34 TAC §41.10
The Board of Trustees ("Board") of the Teacher Retirement
System of Texas ("TRS") proposes amendments to §41.10, relating to eligibility
to enroll in the health benefits program (TRS-Care) under the Texas Public
School Retired Employees Group Benefits Act. The amendments are proposed to
correct a clerical error in the omission of paragraphs (1) through (6) under
subsection (b) of §41.10 from the
Texas Administrative
Code
. The omitted paragraphs specify the types of service credit that
service retirees who retired before September 1, 2004 can use to qualify for
enrollment eligibility in TRS-Care.
The proposed amendments restoring the omitted paragraphs are not substantive.
In December 2005, the Board adopted substantive amendments to §41.10
that became effective February 9, 2006. These adopted amendments did not involve
subsection (b) of §41.10 or any of the paragraphs under that subsection.
As published in the
Texas Administrative Code
,
however, paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (b) of §41.10 were
inadvertently omitted.
Tony C. Galaviz, TRS Chief Financial Officer, estimates that, for each
year of the first five years that proposed amendments to §41.10 will
be in effect, there will be no foreseeable implications relating to cost or
revenues of the state or local governments as a result of enforcing or administering
the amended rule.
For each year of the first five years that the proposed amendments will
be in effect, Mr. Galaviz has determined that the public benefit will be to
correct the official text of §41.10 as it appears in the
Texas Administrative Code
. There will be no economic costs to persons
required to comply with the amended rule as proposed. There will be no effect
on a local economy because of the proposal, and therefore no local employment
impact statement is required under §2001.022, Government Code. Further,
there will be no adverse economic effect on small businesses or micro-businesses
as a result of enforcing the proposed amended rule.
Comments may be submitted in writing to Ronnie Jung, Executive Director,
1000 Red River Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2698. To be considered, written
comments must be received by TRS no later than April 28, 2006.
Cross-reference to Statute: Chapter 1575, Insurance Code, which
provides for the establishment and administration of the retirees' health
benefits program (TRS-Care) and §38 of SB 1691, which amends §1575.004,
Insurance Code, relating to the definition of a retiree.
Statutory Authority: §1575.052, Insurance Code, which authorizes the
Board to adopt rules it considers necessary to implement and administer the
TRS-Care program.
§41.10.Eligibility to Enroll in the Health Benefits Program Under the Texas Public School Retired Employees Group Benefits Act.
(a)
If they meet the applicable requirements set out in this
section, the following persons are eligible to enroll in the health benefits
program under the Texas Public School Retired Employees Group Benefits Act
(TRS-Care):
(1)
service retirees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
(TRS) who are not eligible to enroll as an employee or retiree in a plan provided
under the Texas Employees Group Benefits Act (Insurance Code, Chapter 1551),
or under the State University Employees Uniform Insurance Benefits Act (Insurance
Code, Chapter 1601);
(2)
disability retirees of TRS who are not eligible to enroll
as an employee or retiree in a plan provided under the Texas Employees Group
Benefits Act (Insurance Code, Chapter 1551) or under the State University
Employees Uniform Insurance Benefits Act (Insurance Code, Chapter 1601);
(3)
surviving spouses of deceased service or disability retirees
of TRS or of certain deceased active TRS members; and
(4)
surviving dependent children of deceased service or disability
retirees of TRS or of certain deceased active TRS members.
(b)
To be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care under this section,
a service retiree of TRS who retires before September 1, 2004 must have 10
years of service credit for actual service in the public schools of Texas,
which can include only the following types of service credit:
(1)
service credit for actual service
in Texas public schools;
(2)
service credit transferred
to TRS from the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS);
(3)
withdrawn service credit that
the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's account;
(4)
service credit for unreported
service that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account;
(5)
service credit for substitute
service that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account; and
(6)
up to five years of out-of-state
service credit that the member has purchased and that has been credited to
the member's account.
(c)
To be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care under this section,
a service retiree of TRS who retires after September 1, 2005 must meet the
following requirements:
(1)
at the time of retirement, a member has at least 10 years
of service credit in the system, which can include only the following types
of service credit:
(A)
service credit for actual service in Texas public schools;
(B)
service credit transferred to TRS from ERS;
(C)
withdrawn service credit that the member has purchased
and that has been credited to the member's account;
(D)
service credit for unreported service that the member has
purchased and that has been credited to the member's account;
(E)
service credit for substitute service that the member has
purchased and that has been credited to the member's account;
(F)
up to five years of military service credit or re-employed
veteran's (USERRA) service credit that the member has purchased and that has
been credited to the member's account; and
(2)
at the time of retirement, a member either:
(A)
meets the Rule of 80, which is determined by having the
sum of the individual's age and the amount of service credit in the retirement
system, including all service credit purchased for equivalent or special service
credit, equal or exceed 80 , regardless of whether the member had a reduction
in the retirement annuity for early age retirement; or
(B)
has 30 or more years of service credit in the retirement
system, including all service credit purchased for equivalent or special service
credit.
(d)
To be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care under this section,
a service retiree of TRS who retires after September 1, 2004, but on or before
August 31, 2005, must meet, on September 1, 2005, either of the following
requirements:
(1)
the 10-year service credit requirement of subsection (b)
of this section; or
(2)
the 10-year service credit requirement of subsection (c)(1)
of this section and one of the requirements of subsection (c)(2) of this section.
(e)
Any service retiree of TRS who is enrolled in TRS-Care
on August 31, 2005, maintains eligibility for TRS-Care on or after September
1, 2005, unless and until an applicable rule or law prohibits continued enrollment
in TRS-Care.
(f)
For purposes of this section, "public school" is an educational
institution or organization in this state that is entitled by law to be supported
in whole or in part by state, county, school district, or other municipal
corporation funds.
(g)
A disability retiree with less than 10 years of service
credit will not be eligible for coverage under TRS-Care when disability retirement
benefits terminate.
(h)
A surviving spouse of a deceased TRS service or disability
retiree is eligible to enroll in TRS-Care if the deceased TRS service or disability
retiree was enrolled, eligible to enroll, or would have been eligible to enroll
in TRS-Care at the time of the retiree's death.
(i)
A surviving spouse of a deceased active TRS member is eligible
to enroll in TRS-Care if the deceased active member:
(1)
died on or after September 1, 1986;
(2)
had 10 or more years of actual service credit in TRS; and
(3)
made contributions to TRS-Care at the member's last place
of employment in public education in Texas.
(j)
A surviving dependent child of a deceased TRS retiree or
deceased active TRS member is eligible to enroll in TRS-Care if the deceased
retiree met the conditions of subsection (h) of this section or the deceased
active member met the conditions of subsection (i) of this section. A surviving
dependent child must also meet the following conditions:
(1)
the child must be a natural or adopted child of the deceased
retiree or member or must be a foster child, stepchild, or other child who
lived in a parent-child relationship with the retiree or member; and
(2)
the child must be unmarried and under age 25 or must be
age 25 or older but still unmarried and fully disabled to such an extent as
to have been dependent upon the deceased retiree or active member for support
at the time of the retiree's or active member's death, as determined by TRS
as trustee and as described by Insurance Code, §1575.003.
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 March 23, 2006.
TRD-200601788
Ronnie G. Jung
Executive Director
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Earliest possible date of adoption: May 7, 2006
For further information, please call: (512) 542-6438