Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes > Chapter 167a - Teachers' Retirement System

• Actuarial reserve basis: means a basis under which the liabilities of the retirement system are determined under acceptable actuarial methods and under which assets are accumulated under a program designed to achieve a proper balance between the accumulated assets and the liabilities of the system. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annual salary: means the annual salary rate for service as a Connecticut teacher during a school year but not including unused sick leave, unused vacation, terminal pay, coaching or extra duty assignments, unless compensation for coaching or extra duty assignment was included in salary for which contributions were made prior to July 1, 1971. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Average annual salary: means the average of the three highest annual salaries received as an active member. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Board: means the Teachers' Retirement Board. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Child: means a natural child, an adopted child, or a stepchild of a deceased member who has been a stepchild for at least one year immediately prior to the date on which the member died. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contributions: means amounts withheld pursuant to this chapter and paid to the board by an employer from compensation payable to a member. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Coparticipant: means a person who the member elects at the time of retirement to receive guaranteed lifetime benefits upon the death of the member. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Credited interest: means interest at the rate from time to time fixed by the board consistent with industry standards and practices. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Current service: means service rendered in the current fiscal year. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dependent former spouse: means a former spouse of a deceased member who (A) has in his or her care a dependent child of the deceased member. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Dependent parent: means a parent of a deceased member who (A) has reached the age of sixty-five. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Designated beneficiary: means a person designated on a form prescribed by the board by a member to receive amounts that may become payable under this chapter as the result of the member's death. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Disabled: means the inability to perform any teaching service, whether or not such service is performed full-time or part-time, in a public or nonpublic school or a nonschool setting, on a volunteer basis or for compensation, within or without the state, or engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that (A) is permanent or can be expected to last continually for not less than twelve months from the onset of such impairment, or (B) can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, except that during the first twenty-four months that a member is receiving a disability allowance, "disabled" means the inability to perform the usual duties of the member's occupation by reason of any such impairment. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Employer: means an elected school committee, a board of education, the State Board of Education, the Office of Early Childhood, the Technical Education and Career System, the Board of Regents for Higher Education or any of the constituent units, the governing body of the Children's Center and its successors, The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the E. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Formal application of retirement: means : (A) the member's application, birth certificate or notarized statement supported by other evidence satisfactory to the board, in lieu thereof, (B) records of service, if such records are required by the board to determine a salary rate or years of creditable service, (C) a statement of payment plan, including, if applicable, the fixed period of time selected by a member under Plan C or the coparticipant's share designated under Plan D, (D) in the case of an application for a disability benefit, a physician's, a physician assistant's or an advanced practice registered nurse's statement of health, and (E) any other documentation required by the board. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Formal leave of absence: means any absence from active service in the public schools of Connecticut formally granted by a member's employer as evidenced by contemporary records of the employer, provided in the case of an absence due to illness, medical or other evidence of such illness may, at the discretion of the Teachers' Retirement Board, be accepted in lieu of evidence of the formal granting of a leave. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Funding: means the accumulation of assets in advance of the payment of retirement allowances in accordance with a board-approved actuarial methodology. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, and any regulations promulgated under or interpretations of said code that may affect this chapter. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limitation year: means the twelve-month period beginning each July first and ending each June thirtieth. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Member: means any Connecticut teacher employed (A) on, and compensated for, the first school day, in accordance with the member's contractual schedule, and (B) for an average of at least one-half of each school day after the first school day, except that no teacher who under any provision of the general statutes elects not to participate in the system shall be a member unless and until the teacher elects to participate in the system. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
• Normal cost: means the amount of contribution which the state is required to make into the retirement fund in order to meet the actuarial cost of current service. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• permanent substitute teacher: is a person who serves as a substitute teacher in the same assignment for an entire school year. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Public school: means any day school conducted within or without this state under the orders and superintendence of a duly elected school committee, a board of education, the State Board of Education, the Office of Early Childhood, the Board of Regents for Higher Education, or any of its constituent units, The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the board of governors or any of its constituent units, the Technical Education and Career System, the E. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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 member: means a member who receives a retirement benefit computed pursuant to section 10-183g. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Retirement allowance: means payments for life derived from member contributions, including credited interest, and contributions from the state. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• School year: means the twelve months ending on June thirtieth of each year. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• succeeding: when used by way of reference to any section or sections, mean the section or sections next preceding, next following or next succeeding, unless some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
• Surviving spouse: means a widow or widower of a deceased member who (A) was living with the member at the time of the member's death, or receiving, or entitled by court order or agreement to receive, regular support payments from the member, and (B) has not remarried. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Survivor: means a surviving spouse, a dependent former spouse, a dependent child and a dependent parent. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• System: means the Connecticut teachers' retirement system. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Teacher: means any: (A) Person, including, but not limited to, a teacher, permanent substitute teacher, principal, assistant principal, supervisor, assistant superintendent or superintendent who is employed by a public school in a professional capacity while possessing a certificate or permit, except a school business administration endorsement, issued by the State Board of Education, provided on and after July 1, 1975, such certificate shall be for the position in which the person is then employed, except as provided for in section 10-183qq. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unfunded liability: means the actuarially determined value of the liability for service before the date of the actuarial valuation less the accumulated assets in the retirement fund. See Connecticut General Statutes 10-183b
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}