Utah Code 49-23-102. Definitions
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As used in this chapter:
(1)
Terms Used In Utah Code 49-23-102
- Agency: means :(4)(a)(i) a department, division, agency, office, authority, commission, board, institution, or hospital of the state;(4)(a)(ii) a county, municipality, school district, special district, or special service district;(4)(a)(iii) a state college or university; or(4)(a)(iv) any other participating employer. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Board: means the Utah State Retirement Board established under Section 49-11-202. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Compensation: includes performance-based bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Contributions: means the total amount paid by the participating employer and the member into a system or to the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Dispatcher: means the same as that term is defined in Section 53-6-102. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Emergency medical service personnel: means an individual who:
(4)(a) is:(4)(a)(i) a paramedic;(4)(a)(ii) an advanced emergency medical services technician; or(4)(a)(iii) an emergency medical services technician;(4)(b) is required to be licensed or certified under Section 53-2d-402; and(4)(c) has a primary job duty to provide emergency medical services as a first responder. See Utah Code 49-23-102- Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Equal: means , with respect to biological sex, of the same value. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Final average salary: means the amount calculated by averaging the highest five years of annual compensation preceding retirement subject to Subsections (5)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f). See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Firefighter service: means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:
(6)(a)(i) a firefighter service employee trained in firefighter techniques and assigned to a position of hazardous duty with a regularly constituted fire department;(6)(a)(ii) the state fire marshal appointed under Section 53-7-103 or a deputy state fire marshal;(6)(a)(iii) a firefighter service employee who is:(6)(a)(iii)(A) hired on or after July 1, 2021;(6)(a)(iii)(B) trained in firefighter techniques;(6)(a)(iii)(C) assigned to a position of hazardous duty; and(6)(a)(iii)(D) employed by the state as a participating employer; or(6)(a)(iv) an emergency medical service personnel. See Utah Code 49-23-102- Firefighter service employee: means an employee of a participating employer who provides firefighter service under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Member: means a person, except a retiree, with contributions on deposit with a system, the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, or with a terminated system. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Participant: means an individual with voluntary deferrals or nonelective contributions on deposit with the defined contribution plans administered under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Participating employer: means an employer that meets the participation requirements of:
(9)(d) Sections 49-23-201 and 49-23-202. See Utah Code 49-23-102- Plan: means the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan created by Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, the New Public Employees' Tier II Defined Contribution Plan created by Chapter 22, Part 4, Tier II Defined Contribution Plan, the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Defined Contribution Plan created by Chapter 23, Part 4, Tier II Defined Contribution Plan, or the defined contribution plans created under Section 49-11-801. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Public safety service: means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:
(10)(a)(i) a law enforcement officer in accordance with Section 53-13-103;(10)(a)(ii) a correctional officer in accordance with Section 53-13-104;(10)(a)(iii) a special function officer approved in accordance with Sections 49-15-201 and 53-13-105;(10)(a)(iv) a dispatcher who is certified in accordance with Section 53-6-303;(10)(a)(v) a full-time member of the Board of Pardons and Parole created under Section 77-27-2;(10)(a)(vi) the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety; or(10)(a)(vii) the executive director of the Department of Corrections. See Utah Code 49-23-102- Public safety service employee: means an employee of a participating employer who performs public safety service under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Retirement: means the status of an individual who has become eligible, applies for, and is entitled to receive an allowance under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Service credit: means :
(50)(a) the period during which an employee is employed and compensated by a participating employer and meets the eligibility requirements for membership in a system or the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan, provided that any required contributions are paid to the office; and(50)(b) periods of time otherwise purchasable under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Strenuous activity: includes participating in a participating employer sanctioned and funded training exercise that involves difficult, stressful, or vigorous physical activity. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- System: means the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
- Tier I: means a system or plan under this title for which:
(54)(a) an employee is eligible to participate if the employee initially enters regular full-time employment before July 1, 2011; or(54)(b) a governor or legislator who initially enters office before July 1, 2011. See Utah Code 49-11-102- Tier II: includes :
(55)(b)(i) the Tier II hybrid system established under:(55)(b)(i)(A) Chapter 22, Part 3, Tier II Hybrid Retirement System; or(55)(b)(i)(B) Chapter 23, Part 3, Tier II Hybrid Retirement System; and(55)(b)(ii) the Tier II Defined Contribution Plan (Tier II DC Plan) established under:(55)(b)(ii)(A) Chapter 22, Part 4, Tier II Defined Contribution Plan; or(55)(b)(ii)(B) Chapter 23, Part 4, Tier II Defined Contribution Plan. See Utah Code 49-11-102- United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Volunteer firefighter: means any individual who is not regularly employed as a firefighter service employee, but who:
(14)(a)(i) has been trained in firefighter techniques and skills;(14)(a)(ii) continues to receive regular firefighter training; and(14)(a)(iii) is on the rolls of a legally organized volunteer fire department that provides ongoing training and serves a political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 49-23-102- Years of service credit: means :
(15)(a) a period, consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board; or(15)(b) a period determined by the board, whether consecutive or not, during which a regular full-time employee performed services for a participating employer, including any time the regular full-time employee was absent on a paid leave of absence granted by a participating employer or was absent in the service of the United States government on military duty as provided by this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102(1)(a) “Compensation” means the total amount of payments that are includable in gross income received by a public safety service employee or a firefighter service employee as base income for the regularly scheduled work period. The participating employer shall establish the regularly scheduled work period. Base income shall be determined prior to the deduction of any amounts the public safety service employee or firefighter service employee authorizes to be deducted for salary deferral or other benefits authorized by federal law.(1)(b) “Compensation” includes performance-based bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments.(1)(c) “Compensation” does not include:(1)(c)(i) overtime;(1)(c)(ii) sick pay incentives;(1)(c)(iii) retirement pay incentives;(1)(c)(iv) the monetary value of remuneration paid in kind, as in a residence, use of equipment or uniform, travel, or similar payments;(1)(c)(v) a lump-sum payment or special payment covering accumulated leave; and(1)(c)(vi) all contributions made by a participating employer under this system or under any other employee benefit system or plan maintained by a participating employer for the benefit of a member or participant.(1)(d) “Compensation” for purposes of this chapter may not exceed the amount allowed under Section 401(a)(17), Internal Revenue Code.(2) “Corresponding Tier I system” means the system or plan that would have covered the member if the member had initially entered employment before July 1, 2011.(3) “Dispatcher” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53-6-102.(4) “Emergency medical service personnel” means an individual who:(4)(a) is:(4)(a)(i) a paramedic;(4)(a)(ii) an advanced emergency medical services technician; or(4)(a)(iii) an emergency medical services technician;(4)(b) is required to be licensed or certified under Section 53-2d-402; and(4)(c) has a primary job duty to provide emergency medical services as a first responder.(5)(5)(a) “Final average salary” means the amount calculated by averaging the highest five years of annual compensation preceding retirement subject to Subsections (5)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f).(5)(b) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(c), the percentage increase in annual compensation in any one of the years used may not exceed the previous year’s compensation by more than 10% plus a cost-of-living adjustment equal to the decrease in the purchasing power of the dollar during the previous year, as measured by a United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index average as determined by the board.(5)(c) In cases where the participating employer provides acceptable documentation to the office, the limitation in Subsection (5)(b) may be exceeded if:(5)(c)(i) the member has transferred from another agency; or(5)(c)(ii) the member has been promoted to a new position.(5)(d) If the member retires more than six months from the date of termination of employment, the member is considered to have been in service at the member’s last rate of pay from the date of the termination of employment to the effective date of retirement for purposes of computing the member’s final average salary only.(5)(e) If the member has less than five years of service credit in this system, final average salary means the average annual compensation paid to the member during the full period of service credit.(5)(f) The annual compensation used to calculate final average salary shall be based on a period, as determined by the board, consistent with the period used to determine years of service credit in accordance with Subsection (15).(6)(6)(a) “Firefighter service” means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:(6)(a)(i) a firefighter service employee trained in firefighter techniques and assigned to a position of hazardous duty with a regularly constituted fire department;(6)(a)(ii) the state fire marshal appointed under Section 53-7-103 or a deputy state fire marshal;(6)(a)(iii) a firefighter service employee who is:(6)(a)(iii)(A) hired on or after July 1, 2021;(6)(a)(iii)(B) trained in firefighter techniques;(6)(a)(iii)(C) assigned to a position of hazardous duty; and(6)(a)(iii)(D) employed by the state as a participating employer; or(6)(a)(iv) an emergency medical service personnel.(6)(b) “Firefighter service” does not include secretarial staff or other similar employees.(7)(7)(a) “Firefighter service employee” means an employee of a participating employer who provides firefighter service under this chapter.(7)(b) “Firefighter service employee” does not include an employee of a regularly constituted fire department who does not perform firefighter service.(8)(8)(a) “Line-of-duty death” means a death resulting from:(8)(a)(i) external force, violence, or disease occasioned by an act of duty as a public safety service or firefighter service employee; or(8)(a)(ii) strenuous activity, including a heart attack or stroke, that occurs during strenuous training or another strenuous activity required as an act of duty as a public safety service or firefighter service employee.(8)(b) “Line-of-duty death” does not include a death that:(8)(b)(i) occurs during an activity that is required as an act of duty as a public safety service or firefighter service employee if the activity is not a strenuous activity, including an activity that is clerical, administrative, or of a nonmanual nature;(8)(b)(ii) occurs during the commission of a crime committed by the employee;(8)(b)(iii) the employee’s intoxication or use of alcohol or drugs, whether prescribed or nonprescribed, contributes to the employee’s death; or(8)(b)(iv) occurs in a manner other than as described in Subsection (8)(a).(9) “Participating employer” means an employer that meets the participation requirements of:(10)(10)(a) “Public safety service” means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:(10)(a)(i) a law enforcement officer in accordance with Section 53-13-103;(10)(a)(ii) a correctional officer in accordance with Section 53-13-104;(10)(a)(iii) a special function officer approved in accordance with Sections 49-15-201 and 53-13-105;(10)(a)(iv) a dispatcher who is certified in accordance with Section 53-6-303;(10)(a)(v) a full-time member of the Board of Pardons and Parole created under Section 77-27-2;(10)(a)(vi) the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety; or(10)(a)(vii) the executive director of the Department of Corrections.(10)(b) Except for a position described in Subsection (10)(a)(iv), (v), (vi), or (vii), “public safety service” also requires that, in the course of employment, the employee’s life or personal safety is at risk.(11) “Public safety service employee” means an employee of a participating employer who performs public safety service under this chapter.(12)(12)(a) “Strenuous activity” means engagement involving a difficult, stressful, or vigorous fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical service, physical law enforcement, prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency response activity.(12)(b) “Strenuous activity” includes participating in a participating employer sanctioned and funded training exercise that involves difficult, stressful, or vigorous physical activity.(13) “System” means the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter.(14)(14)(a) “Volunteer firefighter” means any individual who is not regularly employed as a firefighter service employee, but who:(14)(a)(i) has been trained in firefighter techniques and skills;(14)(a)(ii) continues to receive regular firefighter training; and(14)(a)(iii) is on the rolls of a legally organized volunteer fire department that provides ongoing training and serves a political subdivision of the state.(14)(b) An individual that volunteers assistance but does not meet the requirements of Subsection (14)(a) is not a volunteer firefighter for purposes of this chapter.(15) “Years of service credit” means:(15)(a) a period, consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board; or(15)(b) a period determined by the board, whether consecutive or not, during which a regular full-time employee performed services for a participating employer, including any time the regular full-time employee was absent on a paid leave of absence granted by a participating employer or was absent in the service of the United States government on military duty as provided by this chapter.