1. The following words and phrases as used in sections 104.010 to 104.800, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall mean:

(1) “Accumulated contributions”, the sum of all deductions for retirement benefit purposes from a member‘s compensation which shall be credited to the member’s individual account and interest allowed thereon;

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(2) “Active armed warfare”, any declared war, or the Korean or Vietnamese Conflict;

(3) “Actuarial equivalent”, a benefit which, when computed upon the basis of specified actuarial assumptions approved by the board, is equal in value to a certain amount or other benefit;

(4) “Actuarial tables”, the actuarial tables approved and in use by a board at any given time;

(5) “Actuary”, the actuary who is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or who is an enrolled actuary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and who is employed by a board at any given time;

(6) “Annuity”, annual payments, made in equal monthly installments, to a retired member from funds provided for in, or authorized by, this chapter;

(7) “Annuity starting date”, the first day of the first month with respect to which an amount is paid as an annuity under sections 104.010 to 104.800, and the terms retirement, time of retirement, and date of retirement shall mean annuity starting date as defined in this subdivision unless the context in which the term is used indicates otherwise;

(8) “Average compensation”, the average compensation of a member for the thirty-six consecutive months of service prior to retirement when the member’s compensation was greatest; or if the member is on workers’ compensation leave of absence or a medical leave of absence due to an employee illness, the amount of compensation the member would have received may be used, as reported and verified by the employing department; or if the member had less than thirty-six months of service, the average annual compensation paid to the member during the period up to thirty-six months for which the member received creditable service when the member’s compensation was the greatest; or if the member is on military leave, the amount of compensation the member would have received may be used as reported and verified by the employing department or, if such amount is not determinable, the amount of the employee’s average rate of compensation during the twelve-month period immediately preceding such period of leave, or if shorter, the period of employment immediately preceding such period of leave. The board of each system may promulgate rules for purposes of calculating average compensation and other retirement provisions to accommodate for any state payroll system in which compensation is received on a monthly, semimonthly, biweekly, or other basis;

(9) “Beneficiary”, any persons or entities entitled to or nominated by a member or retiree who may be legally entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this chapter;

(10) “Biennial assembly”, the completion of no less than two years of creditable service or creditable prior service by a member of the general assembly;

(11) “Board of trustees”, “board”, or “trustees”, a board of trustees as established for the applicable system pursuant to this chapter;

(12) “Chapter”, sections 104.010 to 104.800;

(13) “Compensation”:

(a) All salary and wages payable out of any state, federal, trust, or other funds to an employee for personal services performed for a department; but including only amounts for which contributions have been made in accordance with section 104.436, or section 104.070, whichever is applicable, and excluding any nonrecurring single sum payments or amounts paid after the member’s termination of employment unless such amounts paid after such termination are a final installment of salary or wages at the same rate as in effect immediately prior to termination of employment in accordance with a state payroll system adopted on or after January 1, 2000, or any other one-time payments made as a result of such payroll system;

(b) All salary and wages which would have been payable out of any state, federal, trust or other funds to an employee on workers’ compensation leave of absence during the period the employee is receiving a weekly workers’ compensation benefit, as reported and verified by the employing department;

(c) Effective December 31, 1995, compensation in excess of the limitations set forth in Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) shall be disregarded. The limitation on compensation for eligible employees shall not be less than the amount which was allowed to be taken into account under the system as in effect on July 1, 1993. For this purpose, an “eligible employee” is an individual who was a member of the system before the first plan year beginning after December 31, 1995;

(d) The board by its rules may further define “compensation” in a manner consistent with this definition and subdivision;

(14) “Consumer price index”, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the United States, or its successor index, as approved by a board, as such index is defined and officially reported by the United States Department of Labor, or its successor agency;

(15) “Creditable prior service”, the service of an employee which was either rendered prior to the establishment of a system, or prior to the date the employee last became a member of a system, and which is recognized in determining the member’s eligibility and for the amount of the member’s benefits under a system;

(16) “Creditable service”, the sum of membership service and creditable prior service, to the extent such service is standing to a member’s credit as provided in this chapter; except that in no case shall more than one day of creditable service or creditable prior service be credited any member for any one calendar day of eligible service credit as provided by law;

(17) “Deferred normal annuity”, the annuity payable to any former employee who terminated employment as an employee or otherwise withdrew from service with a vested right to a normal annuity, payable at a future date;

(18) “Department”, any department or agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the state of Missouri receiving state appropriations, including allocated funds from the federal government but not including any body corporate or politic unless its employees are eligible for retirement coverage from a system pursuant to this chapter as otherwise provided by law;

(19) “Disability benefits”, benefits paid to any employee while totally disabled as provided in this chapter;

(20) “Early retirement age”, a member’s attainment of fifty-five years of age and the completion of ten or more years of creditable service, except for uniformed members of the water patrol;

(21) “Employee”:

(a) Effective August 28, 2007, any elective or appointive officer or person employed by the state who is employed, promoted or transferred by a department into a new or existing position and earns a salary or wage in a position normally requiring the performance by the person of duties during not less than one thousand forty hours per year, including each member of the general assembly but not including any patient or inmate of any state, charitable, penal or correctional institution. However, persons who are members of the public school retirement system and who are employed by a state agency other than an institution of higher learning shall be deemed employees for purposes of participating in all insurance programs administered by a board established pursuant to section 104.450. This definition shall not exclude any employee as defined in this subdivision who is covered only under the federal Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance Act, as amended. As used in this chapter, the term “employee” shall include:

a. Persons who are currently receiving annuities or other retirement benefits from some other retirement or benefit fund, so long as they are not simultaneously accumulating creditable service in another retirement or benefit system which will be used to determine eligibility for or the amount of a future retirement benefit;

b. Persons who have elected to become or who have been made members of a system pursuant to section 104.342;

(b) Any person who is not a retiree and has performed services in the employ of the general assembly or either house thereof, or any employee of any member of the general assembly while acting in the person’s official capacity as a member, and whose position does not normally require the person to perform duties during at least one thousand forty hours per year, with a month of service being any monthly pay period in which the employee was paid for full-time employment for that monthly period; except that persons described in this paragraph shall not include any such persons who are employed on or after August 28, 2007, and who have not previously been employed in such positions;

(c) “Employee” does not include special consultants employed pursuant to section 104.610;

(d) The system shall consider a person who is employed in multiple positions simultaneously within a single agency to be working in a single position for purposes of determining whether the person is an employee as defined in this subdivision;

(22) “Employer”, a department of the state;

(23) “Executive director”, the executive director employed by a board established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(24) “Fiscal year”, the period beginning July first in any year and ending June thirtieth the following year;

(25) “Full biennial assembly”, the period of time beginning on the first day the general assembly convenes for a first regular session until the last day of the following year;

(26) “Fund”, the benefit fund of a system established pursuant to this chapter;

(27) “Interest”, interest at such rate as shall be determined and prescribed from time to time by a board;

(28) “Member”, as used in sections 104.010 to 104.272 or 104.601 to 104.800 shall mean an employee, retiree, or former employee entitled to a deferred annuity covered by the Missouri department of transportation and highway patrol employees’ retirement system. “Member”, as used in this section and sections 104.312 to 104.800, shall mean an employee, retiree, or former employee entitled to deferred annuity covered by the Missouri state employees’ retirement system;

(29) “Membership service”, the service after becoming a member that is recognized in determining a member’s eligibility for and the amount of a member’s benefits under a system;

(30) “Military service”, all active service performed in the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and members of the United States Public Health Service or any women’s auxiliary thereof; and service in the Army National Guard and Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training or full-time National Guard duty, and service by any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or emergency;

(31) “Normal annuity”, the annuity provided to a member upon retirement at or after the member’s normal retirement age;

(32) “Normal retirement age”, an employee’s attainment of sixty-five years of age and the completion of four years of creditable service or the attainment of age sixty-five years of age and the completion of five years of creditable service by a member who has terminated employment and is entitled to a deferred normal annuity or the member’s attainment of age sixty and the completion of fifteen years of creditable service, except that normal retirement age for uniformed members of the highway patrol shall be fifty-five years of age and the completion of four years of creditable service and uniformed employees of the water patrol shall be fifty-five years of age and the completion of four years of creditable service or the attainment of age fifty-five and the completion of five years of creditable service by a member of the water patrol who has terminated employment and is entitled to a deferred normal annuity and members of the general assembly shall be fifty-five years of age and the completion of three full biennial assemblies. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a member of the Missouri department of transportation and highway patrol employees’ retirement system or a member of the Missouri state employees’ retirement system shall be entitled to retire with a normal annuity and shall be entitled to elect any of the survivor benefit options and shall also be entitled to any other provisions of this chapter that relate to retirement with a normal annuity if the sum of the member’s age and creditable service equals eighty years or more and if the member is at least forty-eight years of age;

(33) “Payroll deduction”, deductions made from an employee’s compensation;

(34) “Prior service credit”, the service of an employee rendered prior to the date the employee became a member which service is recognized in determining the member’s eligibility for benefits from a system but not in determining the amount of the member’s benefit;

(35) “Reduced annuity”, an actuarial equivalent of a normal annuity;

(36) “Retiree”, a member who is not an employee and who is receiving an annuity from a system pursuant to this chapter;

(37) “System” or “retirement system”, the Missouri department of transportation and highway patrol employees’ retirement system, as created by sections 104.010 to 104.270, or sections 104.601 to 104.800, or the Missouri state employees’ retirement system as created by sections 104.320 to 104.800;

(38) “Uniformed members of the highway patrol”, the superintendent, lieutenant colonel, majors, captains, director of radio, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, and patrolmen of the Missouri state highway patrol who normally appear in uniform;

(39) “Uniformed members of the water patrol”, employees of the Missouri state water patrol^* of the department of public safety who are classified as water patrol officers who have taken the oath of office prescribed by the provisions of chapter 306 and who have those peace officer powers given by the provisions of chapter 306;

(40) “Vesting service”, the sum of a member’s prior service credit and creditable service which is recognized in determining the member’s eligibility for benefits under the system.

2. Benefits paid pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not exceed the limitations of Internal Revenue Code Section 415, the provisions of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board of trustees may establish a benefit plan under Section 415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Such plan shall be created solely for the purposes described in Section 415(m)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The board of trustees may promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection and to create and administer such benefit plan.