RBH No. 6270
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
3 HOUSE BILL 2528 By: Lepak
4
5
6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to retirement; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Sections 17-101, as amended by Section 2, Chapter
8 121, O.S.L. 2022, 17-103, 17-105, 17-105.1, 17-106.3,
17-107, 17-108, 17-116.2, and 17-116.10 (70 O.S.
9 Supp. 2022, Section 17-101), which relate to the
Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma; updating
10 references; deleting terms; modifying terms;
modifying how members shall make proper application
11 for retirement; providing membership details;
providing procedure at joint annuitant's death;
12 modifying retirement options; releasing System of
liability under certain circumstances; modifying how
13 certain expenses are to be paid; specifying when a
member must be physically present to complete terms
14 of employment contract; modifying earnings limits;
repealing 70 O.S. 2021, Sections 17-104 and 17-114.2,
15 which relate to the Teachers' Retirement System of
Oklahoma; and providing an effective date.
16
17
18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
19 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 17-101, as
20 amended by Section 2, Chapter 121, O.S.L. 2022 (70 O.S. Supp. 2022,
21 Section 17-101), is amended to read as follows:
22 Section 17-101. The following words and phrases as used in
23 Section 17-101 et seq. of this title, unless a different meaning is
24 clearly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:
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1 (1) "Retirement system" shall mean the Teachers' Retirement
2 System of Oklahoma, as defined in Section 17-102 of this title.
3 (2) "Public school" shall mean a school district, a state
4 college or university, the State Board of Education, the State Board
5 of Career and Technology Education, and any other state educational
6 entity conducted within the state supported wholly or partly by
7 public funds and operating under the authority and supervision of a
8 legally constituted board or agency having authority and
9 responsibility for any function of public education. Public school
10 shall also mean a tuition free, nonprofit alternative school of
11 choice that provides education, therapeutic counseling, and outreach
12 programs which is aligned with a school district and which receives
13 grant funds from governmental sources.
14 (3) "Classified personnel" shall mean any teacher, principal,
15 superintendent, supervisor, administrator, librarian, certified or
16 registered nurse, college professor, or college president whose
17 salary is paid wholly or in part from public funds. An employee of
18 any state department, board, board of regents, or board of trustees,
19 who is in a supervisory or an administrative position, the function
20 of which is primarily devoted to public education, shall be
21 considered classified personnel under the meaning of Section 17-101
22 et seq. of this title, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees of
23 the Teachers' Retirement System. The term "teacher" shall also
24 include instructors and counselors employed by the Department of
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1 Corrections and holding valid teaching certificates issued by the
2 State Department of Education. Provided, that a person employed by
3 the Department of Corrections as an instructor or counselor shall
4 have been actively engaged in the teaching profession for a period
5 of not less than three (3) years prior to employment to be eligible
6 to participate in the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma. The
7 Department of Corrections shall contribute the employer's share to
8 the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma.
9 (4) "Nonclassified optional personnel" shall include persons
10 hired as adjunct teachers pursuant to subsection G of Section 6-
11 122.3 of this title, cooks, janitors, maintenance personnel not in a
12 supervisory capacity, bus drivers, noncertified or nonregistered
13 nurses, noncertified librarians, and clerical employees of the
14 public schools, state colleges, universities, or any state
15 department, board, board of regents, or board of trustees, the
16 functions of which are primarily devoted to public education and
17 whose salaries are paid wholly or in part from public funds.
18 (5) "Employer" shall mean the state and any of its designated
19 agents or agencies with responsibility and authority for public
20 education, such as boards of education of elementary and independent
21 school districts, boards of regents, boards of control, or any other
22 agency of and within the state by which a person may be employed for
23 service in public education. "Employer" shall also mean the board
24 of directors of a tuition free, nonprofit alternative school of
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1 choice that provides education, therapeutic counseling, and outreach
2 programs which is aligned with a school district and which receives
3 grant funds from governmental sources.
4 (6) "Member" shall mean any teacher or other employee included
5 in the membership of the system as provided in Section 17-103 of
6 this title.
7 (7) "Board of Trustees" shall mean the board provided for in
8 Section 17-106 of this title to administer the retirement system.
9 (8) "Service" shall mean service as a classified or
10 nonclassified optional employee in the public school system, or any
11 other service devoted primarily to public education in the state.
12 (9) "Prior service" shall mean service rendered prior to July
13 1, 1943.
14 (10) "Membership service" shall mean service as a member of the
15 classified or nonclassified personnel as defined in paragraphs (3)
16 and (4) of this section.
17 (11) (9) "Creditable service" shall mean membership service
18 plus any prior other service authorized under this title.
19 (12) (10) "Annuitant" shall mean any person in receipt of a
20 retirement allowance as provided in this title an annuity as defined
21 in paragraph (13) of this section.
22 (13) (11) "Accumulated contributions" shall mean the sum of all
23 amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to
24
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1 his the member's individual account in the Teachers' Savings Fund,
2 together with interest as of June 30, 1968.
3 (14) "Earnable compensation" shall mean the full rate of the
4 compensation that would be payable to a member if he worked the full
5 normal working time.
6 (15) (12) "Average salary":
7 (a) for those members who joined the System prior to July
8 1, 1992, shall mean the average of the salaries for
9 the three (3) years on which the highest contributions
10 to the Teachers' Retirement System was were paid not
11 to exceed the maximum contribution level specified in
12 Section 17-116.2 of this title or the maximum
13 compensation level specified in subsection (28) of
14 this section. Provided, no member shall retire with
15 an average salary in excess of Twenty-five Thousand
16 Dollars ($25,000.00) unless the member has made the
17 required election and paid the required contributions
18 on such salary in excess of Twenty-five Thousand
19 Dollars ($25,000.00), or unless an eligible member
20 fulfills the requirements of Section 17-116.2C of this
21 title in order to have pre-cap removal service
22 included in the retirement benefit computation of the
23 member using the regular annual compensation of the
24 member for any pre-cap removal year of service so
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1 included subject to the maximum average salary amount,
2 and
3 (b) for those members who join the System after June 30,
4 1992, shall mean the average of the salaries for five
5 (5) consecutive years on which the highest
6 contribution to the Teachers' Retirement System was
7 paid. Only salary on which required contributions
8 have been made may be used in computing average
9 salary.
10 (16) (13) "Annuity" shall mean payments for life derived from
11 the "accumulated contributions" of a member. All annuities shall be
12 payable in equal monthly installments a lifetime benefit payable in
13 fixed monthly installments.
14 (17) "Pension" shall mean payments for life derived from money
15 provided by the employer. All pensions shall be payable in equal
16 monthly installments.
17 (18) (14) "Monthly retirement allowance" is one-twelfth (1/12)
18 of the annual retirement allowance which shall be payable monthly.
19 (19) (15) "Retirement Benefit Fund" shall mean the fund from
20 which all retirement benefits shall be paid based on such mortality
21 tables as shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees.
22 (20) (16) "Actuary" shall mean a person or firm especially
23 skilled through training and experience in financial calculation
24 respecting the expectancy and duration of life.
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1 (21) (17) "Actuarial equivalent" shall mean a benefit of equal
2 value when computed upon the basis of such mortality and other
3 tables as shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees.
4 (22) (18) The masculine pronoun, whenever used, shall include
5 the feminine.
6 (23) (19) "Actuarially determined cost" shall mean the single
7 sum which is actuarially equivalent in value to a specified pension
8 amount as determined on the basis of mortality and interest
9 assumptions adopted by the Board of Trustees.
10 (24) (20) "Normal retirement age" means the earliest date upon
11 which:
12 (a) a member reaches the age sixty-two (62) with respect
13 to a member whose first creditable service occurs
14 prior to November 1, 2011, unless the member reaches a
15 normal retirement date pursuant to subparagraph (c) or
16 subparagraph (d) of this paragraph,
17 (b) a member reaches the age of sixty-five (65) with
18 respect to a member whose first creditable service
19 occurs on or after November 1, 2011, or with respect
20 to a member whose first creditable service occurs on
21 or after November 1, 2011, reaches a normal retirement
22 date pursuant to subparagraph (d) of this paragraph
23 having attained a minimum age of sixty (60) years,
24
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1 (c) the age at which the sum of a member's age and number
2 of years of creditable service total eighty (80), with
3 respect to a member whose first creditable service
4 occurred prior to July 1, 1992, and who does not reach
5 a normal retirement age pursuant to subparagraph (a)
6 of this paragraph, or
7 (d) the age at which the sum of a member's age and number
8 of years of creditable service total ninety (90), with
9 respect to a member whose first creditable service
10 occurred on or after July 1, 1992, but prior to
11 November 1, 2011, if the member does not reach a
12 normal retirement age pursuant to subparagraph (a) of
13 this paragraph.
14 (25) (21) "Regular annual compensation" means salary plus
15 fringe benefits, excluding the flexible benefit allowance pursuant
16 to Section 26-105 of this title and for purposes pursuant to Section
17 17-101 et seq. of this title. For purposes of this definition,
18 regular annual compensation shall include:
19 (a) salary which accrues on a regular basis in proportion
20 to the service performed including payments for staff
21 development,
22 (b) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary under
23 paragraph (a) of this subsection but are not received
24 directly by the member pursuant to a good faith,
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1 voluntary written salary reduction agreement in order
2 to finance payments to a deferred compensation or tax-
3 sheltered annuity program or to finance benefit
4 options under a cafeteria plan qualifying under the
5 United States Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C.,
6 Section 101 et seq.,
7 (c) group health and disability insurance, group term life
8 insurance, annuities, and pension plans, provided on a
9 periodic basis to all qualified employees of the
10 employer, which qualify as fringe benefits under the
11 United States Internal Revenue Code, and
12 (d) excluded from regular annual compensation are:
13 1. expense reimbursement payments,
14 2. office, vehicle, housing, or other maintenance
15 allowances,
16 3. the flexible benefit allowance provided pursuant
17 to Section 26-105 of this title,
18 4. payment for unused vacation and sick leave,
19 5. any payment made for reason of termination or
20 retirement not specifically provided for in
21 subparagraphs (a) through (c) of this subsection,
22 6. maintenance or other nonmonetary compensation,
23 7. payment received as an independent contractor or
24 consultant, pursuant to a lawful contract which
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1 complies with the requirements of subsection B of
2 Section 6-101.2 of this title,
3 8. any benefit payments not made pursuant to a valid
4 employment agreement,
5 9. compensation for clinical related activity
6 performed in the University of Oklahoma Health
7 Sciences Center (OUHSC) Professional Practice
8 Plan or Oklahoma State University Center for
9 Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) Professional Practice
10 Plan, and
11 10. any other compensation not described in
12 subparagraphs (a) through (c) of this subsection.
13 (26) "Teacher" means classified personnel and nonclassified
14 optional personnel.
15 (27) (22) "Active classroom teacher" means a person employed by
16 a school district to teach students specifically identified classes
17 for specifically identified subjects during the course of a
18 semester, and who holds a valid certificate or license issued by and
19 in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Board of
20 Education.
21 (28) (23) "Maximum compensation level" shall, except as
22 otherwise authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 17-116.2C
23 of this title, mean:
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1 (a) Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) for
2 creditable service authorized and performed prior to
3 July 1, 1995, for members not electing a higher
4 maximum compensation level,
5 (b) Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00) for creditable
6 service authorized and performed prior to July 1,
7 1995, for members electing a maximum compensation
8 level in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars
9 ($25,000.00),
10