TRD-9904721
Terry Horton
Director
Texas County and District Retirement System
Proposed date of adoption: September 16, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 328-8889
All applications
for retirement, whether for service or for disability, must be filed not less
than 15 days prior to the date specified by the member as the effective date
of his or her retirement; the date specified as the effective date for retirement
must be the last day of a calendar month, may not be earlier than one year
after the effective date of membership, and may not be a date preceding the
termination of the member's employment with all participating subdivisions.
]
Chapter 103.
Calculations or Types of Benefits
Requirement of
] Spousal Consent.
The
selection by any member of the system on any form filed with the system of
a retirement annuity in the form of an annuity other than a joint-and-survivor
annuity that pays benefits to the member's spouse on the death of the member
is not effective unless the member's spouse consents to the selection.
]
annuity first becomes payable
]; or
a former spouse is entitled
to receive a portion of the member's retirement benefit under a qualified
domestic relations order
].
that pays benefits to the member's
spouse on the death of the member
]" means, a retirement annuity for
the life of the member with a survivor annuity for the life of the spouse
which is not less than 50% of the amount of the annuity which is payable during
the joint lives of the member and spouse
, or, if the member dies before
retirement, a survivor annuity for the life of the spouse which is not less
than the amount of an annuity described by §103.2(a)(1) of this title
(relating to Additional Optional Benefits) computed as if the member had retired
on the last day of the month preceding the member's death
.
Chapter 105.
Creditable Service
Chapter 107.
Miscellaneous Rules