Okla. Admin. Code § 715:10-5-7.1

Current through Vol. 42, No. 6, December 2, 2024

Section 715:10-5-7.1 - Transfer of service credit from the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System

(a) An active member of the Teachers' Retirement System may receive credit for those years of service accumulated by the member while a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, provided he or she is not receiving or eligible to receive retirement credit or benefits from said service in any other public retirement system, notwithstanding the years of service sought to be transferred under this section. The member must be an active contributing member of the Teachers' Retirement System at the time application is made.

(b) A member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System who becomes amember of the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma because of employment by an entity or institution within the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, State Board of Education, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, State Department of Rehabilitation Services, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Department of Corrections, State Department of Education, Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools, Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges, Oklahoma Student Loan Authority, or the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma may transfer to the Teachers' Retirement System credit for years of service accumulated in the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System.

(c) The member must file a notice with the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System of his or her election to transfer service credit. The notice must include a list of the years to be transferred and the member's social security number or other identifying information that may be required by either retirement system to locate and evaluate the member's service credit. Qualifying service accumulated as a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System shall be accepted as service credit in the Teachers' Retirement System, subject to any statutory limitations, except for any service credited to the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System which is derived from less than one year of employment in any school year for which the member also receives a year of service credit from the Teachers' Retirement System, unless said service credits are earned as a result of simultaneous employment with separate participating employers of the systems.

(d) Except for members transferring credit as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Teachers' Retirement System, within thirty (30) days of receipt of notification of an intent to transfer service to the member's account, shall determine the present value of the member's incremental projected benefit discounted according to the member's age at the time of the transfer. This determination shall be computed at the earliest age at which the member would be able to retire and calculated in accordance with OAC 715:10-5-4 and 70 O.S. Section 17-116.8. Said computation shall assume an unreduced benefit and be computed using interest, salary projections and mortality assumptions consistent with the actuarial assumptions adopted by the Board of Trustees for purposes of preparing the annual actuarial evaluation. Upon completion of said determination, the Teachers' Retirement System shall notify the member and the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System of the cost to transfer service. If the cost to the Teachers' Retirement System of the actuarial value of the incremental benefit is greater than the cost as calculated for the same years of service in the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, the employee, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall elect to pay any difference to receive full credit for the years sought to be transferred, or receive prorated service credit for only the amount received fromthe Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System. Such an election shall be made in writing, filed with the System prior to receiving the credit provided for in this section, and shall be irrevocable.

(e) Upon receipt of all monies transferred by the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System shall credit the member's account for the deposit and notify the member of any additional payment due to complete the transfer. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the member is required to pay any difference between the amount determined in subsection (d) of this section and the amount received from the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System within sixty (60) days of notification byTeachers' Retirementunlessthe member elects monthly installments and pays the balance due in accordance with OAC 715:10-5-4.

(f) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, any member who ceases to make payment, terminates, retires or dies before completing the payments provided for in this rule shall receive prorated service credit for only those payments made, unless the unpaid balance is paid by said member, his or her estate or successor in interest within six (6) months after said member's death, termination of employment or retirement, provided no retirement benefits shall be payable until the unpaid balance is paid, unless said member or beneficiary affirmatively waives the additional six-month period in which to pay the unpaid balance.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f) of this section, if any member fails for any reason to satisfy the requirements of this rule, the election to transfer service credit shall be void and of no effect, and any service credited as a result of this transfer shall be canceled. Teachers' Retirement shall return to the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System any monies transferred for the canceled service.

(h) Years of service transferred pursuant to this rule shall be used in determining the member's retirement benefit. Participating service, as defined by the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, shall be credited to the member's account for purposes of vesting his or her account under OAC 715:10-7-1. A member who joined the Teachers' Retirement System on or after July 1, 1992, and transfers service credit for employment performed as a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System on or before July 1, 1992, shall receive credit for such service as if the service were performed as a member of the Teachers' Retirement System, and the member's eligibility for retirement shall be determined as if the member had been a member of the Teachers' Retirement System from the date of such service.

Okla. Admin. Code § 715:10-5-7.1

Added at 12 Ok Reg 295, eff 10-14-94 through 7-14-95 (emergency)¹; Added at 12 Ok Reg 3285, eff 7-27-95; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 3523, eff 8-26-96; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 50, eff 10-3-00 (emergency); Amended at 18 Ok Reg 3152, eff 7-12-01; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2729, eff 7-11-02

¹This emergency action expired before being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency action enacting a new Section, the text of the Section is no longer effective. Therefore, on 7-15-95 (after the 7-14-95 expiration of the emergency action), the text of section 715:10-5-7.1 was no longer effective, and remained as such until added by permanent action on 7-27-95.