Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2189 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 01/21/2021

                            RBH No. 6409 
 
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STATE OF OKLAHOMA 
 
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021) 
 
HOUSE BILL 2189 	By: Johns 
 
 
 
 
 
AS INTRODUCED 
 
An Act relating to public retirement systems; 
amending 70 O.S. 2011, Section 17 -105, as last 
amended by Section 1, Chapter 268, O.S.L. 201 9 (70 
O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 17 -105), which relates to 
the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma; 
modifying period of service required for retirement 
benefit eligibility; providing for applicability of 
provisions related to retirement eligibility for 
persons becoming members of the retirement syst em 
between specified dates; providing an effective date ; 
and declaring an emergency . 
 
 
 
 
 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: 
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 201 1, Section 17-105, as 
last amended by Section 1, Chapter 268, O.S.L. 2019 (70 O.S. Supp. 
2020, Section 17-105), is amended to read as follows: 
Section 17-105.  (1)  (a)  Any member who has attained age 
fifty-five (55) or who has completed thirty (30) years of creditable 
service, as defined in Section 17 -101 of this title, or for any 
person who initially became a member prior to July 1, 1992, 
regardless of whether there were breaks in service after July 1, 
1992, whose age and number of years of creditable se rvice total  RBH No. 6409 
 
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eighty (80) may be retired upon proper application for retirement on 
forms established by the System and executing a retirement contract.  
Such a retirement date will also apply to any person who became a 
member of the sending system as defined in this act, prior to July 
1, 1992, regardless of whether there were breaks in service after 
July 1, 1992.  Any person who became a member after June 30, 1992, 
but prior to November 1, 2011, whose age and number of years of 
creditable service total ninety (90) may be retired upon proper 
application for retirement and executing a retirement contract.  Any 
person who becomes a member on or after November 1, 2011, who 
attains the age of sixty -five (65) years or who reaches a normal 
retirement date pursuant to subparagraph (d) of paragraph (24) of 
Section 17-101 of this title having attained a minimum age of sixty 
(60) years may be retired upon proper application for retirement and 
executing a retirement contract.  The application shall be filed on 
the form provided by the Board of Trustees for this purpose, not 
less than sixty (60) days before the date of retirement, provided 
that the Executive Director may waive the sixty -day deadline for 
good cause shown as defined by the Board. 
1. The employer shall provide the System with the 
following information for a retiring member, no later 
than the fifteenth day of the month of retirement: 
last day physically on the job; last day on payroll;  RBH No. 6409 
 
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any regular compensation not already reported to the 
System; and final unused sick leave balance. 
2. Failure to submit this information by the deadline, or 
errors in submitted information that result in a 
disqualification of retirement eligibility shall be 
the responsibility of the employer.  In cases where 
the error results in disq ualification of retirement 
eligibility, it is the employer's responsibility to 
reemploy the member, or retain the member on the 
payroll, for the time period required to reach 
eligibility, not exceeding two (2) months. 
(b)  An individual who becomes a membe r of the Teachers' 
Retirement System on or after November 1, 2017, shall be employed by 
the public schools, state colleges or universities of Oklahoma for a 
minimum of seven (7) five (5) years and be a contributing member of 
the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma for a minimum of seven 
(7) five (5) years to qualify for monthly retirement benefits from 
the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma.  Any person who became 
a member of the System on or after November 1, 2017, and not later 
than October 31, 2021, shall be subject to the five -year period of 
required contributory membership prescribed by this subsection. 
(c)  Any member with seven (7) or more years of Oklahoma 
teaching service and whose accumulated contributions during such 
period have not been withdrawn shall be given an indefinite  RBH No. 6409 
 
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extension of membership beginning with the sixth year following his 
or her last contributing membership and shall become eligible to 
apply for retirement and be retired upon attaining age fifty -five 
(55). 
(2)  An unclassified optional member who has retired or who 
retires at sixty-two (62) years of age or older or whose retirement 
is because of disability shall have his or her minimum retirement 
benefits calculated on an average salary of Five Thousand Three 
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($5,350.00) or, if a larger monthly allowance 
would result, an amount arrived at pursuant to application of the 
formula prescribed herein. 
(3)  No member shall receive a lesser retirement benefit than he 
or she would have received under the law in effect at the time he or 
she retired.  Any individual under the Teachers' Retirement System, 
who through error in stating the title of the position which he or 
she held, may, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, be 
changed from the nonclassified optional group to the classified 
group for the purpose of calculating retirement benefits. 
Any individual regardless of residence, who has a minimum of ten 
(10) years of teaching in Oklahoma schools prior to July 1, 1943, or 
who taught in Oklahoma schools prior to 1934 and thereafter taught a 
minimum of ten (10) years and who does not qualify under the present 
retirement System, or who has a minimum of thirty (30) years of 
teaching in Oklahoma schools and has reached seventy (70) years of  RBH No. 6409 
 
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age prior to July 1, 1984, and is not otherwise eligible to receive 
any benefits from the retirement system shall receive a minimum of 
One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) per month in retirement benefits 
from the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma plus any general 
increase in benefits for annuitants as may be provided hereafter by 
the Legislature.  Each individual must apply to the Teachers' 
Retirement System for such benefit and provide evidence to the 
Teachers' Retirement System that the service was actually rendered .  
The surviving spouse of any person who made application for the 
benefit provided for by this paragraph during his or her lifetime 
but did not receive the benefit may submit an application to the 
System for payment of the benefit for those months during the 
lifetime of the deceased person that he or she was eligible for but 
did not receive the benefit.  Upon approval of the application by 
the Board of Trustees, the benefit shall be paid to the surviving 
spouse in one lump sum. 
(4)  The value of each year of prior service is the total 
monthly retirement benefit divided by the number of years of 
creditable service. 
(5)  Upon application of a member who is actively engaged in 
teaching in Oklahoma or his or her employer, any member who has been 
a contributing member for ten (10) years may be retired by the 
System subsequent to the execution and filing thereof, on a 
disability retirement allowance, provided that it is found by the  RBH No. 6409 
 
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Medical Board after medical examination of such member by a duly 
qualified physician that such member is mentally or physically 
incapacitated for further performance of duty, that such incapacity 
is likely to be permanent, and that such member should be retired.  
The System shall rely on and give full consideration to the 
conclusions and recommendations in the certified written report of 
the Medical Board of the Teachers' Retirement System regarding the 
disability application of such member.  If the Medical Board does 
not find that a member applying for disability retirement is 
mentally or physically incapacitated for performance of duty or 
otherwise eligible for a disability retirement, the application 
shall then be considered by the Board of Trustees.  If a member is 
determined to be eligible for disability benefits pursuant to the 
Social Security System, then such determination shall entitle the 
member to the authorized disability retirement allowance provided by 
law.  For members who are not eligible for disability benefits 
pursuant to the Social Security System, the Board of Trustees and 
the Medical Board shall apply the same standard for which provision 
is made in the first two sentences of this subsection for 
determining the eligibility of a person for such disability benefits 
in making a determination of eligibility for disability b enefits as 
authorized by this subsection. 
(6)  (a)  A member who at the time of retirement has been found 
to be permanently physically or mentally incapacitated to perform  RBH No. 6409 
 
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the necessary duties to continue in his or her current position 
shall receive a mini mum monthly retirement payment for life or until 
such time as the member may be found to be recovered to the point 
where he or she may return to teaching.  Any member retired before 
July 1, 1992, shall be eligible to receive the monthly retirement 
allowance herein provided, but such payment shall not begin until 
the first payment due him or her after July 1, 1992, and shall not 
be retroactive.  The Board of Trustees is empowered to make such 
rules and regulations as it considers proper to preserve equity in 
retirements under this provision, which shall include a provision to 
protect the rights of the member's spouse. 
(b)  A member who has qualified for retirement benefits under 
disability retirement shall have the total monthly payment deducted 
from his or her accumulated contributions plus interest earned and 
any money remaining in the member's account after the above 
deductions at the death of the member shall be paid in a lump sum to 
the beneficiary or to the estate of the member.  Provided, if the 
deceased disabled member had thirty (30) years or more of creditable 
service and the death occurred after June 30, 1981, and death 
occurred prior to the disabled member receiving twelve monthly 
retirement payments, a surviving spouse may elect to receive the 
retirement benefit to which the deceased member would have been 
entitled at the time of death under the Option 2 Plan of Retirement 
provided for in subsection (8) of this section in lieu of the death  RBH No. 6409 
 
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benefit provided for in this subsection and in subsection (1 2) of 
this section. 
(c)  Once each year the System may require any disabled 
annuitant who has not yet attained the age of sixty (60) years to 
undergo a medical examination, such examination to be made at the 
place of residence for the disabled annuitant or other place 
mutually agreed upon by a physician or physicians designated by the 
System.  Should any disabled annuitant who has not yet attained the 
age of sixty (60) years refuse to submit to at least one medical 
examination in any such year by a physicia n or physicians designated 
by the System his or her allowance may be discontinued until he or 
she submits to such examination. 
(d)  Should the Medical Board report and certify to the Board of 
Trustees that such disabled annuitant is engaged in or is able t o 
engage in a gainful occupation paying more than the difference 
between his or her retirement allowance and the average final 
compensation, and should the Board of Trustees concur in such report 
then the amount of his or her pension shall be reduced to an amount 
which, together with his or her retirement allowance and that amount 
earnable by him or her, shall equal the amount of his or her average 
final compensation.  Should his or her earning capacity be later 
increased, the amount of his or her pension m ay be further modified, 
provided the new pension shall not exceed that amount of the pension 
originally granted nor an amount, which when added to the amount  RBH No. 6409 
 
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earnable by the member, together with his or her annuity, equals the 
amount of his or her average final compensation. 
(e)  Should a disabled annuitant be restored to active service, 
his or her disability retirement allowance shall cease and he or she 
shall again become a member of the Teachers' Retirement System and 
shall make regular contributions as required under this article.  
The unused portion of his or her accumulated contributions shall be 
reestablished to his or her credit in the Teachers' Savings Fund.  
Any such prior service certificates on the basis of which his or her 
service was computed a t the time of his or her retirement shall be 
restored to full force and effect. 
(7)  Should a member before retirement under Section 1 -101 et 
seq. of this title make application for withdrawal duly filed with 
the System, not earlier than four (4) months af ter the date of 
termination of such service as a teacher, the contribution standing 
to the credit of his or her individual account in the Teachers' 
Savings Fund shall be paid to him or her or, in the event of his or 
her death before retirement, shall be pa id to such person or persons 
as he or she shall have nominated by written designation, duly 
executed and filed with the System; provided, however, if there be 
no designated beneficiary surviving upon such death, such 
contributions shall be paid to his or h er administrators, executors, 
or assigns, together with interest as hereinafter provided.  In lieu 
of a lump-sum settlement at the death of the member, the amount of  RBH No. 6409 
 
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money the member has on deposit in the Teachers' Savings Fund and 
the money the member has on deposit in the Teachers' Deposit Fund 
may be paid in monthly payments to a designated beneficiary, who 
must be the spouse, under the Maximum or Option 1 Plan of Retirement 
providing the monthly payment shall be not less than Twenty -five 
Dollars ($25.00) per month.  The monthly payment shall be the 
actuarial equivalent of the amount becoming due at the member's 
death based on the sex of the spouse and the age the spouse has 
attained at the last birthday prior to the member's death.  Provided 
further, if there be no designated beneficiary surviving upon such 
death, and the contributions standing to the credit of such member 
do not exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), no part of such 
contributions shall be subject to the payment of any expense of the 
last illness or funeral of the deceased member or any expense of 
administration of the estate of such deceased and the System, upon 
satisfactory proof of the death of such member and of the name or 
names of the person or persons who would be entitled to receive such 
contributions under the laws of descent and distribution of the 
state, may authorize the payment of accumulated contributions to 
such person or persons.  A member terminating his or her membership 
by withdrawal after June 30, 2003, shall have the int erest computed 
at a rate of interest determined by the Board of Trustees and paid 
to him or her subject to the following schedule:  RBH No. 6409 
 
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(a)  If termination occurs within sixteen (16) years from the 
date membership began, fifty percent (50%) of such interest 
accumulations shall be paid. 
(b)  With at least sixteen (16) but less than twenty -one (21) 
years of membership, sixty percent (60%) of such interest 
accumulations shall be paid. 
(c)  With at least twenty -one (21) but less than twenty -six (26) 
years of membership, seventy-five percent (75%) of such interest 
accumulations shall be paid. 
(d)  With at least twenty -six (26) years of membership, ninety 
percent (90%) of such interest accumulations shall be paid. 
In case of death of an active member, the interest shal l be 
calculated and restored to the member's account and paid to his or 
her beneficiary. 
(8)  (a)  In lieu of his or her retirement allowance payable 
throughout life for such an amount as determined under this section, 
the member may select a retirement al lowance for a reduced amount 
payable under any of the following options the present value of 
which is the actuarial equivalent thereof. 
(b)  A member may select the option under which he or she 
desires to retire at the end of the school year in which he or she 
attains age seventy (70) and the option shall be binding and cannot 
be changed.  Provided further that if a member retires before age 
seventy (70), no election of an option shall be effective in case an  RBH No. 6409 
 
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annuitant dies before the first payment due unde r such option has 
been received. 
(c)  The first payment of any benefit selected shall be made on 
the first day of the month following approval of the retirement by 
the System.  If the named designated joint annuitant under Option 2 
or 3 dies at any time af ter the member's retirement date, but before 
the death of the member, the member shall return to the retirement 
benefit, including any post retirement benefit increases the member 
would have received had the member not selected Option 2 or 3 of 
this subsection.  The benefit shall be determined at the date of 
death of the designated joint annuitant.  This increase shall become 
effective the first day of the month following the date of death of 
the designated joint annuitant, and shall be payable for the 
member's remaining lifetime.  The member shall notify the Teachers' 
Retirement System of Oklahoma of the death of the designated joint 
annuitant in writing.  In the absence of the written notice being 
filed by the member notifying the Teachers' Retirement Syst em of 
Oklahoma of the death of the designated joint annuitant within six 
(6) months of the date of death, nothing in this subsection shall 
require the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma to pay more than 
six (6) months of retrospective benefits increas e. 
Option 1.  If he or she dies before he or she has received in 
annuity payments the present value of his or her annuity as it was 
at the time of his or her retirement, the balance shall be paid to  RBH No. 6409 
 
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his or her legal representatives or to such person as he or she 
shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and filed 
with the System at the time of his or her retirement; or 
Option 2.  A member takes a reduced retirement allowance for 
life.  Upon the death of the member the payments shall continue t o 
the member's designated joint annuitant for the life of the joint 
annuitant.  The written designation of the joint annuitant must be 
duly acknowledged and filed with the System at the time of the 
member's retirement and, except as provided in paragraph ( e) of this 
subsection, cannot be changed after the effective date of the 
member's retirement; or 
Option 3.  A member receives a reduced retirement allowance for 
life.  Upon the death of the member one -half (1/2) of the retirement 
allowance paid the member shall be continued throughout the life of 
the designated joint annuitant.  A written designation of a joint 
annuitant must be duly acknowledged and filed with the System at the 
time of the member's retirement and, except as provided in paragraph 
(e) of this subsection, cannot be changed after the effective date 
of the member's retirement; or 
Option 4.  Some other benefit or benefits shall be paid either 
to the member or to such joint annuitant as he or she shall 
nominate, provided such other benefit or bene fits, together with the 
reduced retirement allowance, shall be certified by the actuary to  RBH No. 6409 
 
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be of equivalent actuarial value to his or her retirement allowance 
and shall be approved by the System. 
(d)  Provided that Option 2 and Option 3 shall not be availa ble 
if the member's expected benefit is less than fifty percent (50%) of 
the lump-sum actuarial equivalent and the designated joint annuitant 
is not the spouse of the member. 
(e)  A member who chose the maximum retirement benefit plan at 
the time of retirement may make a one-time election to choose either 
Option 2 or 3 and name the member's spouse as designated joint 
annuitant if the member marries after making the initial election.  
Such an election shall be made within one (1) year of the date of 
marriage.  The member shall provide proof of a member's good health 
before the System will permit a change to either Option 2 or 3 and 
the naming of a designated joint annuitant.  A medical examination 
conducted by a licensed physician is required for purposes of 
determining good health.  Such examination must be approved by the 
Medical Board.  The member shall be required to provide proof of age 
for the new joint annuitant.  The System shall adjust the monthly 
benefit to the actuarially equivalent amount based on the new 
designated joint annuitant's age.  The Board of Trustees shall 
promulgate rules to implement the provisions of this subsection. 
(f)  A member who retires after the effective date of this act 
and has selected a retirement allowance for a reduced amo unt payable 
under one of the options provided for in this subsection may make a  RBH No. 6409 
 
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one-time irrevocable election to select a different option within 
sixty (60) days of the member's retirement date.  The beneficiary or 
joint annuitant designated by the member at the time of retirement 
shall not be changed if the member makes the election provided for 
in this paragraph. 
(g)  Any individual who is eligible to be a beneficiary or joint 
annuitant of a member under this subsection, and who is also a 
beneficiary of a trust created under the Oklahoma Discretionary and 
Special Needs Trust Act, Section 175.81 et seq. of Title 60 of the 
Oklahoma Statutes, or a comparable Trust Act created under the laws 
of another state, hereinafter collectively referred to as "Trust 
Acts", may be a beneficiary or joint annuitant under this subsection 
by having the trustee of the trust established for the benefit of 
that individual named as the legal beneficiary or joint annuitant 
under this subsection.  The age of that beneficiary shall b e used 
for calculating any benefit payable to the trust under this 
subsection.  The beneficiary of such a trust shall be treated as the 
beneficiary or joint annuitant under this subsection except that 
payments of any benefits due under this subsection shal l be payable 
to the lawfully appointed trustee of the trust.  The obligation of 
the System to pay the beneficiary or joint annuitant under this 
subsection shall be satisfied by payment to the trustee whom the 
System, in good faith, believes to be the lawfu lly appointed 
trustee.  Any conflict between the statutes creating and governing  RBH No. 6409 
 
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the Teachers' Retirement System in Section 17 -101 et seq. of this 
title and the provisions of any Trust Act referred to above shall be 
resolved in favor of the statutes govern ing the System.  If an 
eligible beneficiary or joint annuitant is named at the time of 
retirement, and becomes a beneficiary of a trust under one of the 
Trust Acts described herein after that time, the System will 
acknowledge the trust as the beneficiary u pon the submission of 
adequate documentation of the existence of the trust.  All other 
provisions of this subsection shall apply to these subsequently 
created trusts. 
(h)  The Board of Trustees of the System may recognize other 
trusts set up for the benefi t of individuals otherwise eligible to 
be named as a beneficiary or joint annuitant under this subsection 
by administrative rule if it can be done without undue additional 
administrative expense of the System. 
(9)  The governing board of any "public school ", as that term is 
defined in Section 17 -101 of this title, is hereby authorized and 
empowered to pay additional retirement allowances or compensation to 
any person who was in the employ of such public school for not less 
than seven (7) school years preced ing the date of his or her 
retirement.  Payments so made shall be a proper charge against the 
current appropriation or appropriations of any such public school 
for salaries for the fiscal year in which such payments are made.  
Such payments shall be made i n regular monthly installments in such  RBH No. 6409 
 
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amounts as the governing board of any such public school, in its 
judgment, shall determine to be reasonable and appropriate in view 
of the length and type of service rendered by any such person to 
such public school b y which such person was employed at the time of 
retirement.  All such additional payments shall be uniform, based 
upon the length of service and the type of services performed, to 
persons formerly employed by such public school who have retired or 
been retired in accordance with the provisions of Section 17 -101 et 
seq. of this title. 
The governing board of any such public school may adopt rules 
and regulations of general application outlining the terms and 
conditions under which such additional retirement b enefits shall be 
paid, and all decisions of such board shall be final. 
(10)  In addition to the teachers' retirement herein provided, 
teachers may voluntarily avail themselves of the Federal Social 
Security Program upon a district basis. 
(11)  Upon the death of an in-service member, the System shall 
pay to the designated beneficiary of the member or, if there is no 
designated beneficiary or if the designated beneficiary predeceases 
the member, to the estate of the member, the sum of Eighteen 
Thousand Dollars ($18,000.00) as a death benefit.  Provided, if the 
deceased member had ten (10) year s or more of creditable service , 
the member's designated beneficiary may elect to receive the 
retirement benefit to which the deceased member would have been  RBH No. 6409 
 
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entitled at the time of death under the Option 2 plan of retirement 
in lieu of the death benefit provided for in this subsection.  
Provided further, the option provided in this subsection is only 
available when the member has designated one individual as the 
designated beneficiary.  The beneficiary or beneficiaries of death 
benefits in the amount not to exceed Eighteen Thousand Dollars 
($18,000.00), but exclusive of any retirement benefit received by an 
electing beneficiary based upon creditable service performed by th e 
deceased member, which are provided pursuant to this subsection may 
elect to disclaim such death benefits in which case such benefits 
will be transferred to a person licensed as a funeral director or to 
a lawfully recognized business entity licensed as r equired by law to 
provide funeral services for the deceased member.  The qualified 
disclaimer must be in writing and will be an irrevocable and an 
unqualified refusal to accept all or a portion of the death benefit.  
It must be received by the transferor n o more than nine (9) months 
after the later of the day the transfer creating the interest in the 
disclaiming person is made or the day the disclaiming person attains 
age twenty-one (21).  The interest in the death benefits must pass 
without direction by th e disclaiming person to another person. 
(12)  Upon the death of a retired member who has contributed to 
the System, the retirement system shall pay to the designated 
beneficiary of the member or, if there is no designated beneficiary 
or if the designated b eneficiary predeceases the member, to the  RBH No. 6409 
 
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estate of the member, the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) 
as a death benefit.  The beneficiary or beneficiaries of benefits 
provided pursuant to this subsection may elect to disclaim such 
death benefits in which case such benefits will be transferred to a 
person licensed as a funeral director or to a lawfully recognized 
business entity licensed as required by law to provide funeral 
services for the deceased member.  The qualified disclaimer must be 
in writing and will be an irrevocable and an unqualified refusal to 
accept all or a portion of the death benefit.  It must be received 
by the transferor no more than nine (9) months after the later of 
the day the transfer creating the interest in the disclaiming p erson 
is made or the day the disclaiming person attains age twenty -one 
(21).  The interest in the death benefits must pass without 
direction by the disclaiming person to another person.  The benefit 
payable pursuant to this subsection shall be deemed, for purposes of 
federal income taxation, as life insurance proceeds and not as a 
death benefit if the Internal Revenue Service approves this 
provision pursuant to a private letter ruling request which shall be 
submitted by the Board of Trustees of the System f or that purpose. 
(13)  Upon the death of a member who dies leaving no living 
beneficiary or having designated his or her estate as beneficiary, 
the System may pay any applicable death benefit, unpaid 
contributions, or unpaid benefit which may be subject to probate, in 
an amount of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or less,  RBH No. 6409 
 
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without the intervention of the probate court or probate procedure 
pursuant to Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes. 
(a)  Before any applicable probate procedure may be waived, the 
System must be in receipt of the member's proof of death and the 
following documents from those persons claiming to be the legal 
heirs of the deceased member: 
1. The member's valid last will and testament, trust 
documents or affidavit t hat a will does not exist; 
2. An affidavit or affidavits of heirship which must 
state: 
a. the names and signatures of all claiming heirs to 
the deceased member's estate including the 
claiming heirs' names, relationship to the 
deceased, current addresses, t ax I.D. numbers if 
known and current telephone numbers, 
b. a statement or statements by the claiming heirs 
that no application or petition for the 
appointment of a personal representative is 
pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction, 
c. a description of the personal property claimed, 
(i.e., death benefit or unpaid contributions or 
both) together with a statement that such 
personal property is subject to probate,  RBH No. 6409 
 
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d. a statement by each individual claiming heir 
identifying the amount of personal propert y that 
the heir is claiming from the System, and that 
the heir has been notified of, is aware of and 
consents to the identified claims of all the 
other claiming heirs of the deceased member 
pending with the System; 
3. A written agreement or agreements sign ed by all 
claiming heirs of the deceased member which provides 
that the claiming heirs release, discharge and hold 
harmless the System from any and all liability, 
obligations and costs which it may incur as a result 
of making a payment to any of the deceas ed member's 
heirs; 
4. A corroborating affidavit from an individual other 
than a claiming heir, who was familiar with the 
affairs of the deceased member; 
5. Proof that all debts of the deceased member, including 
payment of last sickness, hospital, medical, death, 
funeral and burial expenses have been paid or provided 
for. 
(b)  The Executive Director of the System shall retain complete 
discretion in determining which requests for probate waiver may be 
granted or denied, for any reason.  Should the System have any  RBH No. 6409 
 
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question as to the validity of any document presented by the 
claiming heirs, or as to any statement or assertion contained 
therein, the probate requirement provided for in Section 1 et seq. 
of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not be waived. 
(c) After paying any death benefits or unpaid contributions to 
any claiming heirs as provided pursuant to this subsection, the 
System is discharged and released from any and all liability, 
obligation and costs to the same extent as if the System had dealt 
with a personal representative of the deceased member.  The System 
is not required to inquire into the truth of any matter specified in 
this subsection or into the payment of any estate tax liability. 
(14)  Upon the death of a retired member, the benefit pay ment 
for the month in which the retired member died, if not previously 
paid, shall be made to the joint annuitant if still living, to the 
beneficiary of the member if the joint annuitant is deceased, or to 
the member's estate if there is no surviving joint annuitant or 
beneficiary.  Such benefit payment shall be made in an amount equal 
to a full monthly benefit payment regardless of the day of the month 
in which the retired member died. 
SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective July 1, 202 1. 
SECTION 3.  It being immediately necessary for the preservation 
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby  RBH No. 6409 
 
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declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and 
be in full force from and after its passag e and approval. 
 
58-1-6409 MAH 01/15/21  
 
THOMAS E. CUMMINS  CONSULTING ACTUARY, INC. 
2512 E. 71
st  
Street ,  Suite D ∙  Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136                             (918) 492-9658  ∙ (918) 492- 9659 
 
 
 
 
January 18, 2021 
 
 
 
Representative Ronny Johns 
Room 243.2 
 
 
 
Re: RBH No. 6409 
 
 
 
RBH No. 6409 reduces the vesting service requirement to 5 years f rom 
7 years for members of Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System. 
 
RBH No. 6409 is a fiscal bill as defined by OPLAAA. 
 
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the 
Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to 
render the actuarial opinion herein. 
 
 
Thomas E. Cummins 
 
Thomas E. Cummins, MAAA