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RETIREMENT

OKLAHOMA 2024 SESSION LAW SERVICE Fifty-Ninth Legislature, 2024 Second Regular Session

2024 Okla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 247 (H.B. 4051) (WEST)
OKLAHOMA 2024 SESSION LAW SERVICE
Fifty-Ninth Legislature, 2024 Second Regular Session
Additions are indicated by Text; deletions by
Text.
Vetoes are indicated by Text ;
stricken material by Text .
CHAPTER 247
H.B. No. 4051
RETIREMENT
An Act relating to retirement; amending 62 O.S. 2021, Section 3103, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 306, O.S.L. 2022 (62 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 3103), which relates to the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act; modifying definition; amending 11 O.S. 2021, Section 49–138, which relates to the Firefighters Pension and Retirement System; providing for the purchase of military service credit; and providing effective dates.
SUBJECT: Retirement
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
<< OK ST T. 62 § 3103 >>
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 62 O.S. 2021, Section 3103, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 306, O.S.L. 2022 (62 O.S. Supp. 2023, Section 3103), is amended to read as follows:
Section 3103. As used in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act:
1. “Amendment” means any amendment, including a substitute bill, made to a retirement bill by any committee of the House or Senate, any conference committee of the House or Senate or by the House or Senate;
2. “RB number” means that number preceded by the letters “RB” assigned to a retirement bill by the respective staffs of the Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives when the respective staff office prepares a retirement bill for a member of the Legislature;
3. “Legislative Actuary” means the firm or entity that enters into a contract with the Legislative Service Bureau pursuant to Section 452.15 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes to provide the actuarial services and other duties provided for in the Oklahoma Pension Legislation Actuarial Analysis Act;
4. “Nonfiscal amendment” means an amendment to a retirement bill having a fiscal impact, which amendment does not change any factor of an actuarial investigation specified in subsection A of Section 3109 of this title;
5. “Nonfiscal retirement bill” means a retirement bill:
a. which does not affect the cost or funding factors of a retirement system,
b. which affects such factors only in a manner which does not:
(1) grant a benefit increase under the retirement system affected by the bill,
(2) create an actuarial accrued liability for or increase the actuarial accrued liability of the retirement system affected by the bill, or
(3) increase the normal cost of the retirement system affected by the bill,
c. which authorizes the purchase by an active member of the retirement system, at the actuarial cost for the purchase as computed pursuant to the statute in effect on the effective date of the measure allowing such purchase, of years of service for purposes of reaching a normal retirement date in the applicable retirement system, but which cannot be used in order to compute the number of years of service for purposes of computing the retirement benefit for the member,
d. which provides for the computation of a service-connected disability retirement benefit for members of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System pursuant to Section 2–305 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes if the members were unable to complete twenty (20) years of service as a result of the disability,
e. which requires membership in the defined benefit plan authorized by Section 901 et seq. of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes for persons whose first elected or appointed service occurs on or after November 1, 2018, if such persons had any prior service in the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System prior to November 1, 2015,
f. which provides for a one-time increase in retirement benefits if the increase in retirement benefits is not a permanent increase in the gross annual retirement benefit payable to a member or beneficiary, occurs only once pursuant to a single statutory authorization and does not exceed:
(1) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross annual retirement benefit of the member or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and requires that the benefit may only be provided if the funded ratio of the affected retirement system would not be less than sixty percent (60%) but not greater than eighty percent (80%) after the benefit increase is paid,
(2) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross annual retirement benefit of the member or One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1,200.00) and requires that the benefit may only be provided if the funded ratio of the affected retirement system would be greater than eighty percent (80%) but not greater than one hundred percent (100%) after the benefit increase is paid,
(3) the lesser of two percent (2%) of the gross annual retirement benefit of the member or One Thousand Four Hundred Dollars ($1,400.00) and requires that the benefit may only be provided if the funded ratio of the affected retirement system would be greater than one hundred percent (100%) after the benefit increase is paid, or
(4) the greater of two percent (2%) of the gross annual retirement benefit of the volunteer firefighter or One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for persons who retired from the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System as volunteer firefighters and who did not retire from the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System as a paid firefighter.
As used in this subparagraph, “funded ratio” means the figure derived by dividing the actuarial value of assets of the applicable retirement system by the actuarial accrued liability of the applicable retirement system,
g. which modifies the disability pension standard for police officers who are members of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System as provided by Section 3 of this act 50–115 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
h. which provides a cost-of-living benefit increase pursuant to the provisions of:
(1) Section 49–143.7 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(2) Section 50–136.9 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(3) Section 1104K of Title 20 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(4) Section 2–305.12 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(5) Section 17–116.22 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
(6) Section 930.11 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or
i. which modifies the computation of the line-of-duty disability benefit pursuant to the provisions of this act Sections 50–101 and 50–115 of Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or
j. which allows the purchase of military prior service credit pursuant to the provisions of this act.
A nonfiscal retirement bill shall include any retirement bill that has as its sole purpose the appropriation or distribution or redistribution of monies in some manner to a retirement system for purposes of reducing the unfunded liability of such system or the earmarking of a portion of the revenue from a tax to a retirement system or increasing the percentage of the revenue earmarked from a tax to a retirement system;
6. “Reduction-in-cost amendment” means an amendment to a retirement bill having a fiscal impact which reduces the cost of the bill as such cost is determined by the actuarial investigation for the bill prepared pursuant to Section 3109 of this title;
7. “Retirement bill” means any bill or joint resolution introduced or any bill or joint resolution amended by a member of the Oklahoma Legislature which creates or amends any law directly affecting a retirement system. A retirement bill shall not mean a bill or resolution that impacts the revenue of any state tax in which a portion of the revenue generated from such tax is earmarked for the benefit of a retirement system;
8. “Retirement bill having a fiscal impact” means any retirement bill creating or establishing a retirement system and any other retirement bill other than a nonfiscal retirement bill; and
9. “Retirement system” means the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, the Uniform Retirement System for Justices and Judges, the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, or a retirement system established after January 1, 2006.
<< OK ST T. 11 § 49–138 >>
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2021, Section 49–138, is amended to read as follows:
Section 49–138. A. Any member of a regularly constituted fire department of any municipality who is now serving or may hereafter serve in the Armed Forces of the United States whether such service is voluntary or involuntary, who shall have been a member of such fire department at the time of entering such service, shall be entitled to have the whole of the time of such service applied under the provisions of Section 49–106 of this title, so far as the same applies to a service pension; provided further, that the municipality shall continue its payment into said pension fund, to the same force and effect as though the member were in the actual service of such fire department; provided, that any person who is eligible for such service but who shall have volunteered for military or naval service for a period not to exceed five (5) years shall likewise be entitled to all of the benefits of Sections 49–138 through 49–142 of this title for the full period of such service or enlistment; provided further, that only one such period of voluntary service shall be considered hereunder. If such person shall reenlist, unless required to do so by law, such person shall not thereafter be entitled to the provisions of this subsection. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply where any such person dies during the period of said service or enlistment, and shall not entitle the surviving spouse or children to any benefits, and shall not apply to any member who shall have served on active duty (including initial active duty) for training purposes only and/or inactive duty training.
B. Effective February 1, 1997, credited service received pursuant to this section or credited service for wartime military service received as otherwise provided by law shall be used in determining the member's retirement benefit but shall not be used in determining years of service for retirement, vesting purposes or eligibility for participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. For a member of the System hired on or after July 1, 2003, if the military service credit authorized by this section is used to compute the retirement benefit of the member and the member retires from the System, such military service credit shall not be used to compute the retirement benefit in any other retirement system created pursuant to the Oklahoma Statutes and the member may receive credit for such service only in the retirement system from which the member first retires.
C. A member who retires or elects to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after July 1, 1998, shall be entitled to prior service credit, not to exceed five (5) years, for those periods of military service on active duty prior to membership in the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System.
For purposes of this subsection, “military service” means service in the Armed Forces of the United States by honorably discharged persons during the following time periods, as reflected on such person's Defense Department Form 214, as follows:
1. During the following periods, including the beginning and ending dates, and only for the periods served, from:
a. April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, commonly referred to as World War I,
b. September 16, 1940, to December 7, 1941, for members of the 45th Division,
c. December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946, commonly referred to as World War II,
d. June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955, commonly referred to as the Korean Conflict or the Korean War,
e. February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975, commonly referred to as the Vietnam era, except that:
(1) for the period from February 28, 1961, to August 4, 1964, military service shall only include service in the Republic of Vietnam during that period, and
(2) for purposes of determining eligibility for education and training benefits, such period shall end on December 31, 1976, or
f. August 1, 1990, to December 31, 1991, commonly referred to as the Gulf War, the Persian Gulf War, or Operation Desert Storm, but excluding any person who served on active duty for training only, unless discharged from such active duty for a service-connected disability;
2. During a period of war or combat military operation other than a conflict, war or era listed in paragraph 1 of this subsection, beginning on the date of Congressional authorization, Congressional resolution, or Executive Order of the President of the United States, for the use of the Armed Forces of the United States in a war or combat military operation, if such war or combat military operation lasted for a period of ninety (90) days or more, for a person who served, and only for the period served, in the area of responsibility of the war or combat military operation, but excluding a person who served on active duty for training only, unless discharged from such active duty for a service-connected disability, and provided that the burden of proof of military service during this period shall be with the member, who must present appropriate documentation establishing such service.
D. An eligible member pursuant to subsection C of this section shall include only those persons who shall have served during the times or in the areas prescribed in subsection C of this section, and only if such person provides appropriate documentation in such time and manner as required by the System to establish such military service prescribed in this section, or for service pursuant to division (1) of subparagraph e of paragraph 1 of subsection C of this section, those persons who were awarded service medals, as authorized by the United States Department of Defense as reflected in the veteran's Defense Department Form 214, related to the Vietnam Conflict for service prior to August 5, 1964. The provisions of subsection C of this section shall include military retirees, whose retirement was based only on active service, that have been rated as having twenty percent (20%) or greater service-connected disability by the Veterans Administration or the Armed Forces of the United States. The provisions of subsection C of this section shall not apply to any person who shall have served on active duty for training purposes only unless discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability.
E. A member of the System who served in the Armed Forces of the United States, or any component thereof, who was honorably discharged from full-time active military service prior to becoming a member of the System and whose full-time active duty military service does not otherwise meet the qualifications for prior service credit pursuant to subsections B through D of this section may purchase up to five (5) years of full-time active duty military prior service credit at the actuarial cost of service credit as determined by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System Board, pursuant to Section 49–117.3 of this title.
The service credit provided by this subsection shall be administered pursuant to subsections B through D of this section, including, but not limited to, only full-time active duty military service not for training-only purposes, unless discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability, as reflected on the member's Defense Department Form 214, shall be considered for prior service credit, and such prior service credit shall only be used in determining the member's retirement benefit but shall not be used in determining years of service for retirement, vesting purposes, or eligibility for participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.
F. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary:
1. Contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which is in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended (USERRA); and
2. Effective January 1, 2007, if any member dies while performing qualified military service (as defined in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended), the survivors of the member are entitled to any additional benefits (other than benefits accruals relating to the period of qualified military service) provided under the System had the member resumed and then terminated employment on account of death.
F. G. Members or beneficiaries shall make application to the System for credited service related to wartime military service. Interest on additional benefits related to wartime military service owed by the System to a retired member or beneficiary as provided by law shall cease accruing one (1) year after the effective date the additional benefits are payable by the System or July 1, 2000, whichever is later, if the member has not applied to the System for credited service related to such wartime military service.
SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act shall become effective October 1, 2024.
SECTION 4. Section 2 of this act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
Approved May 1, 2024.
End of Document