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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 7, 2023
SENATE BILL NO. 447 By: Montgomery
An Act relating to Oklahoma Public Employ ees
Retirement System; amending 74 O.S. 2021, Sec tion
917, which relates to payment of vested benefits;
updating statutory lan guage; making language gender
neutral; providing that payment under certain
circumstances shall not reinstate membership in
System; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 74 O.S. 2021, Section 917, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 917. (1) Upon termination of employmen t with a
participating employe r, not followed by em ployment with such
participating employ er, or another participating employe r, within
four (4) calendar months, the member shall be paid an amount equal
to the amount of money he or she has paid into the Sy stem upon the
filing of the proper application with the System. Payment of these
accumulated contributions may be made in les s than four (4) calendar
months only in the event that a member is not eligible to elect a
vested benefit pursuant to this section and said the member is
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terminally ill, as evidence d by a physician’s certification that the
member is not expected to live be yond four (4) months.
(2) If such member has completed eight (8) years of credited
service at date of termination or if the membe r is a legislative
session employee of the Legislat ure or if the employee is a session
employee employed by the Legislative Se rvice Bureau, four (4) years
of credited service at date of termination, he or she may elect a
vested benefit in lieu of receiving his or her accumulated
contributions. The amount of the vested benefit shall commence at
the normal retirement date and shall be paid monthly during the
lifetime of the retirant with the last payment made on the last day
of the month in which death occur s.
(3) Upon death before the normal or early retir ement date of a
member who has elected a vested benefit, his or her accumulated
contributions shall be paid to his or her beneficiary unless the
spouse of the deceased member elects monthly benefits as pro vided
for in Section 918 of th is title.
(4) Upon death after the normal or early retirement date of a
retirant who elected a vested benefit without an option, the excess,
if any, of his or her accumulated contributions over the sum of all
payments of the vested benefit made to date of death shall be paid
to his or her beneficiary.
(5) If a former employee, who meets the eligibi lity
requirements for membership, returns to employment after the
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expiration of four (4) calendar months following the termination of
his or her employment and the employee has with drawn his or her
accumulated contributions, he or she may pay to the System the sum
of the accumulated contributions he or she has withdrawn plus
interest of not to exceed ten per cent (10%), as determined by the
Board, and shall receiv e the same benefits a s if he or she had never
withdrawn his or her contributions. No member sha ll be permitted to
take advantage of the payback for restoration of creditable service
more than one time. If a membe r, who has elected a vested benefit,
or a reemployed member, wh o has not withdrawn the member ’s
contributions, again becomes an employee o f a participating
employer, the period of absence sh all not be counted as a break in
service; however, the period of a bsence shall not be credited.
(6) Prior to January 1, 1991, me mbers, who at the time of
employment were ineligible for membership into th e System due to
their age, shall receive benefits fo r the period of ineligibility if
the employer and employee contrib utions are paid to the System for
that ineligible period. No i nterest shall be paid on a payback of
this type. However, effective Januar y 1, 1991, to receive benefits,
the member shall pay the amount determined by the Board pursuant to
Section 913.5 of this title.
(7) When any error in calculat ion or participation coverage to
a prior or current employee exists, it shall be the responsibil ity
of the participating employer which made the err or to pay the amount
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determined by the Board pursuant to Section 913. 5 of this title.
This obligation of th e participating emplo yer to pay the amount due
pursuant to this section shall be considered a cu rrent obligation of
the employer until the amount is paid in full, regardless of the
dates of the periods of service. Payment made pursuant to this
paragraph shall not reinstate th e membership of a former member of
the system who withdrew his or her employee contributions pursuant
to paragraph (1) of this section.
(8) Upon application to the Board and payment as determined by
the Board, a member of the System m ay receive service cr edit for
those years of service that the member was eligible to receive
service credit from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklah oma. To
receive the service credit, the member shall pay the amount
determined by the Board pursuant t o Section 913.5 of th is title.
(9) Upon the death of a retired member, the benefit payment for
the month in which the retired member died, if not previo usly paid,
shall be made to the beneficiary of the member or to the membe r’s
estate if there is no bene ficiary. Such benefi t payment shall be
made in an amount equal to a full monthly benefit paymen t regardless
of the day of the month in which the retired member died.
(10) Subject to the provisions of Sections 918 and 918.1 o f
this title, if there are two or more beneficiarie s designated by the
member, upon the member ’s death, the System shall pay a ny applicable
benefits to any of the beneficiaries that h ave completed all
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required paperwork regardless of whether or not all ben eficiaries
have completed such paperwork.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON RETIREMENT AND INSURANCE
February 7, 2023 - DO PASS