Okla. Admin. Code § 590:10-1-18
Current through Vol. 42, No. 4, November 1, 2024
Section 590:10-1-18 - Release of records(a) Pursuant to 74 O.S. § 932, a retired, vested or active member's name, age, amount of contributions paid in, benefits being paid, amount of credited service and documents verifying credited service or benefits may be released. All other information in a member's retirement file remains confidential, including information or documents pertaining to joint annuitants or beneficiaries.(b) The System will only disclose information or records that are clearly required to be disclosed under the law. All requests for information must be in writing and state the specific information requested and the purpose for the request. The request must also specify the plan that it applies to. Requests which do not specify the plan name shall be presumed to apply to OPERS only. In addition, the request must provide sufficient information to easily identify the member. While a Social Security number may not be required, the date of birth, agency number, first and middle initial or other identifying information must be provided. Search and copy fees will be in accordance with OPERS adopted and published fee schedule.(c) Information which does not currently exist does not have to be "created" nor does information have to be provided in a format or medium that does not currently exist.(d) In order to comply with this provision, the following information may be supplied upon request: (1) Member's name - OPERS, URSJJ and SoonerSave computer records maintain only first and middle initials, and not the full name.(2) Member's age - In order to protect our members from potential identity theft, only the current age of the member expressed in whole years shall be provided in response to a general request for the age of a member.(3) Amount of contributions paid in - Contribution statements will show only employee contributions into OPERS and URSJJ. Employer contributions for individual employees are not complete. In response to a general request for a member's "contributions", only the employee contributions will be provided. If a specific request for employer contributions is made, we will provide a copy of the incomplete record with an explanation of the time period covered. For the SoonerSave accounts, the deferral amounts into the 457 Plan are not "contributions" and will not be disclosed. The employer contributions and the transfer of contributions to the Savings Incentive Plan will be provided if specifically requested, however, the amount of interest or earnings will not be released as it is not a "contribution". All account balances for the SoonerSave plans which reflect investment earnings will not be released.(4) Benefits being paid - This information is available only for retired members of OPERS and URSJJ who are currently receiving benefits. SoonerSave does not pay "benefits", therefore, payments from the plan including any distribution amounts, hardship distributions or distribution schedules will not be released.(5) Amount of credited service - This information may not be available for OPERS or URSJJ members who are active and have never had a benefit estimate completed. Therefore, general requests for credited service will be provided on retired or vested members only, and specific requests for credited service for active members will be provided only if the information exists in the file. Credited service is not relevant to or contained in the SoonerSave plans' records and cannot be provided.(6) Any documents verifying credited service or benefits - This information will be provided only if specifically requested for OPERS and URSJJ. The decision whether a document is used to verify credited service or benefits is discretionary and any release of these documents will be approved by the Executive Director on a case-by-case basis. The documents must have all confidential information redacted prior to being released. SoonerSave accounts do not contain information on either credited service or benefits, therefore, documents will not be released from the SoonerSave files.(e) Information that is released must always have all Social Security numbers, home addresses and all telephone, pager or cell phone numbers redacted from any records or documents released, pursuant to 74 O.S. § 840-2.11. This will be done by removing or covering the confidential information to ensure that the information cannot be seen from either side of the page.(f) Certain information contained in a member's file will remain confidential and will not be released without the member's permission. Examples of such information are: (1) Change of address records(2) Insurance information or documents(3) Any health care information(4) Any educational records(6) Payroll deductions and withholdings(7) Medical documents of any kind(8) Copies of driver's license(9) Social Security numbers or copies of cards(10) Copies of birth certificates, death certificates or baptism documents(11) Copies of military records(12) Any bank account or banking information(13) Copies of passports or other forms of identification(14) Any unemployment information(15) Any worker's compensation information(g) This rule is applicable to any plan or account managed or administered by the Board.Okla. Admin. Code § 590:10-1-18
Added at 22 Ok Reg 126, eff 10-6-04 (emergency); Added at 22 Ok Reg 1354, eff 5-26-05; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 1135, eff 5-11-07