§88-96  Rights of members separated from
service.  (a)  Any member who ceases to be an employee and who has fewer
than five years of credited service, excluding unused sick leave, upon
application to the board, shall be paid all of the member's accumulated
contributions and the member's membership shall thereupon terminate and all
credited service shall be forfeited; provided that a member shall not be paid
the member's accumulated contributions:



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



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



Regular interest shall be credited to the former
employee's account until the former employee's accumulated contributions are
returned to the former employee; 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.  Upon termination of the former
employee's membership, the former employee's credited service shall be
forfeited and, if the former employee's accumulated contributions are $1,000 or
less at the time of distribution, the system shall return the former employee's
contributions to the former employee.  If the former employee does not become
an employee again and if the former employee's accumulated contributions have
not been withdrawn by the former employee or previously returned by the system
to the former employee, 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 member having five or more years of
credited service who ceases to be an employee, upon application to the board,
shall be paid all of the member's accumulated contributions and thereupon the
former employee's membership shall terminate and all credited service shall be
forfeited; provided that a member shall not be paid the member's accumulated
contributions:



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



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



If the contributions are not withdrawn by the former
employee within four calendar years following the calendar year in which the
former employee's employment terminates, the former employee shall have
established 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; provided that if the former employee withdraws
the former employee's accumulated contributions, the former employee's vested
benefit status shall terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited.



(c)  In case of the death of any former member
after the termination of service, the former member's accumulated contributions
shall be payable to the former member's estate or to such person as the former
member has nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the
board. [L 1925, c 55, §6(10); RL 1935, pt of §7925; RL 1945, §708, subs 10, 13;
am L 1945, c 73, §1(f); am L 1947, c 103, §1(b), (c); RL 1955, §6-53; am L
1963, c 127, §13; am L 1965, c 222, §10; HRS §88-87; am L 1969, c 110, pt of
§1; am L 1982, c 165, pt of §2(15); am L 1984, c 32, §1; am L 1989, c 100, §2;
am L 2004, c 179, §15; am L 2005, c 58, §12; am L 2006, c 169, §19]



 



Attorney General Opinions



 



  Returning retirants are without "vested benefit
status".  Att. Gen. Op. 86-20.