SENATE BILL No. 287

 

 

March 3, 2005, Introduced by Senators GARCIA, GILBERT, KUIPERS and CROPSEY and referred to the Committee on Education.

 

 

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1980 PA 300, entitled

 

"The public school employees retirement act of 1979,"

 

by amending sections 69, 69c, 69f, and 75 (MCL 38.1369, 38.1369c,

 

38.1369f, and 38.1375), sections 69, 69c, and 75 as amended by 1989

 

PA 194, and section 69f as added by 1989 PA 194.

 

            THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 69. (1) As a condition for granting membership or prior

 

service credit under this act for out of system public education

 

service, a member shall pay to the retirement system an amount

 

equal to the amount the member would have contributed pursuant to

 

the schedule governing member contributions in effect at the time

 

of that service had the service been performed under this act or

 

former  Act No. 136 of the Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA 136,


 

together with regular interest from the end of the school fiscal

 

year in which service was performed to the semiannual anniversary

 

of the date following the payment, and shall have 5 years of

 

reporting unit service credit under this act or former  Act No. 136

 

of the Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA 136, following the out of

 

system public education service.

 

     (2) A member shall not be entitled to a retirement allowance

 

based on out of system public education service that was performed

 

after July 1, 1974, until the member pays into the retirement

 

system for that service an amount equal to 5% of the member's full-

 

time or equated full-time compensation earned in the school fiscal

 

year before the school fiscal year in which the application to

 

purchase and payment for the service credit is made, multiplied by

 

the years of that service the member elects to purchase and unless,

 

for a member who becomes a member before December 31, 2005, that

 

service is followed by 5 years of reporting unit service credit

 

under this act. A member who becomes a member on or after December

 

31, 2005 and who purchases service credit under this section shall

 

follow the purchase of service credit by 10 years of reporting unit

 

service credit under this act.

 

     (3) For the purposes of computing payment under this section,

 

the compensation amount used shall not be less than the highest

 

school fiscal year compensation previously earned by the member. If

 

the compensation amount used for computing payment under this

 

section exceeds the member's final average compensation determined

 

at the time of retirement, the payment required under this section

 

shall be recomputed using the member's final average compensation


 

and a refund shall be made based upon the recomputation. Credit

 

provided by this section shall not be used in satisfying the

 

minimum of 10 years of service credit required under this act for a

 

retirement allowance. A person who had employment with a community

 

mental health service program as described in section 6(2) shall

 

not be subject to the minimum of 10 years of service credit, if the

 

other requirements of this section are met.

 

     (4) A member shall not receive more than 15 years of out of

 

system public education service. A member shall not receive more

 

out of system public education service than service performed under

 

this act or former  Act No. 136 of the Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA

 

136, unless, before July 1, 1974, the member applied for out of

 

system public education service credit based upon payment of

 

contributions for that service credit as required under former  Act

 

No. 136 of the Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA 136. The total out of

 

system public education service credited shall be used to compute

 

the member's retirement allowance if the minimum service

 

requirements performed under this act or former  Act No. 136 of the

 

Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA 136 are met.

 

     (5) If a member who made payment for out of system public

 

education service dies and a retirement allowance beneficiary has

 

not been designated, or if the member withdraws from service before

 

his or her retirement becomes effective, the payment made by the

 

member shall be refunded to the member or to the member's refund

 

beneficiary upon request.

 

     (6) Out of system public education service shall not be

 

creditable toward retirement under this act if the member is or


 

will be receiving a retirement allowance for the same service from

 

another retirement system.

 

     (7) Out of system public education service shall not be

 

creditable under this act unless similar service performed in a

 

reporting unit would be creditable.

 

     (8) Before January 31, 1991, a member may elect to purchase

 

service credit as an elementary or secondary teacher at a United

 

States armed forces military base in the United States or a foreign

 

country upon payment to the retirement board of the actuarial cost.

 

     Sec. 69c. (1) A member may elect to purchase service credit

 

for service performed as an employee in a nonpublic elementary or

 

secondary educational institution or a nonpublic 2- or 4-year

 

institution of higher education in this state, in other states of

 

the United States, or in the territorial possessions of the United

 

States upon request and presentation of documentation of the

 

employment rendered that is verifiable from official employment or

 

payroll records or other acceptable documentation as determined by

 

the retirement board, and upon payment to the retirement system of

 

the actuarial cost.

 

     (2) Before January 31, 1991, a member may elect to purchase

 

service credit for service performed as an employee in a foreign

 

country at a school for United States personnel or dependents of

 

the United States military or United States department of state

 

personnel; service performed as a full-time teacher with the job

 

corps created pursuant to section 422 of part B of title IV of the

 

job training partnership act, Public Law 97-300, 29  U.S.C.  USC

 

1692; service performed as a teacher in a trust territory or former


 

trust territory of the United States; or service performed as a

 

teacher on an Indian reservation in this country; upon request and

 

presentation of documentation of the employment rendered that is

 

verifiable from official employment or payroll records or other

 

acceptable documentation as determined by the retirement board, and

 

upon payment to the retirement system of the actuarial cost.

 

     (3)  Service  For a member who becomes a member before

 

December 31, 2005, service shall not be credited under this section

 

unless the service being purchased is followed by at least 5 years

 

of reporting unit service credit under this act or former  Act No.

 

136 of the Public Acts of 1945  1945 PA 136. For a member who

 

becomes a member on or after December 31, 2005, service shall not

 

be credited under this section unless the service being purchased

 

is followed by at least 10 years of reporting unit service credit

 

under this act. Service purchased under this section shall not be

 

used to satisfy the minimum of 10 years of service credit required

 

to receive a retirement allowance under this act. The total service

 

credited under subsections (1) and (2) shall not exceed 5 years.

 

     (4) If a member who made payment for service under this

 

section dies and a retirement allowance beneficiary has not been

 

designated, or if the member withdraws from service before his or

 

her retirement becomes effective, the payment made by the member

 

shall be refunded to the member or to the member's refund

 

beneficiary upon request.

 

     (5) Service shall not be credited under this section if the

 

member is or will be receiving a pension or annuity for the same

 

service from another retirement system.


 

     (6) A person who became a retirant with a retirement allowance

 

effective date on or after January 1, 1988 and on or before

 

December 21, 1988 shall be entitled to purchase service credit for

 

service performed as an employee in a nonpublic elementary or

 

secondary educational institution or a nonpublic 2- or 4-year

 

institution of higher education as provided by this section.

 

Service credit purchased pursuant to this subsection shall be

 

purchased before July 1, 1989, or the expiration of 6 months after

 

December 21, 1988, whichever is later. The monthly retirement

 

allowance of a retirant entitled to purchase service credit under

 

this subsection shall be recomputed based upon the additional

 

service credit. The recomputed monthly amount shall be payable

 

beginning on the first day of the month following the month in

 

which payment is received by the retirement system.

 

     (7) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Nonpublic elementary or secondary educational

 

institution" means an institution that offers or provides an

 

organized course of academic study primarily oriented toward the

 

awarding of high school diplomas. Nonpublic elementary or secondary

 

educational institution does not include a proprietary school.

 

     (b) "Nonpublic 2- or 4-year institution of higher education"

 

means an institution that offers an organized course of academic

 

study primarily oriented toward the awarding of associate,

 

baccalaureate, master's, doctoral, or other academic degrees.

 

Nonpublic 2- or 4-year institution of higher education does not

 

include a proprietary school.

 

     (c) "Proprietary school" means a school that uses a certain


 

plan or method to teach a trade, occupation, or vocation for a

 

consideration, reward, or promise. Proprietary school includes, but

 

is not limited to, a private business, trade, or home study school.

 

     Sec. 69f. (1) A member may elect to purchase not more than 5

 

years of service credit less the number of years of service credit

 

purchased under sections 6(2)(c), (d), (e), and (f), 64(3), (4),

 

and (5), 69a, 69b, 69c(2), 69d, 69e, 74a, 74b, 77, and 78, upon

 

request and payment to the retirement system of the actuarial cost.

 

     (2) Service credit purchased under this section may not be

 

used to satisfy the minimum of 10 years of service credit required

 

to receive a retirement allowance under this act.

 

     (3) Service credit purchased under this section shall not be

 

used to satisfy the service credit requirement set forth in section

 

81(1)(a) for a retirement allowance paid prior to age 46 as

 

provided by section 43b(a).

 

     (4) If a member who made payment for service under this

 

section dies and a retirement allowance is not payable, or if the

 

member withdraws from service and a retirement allowance is not

 

payable, the payment made by the member shall be refunded to the

 

member or to the member's refund beneficiary upon request.

 

     (5) Service purchased under this section shall not be credited

 

to a member who becomes a member on or after December 31, 2005

 

unless the member follows the purchase of service credit under this

 

section with 10 years of reporting unit service credit under this

 

act.

 

     Sec. 75. (1) A member who left or leaves service as a public

 

school employee for purposes of maternity or paternity or child


 

rearing, and returns to service as a public school employee, or a

 

person performing out of system public education service who leaves

 

that service for purposes of maternity, paternity, or child rearing

 

and who subsequently becomes a member of this retirement system,

 

without other intervening employment of more than 20 hours per week

 

for each week for which service credit is claimed, may purchase

 

service credit for the time period or periods during which the

 

person was separated from service as a public school employee or

 

during which the person was separated from performing out of system

 

public education service because of maternity or paternity or child

 

rearing, upon request and payment to the retirement system of the

 

actuarial cost. The total service credited under this section shall

 

not exceed 5 years. A member requesting purchase of service credit

 

under this section shall certify to the board the purpose for which

 

the member took leave and was separated from service as a public

 

school employee.

 

     (2) Service credit purchased under this section may not be

 

used to satisfy the minimum of 10 years of service credit required

 

to receive a retirement allowance under this act.

 

     (3) If a member who made payment under this section dies and a

 

retirement allowance beneficiary has not been designated, or if the

 

member leaves reporting unit service before his or her retirement

 

becomes effective, the payment made by the member shall be refunded

 

upon request to the member or to the member's refund beneficiary.

 

     (4) A member who reduces hours of employment with a reporting

 

unit for purposes of maternity, paternity, or child rearing or a

 

person who reduces hours of out of system public education service


 

for purposes of maternity, paternity, or child rearing and who

 

subsequently becomes a member of this retirement system may

 

purchase service credit for those hours by which employment was

 

reduced if all other requirements of this section are met.

 

     (5) Service purchased under this section shall not be credited

 

to a member who becomes a member on or after December 31, 2005

 

unless the member has at least 10 years of reporting unit service

 

credit under this act.