Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 49 > Chapter 12 > Part 2 - Membership Eligibility

• Administrator: includes "executor" when the subject matter justifies the use. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• 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
• At-will employee: means a person who is employed by a participating employer and:
            (10)(a)(i) who is not entitled to merit or civil service protection and is generally considered exempt from a participating employer's merit or career service personnel systems;
            (10)(a)(ii) whose on-going employment status is entirely at the discretion of the person's employer; or
            (10)(a)(iii) who may be terminated without cause by a designated supervisor, manager, or director. 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
• City: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Compensation: means the total amount of payments made by a participating employer to a member of this system for services rendered to the participating employer, including:
            (2)(a)(i) bonuses;
            (2)(a)(ii) cost-of-living adjustments;
            (2)(a)(iii) other payments currently includable in gross income and that are subject to social security deductions, including any payments in excess of the maximum amount subject to deduction under social security law;
            (2)(a)(iv) amounts that the member authorizes to be deducted or reduced for salary deferral or other benefits authorized by federal law; and
            (2)(a)(v) member contributions. See Utah Code 49-12-102
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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
• defined contribution plan: means any defined contribution plan or deferred compensation plan authorized under the Internal Revenue Code and administered by the board. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• 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
• Initially entering: includes an employee of a participating employer, except for an employee that is not eligible under a system or plan under this title, who:
            (29)(c)(i) does not have any prior service credit on file with the office;
            (29)(c)(ii) is covered by a retirement plan other than a retirement plan created under this title; and
            (29)(c)(iii) moves to a position with a participating employer that is covered by this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• Institution of higher education: means an institution described in Section 53B-1-102. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• 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
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• Participating employer: means an employer that meets the participation requirements of Sections 49-12-201 and 49-12-202. See Utah Code 49-12-102
• Person: means :
       (24)(a) an individual;
       (24)(b) an association;
       (24)(c) an institution;
       (24)(d) a corporation;
       (24)(e) a company;
       (24)(f) a trust;
       (24)(g) a limited liability company;
       (24)(h) a partnership;
       (24)(i) a political subdivision;
       (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
       (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• 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
• Program: means the Public Employees' Insurance Program created under Chapter 20, Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program Act, or the Public Employees' Long-Term Disability program created under Chapter 21, Public Employees' Long-Term Disability Act. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• Regular full-time employee: includes :
            (5)(b)(i) a teacher whose term of employment for a participating employer contemplates continued employment during a school year and who teaches half-time or more;
            (5)(b)(ii) a classified school employee:

                 (5)(b)(ii)(A) who is hired before July 1, 2013; and

                 (5)(b)(ii)(B) whose employment normally requires an average of 20 hours per week or more for a participating employer, regardless of benefits provided;
            (5)(b)(iii) an officer, elective or appointive, who earns $500 or more per month, indexed as of January 1, 1990, as provided in Section 49-12-407;
            (5)(b)(iv) a faculty member or employee of an institution of higher education who is considered full-time by that institution of higher education; and
            (5)(b)(v) an individual who otherwise meets the definition of this Subsection (5) who performs services for a participating employer through a professional employer organization or similar arrangement. See Utah Code 49-12-102
• 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
• System: means the Public Employees' Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-12-102
• Technical college: means the same as that term is defined in Section Utah Code 49-11-102
• 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
• Utah Board of Higher Education: means the Utah Board of Higher Education described in Section 53B-1-402. See Utah Code 49-11-102
• Years of service credit: means :
       (7)(a) a period consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board;
       (7)(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; or
       (7)(c) the regular school year consisting of not less than eight months of full-time service for a regular full-time employee of an educational institution. See Utah Code 49-12-102