Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 19 > Chapter 20 - Teachers' Retirement

• account balance: means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member or paid by a member and credited to the member's individual account in the annuity savings account, together with interest, minus any amount deducted for correction of errors and the aggregate amount of all retirement benefit payments and refunds of accumulated contributions paid to or on behalf of the member. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Actuarial equivalent: means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rate assumption set by the retirement board. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• 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.
• Agency: means an office, position, commission, committee, board, department, council, division, bureau, section, or any other entity or instrumentality of the executive branch of state government. See Montana Code 2-15-102
• Alternate beneficiary: means an estate or an individual not designated as a beneficiary but that becomes a beneficiary pursuant to 19-20-1005. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Amount owed: means the total amount of overpaid benefits or unpaid contributions plus accrued interest as provided in 19-20-1206 and costs and fees awarded as provided in 19-20-1214. See Montana Code 19-20-1201
• 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.
• 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 final compensation: means a member's highest average earned compensation, determined pursuant to 19-20-805, on which all required contributions have been made. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• 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 designation: means the process that the retirement system prescribes pursuant to this chapter by which a person authorized by law designates one or more beneficiaries. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Beneficiary designation record: means either the hard copy form or electronic record prescribed by the retirement system and used by a person authorized by law to designate one or more beneficiaries. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Benefit recipient: means a retired member, a joint annuitant, or a beneficiary who is receiving a retirement allowance. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Benefit recipient: means a benefit recipient as defined in 19-20-101, an alternate payee, or any other person or entity that is entitled to a future payment or that received an overpayment on behalf of the member. See Montana Code 19-20-1201
• board: means the retirement system's governing board provided for in 2-15-1010. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contingent beneficiary: Receiver of property or benefits if the first named beneficiary fails to receive any or all of the property or benefits in question before his (her) death.
• Contingent beneficiary: means a designated beneficiary with the right to receive any benefit or refund of accumulated contributions payable if there is no eligible primary beneficiary. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• 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.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Department: means a principal functional and administrative entity that:

  (a)is created by this chapter within the executive branch of state government;

  (b)is one of the 20 principal departments permitted under the constitution; and

  (c)includes its units. See Montana Code 2-15-102

• Designated beneficiary: means one or more primary beneficiaries or contingent beneficiaries designated pursuant to 19-20-1006. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Director: means a department head specifically referred to as a director in this chapter and does not mean a commission, board, commissioner, or constitutional officer. See Montana Code 2-15-102
• Earned compensation: means , except as limited by subsections (12)(b) and (12)(c) or by 19-20-715, remuneration paid for the service of a member out of funds controlled by an employer before any pretax deductions allowed under the Internal Revenue Code are deducted. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Employer: means :

  (a)the state of Montana;

  (b)a public school district, as provided in 20-6-101 and 20-6-701;

  (c)the office of public instruction;

  (d)the board of public education;

  (e)an education cooperative;

  (f)the Montana school for the deaf and blind, as described in 20-8-101;

  (g)the Montana youth challenge program, as defined in 10-1-101;

  (h)a correctional facility, as defined in 41-5-103;

  (i)the Montana university system;

  (j)a community college; or

  (k)any other agency, political subdivision, or instrumentality of the state that employs a person who is designated a member of the retirement system pursuant to 19-20-302. See Montana Code 19-20-101

• Error: means any of the following, whether or not intended, that has resulted in or may result in the retirement system paying more or less on behalf of a member than is authorized to be paid or in the retirement system receiving more or less in contributions than is required to be paid to the retirement system pursuant to plan terms:

  (a)a clerical mistake;

  (b)a failure to fully and correctly perform a required act or provide required information;

  (c)an assertion or other representation of fact or circumstance that is not complete and accurate; or

  (d)an incorrect understanding, construction, or application of plan terms or other applicable law or policy. See Montana Code 19-20-1201

• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Extra duty service: means service in an educational services capacity that is not compensated as part of the normally assigned duties and functions of a school district teacher, administrator, or other employee but is regularly assigned to one or more school district teachers, administrators, or other employees as part of the regular operation of the school district's curricular and extracurricular programs. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Full-time service: means service that is:

  (a)at least 180 days in a fiscal year;

  (b)at least 140 hours a month during at least 9 months in a fiscal year; or

  (c)at least 1,080 hours in a fiscal year under an alternative school calendar adopted by a school board and reported to the office of public instruction as required by 20-1-302. See Montana Code 19-20-101

• 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
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• 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.
• Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Internal Revenue Code: has the meaning provided in 15-30-2101. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Joint annuitant: means the one person that a retired member who has elected an optional allowance under 19-20-702(2), (4), or (5) has designated to receive a retirement allowance upon the death of the retired member. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Member: means a person who has an individual account in the annuity savings account. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• normal form benefit: means a monthly retirement benefit payable only for the lifetime of the retired member. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Normal retirement age: means an age no earlier than 60 years of age. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• 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.
• overpayment: means the total amount of all monthly retirement benefits or other amounts paid by the retirement system on behalf of a member due to an error. See Montana Code 19-20-1201
• Part-time service: means service that is not full-time service. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• plan: means the teachers' retirement system of the state of Montana provided for in 19-20-102. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Position reportable to the retirement system: means a position in which an individual performs duties that would entitle the person to active membership in the retirement system under the provisions of 19-20-302. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Primary beneficiary: means a designated beneficiary with a first right to receive any benefit or refund of accumulated contributions payable upon the death of the individual authorized by law to make the designation. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Probate: Proving a will
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Regular interest: means interest at a rate set by the retirement board in accordance with 19-20-501(2). See Montana Code 19-20-101
• retiree: means a person who is considered in retired member status under the provisions of 19-20-810. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• retirement benefit: means a monthly payment due to a retired member who has qualified for service or disability retirement or due to a joint annuitant or beneficiary. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Service: means the performance of duties that would entitle the person to active membership in the retirement system under the provisions of 19-20-302. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• terminate: means that the employment relationship between the member and the member's employer has been terminated as required in 19-20-810. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• termination date: means the last date on which a member performed service in a position reportable to the retirement system. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Termination pay: means any form of bona fide vacation leave, sick leave, severance pay, amounts provided under a window or early retirement incentive plan, or other payments contingent on the employee terminating employment. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Tier one member: means a person who became a member before July 1, 2013, and who has not withdrawn the member's account balance. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Tier two member: means a person who became a member on or after July 1, 2013, or who, after withdrawing the member's account balance, became a member again after July 1, 2013. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
• Unit: means an internal subdivision of an agency, created by law or by administrative action, including a division, bureau, section, or department, and an agency allocated to a department for administrative purposes only by this chapter. See Montana Code 2-15-102
• Unpaid contributions: means the total amount of all monthly contributions or other contribution amounts not received by the retirement system due to an error. See Montana Code 19-20-1201
• Vested: means that a member has been credited with at least 5 full years of membership service upon which contributions have been made and has a right to a future retirement benefit. See Montana Code 19-20-101
• written election: means a written instrument, required by statute or the rules of the board, properly signed and filed with the board, that contains all the required information, including documentation that the board considers necessary. See Montana Code 19-20-101