Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:929 – Benefits not obligation of the state; payment of benefits; eligibility in other plans
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:929
- 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
- Beneficiary: means the eligible recipient of a pension, annuity, retirement allowance, or other benefit provided in this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Conduit individual retirement account: means an account which is covered by the provisions of Section 408(a) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, provided the account only contains assets rolled over to the account as an eligible rollover distribution from a qualified plan, plus earnings on those assets, but does not contain any other assets. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Creditable service: means "Prior Service" plus "Membership Service" for which credit is allowable as provided in Part III of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Employer: means the state of Louisiana, any city, parish, or other local school board, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, any board created by La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Retirement: means withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Retirement allowance: means the sum of the annuity and the pensions or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Retirement system: means the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana as defined in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
- Service: means service as a teacher within the meaning of Paragraph (33) of this Section. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:701
A. Any person electing to participate in the optional retirement plan shall agree that the benefits payable to participants are not the obligations of the state of Louisiana or the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, and that such benefits and other rights of the optional retirement plan are the liability and responsibility solely of the designated company or companies to whom contributions have been made. Furthermore, all participants shall in accordance with this agreement expressly waive his or her rights set forth in Article X, Section 29(A) and (B) of thethe Louisiana Constitution.
B.(1) Benefits shall be payable to optional retirement plan participants or their beneficiaries by the designated company or companies. Subject to the provisions of the contract, retirement benefits shall be paid in the form of a lifetime income, unless the participant or beneficiary requests a trustee-to-trustee single-sum cash rollover payment between qualified plans, or payment made directly to a conduit individual retirement account, but death benefits may be paid in the form of a single-sum cash payment paid directly to the beneficiary or estate, whichever is applicable.
(2) The Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System may approve the following single-sum cash payments:
(a) Direct transfers by and between companies.
(b) Death benefits.
(c) An initial benefit payable upon retirement, provided such benefit is approved by the contracting company. The initial benefit shall not exceed an amount equal to the participant’s monthly benefit, payable as a single-life annuity with no guarantees, times thirty-six.
C. An optional retirement plan participant receiving retirement benefits under Subsection B of this Section shall be eligible to participate in the Office of Group Benefits programs only if he has accumulated the total number of years of creditable service which would have entitled him to receive a retirement allowance from the defined benefit plan of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana.
D. Upon retirement of an optional retirement plan participant under Subsection B of this Section, the employer institution shall provide to the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana the total number of years of creditable service of that participant for the purpose of compliance with this Subsection. After receipt of the information required of the employer institution or board, the retirement system shall certify eligibility under Subsection C of this Section to the Office of Group Benefits.
E. In the event that an optional retirement plan participant is required to prove entitlement to a disability retirement allowance from the defined benefit plan of the retirement system in order to be eligible for participation in the Office of Group Benefits programs, the retirement system shall be responsible only for certification of the total number of years of creditable service as provided by the employer institution or board. Any medical finding of disability necessary for eligibility under Subsection C of this Section shall be the sole responsibility of the participant as required by the Office of Group Benefits.
F. There shall be no liability on the part of and no cause of action of any nature shall arise against the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana, or its agents or employees, for any action taken in the performance of the duties under Subsection D or E of this Section.
Acts 1989, No. 90, §1; Acts 1991, No. 714, §1; Acts 1991, No. 836, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 17:779 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §§3 and 5, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 88, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 1063, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1383, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1178, §1, eff. June 29, 2001.