Oklahoma 2022 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB267 Introduced / Bill

Filed 01/05/2021

                     
RBS No. 340 
 
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STATE OF OKLAHOMA 
 
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021) 
 
SENATE BILL 267 	By: Pemberton 
 
 
 
 
 
AS INTRODUCED 
 
An Act relating to teacher retirement; amending 70 
O.S. 2011, Section 17 -116.10, as last amended by 
Section 2, Chapter 270, O.S.L. 2017 (70 O.S. Supp. 
2020, Section 17-116.10), which relates to 
postretirement employment; authorizing certain 
retired members to return to employment in public 
schools during certain time period with no earning 
limitations. 
 
 
 
 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: 
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     70 O.S. 2011, Section 17 -116.10, 
as last amended by Section 2, Chapter 270, O.S.L. 2017 (70 O.S. 
Supp. 2020, Section 17 -116.10), is amended to read as follows: 
Section 17-116.10. A.  Subject to the requirements of Section 
6-101.2 of this title and any other applicable requirements of law, 
a member may enter into postretirement employment with a public 
school of Oklahoma and stil l receive monthly retirement benefits 
subject to the following limitations: 
1.  A retired member is not eligible to be employed by th e 
public schools of Oklahoma, in any capacity, for sixty (60) calendar 
days between the retiree 's last day of preretirement public   
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education employment and any postretirement public education 
employment.  For purposes of this section, the term "last day of 
preretirement employment " shall mean the last day the employee is 
required to be physically pre sent on the job to complete the terms 
of the employment contract or agreement.  An employee on paid leave 
is still considered to be employed for purposes of thi s section.  
Employment under any conditions during this time, volunteer services 
for the purpose of obtaining a paid positi on at a later date, or 
payment at a later time for services performed during this time 
period shall cause the forfeiture of all retir ement benefits 
received during the period; 
2.  Unless otherwise provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, 
earnings from the public schools may not exceed one -half (1/2) of 
the member's final average salary used in computing retirement 
benefits, or the Earnings Limitation for employees allowed by the 
Social Security Administration, whichever is less .  For retired 
members under the age of sixty-two (62) years, the limit on all owed 
earnings from the public schools of Oklahoma for employment for the 
performance of duties ordinarily performed by classified or 
nonclassified personnel shall be the lesser o f Fifteen Thousand 
Dollars ($15,000.00) or one-half (1/2) of the member 's final average 
salary used in computing retirement benefits unless the earnings 
limitation allowed by the Social Security Administration would be 
greater than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00).  For retired   
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members sixty-two (62) years of age or older the l imit on allowed 
earnings from the public schools of Oklahoma for the performance o f 
duties ordinarily performed by classified or nonclassified personnel 
shall be the lesser of Th irty Thousand Dollars ($30, 000.00) or one-
half (1/2) of the member 's final average salary used in computing 
retirement benefits.  For purposes of this paragraph , the following 
shall apply: 
a. earnings shall mean "regular annual compensation " as 
defined in paragraph (25) of Section 1 7-101 of this 
title, and shall include any payment by a public 
school for services rendered by a retired member who 
is employed for any purpose whatsoever.  Supplemental 
retirement payments paid by a former public school 
employer pursuant to subsection 9 o f Section 17-105 of 
this title or other state law s hall not be considered 
as earnings, 
b. the Earnings Limitation for employees allow ed by the 
Social Security Administration to workers between the 
age of sixty-two (62) years and sixty-five (65) years 
shall apply to retired members below the age of sixty -
two (62) years, 
c. the limit on allowed earnings from the public schools 
shall be automatically adjusted effective the first 
day of January of each year to reflect the current   
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Earnings Limitation for employe es as determined from 
time to time by the Social Se curity Administration, 
d. the earnings limit for the calendar year in which a 
member retires shall be one-twelfth (1/12) of the 
annual limit multiplied by the number of months th e 
member is eligible to wor k and receive payments from 
the public schools of O klahoma, 
e. earnings in excess of the maximum limit on allowed 
earnings from public schools of Oklahoma shall result 
in a loss of future retirement benefits for the year 
the postretirement employment was p erformed of One 
Dollar ($1.00) for each One Dollar ($1.00) earned over 
the maximum allowed earnings amount, 
f. for those members age seventy (70) years and over, the 
earnings in excess of the maximum limit allowed 
earnings from public schools of Oklahoma s hall be one-
half (1/2) the member 's final average salary used in 
computing retirement benefits.  However, any retired 
member receiving benefits from the Retirement System 
who reached age seventy (70) years prior to July 1, 
1991, shall not be restricted by the earnings limits 
pursuant to this subparagraph u ntil January 1, 1994.  
To qualify for the provisions of this subparagraph, 
the member must be employed less than one -half (1/2)   
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time compared to other full -time employees in simi lar 
positions; 
3.  Notwithstanding paragraph 2 of this subsection, a retired 
classified or nonclassified member who has been retired for thirty -
six (36) or more months and who is employed by a public school to 
perform duties ordinarily performed by classif ied or nonclassified 
personnel shall be able to receive annualized earnings fr om the 
public school with no reduction in retirement benefits regardless of 
the amount of annualized earnings.  For a period of three (3) years 
beginning July 1, 2017, members wh o have retired as of July 1 , 2017, 
as active classroom teachers, who have been retired and receiving a 
benefit for at least one (1) year, and who have not been employed by 
any public school during that one -year period, shall be eligible to 
be reemployed as an active classroom teache r in common or career 
tech school districts, with n o limitations on earnings.  For a 
period of three (3) years beginning July 1, 20 21, members who have 
retired as of July 1, 20 20, who have been retired and receiv ing a 
benefit for at least one (1) year, and who have not been employed by 
any public school during that one-year period, shall be eligible to 
be reemployed as an active classroom teacher in common or career 
tech school districts, with no limitations on ea rnings. The one-
year period starts with the retiree's last day of preretirement 
public education employment.  Members returning under this section 
shall not be subject to any earning limitations following the end of   
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the three-year period periods described in this paragraph.  Members 
returning under this section shall only be employed pursuant to a 
temporary contract; and 
4.  A member shall be considered to be employed by a school 
district to perform the duties ordinarily performed by classified or 
nonclassified personnel if the member is hired by th e school 
district in the member 's individual capacity to perform the duties 
or if the member performs the duties through em ployment with a 
proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company 
or partnership, or any other business structure t hat has agreed or 
contracted to provide the service s to the school district. 
B.  A public school district that employs a re tired member shall 
be required to make contributions to the System for the retired 
member in an amount as required in Section 17 -108.1 and in paragraph 
3 of subsection B of Section 17 -116.2 of this title. 
C.  For purposes of this section, postretirement employment of 
less than one thousand (1,000) hours per year with the Governor, the 
State Senate, the House of Representatives or the Le gislative 
Service Bureau shall not be considered as postretirement employment 
with a public school of Oklahoma. 
D.  The Board of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System of 
Oklahoma shall promulgate such rules as are necessary to implement 
the provisions of this section.   
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E.  A member who has entered int o postretirement employment with 
a participating employer of the Teacher s' Retirement System of 
Oklahoma must fully comply with all the provisions of the rules 
promulgated by the Board of Trustees pursuant to this section in 
order to continue receiving his or her monthly retirement benefit. 
 
58-1-340 CB 1/5/2021 2:34:58 PM