Arizona Laws 38-842.01. Benefit election; eligibility; disability; death; employees hired on or after July 1, 2017
A. An employee who is hired on or after July 1, 2017 and who was not an active, an inactive or a retired member of the system or a member of the system with a disability on June 30, 2017 is eligible to participate in the system or the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter, depending on the employee’s election under this section. The employee’s participation in either the system or the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter begins ninety days after the date the employee is hired. Unless the elections made under this section are made before the ninetieth day after the date of employment, the employee is automatically enrolled in the system for the remainder of the employee’s employment. Any election made under this section is irrevocable and is the employee’s election for the remainder of the employee’s employment. If an employee is subsequently rehired after a bona fide termination of employment from the employee’s employer of not less than six months with no prearranged reemployment agreement with the employer or hired by a new employer, the employee may make a new election under this section before the ninetieth day after the date of hire. If the employee does not make a new election within that time frame, the employee’s previous election will continue. The employee may make one of the following irrevocable elections:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 38-842.01
- Catastrophic disability: means a physical and not a psychological condition that the local board determines prevents the employee from totally and permanently engaging in any gainful employment and that results from a physical injury incurred in the performance of the employee's duty. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Compensation: means , for the purpose of computing retirement benefits, base salary, overtime pay, shift differential pay, military differential wage pay, compensatory time used by an employee in lieu of overtime not otherwise paid by an employer and holiday pay paid to an employee by the employer for the employee's performance of services in an eligible group on a regular monthly, semimonthly or biweekly payroll basis and longevity pay paid to an employee at least every six months for which contributions are made to the system pursuant to section 38-843, subsection D. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Employee: means any person who is employed by a participating employer and who is a member of an eligible group but does not include any persons compensated on a contractual or fee basis. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Participant: means a member who is subject to a domestic relations order. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Pension: means a series of monthly amounts that are payable to a person who is entitled to receive benefits under the plan but does not include an annuity that is payable pursuant to Section 38-846. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- retired: means termination of employment after a member has fulfilled all requirements for a pension, for an employee who becomes a member of the system on or after January 1, 2012 and before July 1, 2017, attains the age and service requirements for a normal retirement date or for an employee who becomes a member of the system on or after July 1, 2017 attains the age and credited service requirements for a normal retirement date. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- System: means the public safety personnel retirement system established by this article. See Arizona Laws 38-842
1. To participate solely in the system.
2. To participate solely in the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter.
B. An employee who makes an election to participate solely in the system or is automatically enrolled in the system pursuant to subsection A of this section and who is not covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system is also enrolled in the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter during any period that the employee is not covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system through an employer under the system. If such employee is subsequently covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system, the employee and the employer may not make any contributions on the employee’s behalf to the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter that are described in section 38-867, subsection A, paragraph 1 or subsection B during the period the employee is covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system. If at any later time the employee is not covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system through an employer under the system, the employee and the employer shall again be required to contribute on behalf of the employee to the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter as required by section 38-867, subsection A, paragraph 1 and, if the employee made an irrevocable election to contribute more of the employee’s gross pensionable compensation to the public safety personnel defined contribution retirement plan as provided in section 38-867, subsection B, such contributions shall be reestablished for the period the employee is not covered by the federal old age and survivors insurance system.
C. If an employee in the employee’s first ninety days of employment is determined to be eligible for an accidental or catastrophic disability pension pursuant to section 38-844, the employee shall be automatically enrolled in the system for the remainder of the employee’s employment with any employer under the system commencing on the employee’s date of disability and shall receive an accidental or catastrophic disability pension as prescribed in this article.
D. If an employee in the employee’s first ninety days of employment is killed in the line of duty or dies from injuries suffered in the line of duty, the employee shall be considered as having been enrolled in the system and the surviving spouse of the deceased employee is eligible for survivor benefits as prescribed in this article.
E. If an employee who is hired on or after July 1, 2017 and who is an active or inactive member of the system or a participant in the public safety personnel defined contribution plan established pursuant to article 4.1 of this chapter is subsequently rehired by the employee’s previous employer or another employer under the system, the employee’s participation in either the system or the public safety personnel defined contribution plan, for which the employee had elected to participate, begins on the date the employee is rehired or hired by another employer.