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As used in this Chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:

(1)  “Accumulated contributions” means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon.

(2)  “Actuarial equivalent” means a benefit of equivalent value to the accumulated contributions, annuity, or benefits, as the case may be, computed upon the basis of such interest and mortality assumptions as are adopted in accordance with the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 11:1171.

(3)  “Agency” means any governing body employing persons in the public school system.

(4)  “Annuity” means payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member.  All annuities shall be payable in equal monthly installments.

(5)  “Annuity reserve” means the present value of all payments to be made on account of any annuity or benefit in lieu of any annuity computed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by the board of trustees, and regular interest.

(6)(a)  “Average compensation”, for a member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began on or before June 30, 2006, shall be based on the thirty-six highest successive months of employment, or on the highest thirty-six successive joined months of employment where interruption of service occurred; however, the average compensation amount to be considered for the first through the twelfth month shall not exceed the compensation for the immediately preceding twelve months by more than ten percent.  The amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the first through the twelfth month by more than ten percent.  The amount for the twenty-fifth through the thirty-sixth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month by more than ten percent.  The limitations on the computation of average compensation in this Paragraph shall not apply to any of the twelve-month periods where compensation increased by more than one hundred ten percent over the previous twelve-month period solely because of an increase in compensation by legislative act or by a city/parish system-wide salary increase.

(b)  “Average compensation”, for a member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in the system began on or after July 1, 2006, whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before June 30, 2010, shall be based on the sixty highest successive months of employment, or on the highest sixty successive joined months of employment where interruption of service occurred; however, the average compensation amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month shall not exceed the actual compensation amount for the first through the twelfth month by more than ten percent.  The amount for the twenty-fifth through the thirty-sixth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month by more than ten percent.  The amount for the thirty-seventh through the forty-eighth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the twenty-fifth through the thirty-sixth month by more than ten percent.  The amount for the forty-ninth through the sixtieth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the thirty-seventh through the forty-eighth month by more than ten percent.  The limitations on the computation of average compensation contained in this Paragraph shall not apply to any twelve-month period during which compensation increased by more than one hundred ten percent over the previous twelve-month period solely because of an increase in compensation by legislative act or by a city/parish system-wide salary increase.

(c)  “Average compensation”, for a member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or after July 1, 2010, shall be based on the sixty highest successive months of employment, or on the highest sixty successive joined months of employment where interruption of service occurred; however, the average compensation amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month shall not exceed the actual compensation amount for the first through the twelfth month by more than fifteen percent.  The amount for the twenty-fifth through the thirty-sixth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the thirteenth through the twenty-fourth month by more than fifteen percent.  The amount for the thirty-seventh through the forty-eighth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the twenty-fifth through the thirty-sixth month by more than fifteen percent.  The amount for the forty-ninth through the sixtieth month shall not exceed the lesser of the maximum allowable compensation amount or the actual compensation amount for the thirty-seventh through the forty-eighth month by more than fifteen percent.  The limitations on the computation of average compensation contained in this Subparagraph shall not apply to any twelve-month period during which compensation increased by more than one hundred fifteen percent over the previous twelve-month period solely because of an increase in compensation by legislative act or by a city/parish system-wide salary increase.

(d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, “average compensation” shall not include any amount in excess of the limitation provided in La. Rev. Stat. 11:1141.3.

(7)  “Beneficiary” means any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance or other benefit provided by this Chapter.

(8)  “Board of Trustees” means the board provided to administer the retirement system.

(9)  “Creditable service” means “prior service” plus “in service” plus “membership service” for which credit is allowable as provided in Part III of this Chapter.

(10)  “Defined benefit plan” shall mean a pension plan established and maintained by an employer primarily to provide systematically for the payment of definitely determinable benefits to employees over a period of years after retirement based upon such factors as years of service and compensation received by such employees.

(11)  Repealed by Acts 2014, No. 680, §2, eff. June 30, 2014.

(12)  “Earnable compensation” means the full amount earned by an employee for a given pay period.  Earnable compensation shall not include operating expenses, the cost of any insurance paid by the employer, or any allowance for expenses authorized and incurred as an incident of employment, nor payments in lieu of unused sick or annual leave.  Earnable compensation shall include pay received by school bus drivers for school-related extracurricular activities.  Contributions made by the employer under the provisions of this Chapter shall not be considered as a part of the employee’s rate of pay or compensation notwithstanding the provisions of any other law.

(13)  “Employee” means any person legally occupying a position as a school bus driver who actually renders a service by driving a school bus during the full time of his employment, a school janitor, a school custodian, a school maintenance employee, school bus aide, monitor or attendant, or other regular school employee who actually works on a school bus helping with the transportation of school children, and who is a legal employee of a parish or city school board of the state of Louisiana, and shall include the employees of this system.

(14)  “Employer” means the state of Louisiana or any parish or city school board from which any employee receives his compensation.

(15)  “In service” means service rendered after June 30, 1947, for which retirement credit has not been received and for which credit is allowable under Part III of this Chapter.

(16)  “Medical board” shall mean the State Medical Disability Board.

(17)  “Member” means any school employee, as defined in Paragraph (13) of this Section, as provided in Part II of this Chapter.  In all cases of doubt, the board of trustees, as hereinafter defined, shall determine whether any person is eligible to be a member.

(18)  “Membership service” means service as an employee rendered while a member of the retirement system.

(19)  “Minor child” means an unmarried child under the age of eighteen years or an unmarried student under the age of twenty-three years who is the issue of a marriage of a member of this system, the legally adopted child of a member of this system, the natural child of a female member of this system, or the child of a male member of this system if a court of competent jurisdiction has made an order of filiation declaring the paternity of such a member for the child or if the name of the father appears on the birth certificate or if the father has formally acknowledged the child.

(20)  “Pension reserve” means the present value of all payments to be made on account of any pension or benefit in lieu of any pension computed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by the board of trustees, and regular interest.

(21)  “Pensions” means payments for life derived from money provided by the state or the employing agency.  All pensions shall be payable in equal monthly installments.

(22)  “Prior service” means service rendered prior to July 1, 1947, for which credit is allowable under Part III of this Chapter.

(23)  “Regular interest” means interest compounded annually at such a rate as shall be determined by the board of trustees in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 11:1181.

(24)  “Retirement” means withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this Chapter.

(25)  “Retirement allowance” means the sum of annuity and the pensions or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof.

(26)  “Retirement system” means the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System established and described in La. Rev. Stat. 11:1001.

(27)  “Spouse” means a person who is legally married to a member of this system and shall not include a person who is legally separated from a member of this system by a judgment of separation.

Acts 1965, No. 79, §2; Acts 1968, Ex.Sess., No. 30, §1; Acts 1970, No. 51, §1; Acts 1978, No. 727, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1979; Acts 1982, No. 628, §1; Acts 1985, No. 652, §1, eff. July 16, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 274, §1; Acts 1988, No. 13, §1; Acts 1990, No. 570, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 17:882 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 125, §1; Acts 1992, No. 1032, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 565, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1025, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 177, §1; Acts 2006, No. 563, §1, eff. June 23, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 578, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 579, §1, eff. June 23, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 647, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 446, §1, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 637, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 992, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2011, No. 368, §1, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 680, §2, eff. June 30, 2014.