(1) There are hereby created two (2) classes of members in the Tennessee teachers’ retirement system, to be known as class A members and class B members and to be defined as follows:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-1509

  • Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member, together with any amount transferred to the account of the member established pursuant to chapters 34-37 of this title from the respective account of the member under one (1) or more of the superseded systems, with interest thereon, as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • 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.
  • board: means the board provided for in part 3 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system, as provided in chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • Retirement system: means the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(a) Class A members shall be those members who are covered by the provisions of Title II of the Federal Social Security Act and who contribute hereunder for benefits supplementary to the social security benefits. It shall consist of:

(i) all teachers who were members prior to the date coverage under the Social Security Act is extended to such class A members, and who prior to June 30, 1959 file on a form approved by the board of trustees, a waiver of their rights to benefits accrued to them under this chapter as it heretofore existed, an election to be covered by said Social Security Act and the supplementary benefits provided by this chapter, as amended, and an agreement to the deduction of their accrued taxes, if any, under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act for the period from January 1, 1956, from the accumulated contributions held in his account in the members’ contribution account; and
(ii) all teachers who were eligible to elect to become class A members and to be covered under the Social Security Act as provided in (i) above but did not so elect, and who, if a future amendment of the Federal Social Security Act should so permit, elect to become class A members and to be covered under the Social Security Act in accordance with the terms of an agreement, if any, made between the state of Tennessee and the social security administration; and
(iii) all teachers who enter the membership on or after the date coverage under the Social Security Act is extended to such class A members.
(b) Except as provided in clause (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subsection, class B members shall consist of those members who have not elected to become class A members.
(2) Except as provided under § 49-1510, any person who was a teacher on February 15, 1945 or who may have become a teacher on or before July 1, 1945, became a member of the retirement system unless he notified the board of trustees in writing on a form provided by the board on or before July 1, 1946, that he did not choose to become a member of this retirement system, and executed a waiver of all present and prospective benefits which would otherwise accrue to him by participating in the system. Any teacher who elected not to become a member may thereafter apply for and be admitted to membership, but without credit for service rendered after July 1, 1945, and prior to the time he becomes a member, except as provided in §§ 49-1518, 49-1542 and 49-1552.
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