Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2873 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R3377 KFF-D
2	2	By: Allen H.B. No. 2873
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to benefits paid by the Teacher Retirement System of
8	8	Texas.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 824, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Sections 824.7015 and 824.703 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 824.7015. ADJUSTMENT TO BENEFITS. (a) The amount of a
13	13	monthly service retirement benefit, disability retirement benefit,
14	14	or death benefit paid under this chapter is increased to include a
15	15	10 percent adjustment in accordance with this section.
16	16	(b) The board of trustees shall recompute the amount of a
17	17	benefit paid monthly under this chapter by applying the 10 percent
18	18	adjustment to the monthly amount otherwise required to be paid as
19	19	determined in accordance with the other applicable provisions of
20	20	this chapter and other law.
21	21	Sec. 824.703. ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT FOR COST OF LIVING. (a)
22	22	The amount of a monthly service retirement benefit, disability
23	23	retirement benefit, or death benefit paid under this chapter is
24	24	increased to include a four percent annual cost-of-living
25	25	adjustment in accordance with this section.
26	26	(b) The board of trustees shall recompute the amount of a
27	27	benefit paid monthly under this chapter by applying the four
28	28	percent adjustment to the monthly amount otherwise required to be
29	29	paid as determined in accordance with the other applicable
30	30	provisions of this chapter.
31	31	SECTION 2. (a) The Teacher Retirement System of Texas
32	32	shall make a one-time supplemental payment of a retirement or death
33	33	benefit, as provided by this section.
34	34	(b) The supplemental payment is payable in January 2016 and,
35	35	to the extent practicable, on a date or dates that coincide with the
36	36	regular annuity payment payable to each eligible annuitant.
37	37	(c) The amount of the supplemental payment is equal to the
38	38	greater of:
39	39	(1) $2,000; or
40	40	(2) the gross amount of the regular annuity payment to
41	41	which the eligible annuitant is otherwise entitled for the month of
42	42	December 2015.
43	43	(d) The supplemental payment is payable without regard to
44	44	any forfeiture of benefits under Section 824.601, Government Code.
45	45	The Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall make applicable tax
46	46	withholding and other legally required deductions before
47	47	disbursing the supplemental payment. A supplemental payment under
48	48	this section is in addition to and not in lieu of the regular
49	49	monthly annuity payment to which the eligible annuitant is
50	50	otherwise entitled.
51	51	(e) Subject to Subsection (f) of this section, to be
52	52	eligible for the supplemental payment, a person must be, for the
53	53	month of December 2015, and disregarding any forfeiture of benefits
54	54	under Section 824.601, Government Code, an annuitant eligible to
55	55	receive:
56	56	(1) a standard retirement annuity payment;
57	57	(2) an optional retirement annuity payment as either a
58	58	retiree or beneficiary;
59	59	(3) a life annuity payment under Section
60	60	824.402(a)(4), Government Code;
61	61	(4) an annuity for a guaranteed period of 60 months
62	62	under Section 824.402(a)(3), Government Code; or
63	63	(5) an alternate payee annuity payment under Section
64	64	804.005, Government Code.
65	65	(f) If the annuitant is a retiree or a beneficiary under an
66	66	optional retirement payment plan, to be eligible for the
67	67	supplemental payment, the effective date of the retirement of the
68	68	member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas must have been
69	69	before September 1, 2014. If the annuitant is a beneficiary under
70	70	Section 824.402(a)(3) or (4), Government Code, to be eligible for
71	71	the supplemental payment, the date of death of the member of the
72	72	retirement system must have been before September 1, 2014. The
73	73	supplemental payment shall be made to an alternate payee who is an
74	74	annuitant under Section 804.005, Government Code, only if the
75	75	annuity payment to the alternate payee commenced before September
76	76	1, 2014. The supplemental payment is in addition to the guaranteed
77	77	number of payments under Section 824.402(a)(3) or 824.204(c)(3) or
78	78	(4), Government Code, and may not be counted as one of the
79	79	guaranteed monthly payments.
80	80	(g) The supplemental payment does not apply to payments
81	81	under:
82	82	(1) Section 824.304(a), Government Code, relating to
83	83	disability retirees with less than 10 years of service credit;
84	84	(2) Section 824.804(b), Government Code, relating to
85	85	participants in the deferred retirement option plan with regard to
86	86	payments from their deferred retirement option plan accounts;
87	87	(3) Section 824.501(a), Government Code, relating to
88	88	retiree survivor beneficiaries who receive a survivor annuity in an
89	89	amount fixed by statute; or
90	90	(4) Section 824.404(a), Government Code, relating to
91	91	active member survivor beneficiaries who receive a survivor annuity
92	92	in an amount fixed by statute.
93	93	(h) Except as provided by this section, the board of
94	94	trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall determine
95	95	the eligibility for and the amount and timing of a supplemental
96	96	payment and the manner in which the payment is made.
97	97	(i) The Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall pay the
98	98	supplemental payment made under this section from the retired
99	99	reserve account and may transfer to that account from the state
100	100	contribution account any portion of the amount that exceeds the
101	101	amount in the retired reserve account available to finance the
102	102	supplemental payment and that is actuarially determined to be
103	103	necessary to finance the supplemental payment. The supplemental
104	104	payment under this section must comply with Section 821.006,
105	105	Government Code.
106	106	SECTION 3. Sections 824.7015 and 824.703, Government Code,
107	107	as added by this Act, apply only to a monthly benefit payment made
108	108	by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on or after September 1,
109	109	2015.
110	110	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.