Chapter 66 - State Employees Retirement Act

Sec. 5-153. Continuance from prior law. The State Employees Retirement Commission and the state employees retirement system, as existing on September 30, 1961, shall be continued in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this chapter. Each person who was a member of the system on said date shall continue to be a member. All retirement salaries being paid on said date from the General Fund or the Retirement Fund shall continue to be paid from the General Fund or Retirement Fund, as the case may be. All service and contributions credited to a member for retirement purposes on said date shall remain credited.

(1961, P.A. 234, S. 2.)

Sec. 5-154. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) “Covered under Social Security” means, with regard to a state employee, that the state is required to make contributions for the employee under the Social Security Agreement;

(b) “Federal Insurance Contributions Act” means the chapter of the federal Internal Revenue Code officially cited by that name, 26 USC (IRC 1939) § 1400 et seq., 26 USC (IRC 1986) § 3100 et seq., as originally enacted and as amended from time to time;

(d) “Member” means a member of the state employees retirement system;

(e) “Retirement Commission” means the State Employees Retirement Commission;

(f) “Retirement contributions” means contributions made by, or deducted from the salary of, a member in accordance with part III or part IV of this chapter;

(g) “Retirement system” means the state employees retirement system;

(h) “Salary” means (1) any payment, including longevity payments and payments for accrued vacation time under section 5-252, for state service made from a payroll submitted to the Comptroller; and (2) the cash value of maintenance furnished by the state; and (3) fees received from the state in whole or in part in lieu of or in addition to item (1) above and established to the satisfaction of the Retirement Commission, to the extent that the employee has made retirement contributions on such fees; and (4) compensation paid by the United States to state employees who are employees of the United States Purchasing and Finance Office; and (5) compensation paid to employees of the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-208a, any state employee who is employed by more than one state agency during any week shall, for compensation earned on and after January 1, 1983, have all such compensation recognized for all purposes of the retirement program;

(i) “Social Security” means the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System under Title II of the Social Security Act;

(j) “Social Security Act” means the federal act officially cited by that name, 42 USC § 301 et seq., as originally enacted and as amended from time to time;

(k) “Social Security Agreement” means the agreement between the state and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as modified from time to time, entered into under the terms of Section 218 of the Social Security Act;

(l) “State employee” means a person in state service, either appointive or elective;

(m) “State service” is service with the state, either appointive or elective, for which a salary is paid, subject to the following rules: (1) “State service” includes time lost from state service because of a disability incurred in the performance of state service; (2) “state service” includes service before September 1, 1939, of a member who began to make such member's retirement contributions before September 1, 1941, and has made contributions for all such member's salary received from September 1, 1939, to such member's retirement date; (3) “state service” includes service as a member of the General Assembly or as an employee of the General Assembly or either branch thereof, or of any officer or committee thereof; (4) “state service” excludes any month of otherwise eligible service on or after September 1, 1939, for which the full required retirement contribution, including any required interest thereon, has not been made by or for the member; (5) “state service” excludes all periods of otherwise eligible service before the date on which a member elects to receive a return of such member's retirement contributions, unless the member has thereafter returned such contributions with interest, as provided in subsection (a) of section 5-167; (6) “state service” includes a period equivalent to accrued vacation time for which payment is made under section 5-252; (7) any teacher, as defined in section 10-183b, in state service who is employed for a full academic year, equivalent to ten months' credited service, shall be deemed to be employed for the entire year. Any such teacher who has completed the work obligations of such teacher's appointment period and who retires after May first, but before September first, shall receive, upon retirement, credit for the entire appointment year and the remaining biweekly payments due for the entire appointment year, together with any amounts held back previously; (8) “state service” includes service as an employee of a state-aided institution as defined in section 5-175 and service as a vending stand operator as defined in section 5-175a; (9) “state service” includes service as an employee of the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies; (10) “state service” includes service on and after January 1, 1999, and on or before June 15, 2012, as an employee of the Capital City Economic Development Authority established by section 32-601; (11) “state service” includes service as an employee of the Capital Region Development Authority;

(n) “Year of state service” means any period of twelve consecutive calendar months of state service, but no month shall be counted in more than one such year;

(o) “Actuarial reserve basis” means a basis under which the liabilities of the retirement system are determined using actuarial assumptions, tables and methods and under which assets are accumulated under a program designed to achieve a balance between the accumulated assets and the liabilities of the system;

(p) “Funding” means the accumulation of assets in advance of the payment of retirement allowances in accordance with a definite actuarial program;

(q) “Normal cost” means the amount of contribution which the state is required to make into the retirement fund in order to meet the actuarial cost of current service;

(r) “Unfunded liability” means the actuarially determined value of the liability for service before the date of the actuarial valuation less the accumulated assets in the retirement fund;

(s) “Amortization of unfunded liabilities” means a systematic program of payment for the unfunded liabilities over a period of years in lieu of a payment in one sum;

(t) “Current service” means service rendered in the current fiscal year;

(u) “Alternate retirement program” means any retirement program authorized by the State Employees' Retirement Commission pursuant to subsection (c) of section 5-155a;

(v) “Participant” means eligible employees in higher education who elect to participate in an alternate retirement program.

A citation in this chapter to a specific provision of the Social Security Act or other federal law includes a citation, where appropriate, to the same or similar provision as appearing in prior or successor law.

(1957, P.A. 595, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-94; 1959, P.A. 131, S. 1; 615, S. 18; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 3; 1963, P.A. 483; 1967, P.A. 503; 657, S. 77; 1969, P.A. 658, S. 20, 21; 1971, P.A. 666, S. 1; P.A. 75-636, S. 2; P.A. 77-573, S. 20, 30; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 83-533, S. 2, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 2, 8; 84-544, S. 2, 8; 84-546, S. 12, 173; P.A. 85-502, S. 5, 9; P.A. 87-484, S. 1, 10; P.A. 89-211, S. 4; P.A. 93-429, S. 4, 7; P.A. 99-241, S. 51, 66; P.A. 02-140, S. 4, 5; P.A. 12-147, S. 5.)

History: 1959 acts corrected reference to Social Security Act and provided effective date of coverage under social security for certain classes of employees; 1961 act restated provisions; 1963 act amended Subdiv. (m)(4) to substitute “month of ... service” for “period of ... service”; 1967 acts added Subsec. (n) defining “year of state service” and redefined “salary” to specifically include longevity payments; 1969 act redefined “salary” to include payments for accrued vacation time and added Subdiv. (6) under Subsec. (m) re accrued vacation time; 1971 act added Subsecs. (o) to (t), inclusive, defining “actuarial reserve basis”, “funding”, “normal cost”, “unfunded liability”, “amortization of unfunded liabilities” and “current service”; P.A. 75-636 added Subsecs. (u) and (v), defining “alternate retirement program” and “participant”; P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education and replaced reference to repealed Sec. 10-324 with “subsection (d) of section 10-323e” in Subsec. (u); P.A. 82-218 substituted board of governors for board of higher education in Subdiv. (u) pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 83-533 amended Subsec. (h) to require recognition of compensation earned by state employee employed by two or more state agencies for purposes of the retirement program and added Subsec. (m)(7) re retirement credit for teachers employed during a full academic year; P.A. 84-411 added Subsec. (m)(8) re employees of state-aided institutions and vending stand operators; P.A. 84-544 amended Subsec. (u) to delete reference to program authorized by “the board of higher education ... subject to approval by” the state employees' retirement commission; P.A. 84-546 essentially reiterated change enacted in P.A. 84-544 with slight difference in wording; P.A. 85-502 amended Subsec. (m)(3), defining “state service”, to include service as a member of the general assembly; P.A. 87-484 amended definition of “participant” to delete reference to persons employed on or after October 1, 1975; P.A. 89-211 clarified reference to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; P.A. 93-429 added Subsec. (h)(5) to include compensation paid to employees of the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies within the definition of “salary” and added Subsec. (m)(9) to include service as an employee of the institute within the definition of “state service”, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 99-241 amended Subsec. (m) to make technical changes and to add employees of the Capital City Economic Development Authority, effective June 28, 1999, and applicable to calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1999; P.A. 02-140 amended Subsecs. (h) and (m) by deleting reference to Sec. 1-135 and made a technical change in Subsec. (m), effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 12-147 amended Subsec. (m) to add service on or before June 15, 2012, in Subdiv. (10) and add Subdiv. (11) re service as employee of Capital Region Development Authority, effective June 15, 2012.

Cited. 218 C. 729; 234 C. 424; 238 C. 146.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Former statute cited. 17 CS 280.

Subsec. (m):

Appellate Court erred in adding dollar figure of plaintiffs' unused vacation time to their respective salaries for their final year of state service; Subsec. makes no distinction between meaning of “state service” for purpose of calculating length of service under Sec. 5-162(a) and for purpose of calculating base salary under Sec. 5-162(b)(2); had legislature intended for accrued vacation time to be treated as a credit to state service it would have expressed that intent explicitly. 284 C. 149.

Although by statute a period equivalent to accrued vacation time is included in definition of state service, that statute does not limit calculation of the salary that plaintiffs were entitled to have factored into their retirement income. 92 CA 712.

Sec. 5-155. Retirement Commission. Section 5-155 is repealed.

(1949 Rev., S. 381; September, 1957, P.A. 11, S. 13; 1958 Rev., S. 5-95; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 4; P.A. 73-346; P.A. 75-33; P.A. 77-236; P.A. 80-478, S. 1, 3; P.A. 83-533, S. 53, 54.)

Sec. 5-155a. Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission. Membership. Powers and duties. Alternate retirement program. Regulations. Report by Treasurer. Claims process. (a) Members. The general administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the state employees retirement system is vested in a single board of trustees to be known as the Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-9a, the Retirement Commission shall consist of the following: (1) The Treasurer or a designee, who shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio member; (2) the Comptroller or a designee, who shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio member; (3) six trustees representing employees who shall (A) be appointed by the bargaining agents in accordance with the provisions of applicable collective bargaining agreements, (B) serve three-year terms, and (C) not be members of the same bargaining unit; (4) six management trustees who shall (A) be members of the state employees retirement system, (B) serve three-year terms, and (C) be appointed by the Governor; (5) two actuarial trustees who shall (A) be enrolled actuaries and Fellows of the Society of Actuaries, (B) serve three-year terms, and (C) be appointed by the Governor. One actuarial trustee shall be nominated by the management trustees and one shall be nominated by the trustees representing employees; and (6) one neutral trustee who shall be chairman of the commission and who shall (A) be enrolled in the National Academy of Arbitrators, (B) serve a two-year term, and (C) be nominated by the employee and management trustees and appointed by the Governor. If a vacancy occurs in the office of a trustee, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the office was previously filled. The trustees, with the exception of the chairman and the actuarial trustees, shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed in accordance with the standard travel regulations for all necessary expenses that they may incur through service on the commission. The chairman and the actuarial trustees shall be compensated at their normal and usual per diem fee, plus travel expenses, from the funds of the retirement system for each day of service to the commission. Each trustee shall, within ten days after appointment or election, take an oath of office that so far as it devolves upon the trustee, the trustee will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of the commission, and will not knowingly violate or willingly permit to be violated any of the provisions of law applicable to the state retirement system. Each trustee's term shall begin from the date the trustee takes such an oath. The trustees shall appoint a representative from among the municipalities that have accepted the provisions of part II of chapter 113, who shall serve as a municipal liaison to the commission, at the commission's pleasure and under such terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe. Each trustee shall be entitled to one vote on the commission. A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty authorized or imposed by law. The State Employee Retirement Commission shall be within the Retirement Division of the office of the Comptroller for administrative purposes only. The Comptroller shall be the secretary of the commission and shall provide secretariat support to the commission.

(b) Meetings. The Retirement Commission shall meet at least monthly and shall report to the Governor as provided in section 4-60.

(c) Powers and duties. The Retirement Commission shall administer this retirement system, the municipal employees' retirement system established by part II of chapter 113 and all other state retirement and pension plans except the Teachers' Retirement Fund. The Retirement Commission shall have general supervision of the operation of the retirement system, shall conduct the business and activities of the system, in accordance with this chapter and applicable law and each trustee shall be a fiduciary with respect to the retirement system and its members. The Retirement Commission shall authorize the participation in an alternate retirement program by the eligible unclassified employees of the constituent units of the state system of higher education and the central office staff of the Board of Regents for Higher Education. Such program may be underwritten by a life insurance company licensed to do business in this state. In conducting the business of the system, including its oversight functions, the Retirement Commission shall act: (1) With the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims; (2) in accordance with strict fiduciary standards and responsibilities; and (3) in accordance with the provisions of the general statutes and applicable collective bargaining agreements.

(d) Social Security. The Retirement Commission shall act as agent for the state in all matters relating to the Social Security Agreement, except those matters set forth in parts four, nine and ten of said agreement. The Retirement Commission may make regulations as to maintaining membership under Social Security or conduct referenda as appropriate to secure Social Security coverage for state employees to the extent permitted by Section 218 of the Social Security Act.

(e) Regulations. The Retirement Commission may adopt such regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and may establish rules and regulations which it deems necessary or desirable to facilitate the proper administration of the retirement system. Rules and regulations established by the commission shall be binding upon all parties dealing with the Retirement Commission and all persons claiming any benefits from the system provided that no regulation, rule, action or determination made or adopted by the Retirement Commission shall in any manner conflict or be inconsistent with any provision of an applicable current collective bargaining agreement in effect between any state employer and the unions representing employees.

(f) Allocation and delegation of fiduciary responsibilities. The Retirement Commission may, by resolution or regulation, allocate fiduciary responsibilities and various administrative duties to committees or subcommittees of the Retirement Commission, and may delegate such responsibilities and duties to other individuals as it deems appropriate or necessary in its sole discretion and consistent with this section.

(g) Hearings. The commission may hold hearings when deemed necessary in the performance of its duty. The hearings shall be governed by rules and regulations of the commission and the commission shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence.

(h) General counsel. The commission may hire a general counsel who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, have offices in the Retirement Division and perform duties as directed by the commission. The commission may obtain such additional legal advice and assistance as it deems advisable.

(i) Reporting and disclosure. (1) All plans, descriptions and reports and all legal, financial and actuarial documents dealing with the general operations of the pension plan shall be available for inspection and copying by members and their representatives. The cost of any copying shall be borne by the member or representative, but shall not exceed twenty-five cents per page.

(2) Each year the State Treasurer shall publish and forward to the commission a consolidated report showing the fiscal transactions of the system for the preceding fiscal year, including gain or loss by category of security, a reconciliation of assets showing the progression of the fund from one year to the next, the amount of the accumulated cash and securities of the system and the last balance sheet showing the financial condition of the system by means of an actuarial valuation of its assets and liabilities. Assets shall be shown at book and market value and by type or term of investment. Gain or loss shall be reported by category of security type. This requirement shall be satisfied if an Internal Revenue Service form 5500 is completed and submitted to the commission provided that the information included therein is sufficient to allow the computation of the investment yield of the fund on an annual basis. Each member shall receive a summary plan description within ninety days of employment and at least once in every four years thereafter. The commission shall notify members of substantial statutory plan amendments, if any, within two hundred ten days after their effective date.

(3) Effective July 1, 1985, and annually thereafter, the commission shall provide each member with a statement that shows the individual's vested benefits or the benefits the member may be entitled to on vesting and the date on which the member will be vested, shows the amount of the member's accrued benefits, shows the name of the beneficiary, if any, of the member in case of death and shows the total amount of contributions paid by the member and the interest accrued, if any.

(j) Claims procedure. Any claim for a pension or any other benefit which may become available in accordance with the provisions of this chapter may be submitted to the commission provided it is submitted in writing. Any such claim will be reviewed and decided by the commission. The claimant shall be advised of the processing status of his claim upon reasonable request.

(k) Claims review and appeal procedure. If any claim is denied, a claimant may request that the decision be reviewed and reconsidered by the commission. Thereafter, any such case shall be decided as a contested case in accordance with chapter 54.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 3, 54; P.A. 84-544, S. 1, 8; 84-546, S. 128, 173; P.A. 85-510, S. 13, 35; 85-613, S. 17, 154; P.A. 86-348, S. 2, 8; P.A. 89-215, S. 1, 3; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1, S. 68, 130; P.A. 03-138, S. 1; P.A. 11-48, S. 285; 11-82, S. 5; P.A. 15-123, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 84-544 amended Subsec. (c) to replace provision allowing commission to authorize participation in an alternate retirement program with provision requiring commission to authorize participation in one of four alternate retirement programs, added provision requiring each such program to be structured to allow transfer of membership and funds to and from other such program, and added provision that no employee shall make more than one transfer between such programs; P.A. 84-546 substituted “department of higher education” for obsolete reference to “board of higher education” in Subsec. (c); P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provisions for the nomination and election of two trustees representing employees and substituting provision for the appointment by bargaining agents in accordance with collective bargaining agreements of six trustees representing employees, by increasing the number of management trustees from two to six and made technical changes; P.A. 85-613 made technical changes in Subsec. (e); P.A. 86-348 amended Subsec. (c) to reduce number of alternate retirement programs from four to one and to delete provisions re transfer between such programs; P.A. 89-215 amended Subsec. (d) to clarify that retirement commission does not act as state's agent in matters set forth in parts four, nine and ten of the Social Security agreement; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1 amended Subsec. (k) by making technical change, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 03-138 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision requiring trustees to appoint a municipal liaison to the Retirement Commission and making technical changes for the purpose of gender neutrality, effective June 26, 2003; (Revisor's note: In 2005 a reference in Subsec. (c) to “chapter 113, part II” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “part II of chapter 113”); pursuant to P.A. 11-48, “Department of Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Board of Regents for Higher Education” in Subsec. (c), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-82 amended Subsec. (a) to add new Subdiv. (1) re Treasurer as member of commission and to redesignate existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subdivs. (2) to (5), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-123 amended Subsec. (a) to move reference to Comptroller as nonvoting, ex-officio member to new Subdiv. (2), to redesignate existing Subdivs. (2) to (5) as Subdivs. (3) to (6) and to make technical changes, effective June 23, 2015.

See Sec. 4-38f for definition of “administrative purposes only”.

Cited. 210 C. 531; 234 C. 411; Id., 424.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Subsec. (j): For claims to recalculate retirement benefits in accordance with 284 C. 149, the six-year statute of limitations for contract actions under Sec. 52-576 applies and claimant's right of action accrues, so as to commence the running of that period, when such claimant's claim for such benefits is approved and finalized. 328 C. 345.

Subsec. (k):

Cited. 210 C. 214.

Plaintiff has no substantive right to appeal denial by the State Employees Retirement Commission of his request to reconsider the calculation of his retirement benefits. 48 CA 482.

Sec. 5-155b. Regulations re claims and contested cases. The State Employees Retirement Commission shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, which establish the standards and criteria used by the commission (1) to review and reconsider decisions to deny claims submitted to the commission and (2) to decide contested cases.

(P.A. 91-328, S. 2, 5.)

Sec. 5-156. Retirement fund. Contribution of participants in alternate retirement program. (a) All member contributions and state appropriations shall be held in a separate retirement fund by the Treasurer, who may invest and reinvest as much of the fund as is not required for current disbursements in accordance with the provisions of part I of chapter 32.

(b) All participant contributions and state appropriations therefor shall be held in a separate account by the Treasurer and upon certification by the Comptroller shall be forwarded to the company underwriting an alternate retirement program in equal monthly installments. Expenditures from this account may exceed the appropriation to such account if such deficiency is due to anticipated reimbursements to the account and if such reimbursements are anticipated to be made within six months of such expenditures.

(c) The contribution of participants in an alternate retirement program shall be five per cent of salary. The employer contribution for such participants shall be determined from the table below and shall be paid to the separate retirement fund for alternate retirement programs for higher education personnel.

Fiscal Year Beginning	Percentage To Be Paid On Contributing Salaries
7-1-75	4.0%
7-1-76	4.4
7-1-77	4.8
7-1-78	5.2
7-1-79	5.6
7-1-80	6.0
7-1-81	6.4
7-1-82	6.8
7-1-83	7.2
7-1-84	7.6
7-1-85 and each year thereafter	8.0

(d) Transfer of appropriated amounts from the General Fund and the applicable special funds to the separate retirement fund for alternate retirement programs for higher education personnel shall be made in the month following the employee contribution.

(e) Any employee who elects or has elected to participate in an alternate retirement program, as defined in subsection (u) of section 5-154, may elect to receive a refund of all contributions made by him into the state employees retirement system in lieu of any pension benefits under said retirement system.

(1949 Rev., S. 387; 1953, S. 176d; 1957, P.A. 315; 349; 595, S. 6; 1958 Rev., S. 5-109, 5-115; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 5; 1967, P.A. 581, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 191, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 51; 662, S. 1; 666, S. 3; P.A. 75-636, S. 3; P.A. 78-341; P.A. 81-343, S. 3, 7; P.A. 83-533, S. 49, 54; P.A. 84-544, S. 3, 8; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-10, S. 2, 20.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1967 act provided graduated reductions in payments from fund from 50% of all payments in 1967 to 25% for biennium ending June 30, 1975; 1969 act permitted investment of fund in accordance with law governing trust fund investments; 1971 acts replaced “biennium” with “fiscal year” to reflect change to annual sessions and reduced maximum surplus transferable to retirement fund from $1,500,000 to $750,000 in Subsec. (b), deleted provision concerning investments in accordance with law governing investment of savings bank funds, deleted provisions concerning limits on payments out of fund and deleted Subsec. (b) concerning transfer of surplus into fund; P.A. 75-636 added new Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, re alternate retirement program for higher education personnel; P.A. 78-341 added provisions in Subsec. (a) concerning contracts with life insurance companies; P.A. 81-343 repealed provision authorizing treasurer to contract with life insurance companies doing business in state re use of retirement fund to purchase pension funding contracts and contracts providing for participation in separate accounts or under which funds become part of company's general account; P.A. 83-533 added Subsec. (e) allowing refund of contributions to participants in alternate retirement programs; P.A. 84-544 amended section to refer to more than one alternate retirement program; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-10 added provision to Subsec. (b) authorizing expenditures from account to exceed appropriation if deficiency is due to reimbursements anticipated to be made within six months of such expenditures.

See Sec. 3-13c re definition of “trust fund”.

Sec. 5-156a. Funding of retirement system on actuarial reserve basis. (a)(1) The state employees retirement system shall be funded on an actuarial reserve basis. The Retirement Commission shall, on or before December first, annually certify to the General Assembly the amount necessary on the basis of an actuarial determination to gradually establish and subsequently maintain the retirement fund on such determined actuarial reserve basis, and make such other recommendations with regard to such fund and its administration as the commission deems appropriate. The Retirement Commission shall, at least once every two years, prepare a valuation of the assets and liabilities of the system. On the basis of each such valuation, it shall redetermine the normal rate of contribution and, until it is amortized, the unfunded past service liability. The General Assembly shall review the commission's recommendations and certification and shall appropriate to the retirement fund the amount certified by the Retirement Commission as necessary provided said certification is in compliance with this section at the time of certification, and the amount so certified shall not be reduced or used for other than the purposes of this section.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the Retirement Commission shall not finalize any valuation prepared pursuant to said subdivision, or certify the amount necessary to maintain the retirement fund on an actuarial reserve basis pursuant to said subdivision, until such valuation and certification account for any funds deemed to be appropriated to the State Employees Retirement Fund pursuant to subsection (c) of section 4-30a.

(b) The Retirement Commission shall determine on an actuarial basis (1) a normal rate of contribution which the state shall be required to make into the retirement fund in order to meet the actuarial cost of current service and (2) the unfunded past service liability. For the first sixteen years, the funding program for the actuarial reserve basis shall consist of the following percentages of the sum of normal cost and the amount required for a forty-year amortization of unfunded liabilities:

Fiscal Year Beginning	Percentage to be paid of normal cost plus full 40-year amortization from the beginning of such fiscal year
7-1-71	30
7-1-72	35
7-1-73	40
7-1-74	45
7-1-75	45
7-1-76	50
7-1-77	55
7-1-78	60
7-1-79	65
7-1-80	70
7-1-81	75
7-1-82	80
7-1-83	85
7-1-84	90
7-1-85	95
7-1-86	100
7-1-87	100
7-1-88	100

provided said state payments shall not be reduced or diverted to any purpose other than the payment into the retirement fund until the foregoing schedule of payments has been completed and said fund is determined to be actuarially sound.

(c) Transfer of appropriated amounts from the General Fund to the retirement fund shall be made in equal monthly payments during the fiscal year.

(d) No act liberalizing the benefits of the plan shall be enacted by the General Assembly until the assembly has requested and received from the Retirement Commission a certification of the cost of such change under the actuarial funding basis adopted by section 5-154 and this section using full normal cost plus forty-year amortization.

(e) There shall be a valuation of the assets and liabilities of the system as of December 31, 1983, June 30, 1985, and June 30, 1986. The valuation of the assets and liabilities of the system as of December 31, 1983, shall reflect, to the greatest extent possible, any transfers made pursuant to section 5-158h and any service credits purchased by the date of the valuation.

(f) The same actuarial cost method and assumptions as were employed in determining the certification for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1982, shall be utilized for the annual Retirement Commission certification of the amount necessary to fund the system prior to the December 31, 1983, valuation, but shall reflect the increases in percentage indicated in subsection (b) of this section. The certification resulting from the December 31, 1982, valuation shall not estimate or otherwise reflect the effect of any contractual changes to the retirement system approved by the General Assembly on June 30, 1982, and effective on October 1, 1982.

(g) For any appropriation based on an actuarial valuation undertaken on or after December 31, 1983, the Retirement Commission shall separately indicate the actuarial cost of current service for the members of tier II. Such current service cost for tier II members shall be one hundred per cent funded. All other funding shall be in accordance with the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(h) Any recovery of pension costs from an appropriated or nonappropriated source other than the General Fund or Special Transportation Fund that causes the payments to the State Employees Retirement System to exceed the actuarially determined employer contribution for any fiscal year shall be deposited into the State Employees Retirement Fund as an additional employer contribution at the end of such fiscal year.

(1971, P.A. 666, S. 2; 1972, P.A. 71, S. 2; P.A. 75-581, S. 4, 6; P.A. 76-233, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-390, S. 5, 8; P.A. 78-367, S. 1, 3; P.A. 83-533, S. 4, 54; P.A. 85-422, S. 1, 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 10; P.A. 22-118, S. 127.)

History: 1972 act added “applicable special funds” to Subsec. (c); P.A. 75-581 changed timetable in Subsec. (b) regarding funding on actuarial reserve basis from 15 to 16 years; P.A. 76-233 forbade diverting or reducing funds pledged to establishing retirement fund on actuarial reserve basis; P.A. 77-390 deleted reference to applicable special funds in Subsec. (c); P.A. 78-367 amended Subsec. (a) to require valuation of assets and liabilities of system every two years rather than every three years as previously; P.A. 83-533 added Subsecs. (e), (f) and (g) concerning annual valuation of the system; P.A. 85-422 amended Subsec. (a) to change date for certification to general assembly of amount necessary to maintain fund on an actuarial reserve basis from March first to December first and amended Subsec. (e) to change dates for valuation of assets and liabilities of system from “December 31, 1983 and annually thereafter until December 31, 1986” to “December 31, 1983, June 30, 1985, and June 30, 1986”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (a) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv. (2) re delay of valuation and certification pursuant to Subdiv. (1) until valuation and certification account for any funds deemed appropriated pursuant to Sec. 4-30a(c), effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-118 added Subsec. (h) re deposit of certain recovery of pension costs as additional employer contribution, effective July 1, 2022.

Sec. 5-156b. Employment of actuaries. The Retirement Commission shall employ the services of one or more actuaries, each of which shall be an individual or firm having on its staff a fellow of the society of actuaries, to carry out the actuarial duties of sections 5-156, 5-156a and subsection (b) of section 5-168 and for such related purposes as the Retirement Commission deems advisable. The cost of such services shall be charged to the retirement fund. The actuary shall make such investigations of the mortality, service and compensation experience of the members of the system as the commission shall recommend and authorize, and on the basis of the investigations he shall recommend for adoption by the commission such tables and rates as are required. Having regard to the investigations and recommendations, the commission shall adopt such tables as it deems necessary and shall certify the rates of contribution necessary to fund the system. At least once in each five-year period, the actuary shall make actuarial investigations into the mortality, service and compensation experience of the members and beneficiaries of the system and shall, at least once in each two-year period, make a valuation of the assets and liabilities of the funds of the system. The commission, taking into account the results of such investigations and valuations, shall adopt for the system mortality, service and other tables as it deems necessary and shall certify the rates of annual contribution payable under the applicable provisions of this chapter.

(1971, P.A. 666, S. 5; P.A. 83-533, S. 5, 54.)

History: P.A. 83-533 amended section to specify duties of actuary and commission with respect to investigations, recommendations and valuations and adoption of tables by commission.

Sec. 5-156c. Erroneous payments; adjustment; waiver of repayment; regulations. (a) Should any change or error in records result in any member or beneficiary receiving from any retirement system administered by the State Employees Retirement Commission more or less than he would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, then upon discovery of any such error the Retirement Commission shall notify the member or beneficiary affected and correct the same, and as far as practicable shall adjust the payments in such manner that the actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which such member or beneficiary was correctly entitled shall be paid, provided if such change or error results in any member or beneficiary receiving less than he would have been eligible to receive, such member or beneficiary may elect to have such benefit paid in a single payment.

(b) If a member or beneficiary has been overpaid through no fault of his own, and he could not reasonably have been expected to detect the error, the Retirement Commission may waive any repayment which it believes would cause hardship.

(c) The Retirement Commission shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 establishing criteria for the waiver of repayment.

(P.A. 86-348, S. 1, 8.)

Sec. 5-156d. Mailing date for benefit checks. The Retirement Division of the Comptroller's office shall mail retirement benefit checks not later than three business days prior to the date on which such checks are payable.

(P.A. 87-381, S. 2; 87-589, S. 38, 87.)

History: P.A. 87-589 made technical change, substituting “mail” for “post”.

Sec. 5-156e. Lump sum payment after audit to include interest. Any lump sum payment to a retired member of the state employees retirement system which represents the difference between the preaudit benefit received by the member and the actual benefit to which the member is entitled shall include interest at the rate of five per cent per year from six months following the date of retirement to the date of such lump sum payment. The payment of such interest shall be made from the State Employees Retirement Fund.

(P.A. 91-328, S. 1, 5.)

Sec. 5-156f. Study re funding of past service liability. Additional contributions. Section 5-156f is repealed, effective October 1, 2002.

(P.A. 92-205, S. 4, 5, 12; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-14, S. 1, 11; S.A. 02-12, S. 1.)

Sec. 5-156g. Electronic direct deposit of pension payments. Unless otherwise requested by the recipient, any pension payment made under (1) the retirement system administered by the Connecticut State Employees Retirement Commission pursuant to this chapter, or (2) an alternate retirement program authorized by said commission shall be made by electronic direct deposit to the recipient's account in a bank, Connecticut credit union or federal credit union that has agreed to accept such payment.

(P.A. 11-48, S. 35.)

History: P.A. 11-48 effective July 1, 2011.

Sec. 5-156h. Limitation on amount of retirement income for certain members not subject to terms of collective bargaining agreement. (a) For the purposes of this section, “member”, “retirement system”, and “state employee” have the same meanings as provided in section 5-154.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, each state employee first hired by the state on or after July 1, 2016, who is a member of the state employees retirement system and whose state employment is not subject to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, shall not be entitled to receive any retirement income in excess of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per year during the period for which such member receives retirement income, regardless of the years of vesting service or other requirements of such member's retirement plan such member has completed at the time of retirement.

(2) If such member's retirement income is calculated to be more than one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per year at the time of the member's retirement, or if such member's retirement income after any cost-of-living adjustment becomes more than one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per year, the amount of such member's retirement income shall be reduced to one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per year, and such member shall not be entitled to any further cost-of-living adjustment.

(May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3, S. 61.)

History: May Sp. Sess. P.A. 16-3 effective July 1, 2016.

PART II*

RELATION OF RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO SOCIAL SECURITY

*Tier I retirement plan, Secs. 5-157–5-192d cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-157. Retirement system–parts A and B. (a) For purposes of the Social Security Agreement, the retirement system shall be divided into two parts, known as part A and part B. Part A shall consist of the positions of state employees, other than state police, who are members but who are not covered under Social Security. Part B shall consist of the positions of state employees who are members and who are covered under Social Security, in accordance with the Social Security Agreement.

(b) All state employees other than state police becoming members on and after October 1, 1961, shall be included under part B.

(c) The position of any part A member may, at his request, be transferred to part B, to the extent and in the manner permitted by Section 218 of the Social Security Act.

(d) The state police and employees of state-aided institutions are not covered under the Social Security Agreement and are not included under either part A or part B except as provided in section 5-158e.

(1957, P.A. 595, S. 2; September, 1957, P.A. 9, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-96; 1959, P.A. 131, S. 2; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 6; P.A. 80-407, S. 1, 4.)

History: 1959 act added Subsec. (c); 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; P.A. 80-407 amended Subsec. (d) modifying exclusion of state police and employees of state-aided institutions by providing exception in accordance with Sec. 5-158e.

Sec. 5-158. Social Security–special coverage rules. (a) The following services of state employees in positions not covered by the retirement system and in positions covered by the retirement system but who are ineligible to be members shall not be covered under Social Security: (1) All services in any class or classes of (A) elective positions, (B) positions the compensation for which is on a fee basis, or (C) part-time positions; (2) agricultural labor and student service, to the fullest extent such noncoverage is permitted under Section 218 of the Social Security Act.

(b) To the extent permitted by Section 218 of the Social Security Act and not prohibited above, services of state employees in positions not covered by the retirement system and in positions covered by the retirement system but who are ineligible to be members shall be covered under Social Security. The services of any such ineligible employee shall continue to be covered under Social Security if he thereafter becomes eligible to be a member.

(c) A member who is covered under Social Security shall not lose his coverage, and a member who is not covered under Social Security shall not be denied coverage, solely because his position is also covered under another retirement system of this state or any subdivision thereof.

(d) The members of the Teachers' Retirement Association are not authorized to hold a referendum as described in Section 218(d)(3) or a vote as described in Section 318(d)(7) of the Social Security Act.

(e) An elective or other state employee, for whom membership in the retirement system is optional and who is not a member, shall be considered to be a member for the purpose of having him covered under Social Security, to the extent permitted by Section 218(d)(6)(E) and (F) of the Social Security Act.

(1957, P.A. 595, S. 4; September, 1957, P.A. 9, S. 4; March, 1958, P.A. 23, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-97; 1959, P.A. 131, S. 3; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 7; 442; P.A. 73-597, S. 2, 3.)

History: 1959 act added Subsec. (j); 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form” and deleted from Subsec. (a)(2) part-time positions; P.A. 73-597 deleted reference to service of emergency nature and included part-time positions under exclusion from social security coverage.

Cited. 210 C. 531.

Sec. 5-158a. Part A and B members may elect to participate in part A and Social Security. Each state employee who is a member of the state employees retirement system, part A, or who is a member of the state employees retirement system, part B, or who becomes a member of either of the above systems, shall be eligible, as provided in subsection (a) of section 5-158b, to contribute and be a member of part A and participate in Social Security without diminution of his state retirement salary; provided such state employees, who are members of part A, as provided for, or as may be provided for, by federal-enabling legislation, may elect to join the Social Security System.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 1.)

Sec. 5-158b. Payment by part B member for such participation after transfer from part A. (a) Each state employee who is a member of the state employees retirement system, part B, and who elected to become a part B member after having been a part A member, shall, upon payment to the state employees retirement system of a sum computed by the State Employees Retirement Commission to be the equivalent of the amount he would have had to his credit in the retirement system but for his election to join part B, upon retirement, be entitled to a retirement salary computed as if his membership in part A had been continuous until the time of his retirement, provided he shall, from the date of his election to make such payment, contribute the same percentage of his salary to the retirement system as is provided in section 5-161 for members of the state retirement system not covered under Social Security and shall pay his required employee's Social Security contribution.

(b) The sum to be paid to the retirement system by a state employee under subsection (a) of this section shall be without interest and may be made in accordance with a payment schedule as may be established by the State Employees Retirement Commission.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 2, 3; P.A. 05-288, S. 26.)

History: P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005.

Sec. 5-158c. Payment by part B member, without prior part A membership, for such participation. Each state employee who became a member of the state employees retirement system, part B, without having first become a member of such system, part A, shall, upon payment of such sum to the retirement system, within the time and in the manner prescribed by the State Retirement Commission, as such commission shall determine to be equitable, but not in excess of five per cent of all salaries or wages received upon which such employee's retirement salary is to be based, be deemed a member of part A and receive upon retirement, in addition to any Social Security benefits, such retirement salary as said employee would be entitled to as a member of part A of the state employees retirement system.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 6.)

Sec. 5-158d. Payment by part A member for such participation. Each state employee who is a member of the state employees retirement system, part A, may, upon the enactment of and pursuant to federal-enabling legislation, elect to be covered by Social Security and, from the date of such election, he shall pay his required Social Security contribution. If the federal-enabling legislation shall allow such employee to be covered by Social Security retroactively, then, upon payment to the state employees retirement system by such employee of the amount required to be paid by him as an employee, the state shall take all the necessary steps and make all the necessary payments to the federal government to effectuate such Social Security coverage. The payment for retroactive coverage may be made in accordance with a payment schedule, without interest, as may be established by the State Employees Retirement Commission. Upon payment of all necessary contributions by such employee, upon retirement he shall be entitled to receive, in addition to any Social Security benefits, his full retirement salary as a member of part A of the state employees retirement system.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 4.)

Sec. 5-158e. Transfer from part A to part B. Each state employee who is a member of the state employees retirement system, part A, may, upon the enactment of and pursuant to federal-enabling legislation, elect to become a member of such retirement system, part B, and, from the date of such election, he shall pay his required Social Security contribution. If the federal-enabling legislation shall allow such employee to be covered by Social Security retroactively, such retroactive payment required to be paid by him as an employee shall be paid by the state to the federal government from the amount in the state employees retirement system standing to the credit of such employee and, if such amount is insufficient to make such payment, the deficiency shall be paid by such employee to the retirement system within the time and in the manner prescribed by the State Employees Retirement Commission. From the date of such election, provided any such deficiency has been paid, such employee shall be a part B member and be entitled, upon retirement, to the retirement benefits due to a member of the state employees retirement system, part B. Each member of the state employees retirement system who is employed by a state-aided institution, as defined in section 5-175, shall have an opportunity to elect to participate in part B of said system. Such election shall be made in the period between October 1, 1980, and December 31, 1980, in accordance with rules to be prescribed by the Retirement Commission.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 5; P.A. 80-407, S. 2, 4.)

History: P.A. 80-407 provided opportunity for employees of state-aided institutions to participate in Part B of retirement system.

See Sec. 5-158h re transfers between parts A and B.

Sec. 5-158f. Election by new employees. Special option to nonmembers. Retirement system provisions not applicable to employees in federally funded positions. Each new state employee who may be entitled to become eligible for membership in the state employees retirement system, part B, shall, at the time of commencement of his employment, elect (a) to become a member, when eligible, of the state employees retirement system, part B, integrated with Social Security, in which event he shall make all the payments required of such a part B employee and receive all the benefits of such a part B employee; or (b) to become a member, when eligible, of the state employees retirement system, part A, plus Social Security coverage, in which event he shall make all the payments required for Social Security and of such a part A employee and receive all the benefits of such part A and Social Security. Any such employee, who fails to make an election within six months after employment, shall be deemed to have elected to become a member of the state employees retirement system part B, pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, unless such employee qualifies for, and has elected to become a member of, either the Teachers' Retirement Association in accordance with the provisions of subsection (g) of section 5-160 or an alternate retirement program as authorized by subsections (u) and (v) of section 5-154, section 5-156, this section and subsection (g) of section 5-160. No such election shall be changed after six months' employment except as provided in section 5-158b or 5-158c. Each employee not presently a member of the state employees retirement system shall have an opportunity to elect or reject membership in the period between October 1, 1973, and December 31, 1973, in accordance with rules to be prescribed by the State Employees Retirement Commission. The requirements of this section shall not apply to state employees in positions funded in whole or in part by the federal government as part of any public service employment program, on-the-job training program or work experience program.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 7; 1971, P.A. 180, S. 1; P.A. 73-624; P.A. 75-636, S. 4; P.A. 77-390, S. 2, 8; P.A. 78-277, S. 1, 6; P.A. 85-613, S. 85, 154.)

History: 1971 act provided that employees who fail to elect a particular plan within six months of employment become members of Part B unless they become members of teachers' retirement association and that changes in plan not take place after six months except as provided in Sec. 5-158b or 5-158c; P.A. 73-624 allowed employees not then members to elect or reject membership between October 1 and December 31, 1973; P.A. 75-636 included reference to alternate retirement program for higher education personnel; P.A. 77-390 made technical correction; P.A. 78-277 excluded employees in positions partly or wholly funded by federal government in employment, job-training or work-experience programs; P.A. 85-613 made technical changes, deleting reference to Sec. 10-324(e).

Sec. 5-158g. Effect on options. Each state employee who elects, under the provisions of sections 5-158a to 5-158f, inclusive, to contribute to both Social Security and full part A of the state employees retirement system and who has, in effect, an option providing for his spouse, under the State Employees Retirement Act, shall be allowed, upon written application to the Retirement Commission, prior to January 1, 1970, to cancel or reduce or retain such option and such option, if cancelled, shall be of no force or effect or shall have such effect as the reduced option provides. Upon the retirement of a member who has cancelled or reduced such option under the provisions of this section, his retirement salary shall be reduced by such amount or amounts, if any, as the Retirement Commission shall determine as the actuarial equivalent of the value of the protection for the amount of the retirement salary which would have been payable to the spouse if the member had died between (1) the first date on which the spouse would have been entitled to a retirement salary if the member had died on such date and (2) the date of cancellation, or to the value of the excess of such protection over that under the reduced option, as the case may be.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 8; 1969, P.A. 542.)

History: 1969 act imposed January 1, 1970, deadline for cancelling or reducing spouse payment option and provided means to calculate reduction of retirement salary necessitated by cancelling or reducing the option.

Sec. 5-158h. Transfers between parts A and B. (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of part III of this chapter to the contrary, each state employee or member who is covered under the state employees retirement system and also under Social Security shall have the right to determine whether to be retroactively covered under the full part A provision commonly referred to as “Plan C” or under the part B provision until the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985. After such date, no employee may transfer between part A and part B. If a member terminates and is reemployed after such date, such member shall automatically be covered under whichever part he was covered at the time of the prior termination.

(b) If a member covered under part B elects to transfer to full part A prior to such date, the member shall notify the Retirement Commission no later than the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, on the form provided by it and shall pay in a lump sum the extra contributions that would have been payable, without interest, had such part A election been made as of his date of entry into the system. If such employee is financially unable to make such lump sum payment, the employee and the Retirement Commission may enter into a contract for payment of such amount in not more than one hundred thirty-one equal biweekly installments. Such installments shall include interest at five per cent a year, and the transfer to part A shall not be effective until all such installments have been paid. If a member severs employment for any reason before all such installments are paid, the balance outstanding shall be payable in a lump sum within ninety days or a longer period if approved by the Retirement Commission. If such amount is not paid, the member shall be entitled to the refund of prior installments, but without any additional interest.

(c) If a member covered under full part A provisions elects to transfer to part B prior to such date, the member shall notify the Retirement Commission no later than the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, on the form provided by it. Such member shall receive as a refund from the retirement fund, the contributions that had been paid by him, including any interest paid by such member, but excluding any other interest adjustment, beyond those that would have been payable had such part B election been made as of his date of entry into the system or January 1, 1956, whichever is later.

(d) If a member does not wish to change his coverage, no action on his part shall be required.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 6, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 19, 35.)

History: P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) to extend deadline for determination re coverage under part A or part B from January 2, 1984, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, and amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to extend deadline for notification of retirement commission from January 1, 1984, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985.

See Sec. 5-158e re transfers from part A to part B.

Sec. 5-159. Social Security contributions. The Comptroller shall deduct from the salary of each state employee who is covered under Social Security, and the state shall contribute, the amount required of each under the federal Insurance Contributions Act. The Comptroller shall verify them in accordance with applicable federal regulations and shall forward such contributions to a financial institution qualified as a depositary for federal taxes or to the federal reserve bank.

(1957, P.A. 595, S. 4; September, 1957, P.A. 9, S. 4; March, 1958, P.A. 23, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-97; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 8; P.A. 89-215, S. 2, 3.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; P.A. 89-215 made technical changes re handling of Social Security contributions and clarified that comptroller, rather than retirement commission, verifies contributions and forwards them to a qualified financial institution or to the federal reserve bank, rather than to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Sec. 5-159a. Social Security Agreement retroactive. The Social Security Agreement as defined in section 5-154 shall be made retroactive to the extent permitted by the Social Security Act as defined in said section, but not prior to January 1, 1956. The state shall pay for its share of the retroactive Social Security contributions required therefor. Each employee shall be liable for his own share of the retroactive contributions. The share of each member shall be paid from his retirement account. Amounts paid on behalf of a member from his account for retroactive contributions shall be excluded in determining any amounts which may be refundable to such member, or to his beneficiary, in the event of his withdrawal from state service or death.

(1967, P.A. 504.)

Sec. 5-159b. Election of refunds by state employees in federally funded jobs. State employees in positions funded in whole or in part by the federal government as part of any public service employment program, on-the-job training program or work experience program may elect to receive a refund of their accumulated retirement contributions without interest.

(P.A. 78-277, S. 5, 6.)

PART III*

BASIC RETIREMENT PLAN

*See Sec. 5-259 re hospitalization and medical and surgical insurance.

Sec. 5-160. Eligibility. (a) Each state employee appointed to the classified service shall become a member on the first day of the pay period following the date he receives a permanent appointment in the classified service except that membership shall not be required of such employees in positions funded in whole or in part by the federal government as part of any public service employment program, on-the-job training program or work experience program.

(b) Each officer elected by the people and each appointee of such officer exempt from the classified service may elect to become a member, effective on the first day of the pay period following the date his election is received by the Retirement Commission.

(c) Except for such members as elected to remain or be reinstated as members of the state employees retirement system under section 5-166a, members of the judiciary eligible for retirement under the provisions of section 51-50 or 51-50a and members of the Teachers' Retirement Association not in state service are not eligible for membership in the state retirement system.

(d) Each other state employee appointed to a position exempt from the classified service, except positions funded in whole or in part by the federal government as part of any public service employment program, on-the-job training program or work experience program, shall become a member on the first day of the pay period following the date he has completed six months in such position, provided he has elected no other Connecticut retirement plan.

(e) Each person who has been in state service since September 1, 1939, and who is not a member may elect to become a member, effective on the first day of the pay period following the date his election is received by the Retirement Commission.

(f) A temporary, emergency or provisional employee may elect to become a member, effective on the first day of the pay period following the date his election is received by the Retirement Commission. At any time not later than the date six months after his membership becomes mandatory under subsection (a) or (d) of this section, such employee may elect to make retirement contributions for his salary received during the period, not in excess of twelve months, prior to the effective date of his membership, without interest. Such contributions shall be paid within six months after his membership becomes mandatory.

(g) Any teacher in state service required as a condition of his employment to hold an appropriate certificate of qualification issued by the State Board of Education under the provisions of section 10-145a and any teacher or professional staff member employed by the Board of Regents for Higher Education or any of the constituent units shall elect membership either in the retirement system or the teachers' retirement system subject to the provisions of section 10-183p, provided on or after October 1, 1975, any such employee who is appointed to a position which makes him eligible for membership in an alternate retirement program as authorized by subsections (u) and (v) of section 5-154, sections 5-156 and 5-158f and this subsection, and who elects such membership, shall not be required to become a member of the state employees retirement system or the Teachers' Retirement Association. Each such teacher shall be notified of the above option when he accepts his employment. If any such teacher shall not have made an election within one month after employment, he shall be deemed to have elected membership in the state employees retirement system. In the administration of this section, the board of trustees of the institution or unit employing the teacher and said board shall each perform, for the persons employed by it, the duties prescribed by chapter 167a for boards of education and the chief administrative officer of such institution, unit or board shall perform those prescribed in said chapter for the superintendent of schools.

(h) Transfers between the state employees and teachers' retirement systems will continue to be permitted until the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, no transfers between the state employees retirement system, and either the Teachers' Retirement Association or an alternate retirement program shall be permitted after such date, except in the case of an employee who has had a bona fide change in employment. Such employee shall be eligible to transfer between systems only if such change is either (1) to a position where participation in the Teachers' Retirement Association or an alternate retirement program is permitted and such employee had not previously made such an election or (2) to a position where participation in the Teachers' Retirement Association or an alternate retirement program is not permitted and such employee was participating in one of those systems. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-175b, any such transferee shall receive credit for service rendered which is creditable in the system to which he is transferring as of June 28, 1985, upon payment of the required employee contributions plus required interest as provided in such system.

(i) Each state employee who first joins the state employees retirement system after January 1, 1984, shall have his eligibility and membership determined under part V of this chapter. A state employee who rejoins the state employees retirement system after January 1, 1984, shall become a member of tier II if section 5-192e so indicates; otherwise such employee shall become a member of tier I. Any state employee hired on or after July 1, 1982, and on or before July 1, 1984, shall be eligible to make a one-time election for membership in either the tier I or the tier II plan. Such election shall be made by January 2, 1984, or within ninety days after beginning such employment, or by the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, whichever is later. Any individual making such an election may receive credit for service on or after July 1, 1982, under terms utilized for other service credits.

(j) The provisions of this chapter shall apply to members of collective bargaining units subject to the terms of the collective bargaining pension agreement approved by the General Assembly on June 30, 1982, to members of collective bargaining units adopting such terms in other collective bargaining agreements and to members of the state employees retirement system who are excluded from collective bargaining and to whom such terms have been extended by administrative action. All other persons shall receive those benefits to which they are entitled under the provisions of this chapter, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 1983.

(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (j) of this section, each state employee collective bargaining unit which has not accepted the terms of such pension agreement before July 7, 1983, shall have its dispute with the state employer over pension issues submitted to the American Arbitration Association for arbitration. The dispute shall be arbitrated by a single member of the association, selected in accordance with the standard procedures of the association. The arbitration proceeding shall be conducted in accordance with the standard procedures of the association which do not conflict with the provisions of this subsection. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding on both parties, except that the decision shall be submitted to the legislature for approval or rejection pursuant to the provisions of section 5-278 in the same manner as agreements are submitted under said section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the arbitrator from endeavoring to mediate the dispute for which he has been selected. The parties may continue to negotiate the disputed pension issues and may reach an agreement at any time prior to the issuance of the arbitrator's decision. If such an agreement is reached, the arbitration proceedings shall terminate.

(1949 Rev., S. 389, 393; 1949, 1955, S. 157d; 1953, S. 160d; 1955, S. 159d; 1957, P.A. 602, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-110, 5-113, 5-114; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 9; 1963, P.A. 642, S. 88; 1967, P.A. 505; 786, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 297, S. 1; P.A. 73-538, S. 2, 3; P.A. 74-12, S. 2, 3; P.A. 75-636, S. 5; P.A. 77-390, S. 3, 8; 77-573, S. 21, 30; P.A. 78-208, S. 27, 35; 78-277, S. 2, 3, 6; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 83-533, S. 7, 54; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; 84-544, S. 4, 8; 84-546, S. 129, 173; P.A. 85-510, S. 23, 35; P.A. 05-288, S. 27; P.A. 11-48, S. 272, 285.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act amended Subsec. (b) by deleting the words “of the state” after the words “Each officer”; 1967 acts changed provisions in Subsec. (f) for back contributions for period before attaining permanent statute so that election to claim credit and make payments for allowed period must be made within six months of time when membership becomes mandatory and included teachers and professional staff members employed by commission for higher education or its constituent units under provisions of Subsec. (g); 1971 act provided in Subsec. (g) that teachers not electing an option within one month of their employment automatically become members of state employees retirement system; P.A. 73-538 allowed members of judiciary and of teachers' retirement association option of remaining members of state employees retirement system under Subsec. (c); P.A. 74-12 amended Subsec. (c) to allow members of judiciary and teachers' retirement association to choose reinstatement in state employees retirement system; P.A. 75-636 amended Subsec. (g) to exempt members of alternate retirement program for higher education personnel from requirement of membership in state employees or teachers' retirement programs; P.A. 77-390 added exception to Subsec. (d); P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education and replaced reference to repealed Sec. 10-324 with “subsection (d) of section 10-323e” in Subsec. (g); P.A. 78-208 replaced teachers' retirement association with teachers' retirement system and replaced references to repealed Sec. 10-175 and repealed chapter 167 with “section 10-183p” and “chapter 167a”; P.A. 78-277 amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) exempting employees in positions funded wholly or partly by federal government in employment, job-training or work experience programs from membership in retirement system; P.A. 82-218 substituted board of governors for board of higher education in Subsec. (g) pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 83-533 added Subsecs. (h), (i), (j) and (k); P.A. 84-241 added “of higher education” to board's title; P.A. 84-544 amended Subsec. (h) to replace “the alternate retirement program” with “an alternate retirement program”; P.A. 84-546 made technical change to Subsec. (g) deleting reference to repealed Subsec. (d) of Sec. 10a-6; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (h) to extend deadline for transfers between the state employees and teachers' retirement systems from October 1, 1984, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, and to add provision that notwithstanding Sec. 5-175b, any transferee shall receive credit for service rendered which is creditable in the system to which he is transferring as of June 28, 1985, upon payment of the required employee contributions plus interest and amended Subsec. (i) to extend hiring deadline for employees eligible to make a one-time election for membership in tier I or tier II from January 1, 1984, to July 1, 1984, and to extend deadline for making such election from January 2, 1984, or within 90 days after beginning such employment, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (f), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (g) to replace reference to Board of Governors of Higher Education or its constituent units with reference to Board of Regents for Higher Education or the constituent units, effective July 1, 2011.

Sec. 5-161. Retirement contributions. (a) Each member covered under Social Security shall make retirement contributions equal to: Two per cent on that portion of his salary on which the state is making contributions under the Social Security Agreement; plus five per cent on that portion of his salary in excess of the amount on which the state is making contributions.

(b) Each member not covered under Social Security shall make retirement contributions equal to five per cent of his salary, unless otherwise provided by the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

(c) A member's retirement contributions shall be deducted from his salary by the Comptroller except that contributions by a participant in an alternate retirement program, at the election of the participant, shall be made on a salary reduction basis in accordance with Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended.

(d) The Comptroller shall inform any member so requesting of the total amount of his retirement contributions up to the preceding July first.

(e) Except as provided in subsection (c) of section 5-180, a member absent from state service without pay shall make no contributions during his absence.

(f) The state shall make no retirement contributions for and no retirement contributions shall be due from a member receiving workers' compensation or compensation under section 5-142, provided full retirement credit shall be allowed to such member for the period during which he is receiving such compensation.

(1949 Rev., S. 387, 390; 1957, P.A. 349; 595, S. 6; 1958 Rev., S. 5-109, 5-111; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 10; P.A. 77-234; P.A. 79-376, S. 5; P.A. 83-533, S. 52, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 15, 35; P.A. 89-211, S. 5; P.A. 05-288, S. 28.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; P.A. 77-234 amended Subsec. (f) deleting provision for payment of retirement contributions for member receiving workmen's compensation but granting retirement credit for period under workmen's compensation; P.A. 79-376 changed “workmen's” to “workers'” compensation; P.A. 83-533 amended Subsec. (c) to permit contributions of participant in an alternate retirement program to be made on a salary reduction basis; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (b) requiring that each member not covered under Social Security shall make retirement contributions equal to 5% of his salary by adding “unless otherwise provided by the applicable collective bargaining agreement”; P.A. 89-211 clarified reference to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (e), effective July 13, 2005.

Former section dealing with contributions found to have nothing to do with determination of eligibility. 10 CS 78; Id., 346.

Sec. 5-162. Retirement date and retirement income. (a) The retirement income for which a member is eligible shall be determined from his retirement date, years of state service and base salary, in accordance with the schedule in subsection (c) or (d) below, whichever is appropriate.

(b) As used in this section: (1) “Base salary” means the average annual regular salary, as defined in subsection (h) of section 5-154, received by a member for his three highest-paid years of state service, disregarding any general temporary reduction or any reduction or nonpayment for illness or other temporary absence; “retirement date” means the date on which a member is retired from state service; “Social Security earnings” means that portion of the member's base salary up to and including the sum of forty-eight hundred dollars on which the state made contributions under the Social Security Agreement, or would have made contributions had the member been covered under Social Security by the state during the years used in determining his base salary; “excess earnings” means that portion of the member's annual base salary in excess of his Social Security earnings, provided, if the member has no Social Security earnings because the state has made no Social Security contributions for him, his excess earnings shall equal his base salary. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, on and after January 1, 1984, “base salary” means the average covered earnings received by a member for his three highest-paid years of state service, disregarding any general temporary reduction or any reduction or nonpayment for illness or other absence which does not exceed ninety days; and “covered earnings” means the annual salary, as defined in subsection (h) of section 5-154, received by a member in a year, limited by one hundred thirty per cent of the average of the two previous years' covered earnings. The limit does not apply to earnings for calendar years before 1984 or for the first three full or partial years of employment. The Retirement Commission may adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 determining the procedure to be followed for a member who was not employed on a full-time basis for the entire two previous years used to develop such limit.

(1) Except as provided in section 5-163a, each member who has completed twenty-five or more years of state service shall be retired on his own application on the first day of the month named in the application, and on or after the member's fifty-fifth birthday.

(2) Each member who has completed twenty-five or more years of state service and has reached his seventieth birthday and who is in an appointive position shall continue in service and shall be retired on the first day of the month on or after his seventieth birthday, upon notice from the Retirement Commission to the member, to the executive head of his agency and the Comptroller.

(3) Each member referred to in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to one-twelfth of (A) plus (B): (A) Twenty-five per cent of his Social Security earnings, plus fifty per cent of his excess earnings; (B) the number of years, if any, taken to completed months, of his state service in excess of twenty-five years multiplied by one per cent of his Social Security earnings, plus the number of such years multiplied by two per cent of his excess earnings.

(d) Schedule 2–Less than twenty-five years of state service.

(1) Except as provided in section 5-163a, each member who has completed less than twenty-five years of state service shall be retired on his own application, on the first day of the month following his application, if the member has completed ten years of state service and reached his fifty-fifth birthday.

(2) Each such member in an appointive position who has reached his seventieth birthday shall continue in service and shall be retired on the first day of the month on or after his seventieth birthday, upon notice from the Retirement Commission to the member, the executive head of his agency and the Comptroller.

(3) Each member referred to in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to one-twelfth of (A) plus (B): (A) The number of years of his state service, taken to completed months, multiplied by the applicable percentage of his Social Security earnings determined from the table below for the appropriate age and years of state service; (B) the number of such years multiplied by the applicable percentage of his excess earnings determined from the table below for such age and years of service.

Age Of Member On His Retirement Date	Years Of State Service**	Percentage Of Social Security Earnings	Excess Earnings
70 and over	5 and over*	1.25%	2.50%
65 to 70	10	1.00	2.00
64	10	.94	1.88
63	10	.88	1.76
62	10	.82	1.64
61	10	.76	1.52
60	10	.70	1.40
59	10	.65	1.30
58	10	.60	1.20
57	10	.56	1.12
56	10	.53	1.06
55	10	.50	1.00

*Not more than 20 years may be counted for this age and percentage group.

**Between the ages of fifty-five and sixty, the minimum service requirement is ten years of actual state service.

For each full year of service beyond ten, the percentage of Social Security earnings shall be increased by one-fifteenth of the difference between one and the percentage shown in the above table opposite the age of the retiring employee, and the percentage of excess earnings shall be increased by one-fifteenth of the difference between two and the percentage shown in the above table opposite the age of the retiring employee.

(e) Each retirement application shall be made to the Retirement Commission and, upon its approval, shall be forwarded to the Comptroller, who shall draw his orders upon the Treasurer for any amounts the applicant is entitled to receive.

(f) Pension contributions made by a member on any earnings excluded from his base salary when calculating the member's retirement income, pursuant to the maximum limitations on covered earnings in subsection (b) of this section, shall be refunded to the member by the Retirement Commission at the time of his retirement.

(1949 Rev., S. 382, 386; 1951, S. 150d; 1951, 1955, S. 152d; 1957, P.A. 595, S. 7, 8; 670, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-101, 5-105, 5-108; 1959, P.A. 396, S. 1, 2; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 11; 437; February, 1965, P.A. 107, S. 1, 2; 243; 1967, P.A. 637, S. 9, 10; 657, S. 78; P.A. 75-531, S. 1, 2, 6; P.A. 77-90; 77-390, S. 7, 8; P.A. 80-294, S. 1, 7; P.A. 83-533, S. 8, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 3, 8; P.A. 85-510, S. 11, 35.)

History: 1959 act increased mandatory retirement age for woman from 65 to 70 and added subparagraph (1)(A) to Subdiv. (d); 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form” and amended definition of social security earnings in Subsec. (b) by adding “up to and including” the sum of $4,800; 1965 acts amended Subsec. (b) to redefine “base salary” to mean the average received for the three rather than the 5 highest-paid years of state service and amended Subsecs. (c)(2) and (d)(2) to specify members to “continue in service” after their seventieth birthday and be retired on the first day of the following month; 1967 acts added provision for increasing percentage of social security and excess earnings in calculating benefits for employees with more than 10 years' service and made provision retroactive in Subsec. (d) and amended Subsec. (b) to include longevity payments in definition of “base salary”; P.A. 75-531 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) deleting all provisions making distinctions between men and women for retirement purposes; P.A. 77-90 omitted provision in Subsec. (c)(1) concerning retirement of member by virtue of application from agency head; P.A. 77-390 added note to table in Subsec. (d) allowing retirement between ages 55 and 60 with minimum of 10 years' actual full-time service as described in Sec. 5-166; P.A. 80-294 changed note deleting words “full-time” and “as described in section 5-166”; P.A. 83-533 amended Subsec. (b) by adding definition of “base salary” to be used on and after January 1, 1984; P.A. 84-411 amended Subsec. (d)(1) to change retirement age from 60 to 55; P.A. 85-510 added Subsec. (f) re refund of certain pension contributions.

See Sec. 5-154(h) re definition of “salary”.

See Sec. 5-162f re minimum monthly retirement income.

See Sec. 5-164a re retirement credit afforded reemployed retired employees.

See Sec. 5-173 re special service retirement credit rules concerning state police, certain correctional employees, etc.

See Sec. 5-188 re retirement salary of detectives.

What constitutes state service; service in foot guard, as voting machine commissioner and as trustee of state hospital may not be counted in determining years of service. 129 C. 266. Cited. 170 C. 668; 195 C. 405; 218 C. 729; 234 C. 424.

Cited. 2 CA 196; 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424. Full dollar value of accrued vacation and final longevity payments received by potential retiree in final year of state service should be added to “salary” received during such final year of state service for the purpose of calculating “base salary.” 92 CA 712.

Compensation has no bearing on right to retire; nothing in Subsec. (e) requires the exercise of discretion. 10 CS 78; Id., 346. No bearing on whether or not one is in state service; public utilities commissioner is in state service. Id. Former statute cited. 16 CS 197; 22 CS 97.

Subsec. (b):

Cited. 234 C. 411; Id., 424. Appellate Court erred in determining that accrued vacation time is not treated as state service in calculation of base salary under Subsec.; the dollar value of accrued vacation time benefits is not to be added directly to a retiree's final year salary for purpose of calculating base salary. 284 C. 149.

Sec. 5-162a. Biennial adjustment of salary of retired employees. Section 5-162a is repealed.

(1967, P.A. 637, S. 11, 12; 1969, P.A. 661, S. 10.)

Sec. 5-162b. Cost of living adjustment for employees retired on or before June 30, 1975. On July 1, 1978, and on July first of each subsequent year, each employee and the spouse of each deceased employee who had elected the husband and wife retirement income option, retired under the State Employees Retirement Act on or before June 30, 1975, shall be entitled, in addition to his original monthly retirement salary plus cost of living allowances from date of original retirement, to an additional five per cent cost of living monthly allowance computed on the basis of his combined monthly retirement salary and cost of living allowances, if any, to which he was entitled as of the June thirtieth immediately preceding. If on any July first, the Retirement Commission determines that the National Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the previous twelve-month period has increased less than the cost of living allowance provided by this section, the cost of living allowance provided by this section shall be adjusted to reflect the change in such index provided such cost of living allowance shall not be less than three per cent.

(1969, P.A. 661, S. 5, 6, 8; P.A. 75-421, S. 1, 5; P.A. 78-228, S. 1, 8.)

History: P.A. 75-421 deleted Subsecs. (b) and (c) re cost of living allowance provisions commencing on July 1, 1969, and amended former Subsec. (a) to apply to July 1, 1975, and subsequent years, granting a 3% cost-of-living increase; P.A. 78-228 amended section to apply to July 1, 1978, and subsequent years, changed cost-of-living increase to 5% and provided for adjustments in increases geared to Consumer Price Index.

Sec. 5-162c. Annual adjustments in allowances to retired employees. Section 5-162c is repealed.

(1969, P.A. 661, S. 7; P.A. 73-534, S. 1, 4; P.A. 75-421, S. 4, 5.)

Sec. 5-162d. Tier I cost of living allowance for members retiring on or after July 1, 1975. (a) Each employee retiring on or after July 1, 1975, and prior to the effective date of the next collective bargaining agreement following July 1, 1978, which applies to such employee and the spouse of any such deceased employee who had elected the husband and wife retirement income option, shall be eligible for an annual five per cent cost of living allowance commencing on the first anniversary date following the completion of nine months in retirement. If on any subsequent applicable anniversary date, the Retirement Commission determines that the National Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the previous twelve-month period has increased less than the cost of living allowance provided by this subsection, the cost of living allowance provided by this subsection shall be adjusted to reflect the change in such index provided such cost of living allowance shall not be less than three per cent.

(b) Each employee retiring on or after the effective date of the next collective bargaining agreement following July 1, 1978, which applies to such employee, and the spouse or contingent annuitant of any such deceased employee who had elected an optional form of retirement income, shall be eligible for an annual three per cent cost of living allowance commencing on the first anniversary date following the completion of nine months in retirement and any additional cost of living allowance which may be obtained under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

(c) Each employee who is not included in any collective bargaining unit and who retires after July 1, 1980, and the spouse or contingent annuitant of any such deceased employee who had elected an optional form of retirement income, shall be eligible for an annual three per cent cost of living allowance commencing on the first anniversary date following the completion of nine months in retirement. Cost of living allowances provided under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section shall be computed on the basis of the retirement allowance to which the employee was entitled on the day preceding his latest anniversary date. Anniversary date means the first day of January or the first day of July following completion of nine months after the effective date of retirement.

(d) Each spouse or contingent annuitant of a deceased member who is receiving income under section 5-165 or section 5-165a shall be eligible for an annual three per cent cost of living allowance unless the spouse or contingent annuitant is receiving a six per cent cost of living allowance as provided in section 5-162h.

(1969, P.A. 661, S. 9; P.A. 73-534, S. 2, 4; P.A. 75-421, S. 2, 5; P.A. 78-228, S. 2, 8; P.A. 79-631, S. 27, 111; P.A. 80-129, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-533, S. 46, 54.)

History: P.A. 73-534 changed eligibility for cost-of-living allowances to date of retirement, omitting 36-month waiting period and requirement that allowances commence on July first in the first-succeeding odd-numbered year, effective July 1, 1974; P.A. 75-421 made provisions of section applicable to retirements on or after July 1, 1975, changed eligibility to January first or July first after 9 months of retirement and specified rate to be 3% annually; P.A. 78-228 added qualifier concerning retirements before collective bargaining agreements which might exist after July 1, 1978, raised rate to 5% annually, made cost-of-living allowance subject to adjustment according to Consumer Price Index and added Subsec. (b) concerning retirements subject to collective bargaining agreements after July 1, 1978; P.A. 79-631 made technical changes; P.A. 80-129 added Subsec. (c) concerning cost-of-living allowances for retirees not covered by collective bargaining; P.A. 83-533 amended section to include reference to contingent annuitants and added Subsec. (d).

Sec. 5-162e. Cost of living adjustment. Section 5-162e is repealed.

(S.A. 74-31, S. 15, 22; P.A. 74-338, S. 90, 94; P.A. 75-421, S. 4, 5.)

Sec. 5-162f. Minimum monthly retirement income. On or after October 1, 1982, each retired member who (1) has completed twenty-five years of state service in accordance with subsection (c) of section 5-162, (2) has completed twenty years of hazardous duty service described in section 5-173, or (3) is receiving retirement income under section 5-173 or 5-188, shall receive a minimum monthly retirement income of eight hundred thirty-three dollars and thirty-four cents, less any reduction for any option under section 5-165, or any actuarial reduction under subsection (c) of section 5-163, or both. Such minimum monthly benefit, for members already retired, shall be determined after the application of any cost-of-living adjustments under sections 5-162b, 5-162d and 5-162h. Such minimum shall also apply to a member who has completed twenty-five years of state service who terminates prior to being eligible for immediate retirement benefits, but this provision shall not result in an earlier commencement of benefits than would otherwise apply.

(P.A. 77-592, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-533, S. 10, 54; P.A. 00-192, S. 99, 102.)

History: P.A. 83-533 amended section to provide for redetermination of minimum monthly retirement income; P.A. 00-192 inserted Subdiv. (1) designator, added Subdiv. (2) re hazardous duty service, inserted Subdiv. (3) designator and increased minimum monthly retirement income from $300 to $833.34, effective May 26, 2000.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-162g. Part-time employees; eligibility; computation of benefits. (a) For purposes of determining eligibility for retirement benefits for part-time employees under subsection (d) of section 5-162 and subsection (d) of section 5-163a, a member's part-time service shall be treated as full-time service.

(b) For purposes of computing the retirement benefit payable to a member whose service consists solely of part-time service without variation in the number of hours worked during all periods of his state service, such member's service shall be treated as full-time service.

(c) For purposes of computing the retirement benefit payable to a member whose service consists of part-time and full-time service or whose service consists of part-time service rendered in different proportions to a full-time schedule, such member's years of service and average salary shall be proportionately adjusted to produce a retirement benefit equivalent to that payable if his service had been rendered at an unvarying rate.

(P.A. 80-294, S. 5, 7.)

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-162h. Cost of living adjustment. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 5-162b and 5-162d, on and after October 1, 1982, the cost-of-living allowance increase for members or their beneficiaries who are receiving benefits under the provisions of tier I shall be up to six per cent if and only if (1) the member was not covered by Social Security for at least half of the period of his state service and (2) the person receiving benefits, either the member, his spouse, or contingent annuitant, has attained age sixty-two provided any member who retired on or after October 1, 1982, and who exercised the option under an applicable collective bargaining agreement to transfer out of part A, without Social Security coverage, and to be covered retroactively under part B, without Social Security coverage, shall be eligible for the cost-of-living adjustment provided in section 5-162d. If on any applicable anniversary date, the Retirement Commission determines that the National Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the previous twelve-month period has increased less than such six per cent, the cost-of-living allowance increase shall be equal to the percentage change in such index, provided such cost-of-living allowance increase shall not be less than three per cent.

(b) (1) If an actuarial surplus exists for the system, the Retirement Commission may elect to increase benefits of some or all retired employees, provided the granting of such increase is consistent with the commission's fiduciary obligation to the members of the system as specified in section 5-155a. The procedures in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection shall be used to determine whether an actuarial surplus exists. Any such increase shall be in addition to any other cost-of-living increases automatically provided to retired employees. The lump sum actuarial value of any such increase shall in no event be greater than the difference between the actual unfunded past service liability as determined pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection on the appropriate June thirtieth and the expected unfunded past service liability as determined by the table developed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection for that same June thirtieth.

(2) As part of the December 31, 1983, valuation of the system, the system's actuary shall develop a table of the expected unfunded past service liability for the plan as of each June thirtieth, beginning with June 30, 1984, and ending with June 30, 2026. The table shall be based on the unfunded past service liability generated by the valuation and shall reflect the fact that less than one hundred per cent of the normal cost and full forty-year amortization will be paid into the system prior to July 1, 1986. Such table shall not be adjusted in future years, except to the extent necessary to reflect changes in actuarial assumptions or actuarial cost methods approved by the Retirement Commission. Such table shall be used to determine whether an actuarial surplus exists in the system.

(3) Within six months after each June thirtieth commencing with June 30, 1984, the Retirement Commission shall determine whether the retirement fund had an actuarial surplus for the completed year. Such surplus shall be deemed to exist if, and only if, the following three criteria are all met:

(A) The investment return on the fund has exceeded the interest rate assumption employed for regular valuation purposes by the fund. The investment return for the fund shall be calculated by the following formula:

Start Fraction 2 I over A plus B minus I End Fraction

Where

A is the market value of the fund, including any due but unpaid contribution, as of the first day of the fiscal year;

B is the market value of the fund, including any due but unpaid contribution, as of the last day of the fiscal year; and

I is the market value return of the fund, which shall be equal to B reduced by A, but increased by the total amount of benefits and expenses paid from the fund during the year, and decreased by the total amount of employer and employee contributions for that year, whether or not paid;

(B) The market value of the system's assets as of the appropriate June thirtieth was greater than fifty per cent of the sum of (i) the liability for retired members and their beneficiaries; (ii) the liability for former members entitled to a deferred vested benefit; and (iii) the then current value of employee contributions, plus interest, for active members. In determining such liabilities, the fund's actuary shall recognize future cost-of-living adjustments provided under tier I and tier II and shall employ the actuarial assumptions utilized for regular valuation purposes. The actuary may utilize reasonable estimates to make such calculations; and

(C) The actual unfunded past service liability of the system as of the appropriate June thirtieth was less than the expected unfunded past service liability as indicated by the table developed pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection for the June thirtieth five years later. In determining the actual unfunded past service liability, the actuary shall employ the actuarial assumptions and procedures utilized for the last regular valuation. The actuary may utilize reasonable estimates to make such calculations.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 9, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 6, 35.)

History: P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that the cost-of-living allowance under tier I shall be “up to” 6%, instead of 6%, and to provide that any member who retired on or after October 1, 1982, and who exercised the option under a collective bargaining agreement to transfer out of part A, without Social Security coverage, and to be covered retroactively under part B, without such coverage, shall be eligible for the cost-of-living adjustment provided in Sec. 5-162d.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-163. Early retirement. (a)(1) Each member who retires or who has been retired under the retirement system before attaining full retirement age under the Social Security Act, as amended from time to time, shall receive additional temporary monthly retirement income payable until such member reaches full retirement age under said Social Security Act or, if earlier, the date on which such member would be eligible for a Social Security disability insurance benefit. (2) The amount of such temporary income shall be determined by the Retirement Commission so that the total retirement income payable to the member during the temporary period shall equal that payable under the provisions of the retirement system in effect immediately before February 21, 1958, modified to the extent that the three highest-paid years rather than the five highest-paid years shall be used in determining the retirement income.

(b) If the Retirement Commission finds, for a member who became a state employee on or before February 21, 1958, that the total of his monthly retirement income and the Social Security benefit he is entitled to receive resulting from state service at retirement is less than the retirement salary he would have received under the provisions of the retirement system in effect immediately before February 21, 1958, modified to the extent that the three highest-paid years rather than the five highest-paid years shall be used in determining the retirement income, then the Retirement Commission shall increase his monthly retirement income accordingly during the period when such lower total applies.

(c) Except as provided in section 5-163a, a member whose state service is terminated because of economy, lack of work, abolition of his position or lack of reappointment to a position in the unclassified service, or who, being an Army or Air National Guard technician in the Military Department, is dismissed by reason of separation from the National Guard because of age, after he has completed twenty-five years of state service but before he has reached his fifty-fifth birthday, shall be entitled to a retirement income. The amount of each monthly payment shall be determined from subsection (c) of section 5-162, if the member elects the first day of the month on or after such birthday as his retirement date; and shall be the actuarial equivalent of such amount, as determined by the Retirement Commission, if the member elects the first day of the month on or after his termination date as his retirement date.

(1949 Rev., S. 392; 1951, S. 158d; 1957, P.A. 595, S. 9; 1958 Rev., S. 5-99, 5-112; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 12; 433; 456; 1963, P.A. 515; February, 1965, P.A. 318, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 603; P.A. 75-531, S. 3, 6; P.A. 92-226, S. 19, 28; P.A. 07-211, S. 1.)

History: 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form” and amended Subsec. (b) by changing “became a member” to “became a state employee” and added provisions re army and air national guard technicians in Subsec. (c); 1963 act amended Subsec. (a)(1) to provide that additional temporary benefits are payable until the member “reaches sixty-five years of age” instead of until “the earliest date at which he would be” eligible for old age benefits; 1965 act amended Subsec. (a)(1) to change qualification from retirement before the member “is eligible for an old age benefit under social security” to before he “has attained sixty-five years of age”; 1967 act changed basis for determining retirement income from five highest paid years to three highest paid years for those retiring under system provisions in effect before February 21, 1958; P.A. 75-531 amended Subsec. (c) to provide exception to provisions of Subsec. and deleted language making distinctions between men and women for retirement purposes; P.A. 92-226 amended Subsec. (c) to include termination of state service because of lack of reappointment to a position in the unclassified service; P.A. 07-211 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by changing date on which temporary monthly retirement income terminates from date on which member attains 65 years of age to date on which member attains full retirement age under Social Security Act and by making technical changes.

Cited. 195 C. 405.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-163a. Eligibility for retirement prior to June 30, 1980. Retirement income. (a) Any member who has completed twenty-five years of state service and has reached the age of fifty prior to June 30, 1980, may elect to be retired on the first day of the month following such application and receive retirement benefits in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of section 5-162, provided such member so elects prior to June 30, 1980.

(b) Any member who has completed at least ten but less than twenty-five years of state service and reached the age of fifty-five prior to June 30, 1980, may elect to be retired on the first day of the month following his application and receive retirement benefits in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, provided such member so elects prior to June 30, 1980.

(c) Any member who has completed at least five but less than ten years of state service and has reached the age of sixty-five prior to June 30, 1980, may elect to be retired on the first day of the month following such application and receive retirement benefits in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, provided such member so elects prior to June 30, 1980.

(d) Each member referred to in subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to one-twelfth of (A) plus (B): (A) The number of years of state service taken to completed months, multiplied by the applicable percentage of his Social Security earnings determined from the table below for the appropriate age and years of state service; (B) the number of years multiplied by the applicable percentage of his excess earnings determined from the table below for such age and years of service.

Age Of Member On His Retirement Date	Years Of State Service**	Percentage Of Social Security Earnings	Excess Earnings
65 and over	5 and over*	1.25%	2.50%
60 to 65	10	1.00	2.00
59	10	.94	1.88
58	10	.88	1.76
57	10	.82	1.64
56	10	.76	1.52
55	10	.70	1.40
54	10	.65	1.30
53	10	.60	1.20
52	10	.56	1.12
51	10	.53	1.06
50	10	.50	1.00

*Not more than 20 years may be counted for this age and percentage group.

**Between the ages of fifty and fifty-five, the minimum service requirement is ten years of actual state service.

(P.A. 75-531, S. 5, 6; P.A. 77-390, S. 6, 8; P.A. 80-294, S. 2, 7.)

History: P.A. 77-390 added note to table requiring 10 years of actual full-time service as described in Sec. 5-166 for those between 50 and 55 years old; P.A. 80-294 deleted “full-time” and “as described in section 5-166” from note.

See Sec. 5-162g re eligibility of part-time employees and computation of benefits.

Cited. 195 C. 405.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-163b. Supplemental retirement benefit for certain members eligible to retire on or before July 1, 1989. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter and subsection (f) of section 5-278 to the contrary, any member of the state employees retirement system (1) who is in active state service or receiving workers' compensation payments, and who has ten or more years of credited state service and is eligible to retire on or before July 1, 1989, or (2) who is eligible for a disability retirement pursuant to section 5-169 or 5-192p on or before July 1, 1989, shall be eligible for a supplemental retirement benefit, provided such member submits a written application for retirement to the Retirement Division of the office of the Comptroller on or after June 1, 1989, but before October 1, 1989. Such retirement shall become effective the first day of the month following receipt of such application. No member whose application for retirement is received on or after October 1, 1989, shall be eligible for such benefit. The amount of the supplemental retirement benefit shall be equal to two per cent of such member's annual base rate of pay, in accordance with any applicable compensation schedule, as of June 29, 1989, multiplied by the number of such member's completed years of credited state service, taken to completed months, provided accrued vacation time shall not be considered credited state service for the purposes of such benefit, and provided further the amount of any such benefit shall not exceed twenty-one thousand six hundred dollars. The supplemental retirement benefit shall be paid to such member in thirty-six equal monthly installments, commencing with the month in which such member's retirement becomes effective. If any such member dies before such payments are completed the remainder of the benefit payable to such member pursuant to this section shall be paid to such member's estate in a single payment.

(P.A. 89-323, S. 1, 4.)

Sec. 5-164. Continuance in office or position after retirement date. (a) A department head, as defined in section 4-5, or any commissioner appointed to office in the executive branch by the Governor with or without the approval of the General Assembly or either branch thereof, who reaches his retirement date, namely, the first day of the month on or after his seventieth birthday, during the term for which he is appointed, may continue in office after such retirement date until the expiration of such term. Any such person who had reached such date prior to his reappointment as such commissioner may serve for the term for which he is so reappointed.

(b) A member who has reached the retirement age of seventy may be continued in his position in state service, if such continuation is approved by the Commissioner of Administrative Services. The appointing authority requesting such continuation shall certify in writing to the Commissioner of Administrative Services that the continuation is desirable for the efficient conduct of the state's business and that the member is able and qualified to perform the work required. Approval by the Commissioner of Administrative Services of such continuation shall be for a period of one year, which may be renewed by said commissioner upon request by the appointing authority.

(c) A department head, head of an institution or administrator of a state fund may be continued as provided in subsection (b) of this section. A continuation of such employee beyond the age of seventy-three shall be requested by the appointing authority in writing and shall require the approval of the Governor.

(d) A duly appointed and acting messenger or assistant messenger of any constituent court of the Judicial Department who has reached his retirement date may be reemployed, pursuant to section 51-78, in the service of the court in which he has been a messenger at the salary paid him at the time of his retirement. Such reemployment shall continue until such time as the judges of said court terminate the same. Subsection (b) of this section does not apply to any such messenger.

(e) Except as provided in section 5-164a, the existing retirement rights of a member continued under this section after his retirement date shall not be affected by such continuation, and additional retirement rights shall accrue to him. Retirement contributions shall be deducted from his salary during the period of continued employment. The provisions of chapter 67 dealing with examinations, certifications and appointments to and separations from the service shall not apply to any such member.

(1949 Rev., S. 405; 1953, S. 171d, 173d; 1953, 1955, S. 172d; 1957, P.A. 477; 1958 Rev., S. 5-136 to 5-139; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 200; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 13; 1963, P.A. 462; 481, S. 1, 2; February, 1965, P.A. 504, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 600, S. 1; 659, S. 2, 3, 4; 771, S. 1; 814; P.A. 77-614, S. 66, 610; P.A. 80-35; P.A. 81-19, S. 1, 3; P.A. 05-288, S. 29.)

History: 1959 act amended Subsec. (d) to substitute “any constituent court of the judicial department” for “the superior court or the court of common pleas”; 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 acts amended Subsec. (b) to add employees of the judicial department to the proviso, amended Subsec. (e) to delete a provision that no such member should receive a retirement income during his reemployment and added that prohibition to Subsec. (f); 1965 act amended Subsec. (f) to substitute general assembly service for service in an elective office of the state; 1967 acts amended Subsec. (a) to include commissioners and provide for continuance in office and reappointment of department heads and commissioners reaching retirement age, amended Subsec. (b) to change termination date for reemployment from first day of month on or after member's seventy-second birthday to seventy-third birthday and to change extension from end of “next” fiscal year to “current” fiscal year, amended Subsec. (e) to include exception to provisions, repealed Subsec. (f), changed references to reemployment throughout to continuation of employment, made reference to retirement date in Subsec. (b) to specific age of 70 and amended Subsec. (f) so that employees continued in employment gain additional retirement rights and pay additional contributions, previously they did not accrue further rights or make additional contributions; P.A. 77-614 replaced personnel commissioner with commissioner of administrative services; P.A. 80-35 replaced previous provisions concerning period of continuation with provision calling for one-year continuations approved by commissioner of administrative services in Subsecs. (b) and (c) and further required that continuations for department and institution heads and fund administrator beyond age of 73 require governor's approval rather than beyond age of 74 as previously; P.A. 81-19 amended Subsec. (d) to delete the prohibition on retired court messengers being reemployed after age 75; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective July 13, 2005.

Cited. 2 CA 196.

Former statute cited. 22 CS 97.

Sec. 5-164a. Retirement credit of retired employees who are reemployed or elected to serve in the General Assembly. (a) Any person who has retired from the service of the state under any provision of this chapter and who is reemployed on a permanent basis may elect, upon completion of not less than six months of continuous service of reemployment or other state service, to make contributions to the retirement fund and resume membership in the retirement system. He may also elect to obtain credit for service for the period between the date of such reemployment or other state service and the date of such election, provided he shall contribute to the retirement fund for each month of such service a sum equal to the total contributions he would have paid if he had been a member of the retirement system during such period. Such payment shall be made within six months of the date on which his contributions to the retirement fund are resumed.

(b) Any person who has retired from the service of the state under any provision of this chapter and who is elected to serve in the General Assembly may elect, effective from the first day of his term of office, to make contributions to the retirement fund and resume membership in the retirement system.

(c) No member reemployed under this section or under section 5-164 or elected to serve in the General Assembly or otherwise reentering state service shall receive a retirement income during such member's reemployment or other state service except (1) if such member's services as an employee are rendered for not more than one hundred twenty working days in any one calendar year, provided that any member reemployed for a period of more than one hundred twenty working days in one calendar year shall reimburse the state retirement fund for retirement income payments received during such one hundred twenty working days; (2) if such member's services are as a member of the General Assembly or as a sessional employee of the General Assembly during the regular legislative session, such member's retirement income payments shall not be suspended; or (3) if such member's preretirement services which counted towards retirement are other than as a special deputy sheriff pursuant to chapter 78, and if such member's postretirement services are as a special deputy sheriff or, on and after December 1, 2000, as a judicial marshal and such member was employed as a special deputy sheriff on July 1, 1999.

(d) Upon the subsequent retirement of a member who has made an election under subsection (a) of this section, or upon the expiration of the term of office of a member of the General Assembly who has made an election under subsection (b) of this section, his retirement income shall be recomputed on the basis of his total period of credited state service, excluding any period for which a retirement salary was paid under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this section, and with his base salary recomputed on the basis of his three highest-paid years of his total state service.

(1963, P.A. 453; February, 1965, 307, S. 1; 504, S. 2; 1967, P.A. 659, S. 1; P.A. 77-390, S. 1, 8; P.A. 85-502, S. 4, 9; P.A. 89-323, S. 3, 4; P.A. 97-148, S. 4, 8; P.A. 00-99, S. 148, 154; P.A. 05-288, S. 30; P.A. 18-137, S. 23.)

History: 1965 acts provided persons may elect to obtain credit upon completion of “not less than” three years instead of on completion of three years and that such credit will be for period between date of reemployment and date of election instead of for the three years for which they have been ineligible to make contributions, and added provisions concerning continued benefit payments during period of reemployment; 1967 act divided previous text into Subsecs. (a) and (b) and added Subsec. (c) re recomputation of retirement benefits taking into consideration reemployment after original retirement, deleted qualifying phrase “less than seventy years old” with regard to persons covered under provisions of section, changed period from three years to six months for resumption of payments upon reemployment and simplified language allowing back payments to cover six-month period; P.A. 77-390 amended Subsec. (b) to require that if reemployed member who continues to receive benefits works more than 90 days, he must reimburse the state for benefits received during 90-day period; P.A. 85-502 inserted new Subsec. (b) authorizing any person who has retired from state service and who is elected to serve in the general assembly to elect to make contributions to the retirement fund and resume membership in the retirement system, and relettered remaining Subsecs. and made technical changes to Subsecs. (c) and (d) and added references to service in the general assembly to reflect provisions of Subsec. (b); P.A. 89-323 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the retirement income payments of a member who serves as a sessional employee of the general assembly during the regular legislative session shall not be suspended; P.A. 97-148 amended Subsec. (c) to exclude special deputy sheriffs whose postretirement service is as special deputy sheriffs, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-99 extended exclusion for service as special deputy sheriff to service as judicial marshal on and after December 1, 2000, and made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective December 1, 2000; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (d), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 18-137 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to change references from 90 working days to 120 working days, effective July 1, 2018.

Cited. 216 C. 523; 218 C. 729.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-165. Optional forms of retirement income. (a) A member may elect one of the following optional forms for retirement income by filing with the Retirement Commission a written election on a form provided by the commission. A member who has been married at least one year shall be presumed to have elected the option provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection unless a contrary election is made by the member. All other members will be presumed to elect the option provided in subdivision (4) of this subsection unless a contrary election is made by the member. Any election or change of election must be filed before retirement income payments begin. No option shall be effective until a member has retired, and in the event a member dies prior to the effective date of commencement of benefits, any election of an option shall be deemed cancelled except as provided in subsection (c) of section 5-165a. The amount of income that will be paid under the options will be determined by multiplying the retirement income otherwise applicable by the actuarially equivalent option factors last adopted by the Retirement Commission. Beginning with October 1, 1982, but only with regard to benefits payable on behalf of members whose benefits have not yet commenced, such factors shall not differentiate by sex of the member, or the member's spouse or contingent annuitant. The initial factors shall employ the interest rate and mortality table assumptions utilized for the December 31, 1980, valuation, with the factors assuming sixty per cent male and forty per cent female for members, and sixty per cent female and forty per cent male for spouses and contingent annuitants. The cost-of-living adjustment under section 5-162d shall be assumed to be three per cent. The factors shall not take into account the cost of providing the surviving spouse benefit under section 5-165a. The factors may be periodically adjusted upward or downward by the Retirement Commission to reflect changing interest, mortality or election of option patterns provided that they shall be reviewed and adjusted by January 1, 1985. Any such changes shall apply only to members whose benefits commence after the effective date of adoption of such factors. The retirement income options are as follows:

(1) A reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that after his death his spouse, if surviving, shall be entitled to receive a lifetime income equal to fifty per cent of the reduced monthly amount payable to the member;

(2) A reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that after his death, his contingent annuitant shall be entitled to receive a lifetime income equal to either fifty or one hundred per cent of the reduced amount payable to the member;

(3) A reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that if he shall die within either a ten or twenty-year period following the date his retirement income commences, whichever is selected by the member, the reduced amount continues to his contingent annuitant for the balance of the ten or twenty-year period; or

(4) An amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with no payments continuing after the member's death, except for a lump sum death benefit as provided in subsection (b) of section 5-168.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a temporary minimum shall apply whenever the Retirement Commission adopts revised factors which could result in a smaller benefit to a member than would have been payable under the previously existing factors. Such minimum shall be determined as follows: (1) The benefit the member had earned as of the date of the change in factors shall be calculated, based on his final earnings and service as of that date; (2) any early retirement reduction in such benefit shall be based upon his age, as determined on the date benefits will commence, and his type of retirement; and (3) the option factor shall be determined utilizing the factors in effect prior to such change, but based on appropriate ages as of the date benefits will commence. If such minimum results in a larger benefit, the larger benefit shall be payable.

(1949 Rev., S. 384; 1951, S. 153d; 1958 Rev., S. 5-106; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 14; 1963, P.A. 487; 1969, P.A. 661, S. 1, 2; P.A. 83-533, S. 11, 54; P.A. 05-288, S. 31.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act added provision for annual notification to Subsec. (d); 1969 act deleted provision in Subsec. (b) re reduced payments to spouse if member dies before retirement payments begin and deleted provision in Subsec. (d) requiring annual notification of employees of right to choose husband and wife option; P.A. 83-533 deleted existing section in its entirety and replaced with four options enumerated in Subsec. (a); (Revisor's note: In 1993 an obsolete reference in Subsec. (a) to repealed Sec. 5-162e was deleted editorially by the Revisors and the wording adjusted accordingly); P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005.

Sec. 5-165a. Benefit payable if member dies prior to retirement. (a) If a member who is continuing to accrue state service or who is on a leave authorized by the state, or otherwise granted pursuant to the terms of the appropriate collective bargaining agreement, dies after July 1, 1982, and (1) after completion of the age and service requirements for retirement under section 5-162, 5-163a, 5-173 or 5-188, or (2) completing twenty-five years of service, his spouse, provided they have been lawfully married for at least the twelve months preceding his death, shall receive a lifetime income in an amount equal to fifty per cent of the average of the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to if he had retired the day he died had his benefits been paid under the option specified in subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 5-165 and the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to if he had retired the day he died and had his benefit been paid under the option specified in subdivision (1) of said subsection. The first payment shall be made as of the first day of the month coincident with or, otherwise, next following his date of death. If such member was not eligible to retire at the time of his death, such benefit shall be calculated as if he had reached age fifty-five, but based on his service and final average earnings at his date of death.

(b) If a member who has terminated with at least twenty-five years of service or retired pursuant to section 5-162, 5-163a, 5-173 or 5-188, but whose benefits in either event are not yet being paid, dies prior to the commencing date of his benefits, his spouse, provided they have been lawfully married for at least the twelve months preceding his death, shall receive a lifetime income equal to fifty per cent of the average of the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to if his benefits had commenced the date he died had his benefit been paid under the option specified in said subdivision (4) and the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to with such benefits being paid under the option specified in said subdivision (1). If such member was not eligible to retire at the time of his death, such benefit shall be calculated as if he had reached age fifty-five. The first payment shall be made as of the first day of the month coincident with or, otherwise, next following his date of death.

(c) If a member who has completed the age and service requirements for retirement under section 5-162, 5-163a, 5-173 or 5-188, and who has elected to receive his retirement benefits under subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 5-165, dies prior to the effective date of commencement of benefits but within ninety days after he first elects to receive his retirement benefits under subdivision (2) or (3) of said subsection (a), then his beneficiary or contingent annuitant shall receive an income in an amount equal to the benefit that would have been payable to the survivor had the member retired the day he died and had his benefit been paid under the option he had elected at the time of his death. This subsection shall not apply after ninety days after the date the member first elects to receive his benefit under subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 5-165. In the event that income payments to a surviving beneficiary or contingent annuitant are payable under this subsection, such payments shall be in lieu of payments under subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(1969, P.A. 661, S. 3; P.A. 83-533, S. 12, 54.)

History: P.A. 83-533 deleted all of existing section and replaced with new Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c).

Sec. 5-165b. Options elected prior to July 1, 1969. Section 5-165b is repealed, effective October 1, 2002.

(1969, P.A. 661, S. 4; S.A. 02-12, S. 1.)

Sec. 5-166. Leaving state service before becoming eligible for retirement. (a) Except as provided in section 5-163a, a member who leaves state service before he is eligible for retirement but after completing at least ten years of state service, of which at least five years shall have immediately preceded the date of his leaving state service, shall continue to be a member, and shall be eligible for a retirement income as provided in section 5-162, but on a reduced actuarial basis as determined by the Retirement Commission, upon reaching his fifty-fifth birthday. Such vested retirement income shall not be subject to divestiture by subsequent employment unless the member withdraws his retirement contribution.

(b) (1) A member who leaves state service before he is eligible for retirement may elect to withdraw all of his retirement contributions, without interest, in lieu of any other benefits under this chapter. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, if such departure from state service or withdrawal of contributions occurs on or after October 1, 1982, the withdrawal of contributions shall include interest credited from January 1, 1982, or the first July first following the date of actual contribution, whichever is later, to the July first coincident with or preceding the date the employee leaves state service or withdraws contributions, whichever is later. Such interest shall be credited at the rate of five per cent per year. In addition, for the partial year during which the employee leaves state service or withdraws contributions, interest shall be credited at the rate of five-twelfths of one per cent multiplied by the full number of months completed during that year, such interest rate to be applied to the value of contributions as of the first day of that year. A member who so leaves before completing the service requirements of subsection (a) of this section and without so electing shall be conclusively presumed to have made such an election if he is not reemployed by the state within five years; provided, if such member has not requested such withdrawal within ten years after he left state service, or if his contributions are less than ten dollars and such election is not made within six months after he leaves state service, his contributions shall revert to the retirement fund. At any time thereafter, upon application by the member, his contributions plus credited interest, if any, may be withdrawn and paid to him.

(c) Retroactive Social Security taxes deducted from contributions previously made by a member because of the retroactive effective date of the Social Security Agreement shall be excluded in determining the amount of any payment under subsection (b) of this section.

(d) A member who leaves state service before he is eligible for retirement and before completing the service requirement of subsection (a) of this section shall thereupon lose his status as a member.

(e) A member who is eligible for retirement when he leaves state service may not elect to withdraw his retirement contributions in lieu of receiving retirement income payments at such time as they are payable, provided any such member who is eligible to participate in or is a participating member of the Connecticut teachers' retirement system may elect to have transferred to such system his contributions and earned interest in the state employees retirement system for credit pursuant to the requirements of the teachers' retirement system.

(1949 Rev., S. 387; 1957, P.A. 349; 595, S. 5, 6; 1958 Rev., S. 5-98, 5-109; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 15; February, 1965, P.A. 497; 1967, P.A. 403; P.A. 73-171; P.A. 74-326, S. 1, 2; P.A. 75-531, S. 4, 6; P.A. 76-436, S. 414, 681; P.A. 77-242; P.A. 79-631, S. 93, 111; P.A. 80-294, S. 3, 7; P.A. 83-533, S. 13, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 4, 8; P.A. 85-425; 85-510, S. 20, 35; P.A. 05-288, S. 32.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1965 act added Subsecs. (a) and (b), relettering the following subsections and restricted Subsecs. (c), (e) and (f) accordingly; 1967 act included service in state-aided institutions as state service in Subsec. (b) and amended Subsec. (c) to allow those who fulfill service requirements but are not of retirement age to withdraw contributions in lieu of future benefits upon leaving state service; P.A. 73-171 made clear in Subsec. (a) that retirement interests are vested unless member withdraws contributions from system; P.A. 74-326 added provisions concerning service credit for criminal justice division employees and public and assistant public defenders in superior court; P.A. 75-531 amended Subsec. (a) to include exception and deleted language making distinctions between men and women re retirement system; P.A. 76-436 added court of common pleas in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-242 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that small retirement contributions revert to state after six months; P.A. 79-631 made technical changes; P.A. 80-294 deleted Subsec. (b) and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 83-533 amended Subsec. (b) to provide for payment of interest on withdrawn contributions credited from January 1, 1982; P.A. 84-411 amended Subsec. (b)(2) to include withdrawal of contributions, to change dates re credit of interest from first of the year to July first, to replace provision requiring that contributions of less than $5 escheat to the state with provision that contributions of less than $10 revert to retirement fund; P.A. 85-425 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by adding provision that contributions which previously reverted to fund, plus interest, may be withdrawn and paid to member upon his application; P.A. 85-510 amended provision in Subsec. (e) that a member who is eligible for retirement when he leaves state service may not withdraw contributions in lieu of receiving retirement income by adding provision that “any such member who is eligible to participate in or is a participating member of the Connecticut teachers' retirement system may elect to have transferred to such system his contributions and earned interest in the state employees retirement system for credit pursuant to the requirements of the teachers' retirement system”; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsecs. (b)(2), (c) and (d), effective July 13, 2005.

Cited. 195 C. 405.

Cited. 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-166a. Election by judges. Any person who is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court or Superior Court, or, prior to July 1, 1978, was appointed to the Common Pleas, Circuit or Juvenile Court and who has, at the time of appointment, at least ten years of state service to such person's credit for purposes of the state employees retirement system may, at any time within twelve years after initial appointment as a judge to any of such courts, elect to remain, or, if such person has withdrawn from said system, to be reinstated upon payment of contributions as provided in section 5-167, as a member of the state employees retirement system in lieu of participation in the benefits of sections 51-49 to 51-50b, inclusive, and 51-51, and to make contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund based upon such person's salary as such judge and to receive credit for retirement purposes in said system for the period of service as such judge. Any contributions made under section 51-50b by any such judge prior to such election shall be transferred from the General Fund to the State Employees Retirement Fund and such judge shall be credited, for purposes of retirement under the state employees retirement system, with the period of such person's service as a judge. The contributions to the state employees retirement system of any such person who does not elect to remain or be reinstated in the state employees retirement system during such twelve-year period or who, during such period, dies or indicates, in writing, an intention not to remain or be reinstated in such system shall be refunded to such person or to such person's named beneficiary or, if none, such person's estate, as the case may be. Any such refunds processed on or after January 1, 2001, shall include interest credited in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 5-166. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or chapter 872, any retired state employee who is appointed a judge and who resigns prior to retirement as a judge shall not receive a reduction in the amount of retirement income or retirement benefits that such person would have received had such person remained a retired state employee, including any cost of living allowance granted to retired state employees.

(P.A. 73-538, S. 1, 3; P.A. 74-12, S. 1, 3; P.A. 76-436, S. 384, 681; P.A. 77-388, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-103, S. 1, 3; P.A. 80-337, S. 10, 13; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35, S. 4, 9; P.A. 84-198, S. 1, 7; P.A. 01-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 74-12 clarified provisions regarding judges' option to remain or be reinstated in state employees system and added provisions for disposition of contributions if member chooses to leave system or dies within 5 years of appointment as judge; P.A. 76-436 substituted reference to Sec. “5-167” for “5-181”; P.A. 77-388 protected retirement benefits of retired employees who later become judges from reduction; P.A. 78-103 increased period for exercising option from 5 to 8 years; P.A. 80-337 increased period for exercising option to 10 years; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-35 increased time for election of option from 10 to 12 years; P.A. 84-198 made technical change; P.A. 01-80 added provision requiring any refunds processed on or after January 1, 2001, to include interest credited in accordance with Sec. 5-166(b) and made technical changes for the purposes of gender neutrality.

Sec. 5-167. Contributions for prior years. (a) A former member who withdrew his retirement contributions and who is reemployed in state service within five years after he left state service, or who is reemployed and due to such reemployment is covered by the provisions of the tier I plan as determined under subsection (a) of section 5-192e, may elect to return his withdrawn contributions and interest paid on such contributions to the state, with interest as provided in subsection (c) of this section. Service can be restored only if payments commence within two years after reemployment or on or before January 1, 1985, if later.

(b) A member who was in state service before September 1, 1939, but did not become a member before September 1, 1941, may elect to make retirement contributions in the amount which would have been due from him from September 1, 1939, to the date of his election, had he been a member throughout this period, with interest as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Retirement contributions payable under subsection (a) or (b) of this section may be paid by the member either by (1) a single lump sum payment of contributions plus interest paid on such contributions, with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year calculated from the date of withdrawal to the date of payment, or (2) payroll deductions of the total amount established in subdivision (1) of this subsection, as determined by the Retirement Commission over a period not to exceed thirty-six months, plus interest on such amount at the rate of five per cent per year to be paid over such period.

(1949 Rev., S. 396; 1957, P.A. 588, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-116; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 16; 1963, P.A. 399, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 126, S. 1; P.A. 83-533, S. 14, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 5, 8; P.A. 87-484, S. 2, 10; P.A. 05-288, S. 33.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act deleted subsection prohibiting credit for prior service in connection with application for nonservice connected disability retirement within five years after payment in full for prior service credit; 1971 act replaced payments of twelve monthly installments with payroll deductions determined by retirement commission over a period of not more than three years; P.A. 83-533 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for restoration of prior service of former member whose reemployment renders him subject to tier II; P.A. 84-411 amended Subsec. (a) to require return to the state of interest paid on withdrawn contributions by former member who elects to return withdrawn contributions; P.A. 87-484 amended Subsec. (c) to clarify provisions re payment of retirement contributions; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective July 13, 2005.

Sec. 5-168. Death benefit—beneficiaries. (a) Upon the death of a member before his retirement date, the beneficiary named by the member shall receive a death benefit equal to the member's retirement contributions, without interest.

(b) Upon the death of a member after his retirement date, provided such retirement date is prior to August 1, 1986, the beneficiary named by the member shall receive a death benefit equal to the excess of the member's retirement contributions plus interest over the sum of: (1) The income payments made to the member from the State Employees Retirement Fund on or before June 30, 1971, and (2) thirty per cent of the income payments made to the member after June 30, 1971, but on or before June 30, 1973, from the State Employees Retirement Fund and (3) twenty-five per cent of the income payments made to the member after June 30, 1973, from the State Employees Retirement Fund. Upon the death of a member after his retirement date, provided such retirement date is on or after August 1, 1986, the beneficiary shall receive a death benefit equal to the member's retirement contributions plus interest reduced by the federal tax exclusion ratio times the income payments made to the member from the State Employees Retirement Fund.

(c) A member may name a beneficiary to receive any death benefit which may become due on or after his death. If he names more than one person as beneficiary, all such persons living on the due date of a death benefit payment shall be considered cobeneficiaries and shall receive equal shares of the payment unless the member provides otherwise. Any named beneficiary may be changed by the member from time to time. No consent of any beneficiary is required for any change of beneficiary.

(d) A member may name or change his beneficiary by written request filed with the Retirement Commission. Such request shall be effective on the date it is signed by the member, whether or not the member is living when such request is received by the Retirement Commission, but without prejudice to the state because of any payments made by the state before receipt of such request by the Retirement Commission.

(e) A death benefit payment shall be made to the estate of a member if, on the date the death benefit payment is due, no beneficiary has been duly named by the member or no named beneficiary is alive; provided, if the death benefit is less than one thousand dollars, the Comptroller may, upon the advice of the Retirement Commission, pay such death benefit as provided in section 45a-273.

(f) Retroactive Social Security taxes deducted from contributions previously made by a member because of the retroactive effective date of the Social Security Agreement shall be excluded in determining the amount of any payment under this section.

(g) For the purposes of this section, if such death occurs on or after October 1, 1982, the value of the member's retirement contribution shall include interest credited from January 1, 1982, or the first July first following the date of actual contribution, whichever is later, to the July first coincident with or preceding the date of death of the member or the date the employee left state service, whichever is earlier. Such interest shall be credited at the rate of five per cent per year. In addition, for the partial year during which the employee dies, interest shall be credited at the rate of five-twelfths of one per cent multiplied by the number of months completed during that year, such interest rate to be applied to the value of contributions including any prior interest credits as of the first day of that year.

(1949 Rev., S. 387; 1957, P.A. 349; 595, S. 6, 7; 1958 Rev., S. 5-98, 5-109; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 17; 1963, P.A. 382; 1971, P.A. 666, S. 4; P.A. 83-533, S. 15, 54; P.A. 87-484, S. 3, 10; P.A. 88-364, S. 112, 123.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act amended subsection (b) to provide for payment of death benefits if the member's contributions exceed the “income payments made ... from the state employees retirement fund” instead of if they exceed the “total retirement income payments made to the member”; 1971 act replaced previous provisions for calculating death benefit in Subsec. (b) with provisions of Subdivs. (1) to (3), inclusive; P.A. 83-533 added Subsec. (g) concerning computation of credited interest on deceased member's retirement contributions; P.A. 87-484 amended Subsec. (b) by adding death benefit provision re member who dies on or after August 1, 1986, and amended Subsec. (g) to change date for crediting of interest from January first to July first; P.A. 88-364 changed calculation of death benefit received by beneficiary upon death of member after retirement date, provided such retirement date is on or after August 1, 1986, from “benefit equal to the excess of the member's retirement contributions plus interest over the sum of the deductible amounts, for federal tax purposes, of the income payments made to the member” to “benefit equal to the member's retirement contributions plus interest reduced by the federal tax exclusion ratio times the income payments made to the member from the state employees retirement fund”.

Sec. 5-168a. Death benefit where member elected option. If income payments are payable from the state employees retirement system under section 5-165 or section 5-165a to a beneficiary of a member, then the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of section 5-168 shall not apply to the beneficiary as long as such income payments continue. If the member retired and died prior to August 1, 1986, after the income payments cease, a death benefit shall be payable to the beneficiary in an amount equal to the excess of the member's retirement contributions and accrued interest over the sum of twenty-five per cent of such income payments made from the state employees retirement system. If the member retires and dies on or after August 1, 1986, after the income payments cease, a death benefit shall be payable to the beneficiary in an amount equal to the member's retirement contributions and accrued interest reduced by the federal tax exclusion ratio times such income payments made from the state employees retirement system.

(1967, P.A. 665; P.A. 83-533, S. 47, 54; P.A. 87-484, S. 4, 10; P.A. 88-364, S. 113, 123.)

History: P.A. 83-533 deleted entire text of existing section replacing it with new material including procedure for payment of death benefit; P.A. 87-484 added death benefit provision re member who dies on or after August 1, 1986; P.A. 88-364 changed calculation of death benefit payable to beneficiary of a member who retires and dies on or after August 1, 1986, after the income payments cease, from “an amount equal to the excess of the member's retirement contributions and accrued interest over the sum of the deductible amounts, for federal tax purposes, of the income payments made to the member” to “an amount equal to the member's retirement contributions and accrued interest reduced by the federal tax exclusion ratio times such income payments made from the state employees retirement system”.

Sec. 5-169. Disability retirement. Calculation. Board. Limitation of benefits. Offset and maximum benefit limitation. Cost of living adjustment. Alternative disability compensation. Board petition. (a) If a member of the state employees retirement system, while in state service, becomes permanently disabled prior to the age of sixty from continuing to render the service in which he has been employed, and if he has then completed five years of state service, such member is eligible for disability retirement for twenty-four months. Thereafter, disability retirement continues only if such member is totally disabled for any suitable and comparable job. If the member's disability occurs on or after October 1, 1982, such disability retirement income shall equal three per cent of the member's base salary multiplied by years of service to date of disability, subject to a maximum of one and two-thirds per cent times years of service projected to age sixty-five and a minimum of one and two-thirds per cent times years of service to the date of disability, except that such income of state policemen shall be determined as provided by subsection (b) of section 5-173.

(b) If a member, while in state service, becomes permanently disabled from continuing to render the service in which he has been employed as a result of any injury received while in the performance of his duty as a state employee, such member is eligible for disability retirement regardless of his period of state service. If the member's disability occurs on or after October 1, 1982, such disability retirement income shall equal one and two-thirds per cent times years of service projected to age sixty-five with a maximum based on not more than thirty years of such service and a minimum of one and two-thirds per cent times accrued service at the date of disability, except that such income of state policemen shall be determined as provided by subsection (b) of section 5-173, provided, for the purposes of the formulas in said subsection, his rate of salary at the time of his disability retirement shall be used if greater than his base salary. If such injury occurred on or after October 1, 1982, and such member has completed at least five years of state service, his disability retirement income shall in no event be less than that provided under subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The Governor shall appoint a board of seven physicians, each of whom is a current or retired state employee and two of whom shall be experienced in psychiatry, to serve at his pleasure as a medical examining board to determine whether each applicant for disability retirement is entitled thereto. Three of such members, one of whom shall be the elected chairman or the elected secretary of the board, shall constitute a quorum for the determination of any applicant's entitlement. The chairman or the secretary shall report the findings of the board to the Retirement Commission from time to time as requested by the commission as to the entitlement of each applicant or the continuance of disability of members so retired. The Comptroller is authorized to pay for stenographic and professional services as requested and approved by the board.

(d) No reconsideration of a decision concerning eligibility for a disability retirement allowance or the discontinuance of such allowance shall be made by the board unless a member, upon application to the board for a redetermination, discloses additional facts concerning his condition at the date of termination of employment.

(e) Retirement income being paid for disability retirement shall end when and if the disability ends. In such event, such member shall receive credit for the years he was disabled, subject to a maximum total credit of twenty-five years or actual years of service to the date of disability, whichever is greater. Such member shall then (1) retire on normal or early retirement, if eligible, or (2) retain a vested right to a deferred pension, if eligible.

(f) No credit for a period of service of any kind prior to the months in which contribution therefor is made shall be given under this chapter or any special act in determining state service in connection with an application for disability retirement other than for injury received in performance of duty as a state employee, if such disability occurred within five years after payment of a single lump sum or commencement of payroll deductions pursuant to subsection (c) of section 5-167. The foregoing limitation shall not apply to credit obtained immediately after transfer from the teachers' retirement system under section 10-183p for service previously credited in said system; but in that case no benefit for retirement on account of disability occurring within such five-year period, other than for injury received in performance of duty as a state employee, shall exceed the benefit which would have been payable by said system if transfer had not been made.

(g) Twenty per cent of all outside earned salary or wages shall be offset against the disability retirement payments by the state during the first two years of disability. On or after October 1, 1987, at the expiration of such period, if the total disability benefits and outside earnings exceed one hundred per cent of the pay of such member at the date of disability, adjusted annually by a percentage increase equal to the cost of living allowances applied to the member's disability retirement benefits pursuant to this chapter, the disability payment will be reduced by the amount such total exceeds such adjusted earnings. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the following maximum benefit limitations shall apply if the member's date of disability occurs on or after January 1, 1984. Such maximum benefit limitations shall apply coincident with the receipt of benefits under subsection (d) of section 5-142 by any member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. To verify the operation of the maximums, members shall authorize the Social Security Administration to provide the Retirement Commission, on an ongoing basis, any information with regard to covered earnings or Social Security benefits payable. In the event both of the maximums indicated below apply, the lesser disability benefit shall be payable. Such maximums shall be subject to reexamination annually, as indicated in subsection (h) of this section.

(1) The disability benefit provided under this section shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the member's base salary or the rate of salary of the member on his date of disability, whichever is greater, less any periodic cash benefit payments being made to a member under the Workers' Compensation Act, less any federal disability Social Security benefits, including primary and family, paid on account of the member's Social Security earnings history, less all outside earned salary or wages, unless the Retirement Commission determines that such salary or wages are being paid as part of the rehabilitation of the disabled member. Any such determination that such earned salary or wages is for rehabilitation must be reapproved by the Retirement Commission no less frequently than every eighteen months, or the offset shall apply. The offset for workers' compensation and federal Social Security disability benefits shall apply when such benefits commence even if such benefits initially commence after the member's disability retirement date.

(2) The disability benefit provided under this section shall not exceed eighty per cent of the member's base salary or the rate of salary of the member on the date of disability, whichever is greater, less any periodic cash benefit payments being made to a member under the Workers' Compensation Act, less any federal disability Social Security benefits, including primary and family, being paid on account of the member's Social Security earnings history. The offsets shall apply when such benefits commence even if such benefits initially commence after the member's disability retirement date.

(3) The offsets for workers' compensation and federal Social Security disability benefits shall be reduced by the amount of any attorney's fees a member incurs to obtain such benefits.

(h) As of each anniversary date, as defined in section 5-162d, of such retired employee, the benefits provided under this section shall be subject to the following adjustments: (1) The benefits provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be subject to the increase provided in section 5-162d or 5-162h, whichever is appropriate; (2) the net maximum benefit provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (g) of this section shall be subject to the increase provided in section 5-162d or 5-162h, whichever is appropriate; (3) this subdivision shall apply only to the maximum benefit provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section which shall only be considered if the member had outside earned salary or wages. The salary as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section shall be increased by the percentage compensation increase that would have applied to an employee in the position and “step” of the member, at the date of disability had that employee continued to be employed and continued automatic progression to the maximum “step” for his classification. On the date of recomputation of benefits, the offsets for workers' compensation and federal Social Security shall be increased by that same percentage or the percentage increase granted under the cost-of-living provision of the Workers' Compensation Act and the Social Security Act respectively, whichever is less. This offset amount shall be adjusted to reflect any change in these benefits other than those resulting from the cost-of-living provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act. In no case shall the offset be greater than the actual benefits paid. Outside earned salary or wages shall reflect actual amounts earned during the preceding calendar year. In no event shall the application of this subdivision and subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section result in an income from all sources that would be less than the income that would have been paid had the member remained in service and progressed to the maximum “step” for his classification; (4) except as specifically indicated in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the maximum disability income determined under subsection (g) of this section will not be affected, when the workers' compensation benefits or the Social Security benefits are increased by cost-of-living provisions in the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act; (5) the maximum disability income under subdivision (2) of subsection (g) of this section will be recalculated if either the workers' compensation benefits or the Social Security benefits are decreased or discontinued. Any such recalculated maximum shall not reflect any increases arising after the initial application of the offset because of the cost-of-living provisions in the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act, except as specifically indicated in subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(i) If a member qualifies for disability compensation under section 5-142, such member shall continue to be credited with service hereunder, and shall not be deemed to have retired until he elects to retire. While the member is receiving compensation under section 5-142, the disability retirement benefits under this section shall be payable only if greater than the compensation paid under section 5-142. In such event, the benefits under this section shall be temporarily reduced by the amount of benefits payable under section 5-142 for the period of receipt of benefits under section 5-142. If a member is granted disability compensation under section 5-142 retroactively for the same period of time such member received disability retirement benefits under this section, such disability compensation benefits shall be reduced by the amount of disability retirement benefits received during such period, except that if the disability retirement benefits received during such period were greater than the retroactive payment of disability compensation benefits for such period, no disability compensation payments shall be paid to the member for such period.

(j) A member whose date of disability occurs prior to January 1, 1984, shall have his benefits calculated in accordance with the provisions of law in effect at the time of such occurrence. A member's date of disability shall be his last date of active employment by the state prior to such disability or the date as of which his benefits under this section are payable, whichever is earlier. A leave of absence for medical reasons shall not be deemed to be active employment.

(k) If after review of all testimony and documentary evidence, including medical reports, presented in connection with any determination or recommendation concerning entitlement to or continuation of disability retirement, any member of the board who believes that an individual was treated by a physician who is or may be unable to practice medicine with reasonable skill or safety, shall file a petition, pursuant to section 20-13d, with the Department of Public Health for investigation under section 20-13e. The record of the board concerning any such petition, and the proceedings of the board in connection therewith, shall remain confidential to the same extent as a record of the Department of Public Health under section 20-13e.

(1949 Rev., S. 382; 1951, S. 150d; 1957, P.A. 595, S. 7; 670, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-101; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 18; 1963, P.A. 399; 407; February, 1965, P.A. 509, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 798; 1971, P.A. 627, S. 1; 628, S. 1, 2; P.A. 75-628, S. 1, 5; P.A. 77-390, S. 4, 8; P.A. 78-208, S. 28, 35; 78-331, S. 32, 58; P.A. 79-376, S. 6; P.A. 80-301; P.A. 83-533, S. 16, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 7, 10, 17, 35; P.A. 87-248; 87-317; P.A. 89-52; P.A. 90-308, S. 11, 15; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 05-208, S. 3; 05-288, S. 34; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; 11-82, S. 7.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 acts amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to make separate provision for state policemen and added Subsec. (e); 1965 act amended Subsec. (b) to delete reference to the determination of social security earnings and excess earnings of state policemen and to provide that their salaries at the time of disability retirement are to be used “if greater than” rather than “instead of” their base salaries; 1967 act reduced from 15 to 10 the number of years of service needed for disability retirement in Subsec. (a); 1971 acts increased number of members of examining board from three to seven, two of whom should be psychiatrists and added provisions concerning quorum, chairman, and stenographic and professional services in Subsec. (c); P.A. 75-628 added to Subsecs. (a) and (b) provisions specifying disability occurring “prior to the age of sixty”, specifying maximum payment allowed for disability, and providing new basis for calculating benefits to replace former determination “in accordance with subsection (c)(3) of section 5-162”, act further reduced years of state service applicable to Subsec. (a) from 10 years to 5 and placed conditional 24-month limit on payments, added provisions in Subsec. (d) re credit for years of disability re other retirement benefits and added Subsecs. (f) and (g) re offsetting outside earning and applicability of section; P.A. 77-390 inserted new Subsec. (d) re reconsideration upon disclosure of additional information and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 78-208 substituted teachers' retirement system for teachers' retirement association in Subsec. (f); P.A. 78-331 replaced “prior law” with “the law in effect prior to July 1, 1975” in Subsec. (h); P.A. 79-376 replaced “workmen's” compensation with “workers'” compensation in Subsecs. (a) and (b); P.A. 80-301 substituted “redetermination” for “rehearing” in Subsec. (d); P.A. 83-533 changed method of calculation of retirement income in cases of disability occurring on or after October 1, 1982, and on or after January 1, 1984; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provision which restricted applicability of Subsec. to a member who becomes permanently disabled “prior to the age of sixty”, amended Subsec. (g) to provide that such maximum benefit limitations shall apply coincident with the receipt of benefits under Sec. 5-142(d) by any member of the division of state police and amended Subsec. (i) to delete provision that a member who qualifies for compensation under Sec. 5-142 shall continue to make employee contributions in order to continue to be credited with service and to delete provision that contributions shall be required only for the period during which the member receives full salary; P.A. 87-248 added Subsec. (k) re the reporting of unskilled or unsafe medical practice; P.A. 87-317 amended Subsec. (g) to change the method of calculation of the outside earnings offset against disability retirement payments in order to limit the amount of reduction of disability payments caused by the offset; P.A. 89-52 provided for a reduction in disability compensation benefits if a member receives both disability retirement benefits and retroactive disability compensation for the same period of time; P.A. 90-308 amended 5-year ineligibility period in Subsec. (f) re credit for prior service purchased by an applicant for disability retirement to provide that 5-year period begins after payment of a lump sum or commencement of payroll deductions, rather than after contributions are paid in full; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 05-208 amended Subsec. (g) by adding new Subdiv. (3) requiring offsets for workers' compensation and Social Security benefits to be reduced by attorney's fees incurred to obtain those benefits, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (h), effective July 13, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subsec. (g), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-82 amended Subsec. (c) to change “state employee” to “current or retired state employee” re membership of board, effective July 1, 2011.

See Sec. 18-101e re calculation of disability retirement income for correction officers upon designation of extraordinary circumstances.

Cited. 170 C. 410; Id., 610; 175 C. 424; 178 C. 438; 208 C. 801; 210 C. 214.

Cited. 13 CA 477; judgment reversed, see 210 C. 214.

Cited. 31 CS 75.

Subsec. (g):

Legislature has explicitly provided for an offset mechanism under statute and past practice of an agency, no matter how well-meaning, to disregard the clear mandate of such provisions cannot be allowed. 270 C. 1.

Sec. 5-170. Effect of workers' compensation and disability payments. (a) Except as provided in subsection (i) of section 5-169, a member shall not be entitled to receive or retain retirement income payments made for any period for which the member has received or receives disability payments and necessary medical and hospital expenses because of injury incurred or disease contracted in the performance of certain duties, as provided in section 5-142. Unless the Retirement Commission has waived the overpayment in accordance with section 5-156c, in any case in which a member has received retirement income payments in excess of his entitlement under this subsection, the Comptroller shall act to recover such overpayments by any appropriate means, including (1) withholding such sums from future retirement income payments in accordance with regulations to be adopted by the Retirement Commission in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, and (2) petitioning the administrative law judge having jurisdiction of the member's claim under section 5-142 for an order reducing the member's award pursuant to said section by the amount of such overpayment. The administrative law judge may enter such order notwithstanding the provisions of section 31-320.

(b) Retirement income payments made to a member receiving disability payments and necessary medical and hospital expenses under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act, as set forth in chapter 568, shall be reduced for any period for which such disability payments are being made or have been made, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The amount of each reduced retirement income payment shall be determined in accordance with section 5-169. Unless the Retirement Commission has waived the overpayment in accordance with section 5-156c, in any case in which a member has received retirement income payments in excess of his entitlement under this subsection, the Comptroller shall act to recover such overpayments by any appropriate means, including (1) withholding such sums from future retirement income payments in accordance with regulations to be adopted by the Retirement Commission in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, and (2) petitioning the administrative law judge having jurisdiction of the member's workers' compensation claim for an order reducing the member's workers' compensation award by the amount of such overpayment. The administrative law judge may enter such order notwithstanding the provisions of section 31-320.

(c) Retirement income payments shall not be reduced: (1) For a member receiving a specific indemnity award under section 31-307 or 31-308; (2) for a member who received a judgment for personal injuries and pain and suffering under the provisions of section 31-293, provided the member has reimbursed the state in full for all sums expended by it under chapter 568; or (3) by the amount of any attorney's fees a member incurs to obtain benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act or federal Social Security disability benefits.

(d) This section applies to claims for workers' compensation and disability retirement from injuries sustained on and after January 1, 1947.

(1949 Rev., S. 385; 1951, S. 154d, 155d; 1958 Rev., S. 5-107; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 19; P.A. 79-376, S. 7; P.A. 83-533, S. 48, 54; P.A. 87-287, S. 1, 2; P.A. 05-208, S. 1; 05-288, S. 35; P.A. 21-18, S. 1.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; P.A. 79-376 replaced “workmen's compensation” in Subsecs. (b) and (d) with “workers' compensation”; P.A. 83-533 amended section to provide for reduction or suspension of benefits in accordance with Sec. 5-169; P.A. 87-287 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to require the comptroller to recover overpayments by any appropriate means unless the overpayment has been waived by the retirement commission; P.A. 05-208 amended Subsec. (c) by making a technical change and adding new Subdiv. (3) prohibiting retirement income payments from being reduced by certain attorney's fees, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 13, 2005; pursuant to P.A. 21-18, “workers' compensation commissioner” and “commissioner” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “administrative law judge” in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective October 1, 2021.

Former statute cited. 144 C. 322.

Former statute cited. 22 CS 97.

Sec. 5-171. Assignments prohibited. Any assignment by a member or beneficiary of any amount payable to either under the terms of this chapter shall be null and void. Each such payment shall be for the support of the member or beneficiary entitled thereto and shall be exempt from the claims of creditors of such member and beneficiary. If the provisions of this section are contrary to the law governing a particular circumstance, then, as to that circumstance, any payment shall be exempt to the maximum extent permitted by law.

(1961, P.A. 234, S. 20.)

Sec. 5-172. Minor and incompetent payees. If the payee for any payment under this chapter is a minor, or if the Retirement Commission finds that any payee is legally incapable of giving a valid receipt and discharge for any payment due him, the Comptroller may, upon the advice of the Retirement Commission, make the payment, or any part thereof, to the person or persons whom the Retirement Commission finds to be caring for and supporting the payee, unless the Retirement Commission has received due notice of claim from a duly appointed guardian or committee of the payee. A payment so made shall be a complete discharge of the obligations of the state to the extent of and as to that payment, and the state shall have no obligations regarding the application of the payment.

(1961, P.A. 234, S. 21.)

Sec. 5-172a. Health service insurance coverage for certain retired state employees. Section 5-172a is repealed, effective October 1, 2002.

(1971, P.A. 625, S. 1; S.A. 02-12, S. 1.)

PART IV

SPECIAL SERVICE CREDIT RULES

Sec. 5-173. Hazardous duty service. (a) A state policeman in the active service of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or any person who is engaged in guard or instructional duties at the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers, the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Medium, the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, the York Correctional Institution, the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire and the community correctional centers, or any person exempt from collective bargaining who is engaged in custodial or instructional duties within the Department of Correction, or any person who is an employee of the Whiting Forensic Hospital with direct and substantial patient contact, or any person who is employed as a correctional counselor, correctional counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a comparable job classification by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, or any member of tier I who has been designated as a hazardous duty member pursuant to an applicable collective bargaining agreement, who has reached his forty-seventh birthday and completed at least twenty years of hazardous duty service for the state or service as a state policeman or as guard or instructor at said correctional institutions or correctional centers, or service in a custodial or instructional position within the Department of Correction which is exempt from collective bargaining, or as an employee of the Whiting Forensic Hospital or its predecessor institutions, or as a correctional counselor, correctional counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a comparable job classification as an employee of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, shall be retired on his own application or on the application of the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or the Commissioner of Correction, as the case may be.

(b) On or after October 1, 1982, each such person shall receive a monthly retirement income equal to one-twelfth of (1) fifty per cent of his base salary, as defined in subsection (b) of section 5-162, for such twenty years of service, plus (2) two per cent of his base salary for each year, taken to completed months, of Connecticut state service in excess of twenty years, except that any such person who is both a member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and a member of part B shall receive a permanently reduced retirement income upon reaching the age of sixty-five or, if earlier, upon receipt of Social Security disability benefits or, for any such state policeman, upon receipt of benefits under subsection (d) of section 5-142. Any such state police member shall have his monthly retirement income reduced by an amount equal to one-twelfth of one per cent of four thousand eight hundred dollars multiplied by the number of years of state service, taken to completed months.

(c) Any such person who, while so employed, was granted military leave to enter the armed forces, as defined in section 27-103, and who, upon his discharge and within ninety days, returned to such service, shall be granted retirement credit for any period of service in time of war, as defined in said section, and for military service during a national emergency declared by the President of the United States on and after September 1, 1939, toward the minimum service requirement of twenty years; and any such person may be granted credit for any such war service prior to such employment upon payment of contributions and interest computed in accordance with subsection (b) of section 5-180, but such service shall not be counted toward the minimum service requirement of twenty years.

(d) Any such person who, after retiring from hazardous duty as designated pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or from the Division of State Police or the employ of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers, the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Medium, the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, the York Correctional Institution, the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire or a community correctional center, the Whiting Forensic Hospital or the Board of Pardons and Paroles, as the case may be, is employed by any other state agency may elect to receive the retirement income to which he was entitled at the time of his retirement from such hazardous duty or as a state policeman or employee of the correctional institution or correctional center, forensic hospital or Board of Pardons and Paroles when his employment in such other agency ceases, but he shall not, in that case, be entitled to any retirement income by reason of service in such other agency except as provided in subsection (g) of this section.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, any state policeman who serves as Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection and whose position as commissioner or deputy commissioner is terminated, abolished or eliminated for any reason or who otherwise leaves such position and who has completed twenty years of service as a state policeman but who has not reached his forty-seventh birthday, shall be entitled to a retirement income, in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.

(f) A member who has completed twenty years of hazardous duty service under this section, but who leaves such service on or after October 1, 1982, but prior to reaching his forty-seventh birthday shall, upon his own application be entitled to the benefits provided in subsection (b) of this section at any time after reaching his forty-seventh birthday.

(g) On and after October 1, 1982, an employee who has met the twenty-year minimum service requirement and is thus eligible for benefits under this section shall have any other Connecticut state employment recognized in calculating the amount of his benefits.

(1949 Rev., S. 383; 1951, S. 151d; 1957, P.A. 510; 1958 Rev., S. 5-103, 5-104; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 22; 414; 494; February, 1965, P.A. 505; 1967, P.A. 617, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 645, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 71, S. 5; P.A. 74-228, S. 1, 3; P.A. 77-614, S. 486, 610; P.A. 82-193, S. 2, 3; P.A. 83-533, S. 17, 54; P.A. 84-546, S. 13, 173; P.A. 85-510, S. 21, 35; P.A. 86-186, S. 3; P.A. 87-282, S. 3; P.A. 90-331, S. 2, 3; P.A. 95-257, S. 20, 58; P.A. 97-256, S. 3, 4; P.A. 04-234, S. 2; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; P.A. 15-14, S. 22, 23; P.A. 18-72, S. 3; 18-86, S. 9.)

History: 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form” and added Subsecs. (c) and (d); 1965 act amended Subsec. (c) to provide credit for military service during a national emergency; 1967 act amended section to include persons employed as guards or instructors at State Prison; 1969 act replaced “State Prison” references with specific references to Connecticut Correctional Institutions at Osborn and Cheshire, replaced “warden of the state prison” with “commissioner of correction” and included community correctional centers; 1972 act replaced correctional institution at Osborn with state correctional institutions at Somers and Enfield; P.A. 74-228 included state correctional institution at Niantic; P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner of state police with commissioner of public safety and made state police department a division within the department of public safety, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 82-193 added Subsec. (e) providing the exceptions for the commissioner and deputy commissioner of public safety; P.A. 83-533 amended section to include employees of the Whiting Forensic Institute with direct and substantial patient contact and added Subsecs. (f) and (g); P.A. 84-546 made technical grammatical change in Subsec. (e) clarifying reference to commissioner or deputy commissioner of public safety; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) to include any member of tier I who has been designated as a hazardous duty member pursuant to an applicable collective bargaining agreement, who has reached his forty-seventh birthday and has completed at least 20 years of hazardous duty for the state; amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions re reduced retirement income for a person who is both a member of the division of state police and a member of part B and amended Subsecs. (d) and (f) by adding references to hazardous duty and retirement from hazardous duty; P.A. 86-186 changed the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield to the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Medium, added the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Minimum and the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire and changed the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Cheshire to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire; P.A. 87-282 changed the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Minimum to the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield; P.A. 90-331 amended Subsec. (a) to include persons exempt from collective bargaining who are engaged in custodial or instructional duties within department of correction; P.A. 95-257 replaced “Whiting Forensic Institute” with “Whiting Forensic Division”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-256 amended Subsec. (a) to include any person employed as a correctional counselor, correctional counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a comparable job classification by the Board of Parole and amended Subsec. (d) to include any person employed by the Board of Parole; P.A. 04-234 replaced Board of Parole with Board of Pardons and Paroles in Subsecs. (a) and (d), effective July 1, 2004; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Department of Public Safety” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-14 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (d); P.A. 18-72 amended Subsec. (c) to replace “required minimum of twenty years service” with “minimum service requirement of twenty years” and made technical changes; P.A. 18-86 amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) by replacing references to Whiting Forensic Division with references to Whiting Forensic Hospital and making a conforming change, and amended Subsec. (c) by making a technical change, effective June 4, 2018.

Cited. 230 C. 911; 234 C. 411. Plaintiff entitled to hazardous duty retirement credit under Sec. 5-192b and this section; judgment of Appellate Court in 34 CA 510 reversed. Id., 424.

Cited. 1 CA 454. “Connecticut state service”, as used in section, is limited to actual service for the state and does not include prior municipal service considered state service pursuant to Sec. 5-192b(b). 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-174. Educational leave. A member who is or has been granted a leave of absence without pay to pursue a course of study which is connected with the work of the agency and which is for the purpose of increasing his proficiency in his position shall be entitled to credit towards retirement for the period of such leave if he makes his retirement contributions for each year of such leave in an amount equal to five per cent of his salary rate at the time he was granted leave, with interest at the rate of five per cent per year.

(1949 Rev., S. 387; 1957, P.A. 349; 595, S. 6; 1958 Rev., S. 5-109; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 23; 1963, P.A. 476.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act deleted leave “for educational purposes” and inserted leave “to pursue a course of study which is connected with the work of the agency and which is for the purpose of increasing his proficiency in his position.”

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-174a. Sick leave. A member of the state employees retirement system who is or has been granted a leave of absence without pay for the protection or improvement of his health shall be entitled to credit toward retirement for the period of such leave, but not to exceed twelve months within a five-year period, if he makes retirement contributions for each month of such leave in an amount equal to one-twelfth of five per cent of his salary rate at the time he was granted leave, with interest at the rate of five per cent per year from the date when any such contributions would have been due to the date of payment.

(1969, P.A. 164.)

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-175. State-aided institutions. (a) Employees of each of the following-named private corporations, herein called state-aided institutions, shall be covered by the retirement system: The American School at Hartford for the Deaf, The Connecticut Institute for the Blind and Newington Children's Hospital.

(b) Each person in the service of a state-aided institution shall become a member and shall make a monthly retirement contribution in the amount determined from section 5-161 as if he were a state employee. Such institution shall deduct his retirement contributions from his salary and pay them to the state.

(c) If the Retirement Commission finds that the rate of salary paid a member who is an employee of a state-aided institution, during the period of service upon which his base salary is determined for retirement purposes, exceeded the rate of salary paid by the state to its employees in a comparable category of service; or if the Retirement Commission finds that the aggregate salary increases of any such member during the last ten years of his service exceed the salary increases allowed by the state to its employees in a similar category of service; then, in either case, such excess shall be disregarded in determining the member's base salary for the purposes of section 5-162. When such excess is so disregarded, the retirement contributions made by the member on such excess shall be returned to him by the state.

(d) No increase in the number of employees of a state-aided institution who may become members shall be made unless the Commissioner of Administrative Services approves such increase as to necessity and desirability.

(1949 Rev., S. 401–403; 1951, S. 170d; 1958 Rev., S. 5-132–5-134; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 24; P.A. 75-34; P.A. 77-614, S. 66, 587, 610.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; P.A. 75-34 deleted reference to approval of retirement commission in Subsec. (d); P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner of personnel and administration with commissioner of administrative services.

Sec. 5-175a. Operators of vending stands in public buildings. Credit for prior years of service. (a) Vending stand operators, operating stands under permits held by the Department of Aging and Disability Services pursuant to section 17a-818, shall be members of the state employees retirement system, part A, exclusive of the Social Security option and benefits in the state employees' retirement system dependent thereon. Each such person shall annually, on or before June thirtieth, pay five per cent of his adjusted gross income, arising out of the operation of such stand, as determined under the Internal Revenue Code, during the calendar year preceding to the Department of Aging and Disability Services which shall, as the state administering agency for such persons, certify such payment and pay it over to the State Retirement Commission, provided membership of such persons in said system shall be exclusive of disability retirement upon the grounds of defects of vision.

(b) Any member of the state employees retirement system who operated vending stands under permits held by the State Board of Education and Services for the Blind pursuant to section 17a-818, prior to October 1, 1971, may obtain credit for such period or periods of service for retirement purposes, provided such member has been in the active full-time employment of the state continuously for twelve months next preceding such member's written request to the Retirement Commission for such credit, and by making retirement contributions of five per cent of such member's adjusted gross income arising out of the operation of such stands for each of such years with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year from the time of such operation to the date of payment, all as certified by the State Board of Education and Services for the Blind or, its successor agency, the Department of Rehabilitative Services. Such payments may be made in twelve equal monthly installments but such service credit shall not be granted unless payment of installments is completed.

(1971, P.A. 847, S. 1, 2; 1972, P.A. 71, S. 4; 215; P.A. 11-44, S. 5; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 33; P.A. 17-202, S. 24; P.A. 18-55, S. 3; P.A. 19-157, S. 11.)

History: 1972 acts specified that 5% of gross income arising out of the operation of the stand be paid to retirement system, thereby excluding outside income and clarified provisions of Subsec. (b) re previous years of operation by specifying years prior to October 1, 1971; P.A. 11-44 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Board of Education and Services for the Blind” with “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services”, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” with “Department of Rehabilitation Services”, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 17-202 amended Subsec. (b) by adding “or, its successor agency, the Department of Rehabilitative Services” and making technical changes; P.A. 18-55 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 19-157 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “Department of Rehabilitation Services” with “Department of Aging and Disability Services”.

Sec. 5-175b. Time limit for purchase of certain kinds of service credit. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 5-176, 5-177, 5-177a, 5-181, 5-184, 5-187a, 5-189, 5-190, 5-190a, 5-192a, subsection (b) of section 5-180 and subsections (b) and (d) of section 5-182, no member who is eligible for credit for such service but who has not yet purchased such credit shall receive credit for such service on or after the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985. Prior to that date, any employee eligible to receive such credit and who desires to receive such credit shall so notify the Retirement Commission. If such employee is financially unable to complete the payment of the required contributions for such credit prior to such date, the Retirement Commission and the employee may enter into a contract for payment of such amount in not more than fifty-two equal biweekly installments. Such installments shall include interest at five per cent per year, and such service credit shall not be granted unless payment of installments is completed. The Retirement Commission shall liberally construe the provisions of sections 5-176, 5-177, 5-177a, 5-181, 5-184, 5-187a, 5-189, 5-190, 5-190a, 5-192a, subsection (b) of section 5-180 and subsections (b) and (d) of section 5-182 and this section in determining whether an employee is eligible to purchase such credit.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 18, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 6, 8; P.A. 85-510, S. 22, 35.)

History: P.A. 84-411 added references to Secs. 5-187a and 5-191; P.A. 85-510 deleted references to purchase of credit for service under Sec. 5-191 and extended deadline for notification to retirement commission re purchase of credit for service from October 1, 1984, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985.

Sec. 5-176. Prior public school service. A member with permanent status who was previously employed in the public schools of this state and who was a member of the Teachers' Retirement Association, may receive credit for retirement purposes for all such service for which he paid assessments. Such member shall make retirement contributions equal to five per cent of salaries received for such service, with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year from September 1, 1917, or from the date of such employment thereafter, to the date of payment. If the member was in state service on or before June 30, 1967, such payment shall be made before June 30, 1971. If the member entered or reentered state service on or after July 1, 1967, such payment shall be made within five years from the date of employment or reemployment as a state employee with permanent status. No such member shall be eligible for retirement credit under this section until he has completed ten years of state service and, in the event of his retirement while ineligible for credit under this section, all contributions and interest thereon paid by him under this section shall be refunded. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any member with permanent status who was employed in the public schools of this state before July 1, 1980, shall receive retirement credit for his or her period of membership in said teacher's retirement system upon payment of contributions equal to five per cent of his or her salary for such period plus an amount actuarially determined by the Retirement Commission as necessary to fund the increase in benefits payable by reason of such receipt of retirement credit by June 30, 1981.

(1959, P.A. 441; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 25; February, 1965, P.A. 343, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 648; 731; 1969, P.A. 345; P.A. 80-407, S. 3, 4.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1965 act updated statute to refer to members in state service on or after October 1, 1960, rather than October 1, 1959, and changed corresponding date for payment by such members to October 1, 1965, from October 1, 1964; 1967 acts included employees of commission for higher education and its constituent units (state colleges and community colleges) and teachers in state service under provisions of section, changed dates regarding service and payments and provided for refunds if person retires while ineligible for credit under section provisions; 1969 act deleted references to specific employing agencies, leaving section applicable to “A member with permanent status who was previously employed in the public schools ...” and changed dates regarding service and payments, advancing them by two years; P.A. 80-407 added provisions concerning retirement credit for people employed in public schools before July 1, 1980, who are members of teachers' retirement system.

Sec. 5-177. Credit for out-of-state or foreign service to educational institutions. Any person in the unclassified service employed full time by the Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut, the State Board of Education, the Technical Education and Career System, the Department of Rehabilitative Services, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the American School for the Deaf, the Connecticut Institute for the Blind, the Newington Children's Hospital, the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System or the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges, as a teacher or administrator in a position directly involved in educational activities in any state-operated institution or the Board of Regents for Higher Education, who served prior to such person's employment by the state in a full-time teaching, administrative or research position in an educational institution in or under the authority of a state department of education or a department of education for the blind in the United States approved by the Retirement Commission, or who was employed by such institution but served all or part of such service time in a foreign country, for which service such person has received or will receive no retirement benefit or pension, may gain credit for such prior service, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, by making retirement contributions for each year of such prior service equal to six per cent of such person's annual rate of compensation when such person first became a full-time employee of this state; provided such payment shall be made within one year of such person's first full-time employment with the state, or before July 1, 1968, whichever is later, but for the Board of Higher Education and Technical Colleges, July 1, 1974. When a person who has gained credit for such prior service retires, not more than one year of such service may be counted for each two years of state service; provided, if such person has purchased more of such service than can be counted, refund on the amount paid on the extra years of service shall be made.

(1959, P.A. 517; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 26; 435; 1963, P.A. 534; 1967, P.A. 868; P.A. 73-526; P.A. 74-171, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 39, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; P.A. 85-510, S. 24, 35; P.A. 86-403, S. 10, 132; P.A. 89-260, S. 4, 41; P.A. 91-256, S. 41, 69; P.A. 11-48, S. 285; P.A. 17-202, S. 25; P.A. 22-118, S. 296.)

History: 1961 acts added employees of state board of education, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Mystic Oral School and American School at Hartford for Deaf to purview of section, included research as well as teaching and administrative positions for which credit could be given, included service in a foreign country and removed limitation that last sentence apply only to those retiring before reaching sixty-five and “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act added employees of board of education and services for the blind, gave credit for service to other such boards and increased the period during which payment could be made by present employees from July 1, 1962, to July 1, 1964; 1967 act included employees of state and community colleges and certified teachers in state-operated institutions under provisions of section and changed date for payment from July 1, 1964 to July 1, 1968; P.A. 73-526 included employees of commission for higher education and provided separate deadline for payments to gain credit; P.A. 74-171 included employees of technical colleges and made deadline same as for commission employees, i.e. July 1, 1974; P.A. 77-573 substituted board of higher education for commission for higher education; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with board of governors and “state colleges” with “Connecticut State University”, pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 84-241 added “of higher education” to board of governors title; P.A. 85-510 included any person in the unclassified service employed full time by the Connecticut Institute for the Blind or the Newington Children's Hospital or as an administrator in a position directly involved in educational activities in any state-operated institution, and deleted requirement that teachers in state-operated institutions be “certified” for purposes of this section; P.A. 86-403 made technical changes; P.A. 89-260 provided that for constituent units of the state system of higher education the employer is the board of trustees of the unit rather than the unit itself, substituted the community-technical colleges for the community and state technical colleges, deleted obsolete reference to the Mystic Oral School and made a technical change; P.A. 91-256 made a technical change; pursuant to P.A. 11-48, “Board of Governors of Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Board of Regents for Higher Education”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 17-202 replaced “Board of Education and Services for the Blind” with “Department of Rehabilitative Services” and made technical changes; P.A. 22-118 added “the Technical Education and Career System”, effective July 1, 2022.

The legislature, by passage of statute, determined that the state owes more to those who previously gave it service than to others; statute has rational basis and does not violate equal protection clause of either federal or state constitutions. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-177a. Credit for university employees with prior service as hospital pharmacist. Any person in the unclassified service employed full time by The University of Connecticut, who served prior to his employment by the state in a teaching or administrative position as a hospital pharmacist in a teaching and research hospital affiliated with an educational institution in another state, for which service he has received, or will receive, no retirement benefit or pension, may, subject to the following condition, gain credit for such prior service, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, on paying to the State Employees Retirement Fund, for each year of such prior service, six per cent of his annual rate of compensation when he first became a full-time employee of this state. Such payment shall be made before July 1, 1966, or within one year of his first full-time employment with the state, whichever is later. When a person who has gained credit for such prior service retires, not more than one year of such out-of-state service may be counted for each two years of state service, provided, if such person has purchased more of such out-of-state service than can be counted, refund of the amount paid on the extra years of service shall be made.

(February, 1965, P.A. 341.)

Sec. 5-178. Probation officers. Any municipal employee who has been taken into state service under the provisions of section N231 of the November, 1955, supplement to the general statutes shall be credited with his entire period of service as a municipal employee for retirement purposes; provided he has made retirement contributions for each year of his municipal service, based upon his salary for such year, equal to those he would have made had he been a member during such period.

(November, 1955, SN4; 1958 Rev., S. 5-128; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 27.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”.

Sec. 5-179. Services paid for by federal grant. The time during which any state employee performed services, the direction of which remained in the state agency to which such employee was attached although his compensation was paid directly by federal grant, shall be considered a part of his state service for retirement purposes, provided his retirement contributions have been continuous since September 1, 1939, or, if not continuous, have been made with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year.

(1949 Rev., S. 395; 1958 Rev., S. 5-118; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 28.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form.”

Sec. 5-180. Military service. (a) The war service before September 1, 1939, of a veteran, as defined in section 27-103 and section 5-196, shall be counted as state service if the member began to make his retirement contributions before September 1, 1941, and made retirement contributions on all salary received by him from September 1, 1939, until his retirement date.

(b) The war service before September 1, 1939, of a veteran who became a member after September 1, 1939, and the war service or military service during a national emergency declared by the President of the United States on and after September 1, 1939, of a veteran who became a member at any time, shall be counted as state service if the member makes retirement contributions for each month of war service as defined in section 27-103 and described in subdivision (28) of section 5-196, or for each month of such service during a national emergency, as the case may be. Any veteran who becomes a member on or after July 1, 1975, shall not receive credit for such war or military service if such member has received or is entitled to receive any retirement allowance for the same years of such service from the federal government. Any veteran who is a member and who has not made application for such credit prior to July 1, 1975, shall not receive credit for such service if such member has received or is entitled to receive any retirement allowance for the same years of such service from the federal government unless such member makes application for such credit to the Retirement Commission on or before October 1, 1975, and makes retirement contributions for each month of such service in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The Comptroller of the state may notify each employee of this provision on or before September 1, 1975. Such contributions shall equal one-twelfth of four per cent of his first year's salary as a state employee multiplied by the total number of months of such war service or national emergency service and, if such employee became a member after April 1, 1958, shall be accompanied by interest at four per cent per year from the time such war service was rendered or from September 1, 1939, whichever is later, until the date of payment or January 1, 1962, whichever is earlier. Such contributions may be paid by payroll deductions as determined by the Retirement Commission over a period not to exceed thirty-six months, interest thereon to be paid not later than the last day of the month following the payment of the last of such deductions. Service credit for retirement purposes shall not be granted unless payment of contributions and interest is completed. No credit shall be given hereunder for military service during a national emergency to any state employee who has served less than ten years as a permanent full-time state employee, nor for any such military service beyond a total period of his compulsory service, if any, plus three years.

(c) A member who leaves state service for the sole purpose of entering the armed forces of the United States may make his retirement contributions while in the armed forces in the monthly amount he was making immediately before he left state service. Such contributions shall be deducted from any salary payable to the member during his absence. Alternately, if no salary was payable to him, he may make such contributions after his return to state service, with interest thereon at five per cent per year from a date six months after he left the armed forces, provided he shall make application for return to state service within ninety days after he has received a certificate for satisfactory service from the armed forces. No contributions may be made, however, at any time for service in the armed forces beyond a total period of his compulsory service therein, if any, plus three years.

(1949 Rev., S. 387, 397; 1949, S. 161d; 1953, S. 163d; 1957, P.A. 163, S. 5; 349; 509, S. 1; 588, S. 2; 595, S. 6; 1958 Rev., S. 5-109, 5-119, 5-122; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 29; 317; 393, S. 3; 1963, P.A. 454; 566; February, 1965, P.A. 208; 1971, P.A. 126, S. 2; P.A. 75-340, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-331, S. 43, 58; P.A. 82-472, S. 9, 183; P.A. 96-168, S. 23, 34; P.A. 13-247, S. 334; P.A. 18-72, S. 4.)

History: 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”, amended Subsec. (b) to provide as cutoff date for payment of interest “the date of payment or January 1, 1962, whichever is earlier” and provided for the application of the definition of veteran in Sec. 5-29a rather than that in Sec. 27-103; 1963 acts amended Subsec. (b) to allow credit for service in a national emergency and provided interest be chargeable only to those becoming members after October 1, 1957; 1965 act amended Subsec. (b) to add references to contributions for military service during a national emergency, to change date after which interest becomes payable on contributions from October 1, 1957, to April 1, 1958, and to add conditions under which credit is not given for military service; 1971 act, in Subsec. (b), replaced twelve installments with payroll deduction system adopted by retirement commission, provided that credit be given only after completion of payments and changed reference for definition of war service from Sec. 5-29a to Sec. 27-103 and Sec. 5-196(aa); P.A. 75-340 introduced provisions governing retirement credit for veterans received from both federal and state government, i.e. “double-dipping”; P.A. 78-331 replaced reference to Sec. 5-196(aa) with Subsec. “(bb)” in Subsec. (b) of section; P.A. 82-472 corrected reference to sections containing definition of veteran; P.A. 96-168 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to change the reference to “subsection (bb)” to “subdivision (29)”, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 13-247 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 18-72 made a technical change in Subsec (b).

Cited. 138 C. 445; 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-181. Credit for prior state service. Credit for service in the General Assembly. (a) A member who has been in state service for some past period or periods not otherwise credited for retirement purposes, and for which he cannot obtain credit for retirement purposes under any other section of this chapter, may obtain credit for such period or periods of service for retirement purposes; provided he has been in state service continuously for the twelve months next preceding his written request to the Retirement Commission for such service credit, and provided he pays to the retirement fund for each month of such service a sum based on his gross yearly rate of compensation as of the date such service was rendered, and equal to one-twelfth of two per cent of any part of such compensation on which the state made contributions under a Social Security Agreement, plus one-twelfth of five per cent of any part on which the state did not make such contributions, with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year from the time such service was rendered or from September 1, 1939, whichever is later, to the date of payment. Such payment may be made by payroll deductions as determined by the Retirement Commission over a period not to exceed thirty-six months, with interest on such contributions at the rate of five per cent per year to be paid not later than the last day of the month following the payment of the last of such deductions; but such service credit shall not be granted unless payment of contributions and interest is completed.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-175b, any member of the state employees retirement system who served as a member of the General Assembly prior to July 1, 1985, may obtain credit for such service in the General Assembly not otherwise credited for retirement purposes, provided application is made to the State Employees Retirement Commission not later than December 31, 1990, and provided further such member pays to the retirement fund for each month of such service in the General Assembly a sum based on his gross yearly rate of compensation as of the date such service was rendered and equal to one-twelfth of two per cent of any part of such compensation to the amount of the Social Security maximum wage plus one-twelfth of five per cent of the excess for part B members and one-twelfth of five per cent of such compensation for part A members, with interest thereon in both cases at the rate of five per cent per year from the time such service was rendered to the date of payment. Payment shall be made in accordance with the regulations concerning prior service as prescribed by the State Employees Retirement Commission.

(1951, 1955, S. 164d; 1957, P.A. 549, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-124; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 30; 1963, P.A. 474; 1971, P.A. 126, S. 3; P.A. 75-421, S. 3, 5; P.A. 80-294, S. 4, 7; P.A. 85-502, S. 3, 9; P.A. 90-308, S. 9, 15.)

History: 1961 act “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1963 act made provision for calculation of payments, taking into consideration contributions under the social security act, and increased the interest payable from 4% to 5%; 1971 act replaced twelve installments with payroll deduction system adopted by retirement commission; P.A. 75-421 added Subsec. (b) re credit for general assembly service; P.A. 80-294 replaced “active full-time employment of the state” with “state service” in Subsec. (a); P.A. 85-502 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting provision which had allowed general assembly members to obtain retirement credit for up to two years for retirement purposes and substituting provision that notwithstanding Sec. 5-175, any member of the state employees retirement system who served as a member of the general assembly prior to July 1, 1985, may obtain credit for such service not otherwise credited for retirement purposes, provided application is made to the state employees retirement commission not later than December 31, 1985, and by deleting provision prohibiting employee from receiving credit for general assembly service for purposes of both the state retirement system and the general assembly pension system; P.A. 90-308 amended Subsec. (b) to extend application deadline for retirement credit for service in the general assembly prior to July 1, 1985, from December 31, 1985, to December 31, 1990.

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-181a. Credit for service with United States federal government. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-175b, a member of the state employees retirement system who has been in the active full-time employment of the United States federal government for some past period or periods for which he has received or will receive no retirement benefit or pension and for which he is not eligible to obtain credit for retirement purposes under any section of this chapter may receive credit for such period or periods, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, by making contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund, for each year of such prior service, equal to two, or five per cent of his federal salary, as appropriate for plan membership, for the period of such federal service, plus interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per year from the time such service was rendered to date of payment. Such payment may be made by payroll deductions as determined by the Retirement Commission over a period not to exceed twenty-four months, and such installments shall include interest at five per cent per year. No service credit shall be granted unless payment of all contributions and interest is completed, and then not more than one year of federal service shall be counted for each two years of Connecticut state service.

(P.A. 90-308, S. 10, 15.)

Sec. 5-181b. Continuation of membership during service as elected official. (a) Any member of tier I of the state employees retirement system elected to serve as an official of the state or any political subdivision of the state during the 1988 calendar year or thereafter may elect, during the time he so serves, but no longer than ten years, to continue his membership in said system. Any such member shall continue to make contributions to said system and shall be ineligible for membership in any other state or municipal retirement system during such time.

(b) Any member of tier II of the state employees' retirement system elected to serve as an official of the state or any political subdivision of the state during the 1988 calendar year or thereafter may elect, during the time he so serves, but no longer than ten years, to continue his membership in said system. Any such member shall be ineligible for membership in any other state or municipal retirement system during such time.

(P.A. 90-308, S. 12, 15.)

Sec. 5-182. Miscellaneous service credits. (a) A member who has made contributions on all his salary received from September 1, 1939, to his retirement date, and who began to make his retirement contributions before September 1, 1941, shall receive credit for his service before September 1, 1939, with the National Reemployment Service.

(b) A member who was an employee of the United States Employment Service in Connecticut shall receive credit for his service with the United States Employment Service if he complies with all the requirements for obtaining service credit in section 5-181.

(c) The retirement salary of any employee of the Department of Transportation who was employed by the state at the Charter Oak Bridge, transferred to employment with the Greater Hartford Bridge Authority and subsequently taken back into state service shall be computed as though such employee were a member of part A of the state employees retirement system, provided an amount equal to the percentage of any Social Security payments made to such employee, which percentage is attributable to his employment by the state, shall be deducted from such retirement salary.

(d) Any employee of the radiological maintenance and calibration facility shall be credited for retirement purposes under this chapter with such employee's period of full-time service commencing with the date upon which such employee began work at said facility under individual contract with the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection upon payment into the State Employees Retirement Fund of such contributions as such employee would have paid if such employee had been a state employee during the period of such service and such employee's salary for such service had been paid by the state, with five per cent interest on such contribution from the date of such employee's entry into such service to the date of payment.

(e) Any former employee of the Connecticut Development Commission or the Connecticut interregional planning program who is an employee in the state classified service and who has had continuous state service since employment or reemployment in the state classified service shall be credited for retirement purposes under this chapter with his period of full-time service during the period commencing January 1, 1961, and ending December 31, 1966, including service under individual contract with the state and for the time period covering his transition between contract service and classified service. Such employee shall make payment into the State Employees Retirement Fund of such contributions as he would have paid if he had been a member of the state employees retirement system during the period of such service, with five per cent interest on such contributions from the date of his entry into such service to the date of payment.

(1949 Rev., S. 388; 1949, S. 156d; 1951, 1955, S. 164d; 1957, P.A. 549, S. 1; 1958 Rev., S. 5-102, 5-124; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 31; 422; 438; 1969, P.A. 768, S. 62; P.A. 78-240, S. 1; P.A. 90-230, S. 10, 101; P.A. 04-219, S. 3; P.A. 11-51, S. 145.)

History: 1961 acts removed limitation from Subsec. (b) that qualification for credit be state employment on December 31, 1941, added Subsec. (c) and “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”; 1969 act substituted department of transportation for highway department in Subsec. (c); P.A. 78-240 added Subsecs. (d) and (e) re employees of radiological maintenance and calibration facility and of Connecticut development commission or interregional planning program; P.A. 90-230 corrected a reference to the director of emergency management in Subsec. (d); P.A. 04-219 amended Subsec. (d) to substitute Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for Director of Emergency Management, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 11-51 amended Subsec. (d) to replace “Commissioner of Emergency Management and Homeland Security” with “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and make technical changes, effective July 1, 2011.

Sec. 5-183. Transferred county employees. (a) The employees of any county participating in chapter 48 of the general statutes, revision of 1949, who were taken into state service under the provisions of section 1464d of the 1955 supplement thereto shall be credited with their entire period of service as employees of such county for retirement purposes; provided there has been transferred to the retirement fund from the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund the amount paid into said municipal fund under the provisions of section 894 and subsections (b) and (c) of section 895 of the general statutes, revision of 1949, on account of the service of such employees as county employees, plus such amount as the Retirement Commission determined, on sound actuarial principles, represented the contributions to said municipal fund made by such county under subsection (a) of section 895 on account of the prior service of such employees, together with interest at the rate of two and one-half per cent compounded annually from the date of each such payment into said municipal fund to the date of transfer of such employees into state service, less any amount expended from said municipal fund by the Retirement Commission as compensation for actuarial services in connection with the computation of such amount.

(b) The contributions made by any such employee to the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund and so transferred under the provisions of this section may, if such employee leaves the employment of the state before becoming eligible to retire, be withdrawn by him, on request, without interest, in the same manner as is provided in section 5-166 for the withdrawal of his contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund.

(1955, S. 167d; 1958 Rev., S. 5-126; 1959, P.A. 152, S. 9; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 32; 536, S. 5.)

History: 1959 act included under section employees transferred on abolition of county government; 1961 acts removed this provision and “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form”.

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-184. Credit for service with county or county agricultural extension office. Any full-time state employee and any appointee of the General Assembly or either branch thereof, or of any officer or committee thereof, who served previously as a county employee or in a clerical capacity in a county agricultural extension office when such service was sponsored by the county farm bureau or county agricultural extension council and for which service he is not eligible to receive credit under any other section of this chapter shall be credited with the period or periods of such service, provided he shall pay to the retirement fund for each month of such service a sum equal to five per cent of the average of his last twelve months' salary as a county employee or a county agricultural extension office employee multiplied by the whole number of months of such service with interest at five per cent per annum from July 1, 1961, to the date of payment.

(1961, P.A. 536, S. 1.)

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-185. County trust funds transferred to retirement fund. Any trust fund established for retirement purposes by a county and which was on June 21, 1961, in the possession of the State Treasurer shall be transferred to the State Employees Retirement Fund. Each employee for whom such trust fund was established and who was employed by the state on said date shall be credited for as much county service computed in accordance with section 5-184 as his share in such fund will provide, provided such contributions shall not be refundable in the event of termination of service by such employee.

(1961, P.A. 536, S. 2.)

Sec. 5-186. Transfer from Municipal Retirement Fund. Except as provided in section 6-2b, there shall be no further liability of any county for payment into the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund. There shall be transferred to the State Employees Retirement Fund from said municipal fund such amount as the State Retirement Commission determines to be equitable by reason of the taking of county employees into state service under the provisions of section 6-28c of the 1959 supplement to the general statutes, the reduction in liability of such county to said municipal fund as provided in this section, and any amount expended from said municipal fund by the State Retirement Commission as compensation for actuarial services in connection with the computation of such amount.

(1961, P.A. 536, S. 4.)

Sec. 5-187. Sheriffs and chief deputies. (a) For the purposes of this chapter, the sheriff of each county and the chief deputy sheriff of each county are employees of the state so far as salaries received by them from the state are concerned, including fees on a Judicial Department payroll but excluding other fees paid in lieu of or in addition to salary.

(b) The provisions of subsection (f) of section 5-168 shall apply to sheriffs and their chief deputies.

(c) The status of sheriffs and their chief deputies as stated in subsection (a) shall be retroactive to September 1, 1939.

(1961, P.A. 295; P.A. 80-294, S. 6, 7.)

History: P.A. 80-294 omitted reference to Subsec. (b) of Sec. 5-166 in Subsec. (b).

Sec. 5-187a. Credit for former service as deputy sheriff. Any member of the state employees retirement system who as a former deputy sheriff served prior to 1952 as a court officer in the Supreme Court, the Superior Court or the Court of Common Pleas may elect to obtain credit under the state employees retirement system for the period of his service as such. Such election shall be made in writing to the Retirement Commission not later than January 1, 1968. Persons so electing shall, within sixty days after filing such election, pay to the State Employees Retirement Fund a sum equal to five per cent of their salaries for such service.

(February, 1965, P.A. 153, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 561, S. 1.)

History: 1967 act changed deadline from January 1, 1966, to January 1, 1968.

Sec. 5-187b. Special deputy sheriffs appointed before July 1, 1999: Membership and credit. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, each special deputy sheriff, appointed pursuant to section 6-43 before July 1, 1999, shall become a member of the state employees retirement system on July 1, 1999, and vesting and credited service shall be calculated from said date. The provisions of this section shall apply to and include each such special deputy sheriff otherwise included under this section who becomes employed as a judicial marshal in accordance with section 6-38i, provided in no event shall an employee receiving payments pursuant to section 5-164a or section 5-192v receive vesting or credited service under this section.

(P.A. 97-148, S. 6, 8; P.A. 00-99, S. 131, 154.)

History: P.A. 97-148, Sec. 6 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-99 made section applicable to special deputy sheriffs appointed before July 1, 1999, who become employed as judicial marshals, and provided that no employee receiving payments under Sec. 5-164a or Sec. 5-192v shall receive vesting or credits under this section, effective December 1, 2000.

Sec. 5-187c. Special deputy sheriffs appointed on or after July 1, 1999, and judicial marshals employed on or after December 1, 2000: Membership and credit. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, each special deputy sheriff, appointed pursuant to section 6-43 on or after July 1, 1999, shall become a member of the state employees retirement system on the date of the appointment to office of such special deputy sheriff and vesting and credited service shall be calculated from the date of such appointment. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to and include each such special deputy sheriff otherwise included under this section who becomes employed as a judicial marshal in accordance with section 6-38i, provided in no event shall an employee receiving payments pursuant to section 5-164a or section 5-192v receive vesting or credited service under this section.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, each person employed as a judicial marshal pursuant to section 6-32d or 6-32f, on or after December 1, 2000, shall become a member of the state employees retirement system on the date of such employment and vesting and credited service shall be calculated from the date of such employment, provided in no event shall an employee receiving payments pursuant to section 5-164a or section 5-192v receive vesting or credited service under this section.

(P.A. 97-148, S. 7, 8; P.A. 00-99, S. 132, 154.)

History: P.A. 97-148, Sec. 7 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-99 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), made Subsec. (a) applicable to special deputy sheriffs appointed before July 1, 1999, who become employed as judicial marshals, added Subsec. (b) re persons employed as a judicial marshal on or after December 1, 2000, and provided that no employee receiving payments under Sec. 5-164a or Sec. 5-192v shall receive vesting or credits under this section, effective December 1, 2000.

Sec. 5-188. Retirement salary of detectives. (a) For the purposes of this section “detective” means any detective, chief inspector or inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice or chief detective.

(b) (1) Each detective who is forty-seven years of age or over and who has completed twenty years of service shall, at the time he retires or is retired in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, receive a retirement salary equal to fifty per cent of his base salary for twenty years of service as a detective, or combined service as a state policeman and a detective, and for each additional full month of service as a detective after twenty years of such service there shall be added to his retirement salary a sum equaling one-twelfth of two per cent, computed on his base salary. (2) Any detective who previously served as a state police officer and who transferred directly from the state police force to a position as a county detective or detective or chief inspector or inspector within the Division of Criminal Justice shall receive the same retirement benefits under this chapter as he would have received if he had remained a member of the state police force. (3) Retirement benefits payable under this section shall not be reduced at any time on account of a member's eligibility for or receipt of federal Social Security benefits, unless the member has previously received a refund of contributions when transferring from part A to part B pursuant to section 5-158h.

(c) A member who has completed twenty years of service as a detective, or combined service as a state policeman and a detective, but who leaves such service on or after October 1, 1982, but prior to reaching his forty-seventh birthday, shall, upon his own application, be entitled to the benefits provided in subsection (b) of this section at any time after reaching his forty-seventh birthday.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, on and after October 1, 1982, a member who has completed twenty years of service as a detective or combined service as a policeman and a detective and is thus eligible for benefits under this section shall have any other Connecticut state employment recognized in calculating the amount of his benefit.

(e) Service of a member as a sworn member of an organized police department of a municipality within this state may be counted as service as a detective for the purposes of this section if the member makes retirement contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund of either two or five per cent, as appropriate, of his municipal salary for the period of such municipal service, plus an amount determined by the Retirement Commission as necessary to fund the increased benefits payable by reason of such purchase with interest at the rate of six and one-half per cent, compounded annually, on such payment. No credit shall be granted under this subsection for any period of service for which a retirement benefit is being paid by any governmental unit or where such grant would result in multiple service credit for the same period of service. Service credit for retirement purposes shall not be granted unless payment of contributions and interest is completed.

(1961, P.A. 360; P.A. 74-327, S. 1, 2; P.A. 76-111, S. 7; P.A. 83-533, S. 19, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 12, 35; P.A. 86-348, S. 6, 8.)

History: P.A. 74-327 added Subsec. (a) defining “detective” and made former text Subsec. (b), changing retirement age from 55 to 47 with 20 years' service and adding Subdiv. (2) re detectives who were formerly state police officers; P.A. 76-111 redefined “detective” deleting county detectives and adding chief inspector or inspectors of division of criminal justice; P.A. 83-533 added Subsecs. (c) and (d); P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (b)(3) to provide that retirement benefits shall not be reduced on account of eligibility for or receipt of Social Security benefits by adding “unless the member has previously received a refund of contributions when transferring from part A to part B pursuant to section 5-158h”; P.A. 86-348 added Subsec. (e) re credit for service as a sworn member of an organized police department of a municipality within this state.

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-189. Credit to court employees for prior municipal service. Each employee of the Superior Court shall be credited for retirement purposes for his entire period of full-time service as an employee of a municipal, city, police, justice or traffic court, provided he shall pay into the retirement fund the contributions he would have paid if he had been a state employee during the period of such court service and his salary for such service had been paid by the state, with five per cent interest on such contributions from July 1, 1961, to the date of payment.

(1959, P.A. 28, S. 20; 1961, P.A. 234, S. 33; 536, S. 3; February, 1965, P.A. 164; P.A. 74-183, S. 163, 291; P.A. 76-436, S. 563, 681.)

History: 1961 acts “restated” state employees retirement act “in a simpler, clearer and more orderly form” and added provision for contributions by employee; 1965 act limited coverage to period of full-time service and deleted requirement that a local retirement plan have been in effect with respect to such service; P.A. 74-183 substituted court of common pleas for circuit court; P.A. 76-436 substituted superior court for court of common pleas, effective July 1, 1978.

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-190. Court reporters to receive credit for service as municipal court stenographers. Any person taken into state service as a court reporter who previously served as court stenographer in any municipal court shall be credited with his entire period of full-time service as a municipal employee for the purposes of this chapter upon payment into the State Employees Retirement Fund of such sum for each year of his municipal employment, based upon his salary for such year, as would have been due from him had he been an employee of the state during such period of such court service, with five per cent interest on such contributions from the date he was taken into state service to the date of payment.

(February, 1965, P.A. 183, S. 1.)

Cited. 1 CA 454.

Sec. 5-190a. Retirement credit for employees of the Criminal Justice Division and public defenders. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, each employee of the Division of Criminal Justice and each public defender, assistant public defender and deputy assistant public defender in the Superior Court who is or becomes a member of the state employees retirement system shall receive full retirement credit and full credit for the vesting of pension rights for each year or portion thereof for which retirement contributions were or shall be paid while serving as a state's attorney, an assistant state's attorney, deputy assistant state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, public defender or assistant public defender in the Superior Court, Circuit Court or Court of Common Pleas, irrespective of whether such service was on a part-time or full-time basis, provided he shall have made contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund as provided by this chapter, for such service credit.

(b) Each such employee and each such public defender, assistant public defender and deputy assistant public defender who serves on a part-time basis, on and after July 1, 1985, shall receive retirement credit for such service on a percentage basis corresponding to the percentage that the amount of time spent in such service bears to full-time service in such position, as the percentage shall be determined by the commission, provided such individual shall have made contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund as provided by this chapter, for such service credit.

(P.A. 73-122, S. 21, 27; P.A. 74-183, S. 168, 291; P.A. 76-436, S. 147, 681; P.A. 85-475, S. 1, 3.)

History: P.A. 74-183 replaced circuit court with court of common pleas except with reference to past employment where court of common pleas was added; P.A. 76-436 included deputy assistant state's attorneys and deputy assistant public defenders under provisions of section and deleted reference to court of common pleas except where concerned with past employment, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 85-475 added Subsec. (b) re exception to part-time service provisions of Subsec. (a); (Revisor's note: In 1997 the Revisors editorially changed a reference in Subsec. (a) from “deputy assistant's state's attorney, ...” to “deputy assistant state's attorney, ...” thereby correcting a clerical error in the codification of P.A. 76-436, S. 147).

Sec. 5-190b. Participation in retirement systems by certain teachers at E. O. Smith School; certain service treated as continuous employment by board of education. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute, charter or special act to the contrary, affecting teacher tenure: (1) Service by teachers employed by The University of Connecticut to teach at the E. O. Smith School prior to the conveyance of the E. O. Smith School pursuant to section 2 of special act 84-42 shall be treated as continuous employment by a board of education within the meaning of section 10-151. Any such teacher who is subsequently employed to teach at the E. O. Smith School on or before September 1, 1987, by the board of education for a regional school district consisting of the towns of Mansfield and Ashford shall be deemed to have been continuously employed by such board of education for all previous years of continuous employment at the E. O. Smith School. No teacher employed by such board of education shall be deemed to have a break in employment within the meaning of section 10-151 by virtue of such conveyance; (2) teachers employed by The University of Connecticut on the date of such conveyance who are subsequently employed to teach at said school by the board of education for a regional school district consisting of the towns of Mansfield and Ashford and who are participants in the state employees retirement system on the date of such conveyance may continue to participate in said system. Participation pursuant to the provisions of this section shall terminate upon retirement or separation from employment by such board of education, whichever first occurs. The employer contribution for retirement benefits for such teachers shall continue to be included in amounts appropriated from the General Fund pursuant to section 5-192d; (3) such teachers who are participants in the federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance System on the date of such conveyance may continue to participate in said system provided such teachers make employee contributions determined by the State Employees Retirement Commission to be due under the federal-state agreement. The state shall continue to pay the employer's share of contributions determined to be due by the State Employees Retirement Commission under the federal-state agreement for such teachers pursuant to section 5-192d.

(P.A. 86-377.)

Sec. 5-191. Credit for service to other states. A member of the state employees retirement system who has been in the active full-time employment of another state or states for some past period or periods for which he has received or will receive no retirement benefit or pension and for which he cannot obtain credit for retirement purposes under any section of this chapter may receive credit for such period or periods, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, by making contributions to the State Employees Retirement Fund, for each year of such prior service, equal to six per cent of his annual rate of compensation when he first became a full-time employee of this state, provided the state or states in which such service was rendered make similar provision for former employees of this state and provided such payment into the state employees retirement system shall be made within one year of his entry into service in this state or on or before July 1, 1966, whichever is later. When a person who has gained credit for such prior service retires, not more than one year of such out-of-state service may be counted for each two years of state service; provided, if such person has purchased more of such service than can be counted, refund of the amount paid on the extra years of service shall be made.

(February, 1965, P.A. 370, S. 1.)

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-191a. Reimbursement of certain retired employees for moneys deducted from retirement allowance. Section 5-191a is repealed, effective October 1, 2002.

(1967, P.A. 710; S.A. 02-12, S. 1.)

Sec. 5-192. Credit for transferred McCook Hospital employees. (a) Each person who was transferred to state employment under the provisions of section 5-268d of the 1967 supplement to the general statutes shall be credited for retirement purposes for his entire period of full-time service as a city employee. Credit for less than full-time service shall be determined by the State Employees Retirement Commission.

(b) There shall be transferred to the State Employees Retirement Fund from the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund such amount, for each person transferred, as the State Retirement Commission and the city of Hartford determine to be equitable by reason of the transfer of city employees to the state under the provisions of said section 5-268d.

(c) All rights, benefits and privileges to which members of the state retirement system are entitled, as well as rights, benefits and privileges conferred on state employees which relate to retirement, shall be given to those persons who have transferred to state employment under the provisions of said section 5-268d. All those persons who have so transferred shall be entitled to such accrued vacation and sick time as they earned under city employment.

(1967, P.A. 424, S. 3, 4, 5; 606, S. 1.)

Sec. 5-192a. Credit for state college bookstore employees. Each employee under section 5-268d of the 1969 supplement to the general statutes shall be credited for retirement purposes under this chapter with his period of full-time service as an employee of any such bookstore upon payment into the State Employees Retirement Fund of such contributions as he would have paid if he had been a state employee during the period of such service and his salary for such service had been paid by the state, with five per cent interest on such contributions from July 1, 1968, to the date of payment.

(1969, P.A. 282, S. 2.)

Sec. 5-192b. Credit for previous membership in a municipal retirement system. (a) Any person who became a member of the state employees retirement system and who previously was a member of the Connecticut municipal employees' retirement system shall receive credit for the purpose of retirement under the provisions of this chapter for the period of his service with such municipality, provided there shall be transferred to the State Employees Retirement Fund from the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund, on application of a state employee who is a member of tier I, the entire amount paid into the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund by the employee as a result of the service of such employee, plus interest at the rate being paid by the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund from which such amount is transferred from the date of each payment into such fund to the date such employee became a member of the state employees retirement system, such amount to be computed by the State Retirement Commission. No transfer of municipal employee contributions and interest shall be required whenever a member of the tier II plan applies for such retirement credit.

(b) On or before the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985, any member of the tier I plan in the state employees retirement system who was previously a member of the Connecticut municipal employees' retirement system and who, pursuant to the terms of section 7-440, withdrew all his contributions in the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund upon leaving municipal employment shall be credited, for retirement purposes under this chapter, with such period of prior municipal service upon payment into the State Employees Retirement Fund of an amount equal to the total of all contributions refunded to him from the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund plus five per cent interest on such contributions from the effective date of his withdrawal from the municipal fund to the date of his application for credit under this subsection. Such municipal service shall be considered to be active state service for the purposes of this chapter.

(c) Any member of the state employees retirement system who has prior service in a municipality, or a department of a municipality, which has not accepted the provisions of part II of chapter 113 shall receive credit for the purpose of retirement under the provisions of this chapter for the period of such service, or any portion thereof, if he complies with the requirements of either subdivision (1) or subdivision (2) of this subsection. (1) Such member may purchase credit for such service upon payment to the State Employees Retirement Fund of either two or five per cent, as appropriate, of his municipal salary for the period of such service, plus an amount determined by the Retirement Commission as necessary to fund the increased benefits payable by reason of such purchase with interest at the rate of six and one-half per cent, compounded annually, on such payment. (2) Such member may obtain credit for such service upon transfer of the entire amount paid into a municipal retirement fund by the member and the municipality during the period of such service including any earned interest, and payment of an amount determined by the Retirement Commission as necessary to fund the increased benefits payable by reason of such credit, to the State Employees Retirement Fund. Where required by a municipal ordinance or charter provision, the Comptroller may enter into a reciprocal agreement with a municipality in order to effect a transfer of funds under this subdivision. No credit shall be granted under this subsection for any period of service for which a retirement benefit is being paid by any governmental unit or where such grant would result in multiple service credit for the same period of service.

(1971, P.A. 319, S. 2; P.A. 82-377, S. 1, 3; P.A. 83-533, S. 50, 54; P.A. 84-447, S. 1, 3; P.A. 85-510, S. 25, 35.)

History: P.A. 82-377 eliminated requirement that municipal share of contributions be transferred to state employees' retirement fund upon transfer of employee to state system; P.A. 83-533 amended section to provide that transfer of contributions is required only in the case of employees who are members of tier I; P.A. 84-447 added Subsecs. (b) and (c) which allowed any tier I member, on or before October 1, 1984, to purchase credit for prior service as a member of the municipal employees retirement system for which all contributions had been previously withdrawn and allowed members who previously worked for a nonparticipating municipality to purchase credit for such service; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (b) to extend deadline for purchase of credit for prior municipal service from October 1, 1984, to the first of the month following three months after June 28, 1985.

Cited. 230 C. 911; 234 C. 411. Plaintiff entitled to hazardous duty retirement credit under Sec. 5-173 and this section; judgment of Appellate Court in 34 CA 510 reversed. Id., 424.

Cited. 1 CA 454; 34 CA 510; judgment reversed, see 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-192c. Transfer from teachers' retirement system to state employees retirement system. No person who has creditable service as a member of the teachers' retirement system and who transfers, on or after July 1, 1978, to the state employees retirement system shall be entitled to benefits from said state employees retirement system until such person has been a member of and contributed to said state employees retirement system for a period of one year. If such transferee dies or becomes disabled before completion of that one year, such transfer shall be deemed to be cancelled and such person shall be deemed to be a member of the teachers' retirement system.

(P.A. 78-208, S. 32, 35; P.A. 83-533, S. 20, 54.)

History: P.A. 83-533 added provision re death or disability of transferee.

Sec. 5-192d. Administration of retirement funds for teachers at E. O. Smith School. The employer contribution for retirement benefits for teachers at the E. O. Smith School who are members of the state employees retirement system shall be included in amounts appropriated from the General Fund to miscellaneous accounts administered by the Comptroller for the state employees retirement contributions and employers' Social Security Tax.

(P.A. 77-559, S. 1, 2; P.A. 82-472, S. 10, 183.)

History: P.A. 82-472 changed “Edwin O. Smith” to “E. O. Smith”.

See chapter 167a re Teachers' Retirement Fund.

See Sec. 10-183p re transfers between state employees', teachers' and alternate retirement programs.

PART V*

TIER II PLAN

*Tier II retirement plan, Sec. 5-192e et seq. cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-192e. Application. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, shall apply to all members who first join the state employees retirement system after July 1, 1984, and members of bargaining units which are party to a collective bargaining agreement granting the right to transfer from tier I to tier II or from tier II to tier I shall have the right to effect such transfers according to the terms of the agreement upon its approval by the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of chapter 68. The provisions of said sections shall also apply to members who rejoin the system after January 1, 1984, unless (1) the employee remains entitled to either an immediate or a deferred monthly benefit, other than a benefit arising solely from his own contributions, due to earlier participation in the system, (2) the employee's period of prior service, as defined for purposes of tier I, is longer than the period between his date of prior severance and his date of new membership, or (3) the employee returns to state service following a period during which he was receiving disability retirement benefits under section 5-169. In any such event, such former employee shall be subject to the provisions of the tier I retirement plan.

(b) If a member is absent from state service on January 1, 1984, due to service in the armed forces of the United States, and returns to state service within ninety days, after having become entitled to release from active duty in the armed forces or after hospitalization continuing after discharge for a period of not more than one year, he shall not be deemed to have severed service for purposes of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) If a member is absent from state service on January 1, 1984, due to a leave of absence and returns to state service immediately upon the expiration of such leave, he shall not be deemed to have severed service for purposes of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) In the event that there is a conflict between the provisions of sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, and the provisions of any other law, the provisions of said sections shall govern, provided any employee in state service who is a member of the teachers' retirement system prior to October 1, 1982, and who transfers to the state employees retirement system in accordance with subsection (h) of section 5-160, shall join tier I.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 21, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 27, 35; P.A. 87-484, S. 5, 10.)

History: P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) to change date after which Secs. 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, shall apply to all members joining the retirement system from January 1, 1985, to July 1, 1985, and to include reference to collective bargaining agreements granting the right to transfer from tier II to tier I and amended Subsec. (d) to replace reference to “teacher” in state service with reference to “employee” in state service; P.A. 87-484 made technical change in Subsec. (a)(2).

Sec. 5-192f. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) “Year's breakpoint” means, with respect to the calendar year in which occurs a member's last severance from service date, ten thousand seven hundred dollars increased by six per cent each year after 1982, rounded to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.

(b) “Final average earnings” means the average covered earnings of a member for his three years of credited service affording the highest such average, disregarding any general temporary reduction or any reduction or nonpayment for illness or other absence which does not exceed ninety days.

(c) “Covered earnings” means the annual salary, as defined in subsection (h) of section 5-154, received by a member in a year, limited by one hundred thirty per cent of the average of the two previous years' covered earnings. The limit does not apply to earnings for calendar years before 1984, nor for the first three full or partial calendar years of employment. The Retirement Commission may adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 determining the procedures to be followed when the member was not employed on a full-time basis for the entire two previous years used to develop such limit.

(d) “Hazardous duty member” means a member who is a state policeman in the active service of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, who is engaged in guard or instructional duties at the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Somers, the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Medium, the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield, the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, the York Correctional Institution, the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire or the community correctional centers, who is an employee of the Whiting Forensic Hospital or its predecessor institutions with direct and substantial patient contact, who is a detective, chief inspector or inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice or chief detective, who is employed as a correctional counselor, correctional counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a comparable job classification by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, or who has been designated as a hazardous duty member pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

(e) “Tier I plan” means the plan set out in sections 5-157 to 5-192d, inclusive.

(f) “Tier II plan” means the plan set out in sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive.

(g) “State employment” means employment with state-aided institutions, any position in state government, including any position funded wholly or partially by the federal government, and any other employment which, prior to January 1, 1984, would have resulted in coverage under the tier I plan. All references to “state” shall include such positions and employment.

(h) “Severance from service date” means an employee's date of retirement, death, resignation or termination for cause from the state, or except as otherwise provided in section 5-192i, the first anniversary of the first day of a period in which he remains absent from service, without pay, with the state, for any reason other than retirement, death, resignation or termination for cause, whichever is earlier.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 22, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 28, 35; P.A. 86-186, S. 4; P.A. 87-282, S. 4; 87-484, S. 6, 10; P.A. 95-257, S. 20, 58; P.A. 97-256, S. 5; P.A. 01-80, S. 12; P.A. 04-234, S. 2; P.A. 11-51, S. 134; P.A. 15-14, S. 24; P.A. 18-86, S. 10.)

History: P.A. 85-510 redefined “hazardous duty member” to include any person who has been designated as a hazardous member pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement; P.A. 86-186 amended Subdiv. (d) to change the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield to the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Medium, to add the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Minimum and the Connecticut Correctional Center, Cheshire and to change the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Cheshire to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire; P.A. 87-282 amended Subdiv. (d) to change the name of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Enfield-Minimum to the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Enfield; P.A. 87-484 revised table in Subdiv. (a); P.A. 95-257 replaced “Whiting Forensic Institute” with “Whiting Forensic Division”, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-256 amended Subdiv. (d) to include a member who is employed as a correctional counselor, correctional counselor supervisor, parole officer or parole supervisor or in a comparable job classification by the Board of Parole; P.A. 01-80 deleted specific breakpoints for years prior to the year 2000; P.A. 04-234 replaced Board of Parole with Board of Pardons and Paroles in Subdiv. (d), effective July 1, 2004; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subdiv. (d), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-14 made a technical change in Subdiv. (d); P.A. 18-86 amended Subsec. (d) by replacing “Whiting Forensic Division” with “Whiting Forensic Hospital”, effective June 4, 2018.

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-192g. Eligibility and membership. (a) Membership in the tier II plan shall be required for each state employee, whether or not exempt from the classified service, appointed after January 1, 1984, unless specifically excluded in this section or unless section 5-192e mandates coverage under the tier I plan. Except as indicated in subsection (d) of this section, membership commences on the later of the first day of employment or July 7, 1983.

(b) Membership in the tier II plan shall be required for each employee in state service on June 30, 1982, who had not previously been a member of the state employees retirement system, and who had not previously elected to become a member of the state employees retirement system or any other Connecticut retirement plan, unless specifically excluded in this section.

(d) Any teacher or professional staff member as described in subsection (g) of section 5-160, first employed on or after January 1, 1984, shall be covered under the tier II plan unless he is eligible for and elects membership within six months after employment in the teachers' retirement system or an alternate retirement program. In the absence of such an election, membership hereunder shall be retroactive to the first day of employment. Any such individual shall be a member in only one of the three systems or programs.

(e) Members of the judiciary eligible for retirement under the provisions of section 51-50 or section 51-50a are not eligible for membership in the tier II plan unless they elect to remain or be reinstated as members of the state employees retirement system under section 5-192h.

(f) Membership in the tier II plan shall be required for each employee of the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies unless specifically excluded in this section or unless section 5-192e mandates coverage under the tier I plan.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 23, 54; P.A. 93-429, S. 5, 7; P.A. 02-140, S. 6.)

History: P.A. 93-429 added Subsec. (f) to extend membership in the state's tier II retirement plan to employees of the Connecticut Institute for Municipal Studies, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 02-140 amended Subsec. (f) by deleting reference to Sec. 1-135, effective July 1, 2002.

Sec. 5-192h. Election by judges. (a) Any person who is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court or Superior Court and who has at the time of his appointment at least ten years of credited service under the tier II plan may, at any time within ten years after initial appointment as a judge to any such courts, elect to remain, or, if he has withdrawn from the tier II plan, to be reinstated as a member of the tier II plan in lieu of participation in the benefits of sections 51-49 to 51-50b, inclusive, and 51-51, and to receive credit for retirement purposes for the period of service as such a judge. Any contributions made under section 51-50b by any such judge prior to such election shall be paid from the judges and administrative law judges' retirement system to such judge. Such judge shall be credited, for purposes of retirement under the tier II plan with the period of his service as a judge. No election under this section or under section 5-166a may be made by a tier II member other than one with at least ten years of credited service under the tier II plan.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, any retired state employee who is appointed a judge and who resigns prior to retirement as a judge shall not receive a reduction in the amount of retirement income or retirement benefits that he would have received had he remained a retired state employee, including any cost of living allowances granted to retired state employees.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 24, 54; P.A. 21-18, S. 1.)

History: Pursuant to P.A. 21-18, “compensation commissioners'” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “administrative law judges'” in Subsec. (a), effective October 1, 2021.

Sec. 5-192i. Vesting service. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, vesting service is all service with the state commencing on the employee's employment commencement date or reemployment commencement date and ending on his severance from service date. The employment commencement date is that date on which the employee first works an hour for which he is paid or entitled to payment by the state. An employee's reemployment commencement date is that date after his severance from service date on which the employee first works an hour for which he is paid or entitled to payment by the state. If any employee resigns or is terminated for cause and he is subsequently reemployed within twelve months, the period between his severance from service date and the date of his reemployment shall be included in his vesting service, except that if he resigns or is terminated for cause during a period of absence from service for other reasons, as aforesaid, vesting service shall be recognized for the period from his severance from service date to the date of his reemployment only if he is reemployed within twelve months of the first day of such absence. A break in service shall occur if an employee is not reemployed within one year after a severance from service date. A permanent break in service occurs if there has been a break in service, the employee is not vested under section 5-192o, and the period from his severance from service date to his reemployment commencement date equals or exceeds his vesting service prior to his severance from service date. In the event of a permanent break in service, any period prior to the permanent break in service shall be excluded from the employee's vesting service. In the event of a break in service which is not permanent, any period prior to such break in service shall be included in the employee's vesting service.

(b) If an employee is absent from the service of the state because of service in the armed forces of the United States and if he returns to the service of the state within ninety days after becoming entitled to release from active duty in the armed forces or after hospitalization continuing after discharge for a period of not more than one year, such absence shall not count as a break in service. The period of any such absence shall be considered as vesting service.

(c) A period during which an employee is on a leave of absence approved by the state or otherwise granted pursuant to the terms of the appropriate collective bargaining agreement shall not be considered as a break in service. No vesting service shall be granted for such a period except as specifically indicated in this section.

(d) Any teacher, as defined in section 10-183b, in state service who is employed for a full academic year, equivalent to at least ten months credited service, shall be deemed to be employed for the entire year. Any such teacher who has completed the work obligations of his appointment period and who retires after May first, but before September first, shall receive, upon retirement, credit for the entire appointment year and the remaining biweekly payments due for the entire appointment year, together with any amounts held back previously.

(e) A member who is or has been granted a leave of absence without pay to pursue a course of study which is connected with the work of the agency and which is for the purpose of increasing his proficiency in his position may count up to four years of the period of the leave as vesting service and such leave shall in no event be treated as a severance from service.

(f) If an employee is absent from the service of the state due to a work-related injury or disease for which periodic workers' compensation cash benefits are payable, the period of such absence shall not count as a break in service and shall be considered vesting service.

(g) In no event will more than one year of vesting service be granted for any twelve calendar months.

(h) Subject to the requirements indicated in this subsection, vesting service may include employment with another state or states. A member of the tier II plan who has been in the active full-time employment of another state or states for some past period or periods for which he has received and will receive no retirement benefit or pension shall receive vesting service for such period or periods, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate, provided the state or states in which such service was rendered make similar provision for former employees of this state. If such member had received a lump sum payment, other than his contributions and interest thereon, from such other state or states in lieu of a retirement benefit, he shall not be eligible to receive credit under this subsection. When a person who has gained credit for such prior service retires, not more than one year of such out-of-state service may be counted for each two years of state service.

(i) A member who served as a member of the General Assembly shall receive vesting service for such periods of service, subject to the provisions of subsections (a) and (g) of this section.

(j) Subject to the requirements of this subsection, vesting service shall also include service in time of war, as defined in section 27-103, and up to three years of national emergency service, as defined by law, for normal, hazardous duty and early retirements. A member of the tier II plan who has performed service in time of war or national emergency service may receive vesting service for the period of such service, provided the member who has performed such service has not received and will not receive a pension for such period or periods, and provided further that such vesting service shall not exceed ten years in the aggregate. To receive such service credit, a member shall apply to the Retirement Commission within one year of his commencement of state service or within one year of June 22, 1992, whichever is later.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 25, 54; P.A. 85-502, S. 6, 9; 85-510, S. 26, 35; P.A. 92-226, S. 2, 28.)

History: P.A. 85-502 added Subsec. (i) providing that a member who served as a member of the general assembly shall receive vesting service for such periods of service, subject to the provisions of Subsecs. (a) and (g); P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision that in the event of a break in service which is not permanent, any period prior to such break in service shall be included in the employee's vesting service; P.A. 92-226 added Subsec. (j) re vesting service for service in time of war and national emergency service.

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-192j. Credited service. (a) All vesting service rendered on or after October 1, 1982, by a member of the tier II plan shall be credited service under the plan. Any period of absence recognized as service under subsection (b) or (e) of section 5-192i, shall, however, be excluded from an employee's credited service unless it is included under subsection (b) of this section. Any period between a severance from service date and a reemployment date which is recognized as vesting service under subsection (a) of section 5-192i shall be excluded from credited service.

(b) Credited service shall include any period of service in the armed forces of the United States which is included in a member's vesting service pursuant to subsection (b) of section 5-192i, except that no credit shall be given hereunder for any military service beyond a total period of the employee's compulsory service, if any, plus three years.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, any vesting service granted pursuant to subsections (h) and (i) of section 5-192i shall also be included as credited service, provided the requirements of the applicable subsection are met.

(d) Subject to the requirements of this subsection, credited service shall also include war service, as defined in section 27-103, and up to three years of national emergency service, as defined by law, for normal, hazardous duty and early retirements. A member of the tier II plan who has performed war service or national emergency service may receive credited service for the period of such service, provided the member who has performed such service has not received and will not receive a pension for such period or periods, and provided further that such credited service not exceed ten years in the aggregate. To receive such service credit, a member shall apply to the Retirement Commission within one year of his commencement of state service.

(e) Credited service shall include any period of municipal service while a member of the Connecticut municipal employees' retirement system, provided the tier II member claiming credit for such service (1) has at least ten years of vesting service under the tier II plan, and (2) has not received and will not receive any retirement allowance from the municipal system for such years of municipal service.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 26, 54; P.A. 85-502, S. 7, 9; 85-510, S. 29, 35.)

History: P.A. 85-502 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that vesting service granted pursuant to Sec. 5-192i(i) shall be included as credited service and made technical change; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (d) to provide that credited service shall also include “up to three years of national emergency service, as defined by law,” and to make technical changes and added Subsec. (e) re credit for municipal service while a member of the Connecticut municipal employees' retirement system.

Sec. 5-192k. Part-time employees; eligibility; computation of benefits. (a) For purposes of determining eligibility for benefits for part-time employees under sections 5-192l, 5-192m, 5-192o and 5-192p, a member's part-time service shall be treated as full-time service.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 27, 54.)

Sec. 5-192l. Normal retirement. (a) Each member of tier II who has attained age sixty-five and has completed ten or more years of vesting service may retire on his own application on the first day of any future month named in the application. Benefits shall be payable from that date provided the member is no longer in state employment.

(b) Each member of tier II who has attained age seventy and has completed five or more years of vesting service shall be retired on the first day of the month coincident with or, otherwise, immediately following his seventieth birthday, except as provided in subsection (e) of this section.

(c) Each member of tier II referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to one-twelfth of one and one-third per cent of his final average earnings plus one-half of one per cent of his final average earnings in excess of the year's breakpoint, the sum multiplied by the number of years of his credited service and fractions thereof. The year's breakpoint for a member shall be conclusively determined based upon the calendar year in which occurred the last severance from service of the member. If a member has more than one severance from service date due to reemployment, such reemployment cannot result in a smaller benefit than would have been payable had he not been reemployed. Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, to the contrary, if a member's date of retirement, disability, death or termination occurs in the first six months of any calendar year, his monthly retirement income shall in no event be less than that which would have been payable had his date of retirement, disability, death or termination occurred as of December thirty-first of the prior year, and had his final average earnings, credited service, and breakpoint been determined as of that date. No retroactive payments shall be paid because of such minimum, and his actual date of retirement, disability, death or termination shall be utilized for all other purposes of the tier II plan.

(d) For each member referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section who has completed twenty-five or more years of vesting service, the monthly retirement income shall be the greater of the amount calculated under subsection (c) of this section or (1) if retirement occurs before July 1, 1983, $200; (2) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1983, and on or before June 30, 1984, $220; (3) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1984, and on or before June 30, 1985, $240; (4) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1985, and on or before June 30, 1986, $260; (5) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1986, and on or before June 30, 1987, $280; (6) if on or after July 1, 1987, $300.

(e) Retirement on the first day of the month on or after the member's seventieth birthday is mandatory regardless of whether he is eligible for a retirement income under this section except:

(1) A department head, as defined in section 4-5, or any commissioner appointed to office in the executive branch by the Governor with or without the approval of the General Assembly or either branch thereof, who reaches his retirement date, namely, the first day of the month on or after his seventieth birthday, during the term for which he is appointed, may continue in office after such retirement date until the expiration of such term. Any such person who had reached such date prior to his reappointment as such commissioner may serve for the term for which he is so reappointed.

(2) A member who has reached the retirement age of seventy may be continued in his position in state service, if such continuation is approved by the Commissioner of Administrative Services. The appointing authority requesting such continuation shall certify in writing to the Commissioner of Administrative Services that the continuation is desirable for the efficient conduct of the state's business and that the member is able and qualified to perform the work required. Approval by the Commissioner of Administrative Services of such continuation shall be for a period of one year, which may be renewed by said commissioner upon request by the appointing authority.

(3) A member who is a teacher, instructor, principal, superintendent, or supervisor employed by the State Board of Education or any state institution, and who has reached the retirement age of seventy may be continued in his position of state service to the end of the fiscal year in which his seventieth birthday falls, without the approval of the Commissioner of Administrative Services.

(4) A department head, head of an institution, or administrator of a state fund may be continued as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection. A continuation of such employee beyond the age of seventy-three shall be requested by the appointing authority in writing and shall require the approval of the Governor.

(5) A duly appointed and acting messenger or assistant messenger of any constituent court of the Judicial Department who has reached his retirement age of seventy may be reemployed, pursuant to section 51-78, in the service of the court in which he has been a messenger at the salary paid him at the time of his retirement. Such reemployment shall continue until such time as the judges of said court terminate the same. Subdivision (2) of this subsection does not apply to any such messenger.

(6) Except as provided in section 5-192v, the existing retirement rights of a member continued under this section after his retirement date shall not be affected by such continuation, and additional retirement rights shall accrue to him. The provisions of chapter 67 dealing with examinations, certifications, and appointments to and separations from the service shall not apply to any such member.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 28, 54.)

Sec. 5-192m. Early retirement. (a) Each member of tier II who has attained age fifty-five and has completed ten or more years of vesting service, shall be retired on his own application on the first day of any future month named in the application. Benefits shall be payable from that date provided the member is no longer in state employment.

(b) Each member referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to the benefit provided in subsection (c) of section 5-192l based on his final average earnings and credited service at the member's retirement date, but then permanently reduced by one-half of one per cent for each month his retirement precedes his attainment of age sixty-five.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, for each member referred to in subsection (a) of this section who has completed twenty-five or more years of vesting service, the monthly retirement income shall be the greater of the amount calculated under subsection (b) of this section or (1) if retirement occurs before July 1, 1983, $200; (2) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1983, and on or before June 30, 1984, $220; (3) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1984, and on or before June 30, 1985, $240; (4) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1985, and on or before June 30, 1986, $260; (5) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1986, and on or before June 30, 1987, $280; (6) if on or after July 1, 1987, $300.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 29, 54.)

Sec. 5-192n. Hazardous duty retirement. (a) Each “hazardous duty member” who has completed twenty-five years of credited service while a hazardous duty member may be retired on his own application on the first day of any future month named in the application. For this purpose, leaves of absence, military service, and any other period of nonstate employment which is included as credited service shall be deemed credited service while a hazardous duty member only if state employment as a hazardous duty member immediately precedes and immediately succeeds such period of nonstate employment.

(b) Each member referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall receive a monthly retirement income beginning on his retirement date equal to the greater of one-twelfth of two per cent of his final average earnings multiplied by his years of credited service whether while a hazardous duty member or otherwise or (1) if retirement occurs before July 1, 1983, $200; (2) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1983, and on or before June 30, 1984, $220; (3) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1984, and on or before June 30, 1985, $240; (4) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1985, and on or before June 30, 1986, $260; (5) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1986, and on or before June 30, 1987, $280; (6) if on or after July 1, 1987, $300.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 30, 54.)

Cited. 234 C. 424.

Sec. 5-192o. Deferred vested retirement. (a) A member of tier II who terminates before he is eligible for retirement, but after completing ten years of vesting service, shall be eligible for a vested retirement income calculated as described in subsection (c) of section 5-192l commencing upon reaching his sixty-fifth birthday. Alternatively, the member can elect to receive a retirement income commencing any time after his fifty-fifth birthday which is equal to the income that would be paid at age sixty-five, reduced by one-half of one per cent for each month the benefit commencement date precedes the member's sixty-fifth birthday.

(b) A member of tier II who has attained the age of seventy and completed at least five years of vesting service shall be vested in his retirement benefit under section 5-192l.

(c) A member of tier II who has completed twenty-five years of credited service while a hazardous duty member shall be vested in his retirement benefit under section 5-192n. For this purpose, leaves of absence, military service, and any other period of nonstate employment which is included as credited service shall be deemed credited service while a hazardous duty member only if state employment as a hazardous duty member immediately precedes and immediately succeeds such period of nonstate employment.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section, if the member had completed at least twenty-five years of vesting service at the time of termination, the retirement income actually payable at any time after the member's fifty-fifth birthday shall in no event be less than: (1) If retirement occurs before July 1, 1983, $200; (2) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1983, and on or before June 30, 1984, $220; (3) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1984, and on or before June 30, 1985, $240; (4) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1985, and on or before June 30, 1986, $260; (5) if retirement occurs on or after July 1, 1986, and on or before June 30, 1987, $280; (6) if on or after July 1, 1987, $300.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 31, 54.)

Sec. 5-192p. Disability retirement. (a) If a member of tier II, while in state service, becomes disabled as defined in subsection (b) of this section, prior to age sixty-five, he is eligible for disability retirement if the member has completed at least ten years of vested service. If a member of tier II, while in state service, becomes so disabled as a result of any injury received while in the performance of his duty as a state employee, he is eligible for disability retirement, regardless of his period of state service or his age.

(b) A member is disabled for the first twenty-four months if he is permanently unable to continue to render the service in which he has been employed. Disability retirement continues thereafter only if such member is totally disabled for any suitable and comparable job.

(c) The member who is eligible for disability retirement shall receive a monthly retirement income of one-twelfth of one and one-third per cent of final average earnings, plus one-half of one per cent of final average earnings in excess of the year's breakpoint, the sum multiplied by the greater of the credited service he would have at age sixty-five if he continued to work until that age, but limited to a maximum of thirty years, or his credited service earned to date of disability retirement.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the following maximum benefit limitation shall apply. In order to verify the operation of the maximums, it shall be a condition precedent to receipt of any disability benefits under this section that a member authorize the Social Security Administration to provide the Retirement Commission, on an ongoing basis, any information with regard to covered earnings or Social Security benefits payable. In the event both of the maximums indicated below apply, the lesser disability benefit shall be payable. Such maximums shall be subject to reexamination annually, as indicated in subsection (e) of this section.

(1) The disability benefit provided under this subsection shall not exceed (A) one hundred per cent of the member's final average earnings or the rate of salary of the member on date of disability, whichever is greater, less (B) any periodic cash benefit payments being made to a member under the Workers' Compensation Act, less (C) any federal disability Social Security benefits both primary and family paid on account of the member's Social Security earnings history, less (D) all outside earned salary or wages unless the Retirement Commission determines that such salary or wages are being paid as part of the rehabilitation of the disabled member. Any such determination that such earned salary or wages is for rehabilitation must be reapproved by the Retirement Commission no less frequently than every eighteen months, or the offset shall apply. The offset for workers' compensation and federal Social Security disability benefits shall apply when such benefits commence even if such benefits initially commence after the member's disability retirement date.

(2) The disability benefit provided under this subsection shall not exceed (A) eighty per cent of the greater of the member's final average earnings or the rate of salary of the member on the date of disability, less (B) any periodic cash benefit payments being made to a member under the Workers' Compensation Act, less (C) any federal disability Social Security benefits, both primary and family being paid on account of the member's Social Security earnings history. The offsets shall apply when such benefits commence even if such benefits initially commence after the member's disability retirement date.

(3) The offsets for workers' compensation and federal Social Security disability benefits shall be reduced by the amount of any attorney's fees a member incurs to obtain such benefits.

(e) As of each anniversary date of such retired employee, as provided in section 5-192s, the benefits provided under this section shall be subject to the following adjustments:

(1) The benefits provided in subsection (c) of this section shall be subject to the increase provided in section 5-192s;

(2) The net maximum benefit provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of this section shall be subject to the increase provided in section 5-192s;

(3) This subdivision shall apply only to the maximum benefit provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section which shall only be considered if the member has outside earned salary or wages. The salary as described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section shall be increased by the percentage compensation increase that would have applied to an employee in the position and “step” of the member at the date of disability had that employee continued to be employed and continued automatic progression to the maximum “step” for his classification. On the date of recomputation of the benefits, the offsets for workers' compensation and federal Social Security shall be increased by the lesser of that same percentage or the percentage increase granted under the cost-of-living provision of the Workers' Compensation Act and the Social Security Act respectively. This offset amount shall be adjusted to reflect any change in these benefits other than those resulting from the cost-of-living provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act. In no case will the offset be greater than the actual benefits paid. Outside earned salary or wages shall reflect actual amounts earned during the preceding calendar year. In no event shall the application of this subdivision and subdivision (1) of subsection (d) of this section result in an income from all sources that would be less than the income that would have been paid had the member remained in state service and progressed to the maximum “step” for his classification;

(4) Except as specifically indicated in the preceding subdivision (3) of this subsection, the maximum disability income determined under subsection (d) of this section will not be affected, when the workers' compensation benefits or the Social Security benefits are increased by cost-of-living provisions in the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act; and

(5) The maximum disability income under subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of this section will be recalculated if either the workers' compensation benefits or the Social Security benefits are decreased or discontinued. Any such recalculated maximum shall not reflect any increases arising after the initial application of the offset because of the cost-of-living provisions in the Workers' Compensation Act or the Social Security Act except as specifically indicated in subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(f) The board of physicians appointed pursuant to section 5-169 shall be utilized for purposes of determination of any applicant's entitlement.

(g) No reconsideration of a decision concerning eligibility for a disability retirement allowance or the prior discontinuance of such allowance shall be made by the board unless a member, upon application to the board for a redetermination, discloses additional facts concerning his condition at the date of termination of employment or at the time of discontinuance as appropriate.

(h) Retirement income being paid for disability retirement shall be discontinued if the member recovers from such disability prior to reaching what would have been his normal retirement date. In such event, such member shall receive credit for both vesting and credited service purposes for the years he was disabled, subject to a maximum total credit of thirty years or actual years of service to date of disability, whichever is greater. Unless such member has been reemployed, he shall then be deemed to have retired on normal or early retirement, if eligible, or retain a vested right to a deferred pension, if eligible.

(i) If a member is entitled to disability compensation under section 5-142 such member shall continue to earn vesting service and credited service, provided such member has not retired. After retirement, if benefits continue to be payable under section 5-142, the disability retirement benefits under this section shall be payable only if larger. In such event, the benefits under this section shall be temporarily reduced by the amount of benefits payable under section 5-142 for the period of receipt of benefits under section 5-142.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 32, 54; P.A. 84-411, S. 7, 8; P.A. 85-510, S. 18, 35; P.A. 05-208, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 84-411 amended Subsec. (c) to clarify that monthly income is based on “one-twelfth” of 1.33% of final average earnings; P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting provision that a member who becomes disabled prior to age 65 is eligible for disability retirement if the disability was a result of an injury received in the performance of his duty as a state employee, or the member has completed at least 10 years of vested service and substituting provisions that a member who becomes disabled prior to age 65 is eligible for disability retirement if the member has completed at least 10 years of state service, and a member who becomes disabled as a result of an injury received in the performance of his duty as a state employee is eligible for disability retirement, regardless of his period of state service or his age; P.A. 05-208 amended Subsec. (d) by making a technical change and adding new Subdiv. (3) requiring offsets for workers' compensation and Social Security benefits to be reduced by attorney's fees incurred to obtain those benefits, effective July 1, 2005.

See Sec. 18-101e re calculation of disability retirement income for correction officers upon designation of extraordinary circumstances.

Benefits paid pursuant to section are in the nature of retirement benefits and not disability benefits. 262 C. 746. Re distribution under Sec. 46b-81, retirement benefit attributable to years of service constitutes marital property while benefits attributable to disability suffered after marriage was dissolved do not constitute marital property. 292 C. 597.

Sec. 5-192q. Optional forms of retirement income. (a) A member of tier II may elect one of the following optional forms for retirement income by filing with the Retirement Commission a written election on a form provided by the commission. A member who has been married at least one year will be presumed to elect the option offered under subdivision (1) of this subsection unless a contrary election is made by the member. All other members will be presumed to elect the option offered under subdivision (4) of this subsection unless a contrary election is made by the member. Any election or change of election must be filed before retirement income payments begin. No option shall be effective until a member has retired, and in the event a member dies prior to the date benefits would have commenced, any election of an option shall be deemed cancelled except as provided in subsection (c) of section 5-192r. The amount of income that will be paid under the options will be determined by multiplying the retirement income as determined under sections 5-192l to 5-192p, inclusive, as applicable, by the actuarially equivalent option factors last adopted by the Retirement Commission. Such factors shall be identical to those provided under section 5-165 unless the Retirement Commission shall determine otherwise. The factors may be periodically adjusted upward or downward by the Retirement Commission to reflect changing interest, mortality, or election of option patterns, provided that they shall be reviewed and adjusted by January 1, 1985. Any such changes shall apply only to members whose benefits commence after the effective date of adoption of such factors. The retirement options are as follows: (1) A reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that after his death his spouse, if surviving, shall be entitled to receive a lifetime income equal to fifty per cent of the reduced monthly amount payable to the member; (2) a reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that after his death, his contingent annuitant shall be entitled to receive a lifetime income equal to either fifty or one hundred per cent of the reduced amount payable to the member; (3) a reduced amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with the provision that if he shall die within either a ten or twenty-year period following the date his retirement income commences, whichever is selected by the member, the reduced amount continues to his contingent annuitant for the balance of the ten or twenty-year period, respectively; or (4) an amount payable to the member for his lifetime, with no payments continuing after the member's death.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a temporary minimum shall apply whenever the Retirement Commission adopts revised factors which could result in a smaller benefit to a member than would have been payable under the previously existing factors. Such minimum shall be determined as follows: (1) The benefit the member had earned as of the date of the change in factors shall be calculated, based on his final average earnings and credited service or based on his vesting service as of that date; (2) any early retirement reduction in such benefit shall be based upon his age as determined on the date benefits will commence, and his type of retirement; and (3) the option factor shall be determined utilizing the factors in effect prior to such change, but based on appropriate ages as of the date benefits will commence. If such minimum results in a larger benefit, the larger benefit shall be payable.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 33, 54.)

Sec. 5-192r. Spouse's allowance; preretirement death benefits. (a) If a member of tier II who is continuing to earn vesting service or who is on a leave authorized by the state or otherwise granted pursuant to the terms of the appropriate collective bargaining agreement, dies after either (1) completion of the age and service requirements for retirement under section 5-192l, 5-192m or 5-192n, or (2) completion of twenty-five years of vesting service, his spouse, provided they have been lawfully married for at least the twelve months preceding his death, shall receive a lifetime income in an amount equal to fifty per cent of the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to if he had retired the day he died, and had his benefit been paid under the option specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 5-192q. If such member was not eligible to retire at the time of his death, such benefit shall be calculated as if he had reached age fifty-five, but based on his credited service and final average earnings at his date of death. The first payment shall be made as of the first day of the month coincident with or, otherwise, next following his date of death.

(b) If a member who has either terminated with at least twenty-five years of service or retired pursuant to section 5-192l, 5-192m or 5-192n, but whose benefits in either event are being deferred, dies prior to the commencement date of his benefits, his spouse, provided they have been lawfully married for at least the twelve months preceding his death, shall receive a lifetime income equal to fifty per cent of the retirement income that the member would have been entitled to if his benefits had commenced the day he died, with such benefits being paid under the option specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 5-192q. If such member had not reached age fifty-five at the date of his death, such benefit shall be calculated as if he had reached age fifty-five. The first payment shall be made as of the first day of the month coincident with or, otherwise, next following his date of death.

(c) If a member who has completed the age and service requirements for retirement under section 5-192l, 5-192m or 5-192n and who has elected to receive his retirement benefits under subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 5-192q, dies prior to the effective date of commencement of benefits but within ninety days after he first elects to receive his retirement benefits under either of said subdivisions, then his beneficiary or contingent annuitant shall receive an income in an amount equal to the benefit that would have been payable to the survivor had the member retired the day he died and had his benefit been paid under the option he had elected at the time of his death. This subsection shall not apply after ninety days after the date the member first elects to receive his benefit under either of said subdivisions. In the event that income payments to a surviving beneficiary or contingent annuitant are payable under this subsection, such payments shall be in lieu of payments under subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 34, 54.)

Sec. 5-192s. Tier II cost of living adjustment. Each member who has retired under the tier II plan and who is receiving benefits, each spouse or contingent annuitant receiving income under an option specified in section 5-192q, and each spouse or contingent annuitant receiving benefits under section 5-192r, shall be eligible for an annual three per cent cost-of-living allowance increase commencing on the first anniversary date following the completion of nine months of retirement. Such cost-of-living allowance increase shall be computed on the basis of the retirement allowance to which such employee was entitled on the day preceding his latest anniversary date. The anniversary date of such employee shall be the first day of January or the first day of July following completion of nine months after the effective date of retirement. If the member was not covered by Social Security, for at least half of the period of his vesting service and the member, spouse, or contingent annuitant receiving benefits has attained age sixty-two, the cost-of-living allowance increase shall be six per cent. If on any applicable anniversary date, the Retirement Commission determines that the National Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the previous twelve-month period has increased less than the cost-of-living allowance increase provided by this section, the cost-of-living allowance increase shall be equal to the percentage change in such index, provided such cost-of-living allowance increase shall not be less than three per cent. In addition, a member's benefit may be increased by the Retirement Commission as provided in subsection (b) of section 5-162h. If a member's benefit under section 5-192p is changed under subsection (f) of said section, the new benefit will be increased by all the cost-of-living allowances that had applied to the member's previous benefit.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 35, 54.)

Sec. 5-192t. Survivorship benefits. (a) No member of the tier II plan, other than any member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, shall be entitled to benefits under section 5-144 or sections 5-146 to 5-151, inclusive. Survivorship benefits shall be paid only as provided in section 5-192r and in this section.

(b) If any member of tier II other than a state police officer sustains an injury while acting within the scope of his employment, which injury is not the result of his own wilful or wanton act, and dies as a result of such injury, and a spouse and a dependent child or children under eighteen years of age survive him, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars shall be paid in equal monthly installments over a period of not less than ten years to such employee's spouse, provided any such payments shall terminate on the death or remarriage of such spouse within said ten-year period, and fifty dollars a month shall be paid for each dependent child under eighteen years of age, payable to such spouse or the guardian of such child or children until such child or children reach eighteen years of age. If such employee leaves a spouse and no child or children under eighteen years of age, the sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be paid in equal monthly installments over a period of not less than ten years, to such spouse, provided any such payments shall terminate on the death or remarriage of such spouse within such ten-year period. If such employee leaves no spouse and no child or children under eighteen years of age but leaves a parent or parents dependent upon him, the sum of fifty thousand dollars shall be paid to such employee's parent or parents in equal monthly installments over a period of not less than ten years, provided, on the death of one such parent, the surviving parent shall continue to receive the entire monthly payments under the provisions of this section and provided such payments shall cease on the death of both such parents during such ten-year period.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 36, 54; P.A. 85-510, S. 9, 35; P.A. 98-263, S. 11, 21; P.A. 11-51, S. 134.)

History: P.A. 85-510 amended Subsec. (a) to except members of the division of state police from the provision that no member of tier II shall be entitled to benefits under Sec. 5-144 or Secs. 5-146 to 5-151, inclusive, and to delete phrase “nor shall any such member be required to contribute as provided in section 5-148” (repealed by P.A. 85-510); P.A. 98-263 amended Subsec. (b) to increase benefits payable to surviving spouse, dependent children and dependent parents over ten-year rather than five-year period, effective July 1, 1998, and applicable to any death occurring on or after January 1, 1998; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011.

Sec. 5-192u. Tier II member contributions not required. No contributions are required of members of the tier II plan for their retirement benefits.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 37, 54.)

Sec. 5-192v. Retirement credit of reemployed retired members. (a) Any person who has retired from the service of the state under any provision of the tier II plan and who is reemployed on a permanent basis shall resume membership in the tier II plan and shall receive credit for service for the period of such reemployment.

(b) No member reemployed under this section or otherwise reentering state service shall receive a retirement income during such member's reemployment or other state service except (1) if such member's services are rendered for not more than ninety working days in any one calendar year, provided that any member reemployed for a period of more than ninety working days in one calendar year shall reimburse the state retirement fund for retirement income payments received during such ninety working days; (2) if such member's services are as a member of the General Assembly, such member's retirement income payments shall not be suspended; or (3) if such member's preretirement services which counted towards such member's retirement are other than as a special deputy sheriff pursuant to chapter 78, and if such member's postretirement services are as a special deputy sheriff or, on and after December 1, 2000, as a judicial marshal, and such member was employed as a special deputy sheriff on July 1, 1999.

(c) Upon the subsequent retirement of a member who has been reemployed, his retirement income shall be recomputed on the basis of his total period of credited service, excluding any period for which a retirement income was paid under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (b) of this section, and with his final average earnings recomputed on the basis of his three highest-paid years of his total state service. Notwithstanding the above, his retirement income upon such subsequent retirement shall not be less than his original retirement income as increased by any cost-of-living adjustments which occurred or would have occurred but for his reemployment after such original retirement.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 38, 54; P.A. 97-148, S. 3, 8; P.A. 00-99, S. 147, 154.)

History: P.A. 97-148 amended Subsec. (b) to exclude special deputy sheriffs whose postretirement services are as a special deputy sheriff, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-99 amended Subsec. (b) by extending exception for service as special deputy sheriff to service as a judicial marshal on and after December 1, 2000, and making technical changes, effective December 1, 2000.

Sec. 5-192w. Assignment prohibited. Any assignment by a member or beneficiary of any amount payable to either under the terms of sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, shall be null and void. Each such payment shall be for the support of the member or beneficiary entitled thereto and shall be exempt from the claims of creditors of such member and beneficiary. If the provisions of this section are contrary to the law governing a particular circumstance, then, as to that circumstance, any payment shall be exempt to the maximum extent permitted by law.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 39, 54.)

Sec. 5-192x. Minor and incompetent payees. If the payee for any payment under sections 5-192e to 5-192x, inclusive, is a minor or if the Retirement Commission finds that any payee is legally incapable of giving a valid receipt and discharge for any payment due him, the Comptroller may, upon the advice of the Retirement Commission, make the payment, or any part thereof, to the person or persons whom the Retirement Commission finds to be caring for and supporting the payee, unless the Retirement Commission has received due notice of claim from a duly appointed guardian or committee of the payee. A payment so made shall be a complete discharge of the obligations of the state to the extent of and as to that payment, and the state shall have no obligations regarding the application of the payment.

(P.A. 83-533, S. 40, 54.)

Secs. 5-192y to 5-192mm. Reserved for future use.