§88-341  Rights of members separated from
service.  (a)  [2006 amendment retroactive to July 1, 2004.  L 2006, c
169, §43.]  Any class H member who ceases to be an employee and who
has fewer than five years of credited service, excluding unused sick leave,
shall upon application to the board, be paid all of the former employee's
accumulated contributions, and the former employee's membership shall thereupon
terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited; provided that an
individual shall not be paid the individual's accumulated contributions if
either:



(1)  The individual becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the individual ceased to be an employee; or



(2)  At the time the application for return of
accumulated contributions is received by the board, the individual has become
an employee again.



Regular interest shall be credited to the
former employee's account until the former employee's accumulated contributions
are withdrawn; provided that the former employee's membership shall not
continue after the fourth full year following the calendar year in which the
individual's employment terminates. If the former employee does not become an
employee again and has not withdrawn the former employee's accumulated
contributions, the system shall return the former employee's accumulated
contributions to the former employee as soon as possible after the former
employee attains age sixty-two.



(b)  Any class H member having five or more
years of credited service who ceases to be an employee, upon application to the
board, shall be paid an amount equal to the former employee's hypothetical
account balance and the former employee's membership shall thereupon terminate
and all credited service shall be forfeited; provided that the individual shall
not be paid the individual's hypothetical account balance if either:



(1)  The individual becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the individual ceased to be an employee; or



(2)  At the time the application for payment of the
individual's hypothetical account balance is received by the board, the
individual has become an employee again.



If the contributions are not withdrawn by the
former employee after the individual's employment terminates, the former
employee shall have vested benefit status and shall be eligible for the service
retirement benefit in effect at the time of the former employee's retirement,
payable in accordance with this chapter.



(c)  In case of the death after the termination
of service and prior to retirement of any former class H member who has not
withdrawn the member's contributions, there shall be paid to the former
member's estate or to the person as the former member has nominated by written
designation duly executed and filed with the board if either:



(1)  The former member had less than five years of
credited service at the time of death, the former member's accumulated
contributions; or



(2)  The former member had five or more years of
credited service at the time of death, the former member's hypothetical account
balance. [L 2004, c 179, pt of §1; am L 2005, c 58, §31; am L 2006, c 169, §39]