6.515 Terms of service to qualify -- Military service credit acquisition -- Special provisions for active members.

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Page 1 of 4 6.515 Terms of service to qualify -- Military service credit acquisition -- Special provisions for active members. (1) Service credit in the Legislators' Retirement Plan shall be acquired only by service as a legislator after July 1, 1980, while a member of the plan, by transfer of credit as provided in KRS 6.505, or by purchase or transfer of credit as provided in this section. (2) (a) 1. Any active member of the Legislators' Retirement Plan who has at least five (5) years of service credit in the Legislators' Retirement Plan, or his beneficiary acting in his place if the member dies prior to retirement, shall receive service credit for a maximum of four (4) years for his period of service in the Armed Forces of the United States, if his discharge therefrom is honorable and he has not been credited with the service by any other retirement system administered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, by paying the retirement system thirty-five percent (35%) of the actuarial cost of the service as determined by the board of trustees, based on assumptions used in the most recent biennial evaluation. The service credit shall be awarded and the cost shall be determined in conformity with the rate which applies to the legislator in question under KRS 6.520. Service credit awarded under this subsection shall be equivalent, for all purposes of the Legislators' Retirement Plan, to other service credit earned in the plan. 2. Any active member of the Legislators' Retirement Plan who has at least five (5) years of service credit in the Legislators' Retirement Plan may purchase and receive service credit for one (1) month of service for each six (6) months of service in the reserves or the National Guard by paying the retirement system one hundred percent (100%) of the actuarial cost of the service as determined by the board of trustees, based on the assumptions used in the most recent biennial evaluation. The service credit shall be awarded and the cost shall be determined in conformity with the rate that applies to the legislator in question under KRS 6.520. Service credit awarded as provided in this subsection shall be equivalent, for all purposes of the Legislators' Retirement Plan, to other service credit earned in the plan. The service in the military reserves or the National Guard shall be treated as service earned prior to participation in the plan. The purchase can be made by the member by transfer, if authorized under subsection (7)(d) of this section, or in a lump-sum payment or by installment payments, as set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection. The payment shall not be picked up by the employer as provided in KRS 6.505(4). (b) The member may purchase all of his military service credit at one (1) time, or in increments of no less than one (1) year, unless there is a fraction remaining after all full years have been paid for. Payment of the total or the increment may be made by lump-sum or by monthly installments through payroll deduction. If the member chooses to pay by installment, the cost of the service Page 2 of 4 credit shall be computed in the same manner as for a lump-sum payment, which shall be the principal. Interest, at the annual actuarial rate in effect at the time each payment is made, shall be added to each monthly payment at the rate of one-twelfth (1/12) of the annual interest rate applied to the declining principal amount. Installment purchases shall be for no less than twelve (12) nor more than sixty (60) months. If the member leaves office before completing his installment payments, he may satisfy his contract by a lump- sum payment of the remaining principal amount, but no further installment payments shall be accepted thereafter. In this case, the member shall be credited with the military service credit for which he has paid, in years or months but no fraction less than a full month, and any payment remaining after credit for full months has been awarded shall be returned to the member. (c) The payments made under this section shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). (3) In the event of divorce, rights to benefits shall be considered marital property subject to the provisions of KRS 403.190. (4) A member who has qualified for benefits under KRS 6.525(1) may transfer to the Legislators' Retirement Plan up to ten (10) years of service credit which he has earned in a retirement system administered by Kentucky Retirement Systems. If the member elects to transfer his service credit, the system from which the transfer is made shall transfer to the legislators' retirement fund an amount equal to the employee's and employer's contributions attributable to that credit, together with interest on the contributions from the date made to date of transfer at the actuarially assumed interest rate of the system from which the transfer is made in effect at the time the contributions were made, compounded annually at that same interest rate. The member shall be entitled to the transferred service credit, at the rate at which he qualifies under KRS 6.520, when he pays the total difference between the amount of the funds transferred and the cost of the credit to the Legislators' Retirement Plan, as determined by the actuary for the Legislators' Retirement Plan. The member may pay by transfer, if authorized under subsection (7)(d) of this section, by lump sum, or by increments, as provided for in this section. The payments made under this section shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). (5) (a) Any active member of the Legislators Retirement Plan who is vested in the Legislators Retirement Plan under KRS 6.525 shall receive service credit for a maximum of four (4) years each for his period of service as a Domestic Relations Commissioner, a Master Commissioner, or a District Court Trial Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or a combination thereof, if the service has not been credited to the member's account with any other public defined benefit plan, by paying the retirement system one hundred percent (100%) of the actuarial cost of the service as determined by the board of trustees, based on assumptions used in the most recent biennial evaluation. The period of service to be purchased shall be certified to the board of trustees Page 3 of 4 by the custodian of the records. The service credit shall be awarded and the cost shall be determined in conformity with the rate that applies to the member in question under KRS 6.520. Service credit awarded under this subsection shall be equivalent, for all purposes of the Legislators Retirement Plan, to other service credit earned in the plan. The member may pay by transfer, by lump sum, or by increments as set forth in this section. The payments made under this section shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). (b) Any active member of the Legislators Retirement Plan who is vested in the Legislators Retirement Plan under KRS 6.525, shall receive service credit for his period of service to the United States Government, other than service in the Armed Forces, if the service has not been credited to the member's account with any other public defined benefit plan, by paying the retirement system one hundred percent (100%) of the actuarial cost of the service as determined by the board of trustees, based on assumptions used in the most recent biennial evaluation. The period of service to be purchased shall be certified to the board of trustees by the custodian of the records. The service credit shall be awarded and the cost shall be determined in conformity with the rate that applies to the member in question under KRS 6.520. Service credit awarded under this subsection shall be equivalent, for all purposes of the Legislators Retirement Plan, to other service credit earned in the plan. The member may pay by transfer, by lump sum, or by increments as set forth in this section. The payments made under this section shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). (c) Any member of the Legislators Retirement Plan, who is in office on June 21, 2001, and who is in active contributing status to the applicable retirement plan on June 21, 2001, and who has at least one hundred eighty (180) months of service credit may purchase a combined maximum total of five (5) years of retirement service credit that is not otherwise purchasable, by paying the retirement system one hundred percent (100%) of the actuarial cost of the service as determined by the board of trustees, based on assumptions used in the most recent biennial evaluation. The member shall be entitled to the service credit at the rate at which he qualifies under KRS 6.520. Service credit awarded under this subsection shall be equivalent, for all purposes of the Legislators Retirement Plan, to other service credit earned in the plan, except that the service purchased under this subsection shall not be used in determining a retirement allowance until the member has accrued at least two hundred forty (240) months of service, excluding service purchased under this subsection. If the member does not accrue at least two hundred forty (240) months of service, excluding service purchased under this subsection, then upon retirement, death, or written request following termination, the payment shall be refunded. The member may pay by transfer, by lump sum, or by increments as set forth in this section. The payments made under this section Page 4 of 4 shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). (d) A member of the Legislators Retirement Plan may purchase service credit under the provisions of this section by transferring funds through a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer as permitted under the applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code and any regulations or rulings issued thereunder or through a direct rollover as contemplated by and permitted under 26 U.S.C. sec. 401(a)(31) and any regulations or rulings issued thereunder. Service credit may also be purchased by a rollover of funds pursuant to and permitted under the rules specified in 26 U.S.C. sec. 402(c) and 26 U.S.C. sec. 408(d)(3). The Legislators Retirement Fund shall accept the transfer or rollover to the extent permitted under the rules specified in the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and any regulations and rulings issued thereunder. The amount shall be credited to the individual member's contribution account and shall be considered accumulated contributions of the member and shall not be picked up by the employer under KRS 6.505(4). Effective: June 20, 2005 History: Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 86, sec. 3, effective June 20, 2005. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 128, sec. 1, effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 4, effective July 15, 2002; and ch. 258, sec. 3, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 2001 Ky. Acts ch. 146, sec. 2, effective June 21, 2001. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 389, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 266, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1994. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 222, sec. 9, effective July 13, 1990; and ch. 480, sec. 3, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 458, sec. 16, effective April 15, 1982. -- Created 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 407, sec. 14, effective July 1, 1980.