Terms Used In Missouri Laws > Chapter 104 - Retirement of State Officers and Employees

• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Active armed warfare: any declared war, or the Korean or Vietnamese Conflict. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Actuarial tables: the actuarial tables approved and in use by a board at any given time. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• 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.
• Annuity: annual payments, made in equal monthly installments, to a retired member from funds provided for in, or authorized by, this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Annuity starting date: the first day of the first month with respect to which an amount is paid as an annuity under sections 104. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• 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 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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: 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Biennial assembly: the completion of no less than two years of creditable service or creditable prior service by a member of the general assembly. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Board of trustees: "board", or "trustees", a board of trustees as established for the applicable system pursuant to this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Chapter: sections 104. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Disability benefits: benefits paid to any employee while totally disabled as provided in this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• employee: shall include :

  a. See Missouri Laws 104.010

• Employer: a department of the state. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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.
• Executive director: the executive director employed by a board established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Fund: the benefit fund of a system established pursuant to this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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
• hereafter: means the time after the statute containing it takes effect. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Interest: interest at such rate as shall be determined and prescribed from time to time by a board. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• 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.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Member: as used in sections 104. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Month: means a calendar month, and "year" means a calendar year unless otherwise expressed, and is equivalent to the words year of our Lord. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Normal annuity: the annuity provided to a member upon retirement at or after the member's normal retirement age. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Payroll deduction: deductions made from an employee's compensation. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Reduced annuity: an actuarial equivalent of a normal annuity. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• 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.
• Retiree: a member who is not an employee and who is receiving an annuity from a system pursuant to this chapter. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• retirement system: the Missouri department of transportation and highway patrol employees' retirement system, as created by sections 104. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Uniformed members of the water patrol: employees of the Missouri state water patrol^{Missouri Laws 104.010}
• United States: includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
• 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. See Missouri Laws 104.010
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.