Part 3.
TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS
Chapter 23.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
34 TAC §23.7, §23.8
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts amendments
to §23.7 concerning the Code of Ethics for Consultants and Agents ("Code
of Ethics") and to §23.8 concerning the expenditure reporting by consultants,
advisors and Brokers doing or approved to do business with TRS. The amendments
are adopted without changes to the text as proposed in the January 9, 2004,
issue of the
Texas Register
(29 TexReg 321)
and therefore, will not be republished.
The amendments are adopted to comply with Senate Bill 1059, 78th Legislature
(2003), Regular Session, which requires TRS to establish standards of conduct
applicable to financial advisors and service providers, as defined therein,
and brokers. TRS has revised the Code of Ethics and the Expenditure Reporting
Memorandum and Form ("Memorandum") adopted by reference in these two sections
to include provisions applicable to the conduct of brokers and financial providers.
The amended sections reflect the applicable effective dates of the revised
"Code" and the "Memorandum" as well as the new deadline for filing the expenditure
reporting form.
No written comments on the proposals were received.
The amendments are adopted under Government Code, Chapter 825, §825.102,
which authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System to
adopt rules for, among other things, the transaction of business of the board,
and under Government Code, Chapter 825, §825.212, which requires TRS
by rule to adopt standards of conduct applicable to TRS consultants and advisors
and to require TRS consultants, advisors, and brokers to report certain expenditures
made on behalf of a TRS trustee or employee.
Government Code, Chapters 552 and 2263; and §825.212 are affected
by the adoption.
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 April 8, 2004.
TRD-200402406
Ronnie G. Jung
Interim Executive Director
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: April 29, 2004
Proposal publication date: January 9, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 542-6115
Subchapter H. JOINT SERVICE WITH EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM
34 TAC §25.113
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts amendments
to §25.113, concerning transfer of credit between the Teacher Retirement
System of Texas (TRS) and the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) without
changes to the text as proposed in the February 20, 2004, issue of the
The rule amendments implement Government Code, Chapter 805, §805.002,
as amended by the 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2003 in House Bill
2359 (the "Act"). Chapter 805 generally provides for the transfer of service
credit between TRS and ERS. In accordance with the Act, ERS or TRS members
who withdrew service credit from either system now may reinstate such service
credit under Chapter 805, without a prior restriction based on the date of
withdrawal. Prior to the Act, a member who withdrew service credit after August
31, 1993, was not authorized to reinstate withdrawn service credit under Chapter
805 but instead was permitted to do so under other statutory provisions governing
reinstatement of withdrawn credit in TRS or ERS. Additionally, one amendment
changes the length of time in which a member who retirees under Chapter 805
must be absent for service before reemployment by either a TRS or ERS-covered
employer. The change from 30 days to one calendar month makes the post-retirement
employment provision for those retiring under the transfer law consistent
with the post-retirement provision for other TRS retirees.
TRS received no written comments from the public.
The amendments are adopted under the Government Code, Chapter
825, §825.102, which authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System to adopt rules for eligibility for membership in the retirement
system. The new section also is adopted under Government Code, Chapter 805, §805.009,
which authorizes the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to administer the credit
transfer law.
No other code provisions are affected.
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 April 8, 2004.
TRD-200402402
Ronnie G. Jung
Interim Executive Director
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: April 28, 2004
Proposal publication date: February 20, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 542-6115
34 TAC §25.164
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts new §25.164
concerning credit for service during school year with membership waiting period
with changes to the proposed text as published in the February 20, 2004, issue
of the
Texas Register
(29 TexReg 1630).
The new section implements Government Code, Chapter 823, §823.406,
as amended by the 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2003 in House Bill
3459 (the "Act"). In accordance with the Act, the new section authorizes purchase
of TRS service credit for a school year in which a member is subject to the
membership waiting period and consequently does not serve a sufficient length
of time during the school year in a TRS-covered position to receive membership
service credit. Two minor changes to the section as proposed were adopted
to clarify the title and the note on the actuarial cost table attached to
the rule as a graphic and makes them consistent with the text of the rule.
The changes do not cause the rule to be applied to a different class of affected
persons than those subject to the rule as initially proposed.
TRS received no written comments from the public.
The new section is adopted under the Government Code, Chapter
825, §825.102, which authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System to adopt rules for eligibility for membership in the retirement
system. The new section also is adopted under Government Code, Chapter 823, §823.406,
which authorizes the Board of Trustees to adopt rules to administer the purchase
of waiting period service credit.
No other code provisions are affected.
§25.164.Credit for Service During School Year With Membership Waiting Period.
(a)
A member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
who is subject to a membership waiting period beginning on or after September
1, 2003, pursuant to Government Code §822.001, may purchase one year
of equivalent membership service credit in TRS in accordance with Government
Code §823.406 and this section.
(b)
A member is eligible to purchase one year of service credit
under this section if the following requirements are met:
(1)
the individual served at least 4 1/2 months in an eligible
position during the school year in which the waiting period ended or, in the
alternative, the individual served a full semester of more than four calendar
months in an eligible position during the school year in which the waiting
period ended or the individual entered into an employment contract or oral
or written work agreement for a period which would qualify the individual
for a year of service credit but who actually renders only 90 working days
of service, and
(2)
any portion of that service was performed during the membership
waiting period, and
(3)
the individual did not serve a sufficient length of time
during the school year after becoming eligible for TRS membership to earn
a year of membership service credit in the retirement system.
(c)
A member may not purchase service credit under this section
until after the end of the school year in which the waiting period ended.
If requested by TRS, in order to purchase service credit under this section,
a member shall provide verification of service and salary during the school
year in which the waiting period service was performed. The verification must
be in a form that TRS finds acceptable to determine that the member meets
the requirements of this section.
(d)
Equivalent membership service credit may be established
under this section by depositing with TRS the amount described in this subsection.
To establish service credit for the year, the eligible member must deposit
the actuarial present value, at the time of deposit, of the additional standard
retirement annuity benefits that would be attributable to the service credit
to be purchased under this section.
(e)
Upon receipt by TRS of the required amount, the member
will be credited with the year of service credit. A member may not receive
more than one year of service credit for the service performed in a school
year.
(f)
To calculate the amount required by this section, TRS will
use the cost factors indicated on the "Waiting Period Service Credit Purchase
Table" furnished by the TRS actuary of record. The table cross-references
the member's age in rows with years of credited service (before purchase)
in columns. The intersection of the participant's age and service is the cost
per $1,000 of salary. The cost factor for a participant with more years of
service credit than shown on the table is the same as the factor shown for
the highest number of years of service credit on the table for the participant.
TRS will calculate the cost to purchase service credit under this section
by dividing the salary by 1000 and multiplying the resulting quotient by the
appropriate cost factor obtained from the table. The table sets the cost,
per $1,000 of salary, to purchase one year of service credit. For the purpose
of calculating the required amount, the term "salary" is defined as follows:
(1)
For the upper region of the table (where the factors appear
above the line in italics), salary is the greater of current annual salary
or the average of the member's highest years of compensation, with either
two or three years of compensation used for the average, depending on whether
the member has only two years or has three or more years of service credit
at the time of the calculation; or
(2)
For the lower region of the table (where the factors appear
below the line in bold), salary is the average of the member's highest three
years of compensation. A member's highest three years of compensation shall
be calculated as if the member were retiring at the time the service credit
is purchased. The lower region of the table (where the factors appear below
the line in bold) reflects those age and service combinations where the purchase
of service credit results in immediate eligibility of the member for unreduced
retirement benefits.
Figure: 34 TAC §25.164(f)(2) (.pdf)
(g) The purchase cost described in subsection (f) of this section
is based on a lump-sum deposit. If deposits are made by installment payments,
the purchase cost will be adjusted to reflect applicable fees and any additional
actuarial cost resulting from the schedule of payments.
(h) Service credit purchased under this section cannot be used
to determine eligibility for Texas Public School Retired Employees Group Health
Insurance under Insurance Code, Chapter 1575.
(i) Payments for TRS service credit purchased under this section
shall be paid in a manner consistent with any applicable limitations of United
States Code, Title 26, §415, including any applicable limitations on
payments as a percentage of compensation of the participant from the employer
for the school year in which the payments are sought to be made, pursuant
to Internal Revenue Code §415. A member, or a beneficiary of a member,
if service credit is sought to be established after the death of the member,
may not be permitted to purchase TRS service credit under this section if
payments exceed applicable limitations on contributions.
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 April 8, 2004.
TRD-200402405
Ronnie G. Jung
Interim Executive Director
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: April 28, 2004
Proposal publication date: February 20, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 542-6115
34 TAC §35.1
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) adopts amendments
to §35.1, concerning computation error. The amendments are adopted without
changes to the text as proposed in the February 20, 2004, issue of the
The amendments implement Government Code, Chapter 802, §802.1024,
as enacted by the 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2003 in House Bill
258 (the "Act"). In accordance with the Act, Texas public retirement systems
may collect overpayments made in error that occurred as early as three years
prior to the date of discovery. The three year limitation does not apply when
a reasonable person should have known that the person was not entitled to
receive the amount of the overpayment.
TRS received no written comments from the public.
The amendments are adopted under the Government Code, Chapter
825, §825.102, which authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System to adopt rules for the administration of funds of the system.
Government Code, Chapter 825, §825.109 is affected by the amendments.
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 April 8, 2004.
TRD-200402403
Ronnie G. Jung
Interim Executive Director
Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Effective date: April 28, 2004
Proposal publication date: February 20, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 542-6115
Subchapter C. TEXAS SCHOOL EMPLOYEES GROUP HEALTH (TRS-ACTIVECARE)
Chapter 25.
MEMBERSHIP CREDIT
Subchapter L. OTHER SPECIAL SERVICE CREDIT
Chapter 35.
PAYMENTS BY TRS
Chapter 41.
HEALTH CARE AND INSURANCE PROGRAMS