Part 6.
TEXAS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM
Chapter 121.
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE REGARDING CLAIMS
The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) adopts in its entirety
the repeal of Chapter 121 (Practice and Procedures Regarding Claims), §§121.1-121.26
and new Chapter 121 (Practice and Procedures Regarding Claims), §§121.1-121.28.
Sections 121.1, 121.5, 121.7, 121.13, 121.22, 121.25, 121.27, and 121.28 are
adopted with changes to the proposed text as published in the November 10,
2000, issue of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg
11242). Sections 121.2-121.4, 121.6, 121.8-121.12, 121.14-121.21, 121.23,
121.24, and 121.26 are adopted without changes and will not be republished.
The repeal and re-adoption are necessary to conform the Rules to changes
in law and practice that have occurred since their original adoption and to
create uniform language throughout the TMRS Rules, remove gender-specific
references, preserve numbering, and remove outdated references.
No comments were received regarding the proposal.
34 TAC §§121.1-121.26
The repeal of this chapter is adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100020
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§121.1-121.28
The new sections are adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
§121.1.Definitions.
As used in rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees of
Texas Municipal Retirement System:
(1)
the term "Act" means Subtitle G, Title 8, Government; and
(2)
all other words, terms, and phrases as used in such rules
and regulations shall have the meaning defined in the Act, unless the context
plainly indicates a different meaning.
§121.5.Applications for Benefits or Asserting Other Claims.
(a)
General. Any person who asserts any claim to any right
or benefit under the Act shall file written application with the director
of the system at the office of the system in Austin.
(b)
Form, content, and signature of applications.
(1)
Official forms for applications for certain benefits. Official
forms for use in applying for service retirement benefits, for disability
retirement benefits, and for refund of accumulated contributions on terminations
prior to retirement are available at and may be obtained without charge from
the office of the director of the system, in Austin, upon written request;
normally, such forms are also available at, and can be obtained from, the
director of personnel of the participating city by which the member is or
was employed, or (if no such office is maintained) from the officer in charge
of payrolls for such city. All applications which are the subject of any official
form shall contain the information, statements, and supporting documents designated
in that official form, and shall conform substantially to that official form.
(2)
Contents of applications having no official form. All applications
for which no official form is prescribed shall be typewritten or printed on
white paper, 8-1/2 inches wide by 11 inches long, and shall contain:
(A)
The name, the Social Security number, and address of the
party asserting the right or claim;
(B)
A concise statement of the facts relied on as giving rise
to the right or claim asserted; and
(C)
A prayer stating the type of relief, action, or order desired
by the applicant.
(3)
Applications required to be signed. All applications for
retirement or for retirement benefits must be personally signed in ink by
the member seeking retirement, unless there is a legal guardian of the member,
in which event the application must be signed by the guardian. The original
of all other applications shall be signed by the applicant or by the applicant's
authorized representative. The director may require satisfactory proof of
the authority of a representative to act for the member.
§121.7.Supporting Documents To Be Submitted.
The director is authorized to require submission of documents reasonably
related to establishment of a claimed right to benefits. These documents include
but are not limited to birth certificates; marriage licenses; divorce decrees;
letters of guardianship; letters testamentary or letters of administration;
death certificates; relevant court orders; sworn statements of witnesses and
attending physicians; autopsy reports; and sworn statements of the claimant
or of others having personal knowledge of relevant facts. Except upon good
cause being shown, failure to submit all required documents within four months
of the date specified by the member as his or her effective retirement date
will invalidate the application for retirement (service or disability) for
all purposes. Thereafter, a new application must be submitted and a new retirement
date chosen in accordance with §121.6 of this title (relating to Time
for Filing of Retirement Applications).
§121.13.Notice of Prehearing Disposition.
(a)
If an application for benefits is approved in whole or
in part without hearing, the director, by letter of notification, shall inform
the applicant in writing of the action taken.
(b)
If the director determines that an application for benefits
cannot be approved, the director shall send a letter of notification, informing
the applicant that the claim is denied, in whole or in part, and stating the
reasons therefor.
§121.22.Motions for Rehearing.
A motion for rehearing is a prerequisite to judicial review. A motion
for rehearing must be filed with the director within 20 days after the date
of rendition of a final decision or order. Replies to a motion for rehearing
must be filed with the system within 25 days after the date of rendition of
the final decision or order, and system action on the motion must be taken
within 45 days after the date of rendition of the final decision or order.
If system action is not taken within the 45-day period, the motion for rehearing
is overruled by operation of law 45 days after the date of rendition of the
final decision or order. The director may by written order entered prior to
the expiration of the 45-day period extend the period of time for filing the
motions and replies and taking system action, except that an extension may
not extend the period for system action beyond 90 days after the date of rendition
of the final decision or order. In the event of an extension, the motion for
rehearing is overruled by operation of law on the date fixed by the order
or, in the absence of a fixed date, 90 days after the date of the final decision
or order. The parties may by agreement, with the approval of the director,
provide for a modification of the time provided in this section.
§121.25.Proceedings for Review, Suspension, or Revocation of Disability Benefit.
(a)
The director, either on the director's own motion, on recommendation
of the medical board, or upon sufficient written complaint, may order any
person (the "retiree") who is receiving a disability retirement benefit under §854.302
of the Act and who is less than 60 years of age:
(1)
to undergo a medical examination by one or more physicians
designated by the director, at such time and place as the director by letter
may order; or
(2)
to furnish answers, in writing under oath, to such questions
concerning the person's present and previous employment as may be propounded
by the director in writing.
(b)
If a disability retiree fails or refuses to submit to a
medical examination as ordered by the director, the director shall suspend
the retiree's annuity payments until the retiree submits to an examination.
The director at the time of suspension shall notify the retiree of this action.
If the retiree thereafter fails to make arrangements with the director, or
the director's designee, for a time for such a medical examination, or fails
to submit to such an examination, for a period of one year from the date of
initial failure to submit to such a medical examination, the director shall
order the annuity discontinued, and shall give notice of such actions to the
retiree by written letter of notification.
(c)
If the retiree submits to a medical examination, the report
of the examining physician(s) shall be submitted to the medical board; if
the medical board certifies that the retiree is no longer mentally or physically
incapacitated for the performance of duty, or is able to engage in a gainful
occupation, the director may order the disability annuity discontinued and
the director shall give written notice of such action to the retiree.
(d)
In the event the director finds that a disability retiree
is engaged in a gainful occupation, the director may order the disability
annuity discontinued, and in that event the director shall give written notice
to the retiree of the director's actions.
(e)
The director shall require each person who is receiving
an occupational disability benefit under §854.407 of the Act and who
is less than 60 years of age to file an annual report on such form as the
director prescribes concerning receipt by the retiree of income as described
in §854.409(b) of the Act, along with copies of such federal tax forms
as the director may designate. The director shall give notice of the requirements
to the person affected, and shall fix a date by which the information is to
be furnished.
(f)
In the event that a person subject to such an order fails
to furnish the required information within the period specified by the director,
the director shall suspend the benefit until such time as the required information
is furnished, and shall notify the person of the director's actions.
(g)
In the event the director determines that the person has
received income which together with the occupational disability benefit received
by the person, exceeds the amount allowable under §854.408 of the Act,
the director shall reduce subsequent monthly payments successively until the
amounts of the overpayments have been offset. The director shall give written
notice of such action to the person affected, along with the reasons therefor.
(h)
If the person affected by the director's action in discontinuing
a disability retirement benefit in whole or in part desires to contest the
same, the person may obtain a hearing of the issue as a "contested case" pursuant
to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 2001, Government Code) and these
rules, by filing with the director a written "request for hearing of discontinuance
of benefit" within 60 days after the date of the director's letter of notification
of discontinuance. If the request for a contested case hearing is timely filed,
the contested case shall be docketed, heard, and disposed of in accordance
with §§121.12-121.24 of this title (relating to Contest of Application:
Form and Content; Notice of Prehearing Disposition; Procedure for Obtaining
Hearing of Claim Denied in Whole or in Part by Director; Hearing of Conflicting
and Protested Claims; Conduct of Contested Case Hearings; Proposal for Decision;
Filing of Exceptions to Proposal, Briefs, and Replies; Board Consideration
and Action; Final Decisions and Orders; When Decisions Become Final; Motions
for Rehearing; Rendering of Final Decision or Order; The Record). If no request
for contested case hearing is filed within the 60 day period provided in this
paragraph, the action of the director in discontinuing a disability benefit
shall be final and unappealable.
§121.27.Subpoenas.
(a)
The issuance of subpoenas in any proceeding shall be governed
by §2001.089 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 2001, Government
Code). Following written request by a party or on the system's own motion,
the director (or in a contested case the director or administrative law judge)
may issue subpoenas addressed to the sheriff or any constable to require the
attendance of witnesses and the production of books, records, papers, or other
objects as may be necessary and proper for the purposes of a proceeding. The
subpoena may be issued by the director, or in a contested case by the director
or by the administrative law judge.
(b)
Motions for subpoenas to compel the production of books,
records, papers, or other objects shall specify as nearly as may be the books,
records, papers, or other objects desired and the material and relevant facts
to be proven by them.
(c)
Subpoenas shall be issued by the director or administrative
law judge only after showing of good cause and the deposit of sums sufficient
to insure payment of expense incident to the subpoenas. Service of subpoenas
and payment of witness fees shall be made in the manner prescribed in the
Administrative Procedure Act.
§121.28.Depositions.
The taking and use of depositions in any proceeding shall be governed
by the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 2001, Government Code). The director
is authorized to issue commissions to take depositions on his/her own motion,
or on written motion of a part to the proceeding.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100021
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§123.1-123.5
The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) adopts the repeal
of Chapter 123 (Calculation or Types of Benefits), §§123.1-123.5
and new Chapter 123 (Actuarial Tables and Benefit Requirements), §§123.1-123.5
without changes to the proposed text as published November 10, 2000, issue
of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg 11247).
The adoption is necessary to conform the Rules to changes in law and practice
that have occurred since their original adoption and to create uniform language
throughout the TMRS Rules, remove gender-specific references, preserve numbering,
and remove outdated references.
No comments were received regarding the proposal.
The repeal of this chapter is adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100022
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§123.1-123.5
The new sections are adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100023
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) adopts the repeal of
Chapter 125 (Actions of Participating Municipalities), §§125.1-125.7
and new Chapter 125 (Actions of Participating Municipalities), §§125.1-125.6
without changes to the proposed text as published November 10, 2000, issue
of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg 11248).
The adoption is necessary to conform the Rules to changes in law and practice
that have occurred since their original adoption and to create uniform language
throughout the TMRS Rules, remove gender-specific references, preserve numbering,
and remove outdated references.
No comments were received regarding the proposal.
34 TAC §§125.1-125.7
The repeal of this chapter is adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100024
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§125.1-125.6
The new sections are adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100025
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) adopts the repeal of
Chapter 127 (Miscellaneous Rules), §§127.1-127.5 and new Chapter
127 (Miscellaneous Rules), §§127.1-127.4 without changes to the
proposed text as published in the November 10, 2000 issue of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg 11249).
The adoption is necessary to conform the Rules to changes in law and practice
that have occurred since their original adoption and to create uniform language
throughout the TMRS Rules, remove gender-specific references, preserve numbering,
and remove outdated references.
No comments were received regarding the proposal.
34 TAC §§127.1-127.5
The repeal of this chapter is adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100026
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§127.1-127.4
The new sections are adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100027
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
34 TAC §§129.1-129.14
The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) adopts the repeal
of Chapter 129 (Qualified Domestic Relations Orders), §§129.1-129.14
and new Chapter 129 (Domestic Relations Orders), §§129.1-129.14
without changes to the proposed text as published in the November 10, 2000,
issue of the
Texas Register
(25 TexReg 11252).
The adoption is necessary to conform the Rules to changes in law and practice
that have occurred since their original adoption and to create uniform language
throughout the TMRS Rules, remove gender-specific references, preserve numbering,
and remove outdated references.
No comments were received regarding adoption of new language.
The repeal of this chapter is adopted under Government Code, §855.102,
which provides authorization for TMRS to adopt rules necessary or desirable
for the efficient administration of the system.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on January 2, 2001.
TRD-200100028
Gary W. Anderson
Executive Director
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Effective date: January 22, 2001
Proposal publication date: November 10, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 476-7577
Chapter 123.
CALCULATION OR TYPES OF BENEFITS
Chapter 123.
ACTUARIAL TABLES AND BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS
Chapter 125.
ACTIONS OF PARTICIPATING MUNICIPALITIES
Chapter 127.
MISCELLANEOUS RULES
Chapter 129.
QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS
Chapter 129.
DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS