2006 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 354A. TEACHERS RETIREMENT, CERTAIN CITIES

354A.01 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.011 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Terms. For purposes of this chapter, unless the language or context clearly
indicates that a different meaning is intended, the following terms shall have the meanings
ascribed to them.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1992 c 598 art 6 s 22]
    Subd. 3. Accumulated contributions. "Accumulated contributions" means the total of
member or employee contributions made by salary deductions and assessments or payments made
in lieu of salary deductions, if authorized, which are credited by the teachers retirement fund
association to the member's individual account.
    Subd. 3a. Actuarial equivalent. "Actuarial equivalent" means the condition of one annuity
or benefit having an equal actuarial present value as another annuity or benefit, determined as of
a given date with each actuarial present value based on the appropriate mortality table adopted
by the appropriate board of trustees based on the experience of that retirement fund association
as recommended by the actuary retained under section 356.214, and approved under section
356.215, subdivision 18, and using the applicable preretirement or postretirement interest rate
assumption specified in section 356.215, subdivision 8.
    Subd. 4. Allowable service. "Allowable service" means any service rendered by a teacher
during a period in which the teacher receives salary from which employee contribution salary
deductions are made to and credited by the teachers retirement fund association, any service
rendered by a person during any period where assessments or payments in lieu of salary deductions
were made if authorized by any law or provision of the association's articles of incorporation or
bylaws then in effect or pursuant to section 354A.091, 354A.092, 354A.093, or 354A.094.
    Subd. 5. Annuity. "Annuity" means the payments made by a teachers retirement fund
association in the form of a retirement annuity or an optional annuity.
    Subd. 6. Approved actuary. "Approved actuary" means any actuary who is either a fellow
of the society of actuaries or who has at least 15 years of service to major public employee
retirement funds or any firm which retains such an actuary on its staff.
    Subd. 7. Association. "Association" or "teachers retirement fund association" means the
applicable teachers retirement fund association established pursuant to this chapter.
    Subd. 7a. Average salary. "Average salary," for purposes of computing a normal coordinated
program retirement annuity under section 354A.31, subdivision 4 or 4a, means an amount equal
to the average salary upon which contributions were made for the highest five successive years
of service credit but may not, in any event, include any more than the equivalent of 60 monthly
salary payments. Average salary must be based upon all years of service credit if this service
credit is less than five years.
    Subd. 8. Basic member. "Basic member" means any member of the teachers retirement fund
association who is not covered by any agreement or modification made between the state and the
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.
    Subd. 9. Benefit. "Benefit" means the allowance paid or payable by the teachers retirement
fund association to a surviving spouse, designated beneficiary, surviving child or estate or in
periodic payments to a member or former member who is permanently and totally disabled.
    Subd. 10. Board. "Board" means the board of trustees of a teachers retirement fund
association.
    Subd. 11. Coordinated member. "Coordinated member" means any member of the teachers
retirement fund association who is covered by any agreement or modification made between the
state and the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare making the provisions of the federal Old
Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Act applicable to certain teachers except in the case of a
member of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association, in which it means additionally
that the member either first became a member prior to July 1, 1981, and elected to be covered by
the new law coordinated program of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association or first
became a member on or subsequent to July 1, 1981.
    Subd. 12. Coordinated service. "Coordinated service" means the allowable service credited
by the respective teachers retirement fund association for which the member was covered by
the coordinated program of the association.
    Subd. 12a. Dependent child. "Dependent child" means any biological or adopted child of a
deceased member who has not reached the age of 20 and is dependent on the member for more
than one-half of the child's support at the time of the member's death. It also means a child of the
member conceived during the member's lifetime and born after the member's death.
    Subd. 13. Designated beneficiary. "Designated beneficiary" means the person designated by
a member or retiree of a teachers retirement fund association to receive the benefits to which a
beneficiary is entitled under this chapter. A beneficiary designation is valid only if it is made on an
appropriate form provided by the executive director and the properly completed form is received
by the fund postmarked on or before the date of death of the retiree or member. If a retiree or
member does not designate such a person or if the person designated predeceases the retiree or
member, beneficiary in such cases means the estate of the deceased retiree or member.
    Subd. 14. Disability. "Disability" or "permanent and total disability" means the inability of a
member to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable
physical or mental impairment which can be expected to be of long continued and indefinite
duration which shall in no event be less than one year.
    Subd. 14a. District; school district. "District" or "school district" means the employing
school district or the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
    Subd. 15. Member. "Member" for purposes of entitlement to annuities or benefits pursuant
to sections 354A.31 to 354A.41 and any other applicable provisions of this chapter means every
teacher who is engaged in teaching service and who under section 354A.05 contributes to the
respective teachers retirement fund association and who has not retired. "Member" for purposes
of determining who may participate in the organization and governance of the teachers retirement
fund association, including the eligibility to elect members of and to serve as a member of the
board of trustees, means every teacher who joins and contributes to the respective teachers
retirement fund association and any other person designated as a member by the articles of
incorporation or the bylaws of the respective teachers retirement fund association.
    Subd. 15a. Normal retirement age. "Normal retirement age" means age 65 for a person
who first became a member of the coordinated program of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement
Fund Association or the new law coordinated program of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund
Association or a member of a pension fund listed in section 356.30, subdivision 3, before July
1, 1989. For a person who first became a member of the coordinated program of the St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association or the new law coordinated program of the Duluth
Teachers Retirement Fund Association after June 30, 1989, normal retirement age means the
higher of age 65 or retirement age, as defined in United States Code, title 42, section 416(l), as
amended, but not to exceed age 66. For a person who is a member of the basic program of the St.
Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association or the old law coordinated program of the Duluth
Teachers Retirement Fund Association, normal retirement age means the age at which a teacher
becomes eligible for a normal retirement annuity computed upon meeting the age and service
requirements specified in the applicable provisions of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of
the respective teachers retirement fund association.
    Subd. 16. Normal retirement annuity. "Normal retirement annuity" means for a coordinated
member the retirement annuity computed pursuant to section 354A.31, subdivision 4, and paid
or payable to a member upon meeting the age and service requirements specified in section
354A.31, subdivision 5, and for a basic member the retirement annuity computed pursuant to
and paid or payable to a member upon meeting the age and service requirements specified in
the applicable provisions of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the respective teachers
retirement fund association.
    Subd. 17. Optional survivors annuity. "Optional survivors annuity" means the payments
made by the teachers retirement fund association to a survivor of a former member pursuant to an
actuarial equivalent optional annuity form established by the applicable board of trustees under
section 354A.32 and selected by the member at or before retirement.
    Subd. 18. Other than normal school operating funds. "Other than normal school operating
funds" means funds other than those generated as proceeds of property tax levies, state school
maintenance cost aids distributed in accordance with statute, state aid to distressed school
districts, proceeds from federal forest reserve lands, state transportation aids, receipts from tuition
paid by persons or other school districts, any rental charges received, and any other moneys
appropriated by the legislature.
    Subd. 19. Program. "Program" means a separate component plan of a teachers retirement
fund association providing a specific set of retirement annuities and disability and survivor
benefits for a defined portion of the covered membership of the association.
    Subd. 20. Reduced retirement annuity. "Reduced retirement annuity" means for a
coordinated member the retirement annuity computed pursuant to section 354A.31, subdivision 4,
reduced pursuant to section 354A.31, subdivision 6 or 7, and paid or payable to a member upon
meeting the minimum age and service requirements specified in section 354A.31, subdivision 1,
but prior to meeting the age and service requirements specified in section 354A.31, subdivision
5 , and for a basic member the retirement annuity computed pursuant to and paid or payable
to a member upon meeting the minimum age and service requirements specified in but prior
to meeting the age and service requirements for a normal retirement annuity specified in the
applicable provisions of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the respective teachers
retirement fund association.
    Subd. 21. Retirement. "Retirement" means the time after the date of cessation of active
teaching service by a teacher who is thereafter entitled to an accrued retirement annuity
commencing as designated by the board of trustees and payable pursuant to an application for
an annuity filed with the board. The applicable provisions of law, articles of incorporation and
bylaws in effect on the date of cessation of active teaching service thereafter determine the
rights of the person.
    Subd. 22. Retirement annuity. "Retirement annuity" means the payments made by a
teachers retirement fund association to a retired teacher.
    Subd. 23. Sabbatical leave. "Sabbatical leave" means an authorized leave of absence period
during which the member is compensated at a rate of not less than one-third of the salary which
the member received during the plan year immediately preceding the granting of the leave.
    Subd. 24. Salary; covered salary. (a) Subject to the limitations of section 356.611, "salary"
or "covered salary" means the entire compensation, upon which member contributions are
required and made, that is paid to a teacher before deductions for deferred compensation,
supplemental retirement plans, or other voluntary salary reduction programs.
(b) "Salary" does not mean:
(1) lump sum annual leave payments;
(2) lump sum wellness and sick leave payments;
(3) employer-paid amounts used by an employee toward the cost of insurance coverage,
employer-paid fringe benefits, flexible spending accounts, cafeteria plans, health care expense
accounts, day care expenses, or any payments in lieu of any employer-paid group insurance
coverage, including the difference between single and family rates that may be paid to a member
with single coverage, and certain amounts determined by the executive secretary or director
to be ineligible;
(4) any form of payment that is made in lieu of any other employer-paid fringe benefit
or expense;
(5) any form of severance payments;
(6) workers' compensation payments;
(7) disability insurance payments, including self-insured disability payments;
(8) payments to school principals and all other administrators for services that are in addition
to the normal work year contract if these additional services are performed on an extended duty
day, Saturday, Sunday, holiday, annual leave day, sick leave day, or any other nonduty day;
(9) payments under section 356.24, subdivision 1, clause (4)(ii); and
(10) payments made under section 122A.40, subdivision 12, except for payments for sick
leave that are accumulated under the provisions of a uniform school district policy that applies
equally to all similarly situated persons in the district.
(c) Amounts provided to an employee by the employer through a grievance proceeding or a
legal settlement are salary only if the settlement is reviewed by the executive director and the
amounts are determined by the executive director to be consistent with paragraph (a) and prior
determinations.
    Subd. 25. Service. "Service" means all allowable service credited by the teachers retirement
fund association, irrespective of whether the member at the time was covered by the basic
program or by the coordinated program.
    Subd. 26. Spouse. "Spouse" means the person who was legally married to the member
immediately prior to the member's death.
    Subd. 27. Teacher. (a) "Teacher" means any person who renders service for a public school
district, other than a charter school, located in the corporate limits of Duluth or St. Paul, as
any of the following:
(1) a full-time employee in a position for which a valid license from the state Department of
Education is required;
(2) an employee of the teachers retirement fund association located in the city of the first
class unless the employee has exercised the option pursuant to Laws 1955, chapter 10, section 1,
to retain membership in the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund established pursuant to
chapter 422A;
(3) a part-time employee in a position for which a valid license from the state Department
of Education is required; or
(4) a part-time employee in a position for which a valid license from the state Department of
Education is required who also renders other nonteaching services for the school district, unless
the board of trustees of the teachers retirement fund association determines that the combined
employment is on the whole so substantially dissimilar to teaching service that the service may
not be covered by the association.
(b) The term does not mean any person who renders service in the school district as any of
the following:
(1) an independent contractor or the employee of an independent contractor;
(2) an employee who is a full-time teacher covered by the Teachers Retirement Association or
by another teachers retirement fund association established pursuant to this chapter or chapter 354;
(3) an employee exempt from licensure pursuant to section 122A.30;
(4) an employee who is a teacher in a technical college located in a city of the first class
unless the person elects coverage by the applicable first class city teacher retirement fund
association under section 354B.21, subdivision 2;
(5) a teacher employed by a charter school, irrespective of the location of the school; or
(6) an employee who is a part-time teacher in a technical college in a city of the first class
and who has elected coverage by the applicable first class city teacher retirement fund association
under section 354B.21, subdivision 2, but (i) the teaching service is incidental to the regular
nonteaching occupation of the person; (ii) the applicable technical college stipulates annually
in advance that the part-time teaching service will not exceed 300 hours in a fiscal year; and
(iii) the part-time teaching actually does not exceed 300 hours in the fiscal year to which the
certification applies.
    Subd. 28. Teaching service. "Teaching service" means any service as a teacher performed by
any person included within the definition of teacher.
History: 1979 c 217 s 1; 1980 c 609 art 5 s 22; 1981 c 224 s 131; 1981 c 269 s 1; 1981 c
298 s 11; 1983 c 286 s 9; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1987 c 259 s 46,47; 1989 c 246 s 2; 1989 c 319 art
13 s 71,72; 1990 c 570 art 12 s 45; 1991 c 269 art 2 s 11; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 1-10; 1993 c 336
art 1 s 1; art 6 s 16; 1994 c 508 art 1 s 5; 1994 c 542 s 1; 1995 c 141 art 4 s 4,5; 1Sp1995 c 3
art 16 s 13; 1997 c 233 art 3 s 1; 1998 c 397 art 11 s 3; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 19; art 6 s 10,21;
2002 c 392 art 6 s 2; art 11 s 52; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6 s 5; 2004 c 267 art 2 s 5;
1Sp2005 c 8 art 1 s 19,20; art 3 s 5; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 11,12

354A.02 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.021 TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATIONS IN CITIES OF THE
FIRST CLASS.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. There is established a teachers retirement fund association
in each of the cities of Duluth and St. Paul. The associations shall be known respectively as the
"Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association" and the "St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association." Each association shall be a continuation of the teachers retirement fund association
with the same corporate name established pursuant to the authorization contained in Laws 1909,
chapter 343, section 1.
    Subd. 2. Organization. Each teachers retirement fund association shall be organized and
governed pursuant to this chapter and chapter 317A, except that each association shall be
deemed to be a nonprofit corporation without coming within the definition in section 317A.011,
subdivision 6 . Any corporate action of any teachers retirement fund association taken prior to
April 9, 1976, shall be deemed to be valid if it conformed with Minnesota Statutes 1976, chapter
317 or 354A, or Revised Laws 1905, chapter 58, as amended through April 9, 1976.
    Subd. 3. Fund. Within each teachers retirement fund association there shall be created a
special retirement fund, which shall include all of the assets of the teachers retirement fund
association other than assets of a tax sheltered annuity program and fund authorized pursuant
to subdivision 5 which were acquired for the specific purpose of being credited to that fund.
The special retirement fund shall be credited with all employee and employer contributions, all
interest and all other income authorized by law. Within the special retirement fund there may be
established separate special retirement fund accounts for the purpose of providing convenience in
the funding of and accounting for retirement annuities and any authorized ancillary benefits.
    Subd. 4. Fund disbursement restricted. The assets of the special retirement fund shall be
disbursed only for the purposes provided for in this chapter, the articles of incorporation or bylaws
in effect as of March 31, 1975, and the articles of incorporation or bylaws adopted subsequent to
March 31, 1975 in accordance with the provisions of section 354A.12. All appropriate expenses
of and any authorized benefits provided by the teachers retirement fund association shall be
paid from the special retirement fund. Amounts necessary to make payments from the special
retirement fund of a teachers retirement fund association are hereby appropriated.
    Subd. 5. Tax sheltered annuity program and fund. A teachers retirement fund association
may establish a tax sheltered annuity program and fund meeting the requirements of section
403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which must include all assets which
were acquired for the specific purpose of being credited to the program and fund and to which
must be credited all employee contributions and employer contributions, if negotiated under a
collective bargaining agreement, designated for this purpose and all interest income attributable to
the assets of the program and fund.
    Subd. 6. Trustees' fiduciary obligation. The trustees or directors of each teachers retirement
fund association shall administer each fund in accordance with the applicable portions of this
chapter, of the articles of incorporation, of the bylaws, and of chapters 356 and 356A. The purpose
of this subdivision is to establish each teachers retirement fund association as a trust under the
laws of the state of Minnesota for all purposes related to section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of the United States, including all amendments.
    Subd. 7. Actuarial consultant. The board of trustees or directors of each teachers retirement
fund association may contract for the services of an approved actuary and fix the reasonable
compensation for those services. Any approved actuary retained by the board shall function as
the actuarial advisor to the board and may perform actuarial valuations and experience studies to
supplement those performed by the actuary retained under section 356.214. Any supplemental
actuarial valuations or experience studies must be filed with the executive director of the
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.
    Subd. 8. Audit by state auditor. The books and accounts of each teachers retirement fund
association must be examined and audited periodically as considered necessary by the state
auditor. A full and detailed report of the examination and audit must be made and a copy provided
to the teachers retirement fund association board of trustees. The cost of any examination and
audit must be paid by the teachers retirement fund association in accordance with section 6.56.
For purposes of section 6.56, each teachers retirement fund association is considered a local
governmental entity equivalent to a county, city, town, or school district.
    Subd. 9. Updated articles of incorporation and bylaws; filing. (a) On or before July 1,
2006, and within six months of the date of the approval of any amendment to the articles of
incorporation or bylaws, the chief administrative officer of each first class city teacher retirement
fund association shall prepare and publish an updated compilation of the articles of incorporation
and the bylaws of the association.
(b) The chief administrative officer of the first class city teacher retirement fund association
must certify the accuracy and the completeness of the compilation.
(c) The compilation of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of a first class city teacher
retirement fund association must contain an index.
(d) The compilation must be made available to association members and other interested
parties. The association may charge a fee for a copy that reflects the price of printing or otherwise
producing the copy. Two copies of the compilation must be filed, without charge, by each
retirement fund association with the Legislation Commission on Pensions and Retirement, the
Legislative Reference Library, the state auditor, the commissioner of education, the chancellor of
the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, and the superintendent of the applicable
school district.
(e) A first class city teacher retirement fund association may contract with the revisor of
statutes for the preparation of the compilation.
(f) If a first class city teacher retirement fund association makes an updated copy of its articles
of incorporation and bylaws available on its Web site, the retirement fund association is not
obligated to file a hard copy of the documents under paragraph (d) for the applicable filing period.
History: 1979 c 217 s 2; 1983 c 286 s 10; 1987 c 259 s 48; 1987 c 284 art 7 s 1; 1987 c
372 art 11 s 1; 1989 c 304 s 135; 1989 c 319 art 8 s 18; 1990 c 488 s 43; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 11;
1993 c 336 art 1 s 2; 1993 c 375 art 8 s 14; 2004 c 223 s 5; 1Sp2005 c 8 art 7 s 1; art 10 s
61; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 13

354A.023 [Never Effective]

354A.026 [Repealed, 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 29]

354A.03 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.04 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.05 MEMBERSHIP IN A TEACHERS RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION IN A CITY
OF THE FIRST CLASS.
Teachers contributing to the respective teachers retirement fund association, as provided
in this chapter and the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the association, are entitled
to the benefit of coverage by or entitlement to annuities or benefits from the association. All
teachers in a city of the first class in which there exists a teachers retirement fund association are
members of that teachers retirement fund association and participate in the benefits provided by
the special retirement fund.
History: (1362) 1909 c 343 s 5; 1941 c 214 s 1; 1945 c 390 s 1; 1951 c 25 s 1; 1973 c 255 s
1; 1976 c 2 s 125; 1979 c 40 s 8; 1979 c 217 s 3; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 12

354A.051 [Repealed, 2006 c 277 art 3 s 45]

354A.06 [Repealed, 1975 c 306 s 34]

354A.07 [Repealed, 1975 c 306 s 34]

354A.08 AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS.
In addition to investments authorized under section 356A.06, subdivision 7, a teachers
retirement fund association may receive, hold, and dispose of:
(1) real estate or personal property acquired by it, whether the acquisition was by purchase,
or any other lawful means, as provided in this chapter or in the association's articles of
incorporation; and
(2) domestic government and corporate debt obligations that are not rated in the top four
quality categories by a nationally recognized rating agency, and comparable unrated securities
if the percentage of these assets does not exceed five percent of the total assets of the pension
plan or 15 percent of the pension plan's nonequity assets, whichever is less, if the pension plan's
participation is limited to 50 percent of a single offering of the debt obligations, and if the pension
plan's participation is limited to 25 percent of an issuer's debt obligations that are not rated in the
top four quality categories.
In addition to other authorized real estate investments, an association may also invest funds
in Minnesota situs nonfarm real estate ownership interests or loans secured by mortgages or
deeds of trust. The board may also certify assets for investment by the State Board of Investment
as provided under section 11A.17.
History: (1364) 1909 c 343 s 7; 1979 c 217 s 4; 1983 c 291 s 3; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 13;
2006 c 271 art 8 s 2

354A.09 PRO RATA DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.
In the event that the assets of the special retirement fund of a teachers retirement fund
association are not sufficient to pay annuities and other retirement benefits in full as they come
due in any particular year, the amount of special retirement fund assets available for payment
shall be prorated among those annuitants and beneficiaries entitled to receive annuities and other
retirement benefits.
History: (1365) 1909 c 343 s 8; 1979 c 217 s 5

354A.091 TEACHERS ON EXTENDED LEAVE.
    Subdivision 1. Retirement contributions. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of
this chapter or the articles of incorporation or bylaws of an association relating to the salary figure
to be used for the determination of contributions or the accrual of service credit an elementary,
secondary, or technical college teacher in the public schools of a city of the first class who is
granted an extended leave of absence pursuant to section 122A.46, or a teacher who is granted
an extended leave of absence under section 136F.43, may pay employee contributions to the
applicable association and shall be entitled to receive allowable service credit in that association
for each year of leave, provided the member and the employing board make the required employer
contributions, in any proportion they may agree upon, to that association during the period of
leave which shall not exceed five years. The state shall not make an employer contribution on
behalf of the teacher. The employee and employer contributions shall be based upon the rates of
contribution prescribed by section 354A.12 as applied to a salary figure equal to the teacher's
actual covered salary for the plan year immediately preceding the leave. Payment of the employee
and employer contributions authorized pursuant to this section shall be made on or before June 30
of the fiscal year for which service credit is to be received. No allowable service with respect to
a year of extended leave of absence shall be credited to a teacher until payment of the required
employee and employer contributions has been received by the association.
    Subd. 1a. Exception for leaves since 1981-1982. Notwithstanding subdivision 1, the
following provisions apply to elementary and secondary school and technical institute teachers
whose extended leaves begin in the 1981-1982, 1982-1983, or 1983-1984 school year:
(a) A member whose application states the intention to pay employee contributions to the
applicable association, requests state payment of the employer contribution, and is approved
by the commissioner within the limits of section 125.60, subdivision 7, may pay employee
contributions to the applicable association and receive allowable service credit in that association
for each year of leave during the period of the leave, which shall not exceed five years;
(b) The state shall pay employer contributions for a member described in clause (a) for no
more than the first three years of the leave, provided the member who is on extended leave
pays the employee contribution to the applicable association by the payment date specified in
subdivision 1;
(c) A member whose application is approved as to the member's eligibility under section
122A.46, subdivisions 1 and 2, but whose application does not request state payment of employer
contributions or is disapproved as to state payment of employer contributions, or who is in the
fourth or fifth year of leave affected by clause (b) may pay employee contributions and receive
allowable service credit as provided in subdivision 1 if the member and the employing school
board make the required employer contribution, in any proportion which they may agree upon, by
the payment date specified in subdivision 1.
    Subd. 1b. Pre-May 16, 1981, leave exception. Notwithstanding subdivision 1, the following
provisions apply only to elementary, secondary, and area vocational technical school teachers
whose extended leaves began in the 1978-1979, 1979-1980, or 1980-1981 school years:
(a) A member whose period of extended leave began on or before May 15, 1981, may
pay employee contributions and receive allowable service credit toward annuities and other
benefits under this chapter for each year of the leave during the period of the leave which does
not exceed five years;
(b) The state shall pay employer contributions into the applicable fund for a member
described in clause (a) for each year of the leave for which the member who is on extended leave
pays the employee's contribution into the fund by the payment date specified in subdivision 1.
    Subd. 2. Membership retention. A teacher on extended leave under either section 122A.46
or 136F.43 whose employee and employer contributions are made to the applicable teachers
retirement fund association pursuant to subdivision 1 shall retain membership in the association
for each year during which the contributions are made, under the same terms and conditions as if
the teacher had continued to teach in the district.
    Subd. 3. Effect of nonpayment. A teacher on extended leave under either section 122A.46
or 136F.43 who does not make employee contributions or whose employer contribution is not
made to the applicable teachers retirement fund association in any year shall be deemed to have
ceased to be an active member of the association and to have ceased to render teaching services
beginning in that year for purposes of this chapter and the articles of incorporation and bylaws
of the association, and may not pay employee or employer contributions into the fund in any
subsequent year of the leave. Nonpayment of contributions into the fund shall not affect the
rights or obligations of the teacher or the employing school district under section 122A.46 or the
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system under section 136F.43.
    Subd. 4. Teachers who do not resume service. If a teacher who has made employee
contributions to the applicable teachers retirement fund association for the agreed maximum
duration of an extended leave does not resume teaching service in the first school year after
that maximum duration has elapsed, the teacher shall be deemed to have ceased to be an active
member of the association and to have ceased to render teaching services beginning in that first
school year after that maximum duration has elapsed for purposes of this chapter and the articles
of incorporation and bylaws of the association.
    Subd. 5. Applicability. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a teacher who is
discharged pursuant to section 122A.41 while the teacher is on an extended leave of absence
pursuant to section 122A.46. The provisions of this section also do not apply to a teacher who is
discharged for cause while the teacher is on an extended leave of absence under section 136F.43.
    Subd. 6. Exclusive coverage. A teacher who makes employee contributions to and receives
allowable service credit in the applicable teacher's retirement fund association pursuant to
this section may not make employee contributions or receive allowable service credit for the
same period of time in any other Minnesota public employee pension plan, except a volunteer
firefighters relief association governed by sections 69.771 to 69.776. This subdivision shall not
be construed to prohibit a member who pays employee contributions and receives allowable
service credit in the fund pursuant to this section in any year from being employed as a substitute
teacher by any school district during that year. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter
or the bylaws of a retirement association, a teacher may not pay retirement contributions or
receive allowable service credit in the fund for teaching service rendered for any part of any
year for which the teacher pays retirement contributions or receives allowable service credit
pursuant to section 354.094 or this section while on an extended leave of absence under either
section 122A.46 or 136F.43.
History: 1977 c 447 art 9 s 6; 1978 c 764 s 120,121; 1979 c 217 s 6; 1979 c 334 art 8 s
20-22; 1981 c 224 s 132,133; 1981 c 358 art 8 s 14-17; 1983 c 314 art 10 s 12-14; 1986 c
444; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1989 c 246 s 2; 1989 c 293 s 79; 1989 c 329 art 9 s 23,24; 1998 c 397
art 11 s 3; 2000 c 461 art 12 s 6-10

354A.092 SABBATICAL LEAVE.
Any teacher in the coordinated program of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association or any teacher in the new law coordinated program of the Duluth Teachers Retirement
Fund Association who is granted a sabbatical leave shall be entitled to receive allowable service
credit in the applicable association for periods of sabbatical leave. To obtain the service credit, the
teacher on sabbatical leave shall make an employee contribution to the applicable association. No
teacher shall be entitled to receive more than three years of allowable service credit pursuant to
this section for a period or periods of sabbatical leave during any ten consecutive fiscal or calendar
years, whichever is the applicable plan year for the teachers retirement fund association. If the
teacher granted a sabbatical leave makes the employee contribution for a period of sabbatical
leave pursuant to this section, the employing unit shall make an employer contribution on behalf
of the teacher to the applicable association for that period of sabbatical leave in the manner
described in section 354A.12, subdivision 2a. The employee and employer contributions shall be
in an amount equal to the employee and employer contribution rates in effect for other active
members of the association covered by the same program applied to a salary figure equal to the
teacher's actual covered salary for the plan year immediately preceding the sabbatical leave
period. Payment of the employee contribution authorized pursuant to this section shall be made
by the teacher on or before June 30 of year next following the year in which the sabbatical leave
terminated and shall be made without interest. For sabbatical leaves taken after June 30, 1986,
the required employer contributions shall be paid by the employing unit within 30 days after
notification by the association of the amount due. If the employee contributions for the sabbatical
leave period are less than an amount equal to the applicable contribution rate applied to a salary
figure equal to the teacher's actual covered salary for the plan year immediately preceding the
sabbatical leave period, service credit shall be prorated. The prorated service credit shall be
determined by the ratio between the amount of the actual payment which was made and the full
contribution amount payable pursuant to this section.
History: 1979 c 217 s 7; 1981 c 224 s 134; 1981 c 269 s 2; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 11 s 10;
1996 c 305 art 1 s 87; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 14

354A.093 BREAK IN SERVICE TO PROVIDE UNIFORMED SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Eligibility. Any teacher in the coordinated program of the St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association or any teacher in the new law coordinated program of the Duluth
Teachers Retirement Fund Association who is absent from employment by reason of service in the
uniformed services as defined in United States Code, title 38, section 4303(13) and who returns to
the employer providing active teaching service upon discharge from uniformed service within the
time frames required under United States Code, title 38, section 4312(e), may receive allowable
service credit in the applicable association for all or a portion of the period of uniformed service,
provided that the teacher did not separate from uniformed service with a dishonorable or bad
conduct discharge or under other than honorable conditions.
    Subd. 2. Contributions. If the teacher makes the equivalent employee contribution for a
period of service provided to the uniformed services under this section, the employing unit shall
make an equivalent employer contribution on behalf of the teacher to the applicable association
for the period being purchased in the manner described in section 354A.12, subdivision 2a. The
equivalent employee and employer contributions must be in an amount equal to the employee
and employer contribution rates in effect for other active members of the association covered
by the same program applied to a salary figure equal to the teacher's average annual salary
rate that the teacher would have received if the leave or break in service had not occurred, or
if the determination of that average salary rate is not reasonably certain, on the basis of the
teacher's average salary rate during the 12-month period immediately preceding the period, or,
if the preceding period is less than 12 months, the annualized rate derived from the teacher's
average salary rate during the period of teacher employment rendered immediately preceding
the period of uniformed service, with the result multiplied by the number of full and fractional
years constituting the period of service provided to the uniformed service which the teacher
is authorized to purchase under this section.
    Subd. 3. Prorating. If the payments made by a teacher under this section are less than the full
amount determined under subdivision 2, the service credit must be prorated. The prorated service
credit must be determined by the ratio between the amount of the actual equivalent employee
payment which was made and the full equivalent employee payment required under this section.
    Subd. 4. Eligible payment period. (a) To receive service credit under this section, the
contributions specified in this section must be transmitted to the applicable first class city teachers
retirement fund association during the period which begins with the date the individual returns
to teaching service and which has a duration of three times the length of the uniformed service
period, but not to exceed five years.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if the payment period determined under paragraph (a) is
less than one year, the contributions required under this section to receive service credit may be
made within one year from the discharge date.
    Subd. 5. Limits on service credit. The amount of service credit obtainable under this section
may not exceed five years, unless a longer purchase period is required under United States Code,
title 38, section 4312.
    Subd. 6. Interest requirements. The employer shall pay interest on all equivalent employee
and employer contribution amounts payable under this section. Interest must be computed at a
rate of 8.5 percent compounded annually from the end of each fiscal year of the leave or break in
service to the end of the month in which payment is received.
History: 1979 c 217 s 8; 1981 c 269 s 3; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 11 s 11; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 88;
2004 c 267 art 3 s 7; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 15

354A.094 QUALIFIED PART-TIME TEACHERS; PARTICIPATION IN FUND.
    Subdivision 1. Teachers, defined. For purposes of this section, the term "teachers" shall
have the meaning given in section 122A.15, subdivision 1, except that the term shall not include
superintendents.
    Subd. 2. Part-time teaching position, defined. For purposes of this section, the term
"part-time teaching position" shall mean a teaching position within the district in which the
teacher is employed for at least 50 full days or a fractional equivalent of 50 full days calculated
using the appropriate minimum number of hours which would result in a full day of service credit
by the appropriate association and for which the teacher is compensated in an amount not to
exceed 80 percent of the compensation rate established by the board for a full-time teacher with
identical education and experience within the district.
    Subd. 3. Qualified part-time teacher program participation requirements. (a) A teacher
in the public schools of a city of the first class who has three years or more allowable service in
the applicable retirement fund association or three years or more of full-time teaching service
in Minnesota public elementary schools, Minnesota secondary schools, and Minnesota State
Colleges and Universities system may, by agreement with the board of the employing district, be
assigned to teaching service within the district in a part-time teaching position. The agreement
must be executed before October 1 of the year for which the teacher requests to make retirement
contributions under subdivision 4. A copy of the executed agreement must be filed with the
executive director of the retirement fund association. If the copy of the executed agreement is
filed with the association after October 1 of the year for which the teacher requests to make
retirement contributions under subdivision 4, the employing school district shall pay a fine of $5
for each calendar day that elapsed since the October 1 due date. The association may not accept an
executed agreement that is received by the association more than 15 months late. The association
may not waive the fine required by this section.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if the teacher is also a legislator:
(1) the agreement in paragraph (a) must be executed before March 1 of the school year for
which the teacher requests to make retirement contributions under subdivision 4; and
(2) the fines specified in paragraph (a) apply if the employing unit does not file the executed
agreement with the executive director of the applicable Teachers Retirement Fund Association by
March 1.
    Subd. 4. Retirement contributions. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this
chapter or the articles of incorporation or bylaws of an association relating to the salary figure to
be used for the determination of contributions or the accrual of service credit, a teacher assigned
to a part-time position under this section shall continue to make employee contributions to and
to accrue allowable service credit in the applicable association during the period of part-time
employment on the same basis and in the same amounts as would have been paid and accrued
if the teacher had been employed on a full-time basis provided that, prior to June 30 each year
the member and the employing board make that portion of the required employer contribution
to the applicable association in any proportion which they may agree upon, that is based on the
difference between the amount of compensation that would have been paid if the teacher had been
employed on a full-time basis and the amount of compensation actually received by the teacher
for services rendered in the part-time assignment. The employer contributions to the applicable
association on behalf of the teacher shall be based on the amount of compensation actually
received by the teacher for the services rendered in the part-time assignment in the manner
described in section 354A.12, subdivision 2a. The employee and employer contributions shall be
based upon the rates of contribution prescribed by section 354A.12. Full membership, accrual of
allowable service credit and employee contributions for part-time teaching service by a teacher
pursuant to this section and section 354.66 shall not continue for a period longer than ten years.
    Subd. 4a.[Repealed, 1987 c 398 art 7 s 43]
    Subd. 5. Limits on outside coverage. A teacher entitled to full membership, accrual of
allowable service credit and employee contributions for part time teaching service pursuant to this
section shall not be entitled during the same period of time to be a member of, accrue allowable
service credit in or make employee contributions to any other Minnesota public pension plan,
except a volunteer firefighters relief association governed by sections 69.771 to 69.776.
    Subd. 6. Insurance. A board of an employing district entering into an agreement authorized
by this section shall take all steps necessary to assure continuance of any insurance programs
furnished or authorized a full-time teacher on an identical basis and with identical sharing of costs
for a part time teacher pursuant to this section.
    Subd. 7. Qualification. Only teachers who are in the bargaining unit as defined in section
179A.03, subdivision 7, during the year preceding the period of part time employment pursuant to
this section shall qualify for full membership in, accrual of service credit from, and employee
contributions to a teachers retirement fund association for part time teaching service pursuant to
subdivision 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 179A.03, subdivision 14, clauses (e)
and (f), teachers who are employed on a part time basis for purposes of this section and who
would therefore be disqualified from the bargaining unit by one or both of those provisions, shall
continue to be in the bargaining unit during the period of part time employment pursuant to this
section for purposes of compensation, fringe benefits and the grievance procedure.
    Subd. 8. One district limit. No teacher shall qualify for full membership in, accrual of
service credit from and employee contributions to the Teachers Retirement Association or a
teachers retirement fund association for part time teaching service pursuant to subdivision 4
or section 354.66, subdivision 4, in more than one district at the same time. No teacher shall
qualify for full membership in, accrual of service credit from and employee contributions to a
teachers retirement fund association during part time employment in a district pursuant to this
section in any year if the teacher also takes a full time or part time teaching position in another
Minnesota school district.
    Subd. 9.[Repealed, 1987 c 398 art 7 s 43]
    Subd. 10. Nonqualified part-time positions. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
limit the authority of a school board to assign a teacher to a part time teaching position which
does not qualify for employee contributions to a teachers retirement fund association pursuant
to this section.
    Subd. 11. Substitute teaching; no coverage overlap. Neither subdivision 5 nor subdivision
8 shall be construed to prohibit a teacher who qualifies for full membership in, accrual of service
credit from and employee contributions to a teachers retirement fund association pursuant to this
section in any year from being employed as a substitute teacher by any school district during that
year. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or the bylaws of a retirement association,
a teacher may not pay retirement contributions or receive allowable service credit in the funds
for other teaching service rendered for any part of any year for which the teacher qualifies for
full membership in, accrual of service credit from and employee contributions to the Teachers
Retirement Association or a teachers retirement fund association pursuant to section 354.66
or this section.
    Subd. 12. Information supplied by district. Each school district covered by the provisions
of this chapter shall furnish to the appropriate teachers retirement fund association whatever
information and reports deemed necessary by the board of trustees of the applicable teachers
retirement fund association to administer the provisions of this section.
History: 1979 c 217 s 9; 1980 c 509 s 136-139; 1981 c 224 s 135-138; 1981 c 358 art 8 s
18; 1982 c 578 art 3 s 6; 1983 c 314 art 10 s 15-17; 1984 c 462 s 27; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 6 s 20; art
11 s 12; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1989 c 246 s 2; 1989 c 329 art 9 s 25; 1991 c 199 art 1 s 72; 1994 c
521 s 3,4; 1995 c 262 art 1 s 6; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 89; 1998 c 390 art 3 s 3,4; 1998 c 397 art
11 s 3; 2004 c 267 art 4 s 2

354A.095 PARENTAL AND MATERNITY LEAVE.
Basic or coordinated members of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association and
new coordinated members of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association, who are granted
parental or maternity leave of absence by the employing authority, are entitled to obtain service
credit not to exceed one year for the period of leave upon payment to the applicable fund by the
end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the leave of absence terminated. The
amount of the payment must include the total required employee and employer contributions for
the period of leave prescribed in section 354A.12. Payment must be based on the member's
average monthly salary rate upon return to teaching service, and is payable without interest.
Payment must be accompanied by a certified or otherwise adequate copy of the resolution or
action of the employing authority granting or approving the leave.
History: 1989 c 319 art 2 s 21; 1990 c 570 art 12 s 46; 1994 c 542 s 2; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 16

354A.096 MEDICAL LEAVE.
Any teacher in the coordinated program of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association
or the new law coordinated program of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association who
is on an authorized medical leave of absence and subsequently returns to teaching service is
entitled to receive allowable service credit, not to exceed one year, for the period of leave, upon
making the prescribed payment to the fund. This payment must include the required employee
and employer contributions at the rates specified in section 354A.12, subdivisions 1 and 2, as
applied to the member's average full-time monthly salary rate on the date the leave of absence
commenced plus annual interest at the rate of 8.5 percent per year from the end of the fiscal
year during which the leave terminates to the end of the month during which payment is made.
The member must pay the total amount required unless the employing unit, at its option, pays
the employer contributions. The total amount required must be paid by the end of the fiscal year
following the fiscal year in which the leave of absence terminated or before the member retires,
whichever is earlier. Payment must be accompanied by a copy of the resolution or action of the
employing authority granting the leave and the employing authority, upon granting the leave, must
certify the leave to the association in a manner specified by the executive director. A member
may not receive more than one year of allowable service credit during any fiscal year by making
payment under this section. A member may not receive disability benefits under section 354A.36
and receive allowable service credit under this section for the same period of time.
History: 1990 c 570 art 7 s 2; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 14; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 17

354A.097 PRIOR OR UNCREDITED MILITARY SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE.
    Subdivision 1. Service credit purchase authorized. A teacher who has at least three years of
allowable service credit with the teachers retirement fund association and who performed service
in the United States armed forces before becoming a teacher as defined in section 354A.011,
subdivision 27 , or who failed to obtain service credit for a military leave of absence period
under section 354A.093, is entitled to purchase allowable service credit for the initial period of
enlistment, induction, or call to active duty without any voluntary extension by making payment
under section 356.551 if the teacher has not purchased service credit from another Minnesota
defined benefit public employee pension plan for the same period of service.
    Subd. 2. Application and documentation. A teacher who desires to purchase service credit
under subdivision 1 must apply with the executive director or secretary of the respective teachers
retirement fund association to make the purchase. The application must include all necessary
documentation of the teacher's qualifications to make the purchase, signed written permission to
allow the executive director or secretary to request and receive necessary verification of applicable
facts and eligibility requirements, and any other relevant information that the executive director or
secretary may require. Payment must be made before the teacher's effective date of retirement.
    Subd. 3. Service credit grant. Allowable service credit for the purchase period must be
granted by the applicable teachers retirement fund association to the purchasing teacher on receipt
of the purchase payment amount.
History: 1999 c 222 art 16 s 7; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 5; 1Sp2005 c 8 art 10 s 62

NOTE: This section, as added by Laws 1999, chapter 222, article 16, section 7, is repealed
effective May 16, 2007. Laws 1999, chapter 222, article 16, section 16, as amended by Laws
2002, chapter 392, article 7, section 1; Laws 2003, First Special Session chapter 12, article 6,
section 2; Laws 2004, chapter 267, article 17, section 6; and Laws 2005, First Special Session
chapter 8, article 2, section 3.

354A.098 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.099 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.10 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.101 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.102 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.103 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.104 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1999 c 222 art 16 s 16; 2002 c 392 art 7 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6
s 2; 2004 c 267 art 17 s 6]

354A.105 [Repealed, 2006 c 277 art 3 s 45]

354A.106 MS 2002 [Expired]

354A.107 [Repealed, 2004 c 267 art 9 s 25]

354A.108 PAYMENT BY TEACHERS COLLECTING WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
(a) A member of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association who is receiving
temporary workers' compensation payments related to the member's teaching service and who
either is receiving a reduced salary from the employer or is receiving no salary from the employer
is entitled to receive allowable service credit for the period of time that the member is receiving
the workers' compensation payments upon making the required payment amount.
(b) The required amount payable by the member must be calculated first by determining the
differential salary amount, which is the difference between the salary received, if any, during the
period of time that the member is collecting workers' compensation payments, and the salary that
the member received for an identical length period immediately before collecting the workers'
compensation payments. The member shall pay an amount equal to the employee contribution
rate under section 354A.12, subdivision 1, multiplied by the differential salary amount.
(c) If the member makes the employee payment under this section, the employing unit shall
make an employer payment to the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association equal to the
employer contribution rate under section 354A.12, subdivision 2a, multiplied by the differential
salary amount.
(d) Payments made under this subdivision are payable without interest if paid by June 30
of the year during which the workers' compensation payments are received by the member. If
paid after June 30, payments made under this subdivision must include interest at the rate of 8.5
percent per year. Payment under this section must be completed within one year of the termination
of the workers' compensation payments to the member.
History: 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 21

354A.109 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 12 art 6 s 7]

354A.1095 MS 2002 [Expired]

354A.11 CERTAIN MONEY AND CREDITS OF TEACHERS EXEMPT.
All money deposited by a teacher or member or deposited by any other person or corporation,
municipal or private, to the credit of a teacher or member of a teachers retirement fund association
organized pursuant to this chapter, and all money, rights, and interests or annuities due or to
become due to a teacher, member, or annuitant, or their beneficiaries, from any association shall
not be assignable, shall be exempt from garnishment, attachment, and execution or sale on any
final process issued from a court and other legal process, except as provided in section 518.58,
518.581, or 518A.53, and shall not be subject to the estate tax provisions of this state.
History: (1366-2) 1939 c 72 s 1; 1967 c 605 s 1; 1971 c 789 s 7; 1979 c 217 s 10; 1979 c
303 art 3 s 31; 1982 c 578 art 1 s 9; 1983 c 286 s 11; 1984 c 547 s 8; 1987 c 157 s 7; 1997 c 203
art 6 s 92; 2005 c 164 s 29; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 28

354A.12 CONTRIBUTIONS BY EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.
    Subdivision 1. Employee contributions. The contribution required to be paid by each
member of a teachers retirement fund association shall not be less than the percentage of total
salary specified below for the applicable association and program:

	Association and Program			Percentage of
				Total Salary
	Duluth Teachers Retirement Association
		old law and new law
		coordinated programs		5.5 percent
	St. Paul Teachers Retirement Association
		basic program		8 percent
		coordinated program		5.5 percent

Contributions shall be made by deduction from salary and must be remitted directly to the
respective teachers retirement fund association at least once each month.
    Subd. 1a. Obligation for omitted salary deductions. If the full required contributions
are not deducted from the salary of a teacher, payment of the shortage in such deductions is
the sole obligation of the employing unit during the three-year period following the end of
the fiscal year in which the shortage occurred. The shortage is payable by the employing unit
upon notification of the shortage by the executive director of the applicable retirement fund
association. The employing unit shall also pay any employer contributions related to the shortage.
The amount of the shortage in employee contributions and associated employer contributions
is payable with interest at the preretirement interest assumption for the retirement fund as
specified in section 356.215, subdivision 8, stated as a monthly rate from the date due until the
date payment is received in the office of the association, with a minimum interest charge of
$10. If the shortage payment and interest is not paid by the employing unit within 60 days of
notification, the executive director shall certify the amount of the shortage payment and interest to
the commissioner of finance, who shall deduct the amount from any state aid or appropriation
amount applicable to the employing unit.
    Subd. 2. Retirement contribution levy disallowed. Except as provided in section 423A.02,
subdivision 3 , with respect to independent school district No. 625, notwithstanding any law
to the contrary, levies for teachers retirement fund associations in the cities of Duluth and St.
Paul, including levies for any employer Social Security taxes for teachers covered by the Duluth
Teachers Retirement Fund Association or the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association,
are disallowed.
    Subd. 2a. Employer regular and additional contribution rates. (a) The employing units
shall make the following employer contributions to teachers retirement fund associations:
(1) for any coordinated member of a teachers retirement fund association in a city of the first
class, the employing unit shall pay the employer Social Security taxes in accordance with section
355.46, subdivision 3, clause (b);
(2) for any coordinated member of one of the following teachers retirement fund associations
in a city of the first class, the employing unit shall make a regular employer contribution to the
respective retirement fund association in an amount equal to the designated percentage of the
salary of the coordinated member as provided below:

		Duluth Teachers Retirement
		Fund Association	4.50 percent
		St. Paul Teachers Retirement
		Fund Association	4.50 percent

(3) for any basic member of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, the
employing unit shall make a regular employer contribution to the respective retirement fund in an
amount equal to 8.00 percent of the salary of the basic member;
(4) for a basic member of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, the employing
unit shall make an additional employer contribution to the respective fund in an amount equal to
3.64 percent of the salary of the basic member;
(5) for a coordinated member of a teachers retirement fund association in a city of the first
class, the employing unit shall make an additional employer contribution to the respective fund in
an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the coordinated member's salary, as provided
below:

		Duluth Teachers Retirement
		Fund Association		1.29 percent
		St. Paul Teachers Retirement
		Fund Association
			July 1, 1993 - June 30, 1994	0.50 percent
			July 1, 1994 - June 30, 1995	1.50 percent
			July 1, 1997, and thereafter	3.84 percent

(b) The regular and additional employer contributions must be remitted directly to the
respective teachers retirement fund association at least once each month. Delinquent amounts are
payable with interest under the procedure in subdivision 1a.
(c) Payments of regular and additional employer contributions for school district or technical
college employees who are paid from normal operating funds must be made from the appropriate
fund of the district or technical college.
    Subd. 2b.[Repealed, 1997 c 233 art 3 s 12]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 12 art 11 s 22]
    Subd. 3a. Special direct state aid to first class city teachers retirement fund associations.
(a) In fiscal year 1998, the state shall pay $4,827,000 to the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association, $17,954,000 to the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association, and
$486,000 to the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association. In each fiscal year after fiscal
year 2006, these payments to the first class city teachers retirement fund associations must be
$2,827,000 for St. Paul, $12,954,000 to the Teachers Retirement Association for the former
Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association, and $486,000 for Duluth.
(b) The direct state aids under this subdivision are payable October 1 annually. The
commissioner of finance shall pay the direct state aid. The amount required under this subdivision
is appropriated annually from the general fund to the commissioner of finance.
    Subd. 3b. Special direct state matching aid to the Teachers Retirement Association. (a)
Special School District No. 1 must make an additional employer contribution to the Teachers
Retirement Fund Association. The city of Minneapolis must make a contribution to the Teachers
Retirement Association. This contribution must be made by a levy of the board of estimate and
taxation of the city of Minneapolis and the levy, if made, is classified as that of a special taxing
district for purposes of sections 275.065 and 276.04, and for all other property tax purposes.
(b) $1,125,000 must be contributed by Special School District No. 1 and $1,125,000 must be
contributed by the city of Minneapolis to the Teachers Retirement Association under paragraph
(a), and the state shall pay to the Teachers Retirement Association $2,500,000 each fiscal year.
The superintendent of Special School District No. 1, the mayor of the city of Minneapolis,
and the executive director of the Teachers Retirement Association shall jointly certify to the
commissioner of finance the total amount that has been contributed by Special School District
No. 1 and by the city of Minneapolis to the Teachers Retirement Association. Any certification
to the commissioner of education must be made quarterly. If the total certifications for a fiscal
year exceed the maximum annual direct state matching aid amount in any quarter, the amount of
direct state matching aid payable to the Teachers Retirement Association must be limited to the
balance of the maximum annual direct state matching aid amount available. The amount required
under this paragraph, subject to the maximum direct state matching aid amount, is appropriated
annually to the commissioner of finance.
(c) The commissioner of finance may prescribe the form of the certifications required under
paragraph (b).
    Subd. 3c. Termination of supplemental contributions and direct matching and state
aid. (a) The supplemental contributions payable to the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund
Association by Special School District No. 1 and the city of Minneapolis under section 423A.02,
subdivision 3 , which must continue to be paid to the Teachers Retirement Association until 2037,
or to the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association by Independent School District No. 625
under section 423A.02, subdivision 3, or the direct state aids under subdivision 3a to the St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association terminate at the end of the fiscal year in which the accrued
liability funding ratio for that fund, as determined in the most recent actuarial report for that fund
by the actuary retained under section 356.214, equals or exceeds the accrued liability funding
ratio for the teachers retirement association, as determined in the most recent actuarial report for
the Teachers Retirement Association by the actuary retained under section 356.214.
(b) If the state direct matching, state supplemental, or state aid is terminated for a first class
city teachers retirement fund association under paragraph (a), it may not again be received by
that fund.
(c) If the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association is funded at the funding ratio
applicable to the Teachers Retirement Association when the provisions of paragraph (b) become
effective, then any state aid previously distributed to that association must be immediately
transferred to the Teachers Retirement Association.
    Subd. 3d. Supplemental administrative expense assessment. (a) The active and retired
membership of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association is responsible for defraying
supplemental administrative expenses other than investment expenses of the respective teacher
retirement fund association.
(b) Investment expenses of the teachers retirement fund association are those expenses
incurred by or on behalf of the retirement fund in connection with the investment of the assets
of the retirement fund other than investment security transaction costs. Other administrative
expenses are all expenses incurred by or on behalf of the retirement fund for all other retirement
fund functions other than the investment of retirement fund assets. Investment and other
administrative expenses must be accounted for using generally accepted accounting principles and
in a manner consistent with the comprehensive annual financial report of the teachers retirement
fund association for the immediately previous fiscal year under section 356.20.
(c) Supplemental administrative expenses other than investment expenses of the St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association are those expenses for the fiscal year that:
(1) exceed, for the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, $443,745 an additional
amount derived by applying the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers All Items Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
United States Department of Labor since July 1, 2001, to the dollar amount; and
(2) exceed the amount computed by applying the most recent percentage of pay
administrative expense amount, other than investment expenses, for the teachers retirement
association governed by chapter 354 to the covered payroll of the respective teachers retirement
fund association for the fiscal year.
(d) The board of trustees of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association shall allocate
the total dollar amount of supplemental administrative expenses other than investment expenses
determined under paragraph (c), clause (2), among the various active and retired membership
groups of the teachers retirement fund association and shall assess the various membership
groups their respective share of the supplemental administrative expenses other than investment
expenses, in amounts determined by the board of trustees. The supplemental administrative
expense assessments must be paid by the membership group in a manner determined by the
board of trustees of the respective teachers retirement association. Supplemental administrative
expenses payable by the active members of the pension plan must be picked up by the employer
in accordance with section 356.62.
(e) With respect to the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, the supplemental
administrative expense assessment must be fully disclosed to the various active and retired
membership groups of the teachers retirement fund association. The chief administrative officer
of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association shall prepare a supplemental administrative
expense assessment disclosure notice, which must include the following:
(1) the total amount of administrative expenses of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association, the amount of the investment expenses of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association, and the net remaining amount of administrative expenses of the St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association;
(2) the amount of administrative expenses for the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association that would be equivalent to the teachers retirement association noninvestment
administrative expense level described in paragraph (c);
(3) the total amount of supplemental administrative expenses required for assessment
calculated under paragraph (c);
(4) the portion of the total amount of the supplemental administrative expense assessment
allocated to each membership group and the rationale for that allocation;
(5) the manner of collecting the supplemental administrative expense assessment from each
membership group, the number of assessment payments required during the year, and the amount
of each payment or the procedure used to determine each payment; and
(6) any other information that the chief administrative officer determines is necessary to
fairly portray the manner in which the supplemental administrative expense assessment was
determined and allocated.
(f) The disclosure notice must be provided annually in the annual report of the association.
(g) The supplemental administrative expense assessments must be deposited in the applicable
teachers retirement fund upon receipt.
(h) Any omitted active membership group assessments that remain undeducted and unpaid
to the teachers retirement fund association for 90 days must be paid by the respective school
district. The school district may recover any omitted active membership group assessment
amounts that it has previously paid. The teachers retirement fund association shall deduct any
omitted retired membership group assessment amounts from the benefits next payable after the
discovery of the omitted amounts.
    Subd. 4. Limitation on certain articles of incorporation or bylaw amendments. No
amendment to the bylaws or articles of incorporation of a teachers retirement fund association in
a city of the first class affecting benefits, contributions or actuarial assumptions shall be made
without approval by the legislature. Approval shall be deemed granted and the amendment
shall become effective only upon enactment of special or general legislation detailing the
substance of the amendment and upon submission of the text of the proposed amendment to
the articles of incorporation or bylaws by the teachers retirement fund association involved
to the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement prior to the effective date of the
amendment. Notwithstanding any provision of the articles of incorporation or bylaws to the
contrary, amendments may be adopted at an annual meeting or at a special meeting called for
that purpose, without further local approval.
    Subd. 5. Reporting and remittance requirements. (a) Each employing unit shall provide
to the appropriate teachers retirement fund association the following member data regarding all
new or returning employees before the employee's first payroll date in a format approved by the
executive secretary or director. Data changes and the dates of those changes must be reported
to the association on an ongoing basis for the payroll cycle in which they occur. Data on the
member includes:
(1) legal name, address, date of birth, association member number, employer-assigned
employee number, and Social Security number;
(2) association status, including, but not limited to, basic, coordinated, exempt annuitant,
exempt technical college teacher, or exempt independent contractor or consultant;
(3) employment status, including, but not limited to, full time, part time, intermittent,
substitute, or part-time mobility;
(4) employment position, including, but not limited to, teacher, superintendent, principal,
administrator, or other;
(5) employment activity, including, but not limited to, hire, termination, resumption of
employment, disability, or death;
(6) leaves of absence; and
(7) other information as may be required by the association.
(b) Each employing unit shall provide the following data to the appropriate association for
each payroll cycle in a format approved by the executive secretary or director:
(1) an association member number;
(2) employer-assigned employee number;
(3) Social Security number;
(4) amount of each salary deduction;
(5) amount of salary as defined in section 354A.011, subdivision 24, from which each
deduction was made;
(6) reason for payment;
(7) service credit;
(8) the beginning and ending dates of the payroll period covered and the date of actual
payment;
(9) fiscal year of salary earnings;
(10) total remittance amount including employee, employer, and employer additional
contributions; and
(11) other information as may be required by the association.
(c) On or before August 1 each year, each employing unit must report to the appropriate
association giving an itemized summary for the preceding 12 months of the total amount that
was withheld from the salaries of teachers for deductions and all other information required by
the association.
(d) An employing unit that does not comply with the reporting requirements under this
section shall pay a fine of $5 per calendar day until the association receives the required member
data.
(e) An employing unit shall remit all amounts that are due to the association and shall
furnish for each pay period an itemized statement indicating the total amount that is due and is
transmitted with any other information required by the association. All amounts due and other
employer obligations that are not remitted within 30 days of notification by the association must
be certified by the director or secretary to the commissioner of finance, who shall deduct the
amount from any state aid or appropriation amount applicable to the employing unit and shall
transmit the deducted amount to the applicable association.
History: 1975 c 306 s 30; 1976 c 238 s 1; 1976 c 239 s 107; 1978 c 781 s 8; 1979 c 293 s 3;
1980 c 614 s 143; 1981 c 269 s 4; 1982 c 578 art 3 s 7; 1Sp1985 c 12 art 11 s 13; 1Sp1986 c 1 art
9 s 24; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1989 c 246 s 2; 1991 c 317 s 3; 1992 c 598 art 5 s 1; 1993 c 336 art 1 s
3-7; 1993 c 357 s 1-6; 1994 c 420 s 1; 1995 c 141 art 3 s 12; 1995 c 262 art 2 s 2; 1Sp1995 c 3
art 16 s 13; 1996 c 438 art 4 s 5,6; 1997 c 233 art 3 s 2-6; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 22; 2002 c 392
art 6 s 3; art 11 s 52; 2003 c 130 s 12; 2006 c 271 art 3 s 47; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 18-24

354A.13 [Repealed, 1979 c 217 s 28]

354A.21 PROPORTIONATE ANNUITY.
A teacher who terminates employment at any time during the academic year at the end of
which the teacher is required to terminate employment pursuant to this section shall be entitled
upon application to a proportionate retirement annuity pursuant to section 356.32. Nothing
contained in this section shall preclude a district from employing a retired teacher as a substitute
teacher but upon having earned an amount equal to the annual maximum earnings allowable for
that age for the continued receipt of full benefit amounts monthly under the federal old age,
survivors and disability insurance program as set by the secretary of health and human services
pursuant to the provisions of United States Code, title 42, section 403, in any academic year
from employment as a substitute teacher, any person over the age of 70 years shall terminate
employment for the remainder of that academic year. No person employed as a substitute
teacher after reaching the normal retirement age and who has retired under this chapter shall
resume membership in the teachers retirement fund association by virtue of the employment as
a substitute teacher.
History: 1975 c 306 s 32; 1976 c 329 s 31; 1979 c 217 s 12; 1980 c 342 s 14; 1Sp1981 c 4
art 2 s 35; 1987 c 284 art 2 s 6; 1989 c 319 art 13 s 73

354A.22 [Repealed, 1980 c 509 s 140]

354A.23 MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND
ASSOCIATIONS; BASIC PROGRAMS.
    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 2006 c 277 art 3 s 45]
    Subd. 2. St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association basic program. There is
established within the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association a basic program which shall
be a continuation of the retirement program in existence prior to July 1, 1978 to provide retirement
coverage for teachers who are not covered by any agreement or modification made between the
state and the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare making the provisions of the federal Old
Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Act applicable to certain teachers covered by the teachers
retirement fund association. The provisions governing the basic program shall be the applicable
portions of this chapter, the articles of incorporation and bylaws in effect as of March 31, 1976,
the amendments to the articles of incorporation and bylaws adopted subsequent to legislative
approval contained in Laws 1976, chapter 238, section 14, and Laws 1977, chapter 429, section
60, the provisions of Laws 1977, chapter 429, section 61, and any applicable amendments to the
articles of incorporation or bylaws adopted subsequent to July 1, 1979 in accordance with the
provisions of section 354A.12, subdivision 4.
    Subd. 3. Eligibility for refunds and interest. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
the articles and bylaws of the basic programs enumerated in chapter 354A, eligibility for payment
and the payment of interest on refunds and interest on repayment of refunds shall be determined
in the same manner as for the coordinated programs covered by this chapter.
History: 1979 c 217 s 13; 1984 c 564 s 39; 1993 c 336 art 1 s 8

354A.24 DULUTH TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATION COORDINATED
PROGRAMS.
There is established within the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association for teachers
who are covered by an agreement or modification made between the state and the Secretary
of Health, Education and Welfare making the provisions of the federal Old Age, Survivors
and Disability Insurance Act applicable to teachers covered by the teachers retirement fund
association, two coordinated programs:
(1) an old law coordinated program to provide retirement coverage for teachers who were
first employed prior to July 1, 1981 and do not elect to be covered by the new law coordinated
program, which program shall be a continuation of the retirement program in existence prior
to July 1, 1978; and
(2) a new law coordinated program to provide retirement coverage for teachers who were
first employed on or subsequent to July 1, 1981 or for teachers who were first employed prior
to July 1, 1981 and elect to be covered by the new law coordinated program. The provisions
governing the old law coordinated program shall be the portions of this chapter which do not apply
specifically to a coordinated program or a coordinated or former coordinated member, the articles
of incorporation and bylaws in effect as of March 31, 1975, the provisions of Laws 1976, chapter
238, section 15, and any applicable amendments to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the
teachers retirement fund association adopted subsequent to July 1, 1979 in accordance with the
provisions of section 354A.12, subdivision 4. The provisions governing the new law coordinated
program shall be sections 354A.31 to 354A.41 and any other applicable portions of this chapter,
the provisions of Laws 1981, chapter 269, sections 9 and 10, and any applicable amendments
to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the teachers retirement fund association adopted
subsequent to July 1, 1981 in accordance with the provisions of section 354A.12, subdivision 4.
History: 1979 c 217 s 14; 1981 c 269 s 5

354A.27 DULUTH TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATION;
POSTRETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM.
    Subdivision 1. Postretirement adjustment modification. Any postretirement adjustment
payable from the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association must be computed and paid
according to this section.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1995 c 262 art 2 s 14]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1995 c 262 art 2 s 14]
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1995 c 262 art 2 s 14]
    Subd. 5. Calculation of postretirement adjustments. (a) Annually, after June 30, the board
of trustees determines the amount of any postretirement adjustment using the procedures in
this subdivision and subdivision 6.
(b) Each person who has been receiving an annuity or benefit under the articles of
incorporation, bylaws, or under this section for at least 12 months as of the date of the
postretirement adjustment shall be eligible for a postretirement adjustment. The postretirement
adjustment shall be payable each January 1. The postretirement adjustment shall be equal to two
percent of the annuity or benefit to which the person is entitled one month prior to the payment of
the postretirement adjustment.
    Subd. 6. Additional increase. (a) In addition to the postretirement increases granted
under subdivision 5, an additional percentage increase must be computed and paid under this
subdivision.
(b) The board of trustees shall determine the number of annuitants or benefit recipients
who have been receiving an annuity or benefit for at least 12 months as of the current June 30.
These recipients are entitled to receive the surplus investment earnings additional postretirement
increase.
(c) Annually, as of each June 30, the board shall determine the five-year annualized rate of
return attributable to the assets of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association under the
formula or formulas specified in section 11A.04, clause (11).
(d) The board shall determine the amount of excess five-year annualized rate of return over
the preretirement interest assumption as specified in section 356.215.
(e) The additional percentage increase must be determined by multiplying the quantity
one minus the rate of contribution deficiency, as specified in the most recent actuarial report of
the actuary retained under section 356.214, times the rate of return excess as determined in
paragraph (d).
(f) The additional increase is payable to all eligible annuitants or benefit recipients on the
following January 1.
History: 1992 c 403 s 1; 1995 c 262 art 2 s 3-5; 2006 c 271 art 3 s 47

354A.28 [Repealed, 2006 c 277 art 3 s 45]
NOTE: Subdivision 5 was also amended by Laws 2006, chapter 271, article 8, section
3, to read as follows:
"Subd. 5. Investment. The assets of the annuity reserve fund must be invested, reinvested,
and retained by the board of trustees of the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association in
authorized investments under section 356A.06, subdivision 7."

354A.29 ST. PAUL TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATION
POSTRETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Articles of incorporation and bylaws. Permission is granted for the St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association under Minnesota Statutes, section 354A.12, subdivision 4,
to amend its articles of incorporation and bylaws to provide postretirement adjustments under
this section.
    Subd. 2. Elimination of prior lump sum postretirement adjustment mechanism. As a
condition precedent to the implementation of subdivisions 3 to 6, the lump sum postretirement
adjustment mechanism in effect on July 1, 1997, must be eliminated and the articles of
incorporation and bylaws of the association must be amended accordingly.
    Subd. 3. Postretirement adjustment. (a) The postretirement adjustment described in the
articles and bylaws of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association must be determined by
the board annually after June 30 using the procedures under this section.
(b) Each eligible person who has been receiving an annuity or benefit under the articles of
incorporation, the bylaws, or this chapter for at least 12 months as of the end of the fiscal year is
eligible to receive a postretirement adjustment of 2.0 percent that is payable each January 1.
    Subd. 4. Additional investment percentage adjustment. (a) An excess investment earnings
percentage adjustment must be computed and paid under this subdivision to those annuitants and
eligible benefit recipients who have been receiving an annuity or benefit for at least 12 months as
determined each June 30 by the board of trustees.
(b) The board shall also determine the five-year annualized rate of return attributable to the
assets of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association under the formula specified in section
11A.04, clause (11), and the amount of the excess five-year annualized rate of return over the
preretirement interest assumption specified in section 356.215.
(c) The excess investment percentage adjustment must be determined by multiplying the
quantity one minus the rate of contribution deficiency, as specified in the most recent actuarial
report of the actuary retained under sections 356.214 and 356.215, by the rate of return excess as
determined in paragraph (b).
(d) The excess investment percentage adjustment is payable to all annuitants and benefit
recipients on the following January 1.
    Subd. 5. Effect on annuity. The adjustments calculated under subdivisions 3 and 4 must be
included in all annuities or benefits paid to the recipient after the adjustments take effect.
    Subd. 6. Lump sum postretirement adjustment transition. This subdivision applies
to all annuitants and beneficiaries of the association who received a lump sum postretirement
adjustment before the calculation of the first postretirement adjustment under subdivisions 3 and
4. Before the calculation of the first postretirement adjustment under subdivisions 3 and 4, the
annual retirement annuity must be increased by the amount of the lump sum postretirement
adjustment described in the association bylaws and paid to the annuitant or beneficiary in
1997 before July 1, 1997, or if the annuitant or beneficiary was not eligible for a lump sum
postretirement adjustment, then the annual benefit paid to that annuitant or benefit recipient must
be increased by the cumulative percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage
earners and clerical workers All Items Index published by the United States Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, from the date of the initial receipt of a retirement annuity or benefit of
the person whose service is the basis of the benefit to June 30, 1997.
History: 1997 c 233 art 3 s 7; 2006 c 271 art 3 s 47

354A.30 ST. PAUL TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATION; COORDINATED
PROGRAM.
There is established a coordinated program within the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association to provide retirement coverage for teachers who are covered by an agreement or
modification made between the state and the secretary of health, education and welfare making
the provisions of the federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Act applicable to
certain teachers covered by the teachers retirement fund association. The provisions governing the
coordinated program shall be sections 354A.31 to 354A.41 and any other applicable provisions
of this chapter.
History: 1979 c 217 s 15; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 25

354A.31 COORDINATED PROGRAM RETIREMENT BENEFITS.
    Subdivision 1. Age and service requirements. Any coordinated member or former
coordinated member who has ceased to render teaching service for the school district in which
the teachers retirement fund association exists and who has either attained the age of at least 55
years with not less than three years of allowable service credit or received credit for not less than
30 years of allowable service regardless of age, shall be entitled upon written application to
a retirement annuity.
    Subd. 1a. Application for annuity. Application for a retirement annuity may be made
by a member or by a person authorized to act on behalf of the member. Every application for
retirement must be made in writing on a form prescribed by the executive secretary or director
and must be substantiated by written proof of the member's age and identity. The notarized
signature of a member's spouse on a retirement annuity application acknowledging the member's
annuity selection meets the notice requirement to the spouse under section 356.46, subdivision 3.
An application for a retirement annuity is not complete until all necessary supporting documents
are received by the executive secretary or director.
    Subd. 2. Time and manner of payments. A coordinated member or former coordinated
member may make application to the board of the teachers retirement fund association for a
retirement annuity any time after the member has satisfied the age and service requirements
specified in subdivision 1, but no application for retirement may be accepted by the board more
than 60 days prior to the termination of teaching service. The retirement annuity shall begin
to accrue after the occurrence of a retirement precondition event, which for purposes of this
subdivision is the later of the termination of teaching service for the school district in which the
teachers retirement fund association exists, the filing of an application for a retirement annuity
with the board, or receipt of the final salary payment. Accrual shall commence on the sixteenth
day of the month if the retirement precondition event occurs on or before the fifteenth day of
that month or on the first day of the month next following if the retirement precondition event
occurs on or after the sixteenth day of the month.
    Subd. 2a. Applications after retirement. If an application for retirement is filed with the
board during the 90-day period immediately following the termination of teaching service, the
annuity may begin to accrue as if the application for retirement had been filed with the board on
the date teaching service terminated. In no event may an annuity begin to accrue more than one
month before the date of final salary receipt.
    Subd. 3. Resumption of teaching after commencement of a retirement annuity. (a) Any
person who retired and is receiving a coordinated program retirement annuity under the provisions
of sections 354A.31 to 354A.41 or any person receiving a basic program retirement annuity under
the governing sections in the articles of incorporation or bylaws and who has resumed teaching
service for the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association exists is entitled to
continue to receive retirement annuity payments, except that annuity payments must be reduced
during the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the person's income
from the teaching service is in an amount greater than the annual maximum earnings allowable
for that age for the continued receipt of full benefit amounts monthly under the federal old age,
survivors, and disability insurance program as set by the secretary of health and human services
under United States Code, title 42, section 403. The amount of the reduction must be one-third the
amount in excess of the applicable reemployment income maximum specified in this subdivision
and must be deducted from the annuity payable for the calendar year immediately following the
calendar year in which the excess amount was earned. If the person has not yet reached the
minimum age for the receipt of Social Security benefits, the maximum earnings for the person
must be equal to the annual maximum earnings allowable for the minimum age for the receipt
of Social Security benefits.
(b) If the person is retired for only a fractional part of the calendar year during the initial
year of retirement, the maximum reemployment income specified in this subdivision must
be prorated for that calendar year.
(c) After a person has reached the age of 70, no reemployment income maximum is
applicable regardless of the amount of any compensation received for teaching service for the
school district in which the teachers retirement fund association exists.
(d) The amount of the retirement annuity reduction must be handled or disposed of as
provided in section 356.47.
(e) For the purpose of this subdivision, income from teaching service includes: (i) all income
for services performed as a consultant or independent contractor; or income resulting from
working with the school district in any capacity; and (ii) the greater of either the income received
or an amount based on the rate paid with respect to an administrative position, consultant, or
independent contractor in the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association
exists and at the same level as the position occupied by the person who resumes teaching service.
(f) On or before February 15 of each year, each applicable employing unit shall report
to the teachers retirement fund association the amount of postretirement income as defined in
this subdivision, earned as a teacher, consultant, or independent contractor during the previous
calendar year by each retiree of the teachers retirement fund association for teaching service
performed after retirement. The report must be in a format approved by the executive secretary
or director.
    Subd. 3a. No annuity reduction. (a) The annuity reduction provisions of subdivision 3 do
not apply to a person who:
(1) retires from the technical college system with at least ten years of service credit in the
system from which the person retires;
(2) was employed on a full-time basis immediately preceding retirement as a technical
college faculty member;
(3) begins drawing an annuity from a first class city teachers retirement association; and
(4) returns to work on not less than a one-third time basis and not more than a two-thirds
time basis in the technical college system under an agreement in which the person may not earn a
salary of more than $46,000 in a calendar year from the technical college system.
(b) Initial participation, the amount of time worked, and the duration of participation under
this section must be mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee. The employer may
require up to a one-year notice of intent to participate in the program as a condition of participation
under this section. The employer shall determine the time of year the employee shall work.
(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person eligible under paragraphs (a) and (b)
may not earn further service credit in a first class city teachers retirement association and is not
eligible to participate in the individual retirement account plan or the supplemental retirement plan
established in chapter 354B as a result of service under this section. No employer or employee
contribution to any of these plans may be made on behalf of such a person.
    Subd. 4. Computation of normal coordinated retirement annuity; St. Paul fund. (a)
This subdivision applies to the coordinated program of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association.
(b) The normal coordinated retirement annuity is an amount equal to a retiring coordinated
member's average salary under section 354A.011, subdivision 7a, multiplied by the retirement
annuity formula percentage.
(c) This paragraph, in conjunction with subdivision 6, applies to a person who first became
a member or a member in a pension fund listed in section 356.30, subdivision 3, before July 1,
1989, unless paragraph (d), in conjunction with subdivision 7, produces a higher annuity amount,
in which case paragraph (d) will apply. The retirement annuity formula percentage for purposes of
this paragraph is the percent specified in section 356.315, subdivision 1, per year for each year of
coordinated service for the first ten years and the percent specified in section 356.315, subdivision
2 , for each year of coordinated service thereafter.
(d) This paragraph applies to a person who has become at least 55 years old and who first
becomes a member after June 30, 1989, and to any other member who has become at least 55
years old and whose annuity amount, when calculated under this paragraph and in conjunction
with subdivision 7 is higher than it is when calculated under paragraph (c), in conjunction
with the provisions of subdivision 6. The retirement annuity formula percentage for purposes
of this paragraph is the percent specified in section 356.315, subdivision 2, for each year of
coordinated service.
    Subd. 4a. Computation of the normal coordinated retirement annuity; Duluth fund. (a)
This subdivision applies to the new law coordinated program of the Duluth Teachers Retirement
Fund Association.
(b) The normal coordinated retirement annuity is an amount equal to a retiring coordinated
member's average salary under section 354A.011, subdivision 7a, multiplied by the retirement
annuity formula percentage.
(c) This paragraph, in conjunction with subdivision 6, applies to a person who first became
a member or a member in a pension fund listed in section 356.30, subdivision 3, before July 1,
1989, unless paragraph (d), in conjunction with subdivision 7, produces a higher annuity amount,
in which case paragraph (d) applies. The retirement annuity formula percentage for purposes of
this paragraph is the percent specified in section 356.315, subdivision 1, per year for each year of
coordinated service for the first ten years and the percent specified in section 356.315, subdivision
2 , for each subsequent year of coordinated service.
(d) This paragraph applies to a person who is at least 55 years old and who first becomes a
member after June 30, 1989, and to any other member who is at least 55 years old and whose
annuity amount, when calculated under this paragraph and in conjunction with subdivision 7,
is higher than it is when calculated under paragraph (c) in conjunction with subdivision 6. The
retirement annuity formula percentage for purposes of this paragraph is the percent specified in
section 356.315, subdivision 2, for each year of coordinated service.
    Subd. 5. Unreduced normal retirement annuity. Upon retirement at normal retirement age
with at least three years of service credit, a coordinated member is entitled to a normal retirement
annuity calculated under subdivision 4 or 4a, whichever applies.
    Subd. 6. Reduced retirement annuity. This subdivision applies only to a person who first
became a coordinated member or a member of a pension fund listed in section 356.30, subdivision
3 , before July 1, 1989, and whose annuity is higher when calculated using the retirement
annuity formula percentage in subdivision 4, paragraph (c), or subdivision 4a, paragraph (c), in
conjunction with this subdivision than when calculated under subdivision 4, paragraph (d), or
subdivision 4a, paragraph (d), in conjunction with subdivision 7.
(a) Upon retirement at an age before normal retirement age with three years of service credit
or prior to age 62 with at least 30 years of service credit, a coordinated member shall be entitled
to a retirement annuity in an amount equal to the normal retirement annuity calculated using
the retirement annuity formula percentage in subdivision 4, paragraph (c), or subdivision 4a,
paragraph (c), reduced by one-quarter of one percent for each month that the coordinated member
is under normal retirement age if the coordinated member has less than 30 years of service credit
or is under the age of 62 if the coordinated member has at least 30 years of service credit.
(b) Any coordinated member whose attained age plus credited allowable service totals 90
years is entitled, upon application, to a retirement annuity in an amount equal to the normal
retirement annuity calculated using the retirement annuity formula percentage in subdivision
4, paragraph (c), or subdivision 4a, paragraph (c), without any reduction by reason of early
retirement.
    Subd. 7. Actuarial reduction for early retirement. This subdivision applies to a person
who has become at least 55 years old and first becomes a coordinated member after June 30, 1989,
and to any other coordinated member who has become at least 55 years old and whose annuity
is higher when calculated using the retirement annuity formula percentage in subdivision 4,
paragraph (d), and subdivision 4a, paragraph (d), in conjunction with this subdivision than when
calculated under subdivision 4, paragraph (c), or subdivision 4a, paragraph (c), in conjunction
with subdivision 6. A coordinated member who retires before the full benefit age shall be paid
the retirement annuity calculated using the retirement annuity formula percentage in subdivision
4, paragraph (d), or subdivision 4a, paragraph (d), reduced so that the reduced annuity is the
actuarial equivalent of the annuity that would be payable to the member if the member deferred
receipt of the annuity and the annuity amount were augmented at an annual rate of three percent
compounded annually from the day the annuity begins to accrue until the normal retirement
age if the employee became an employee before July 1, 2006, and at 2.5 percent compounded
annually from the day the annuity begins to accrue until the normal retirement age if the person
initially becomes a teacher after June 30, 2006.
    Subd. 8. Determining applicable law. An employee who returns to covered service
following a termination and who is not receiving a retirement annuity under this section must have
earned at least 85 days of credited service following the return to covered service to be eligible for
improved benefits resulting from any law change enacted subsequent to that termination.
History: 1979 c 217 s 16; 1981 c 224 s 139; 1987 c 372 art 9 s 29-31; 1989 c 319 art 2 s 22;
art 13 s 74-78; 1990 c 570 art 12 s 47-49; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 15; 1993 c 336 art 1 s 9; art 2 s 1;
1994 c 542 s 3; 1995 c 141 art 3 s 13; 1995 c 262 art 1 s 7; art 2 s 6,7; 1997 c 233 art 3 s 8,9;
2000 c 461 art 2 s 8,9; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 23; 2002 c 392 art 11 s 52; 2003 c 2 art 1 s 39,40;
1Sp2005 c 8 art 1 s 21,22; art 10 s 63; 2006 c 277 art 2 s 8; art 3 s 26

354A.32 OPTIONAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Optional forms generally. The board of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement
Fund Association shall establish for the coordinated program and the board of the Duluth
Teachers Retirement Fund Association shall establish for the new law coordinated program an
optional retirement annuity which shall take the form of a joint and survivor annuity. Each board
may also in its discretion establish an optional annuity which shall take the form of an annuity
payable for a period certain and for life thereafter. Each board shall also establish an optional
retirement annuity that guarantees payment of the balance of the annuity recipient's accumulated
deductions to a designated beneficiary upon the death of the annuity recipient. Except as provided
in subdivision 1a, optional annuity forms shall be the actuarial equivalent of the normal forms
provided in section 354A.31. In establishing these optional annuity forms, the board shall obtain
the written recommendation of the actuary retained under section 356.214. The recommendation
shall be a part of the permanent records of the board.
    Subd. 1a. Bounce-back annuity. (a) If a former coordinated member or disabilitant has
selected a joint and survivor annuity option under subdivision 1 after June 30, 1989, the former
member or disabilitant must receive a normal single life annuity if the designated optional annuity
beneficiary dies before the former member or disabilitant. Under this option, no reduction may be
made in the person's annuity to provide for restoration of the normal single life annuity in the
event of the death of the designated optional annuity beneficiary.
(b) The annuity adjustment specified in paragraph (a) also applies to joint and survivor
annuity options elected before July 1, 1989. The annuity adjustment under this paragraph occurs
on July 1, 1989, or on the first day of the first month following the death of the designated optional
annuity beneficiary, whichever is later. This paragraph may not be interpreted as authorizing
retroactive payments.
(c) Unless otherwise specified in this subdivision, the restoration of the normal single life
annuity under this subdivision takes effect on the first of the month following the date of death
of the designated optional annuity beneficiary or on the first of the month following one year
before the date on which a certified copy of the death record of the designated optional annuity
beneficiary is received in the office of the appropriate teachers retirement fund association,
whichever date is later.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1989 c 319 art 13 s 98]
History: 1979 c 217 s 17; 1981 c 269 s 6; 1983 c 286 s 12; 1987 c 259 s 49; 1989 c 319
art 13 s 79,80; 1990 c 570 art 12 s 50,51; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 15 s 32; 2006 c 271 art 3 s 38,47;
2006 c 277 art 3 s 27

354A.33 SOCIAL SECURITY LEVELING ADJUSTMENT OPTION.
Any coordinated member who retires prior to the time the member becomes eligible for
Social Security old age retirement benefits shall be entitled to elect to receive a Social Security
leveling adjustment optional annuity from the teachers retirement fund association. The Social
Security leveling adjustment optional annuity shall be established by the board of the teachers
retirement fund association. It shall take the form of an annuity payable for the period prior to the
member's becoming eligible for Social Security old age retirement benefits in an amount greater
than the amount of the member's annuity calculated pursuant to section 354A.31 on the basis of
the age of the member at retirement but equal insofar as possible to the Social Security old age
retirement benefit and the adjusted retirement annuity amounts payable immediately subsequent
to becoming eligible for Social Security old age retirement benefits in an amount less than the
amount of the member's annuity calculated pursuant to section 354A.31 on the basis of the age of
the member at retirement. The optional form shall be the actuarial equivalent to the normal forms
provided in section 354A.31. In establishing the optional form, the board shall obtain the written
recommendation of the actuary retained under section 356.214 and the recommendation shall be a
part of the permanent records of the board.
History: 1979 c 217 s 18; 1987 c 259 s 50; 2006 c 271 art 3 s 47

354A.34 DISPOSITION OF UNPAID PERIOD CERTAIN FOR LIFE OR GUARANTEED
REFUND OPTIONAL ANNUITIES.
If a retiree from a coordinated program who has elected a period certain and for life thereafter
or a guaranteed refund optional annuity form dies without having a designated beneficiary who
has survived the retiree, any remaining unpaid guaranteed annuity payments shall be computed
at the rate of interest specified in section 356.215, subdivision 8, and paid in one lump sum to
the estate of the retiree. If a retiree from a coordinated program who has elected a period certain
and for life or a guaranteed refund optional annuity form dies with a designated beneficiary
who has survived the retiree but the designated beneficiary dies without there existing another
designated beneficiary, any remaining unpaid guaranteed annuity payments shall be computed at
the rate of interest specified in section 356.215, subdivision 8, and paid in one lump sum to the
estate of the designated beneficiary.
History: 1979 c 217 s 19; 1Sp1985 c 7 s 35; 2002 c 392 art 11 s 52

354A.35 SURVIVOR BENEFITS.
    Subdivision 1. Death before retirement; refund. If a coordinated member or former
coordinated member dies prior to retirement or prior to the receipt of any retirement annuity or
other benefit payment which is or may be payable and a surviving spouse optional annuity is not
payable pursuant to subdivision 2, a refund shall be paid to the person's surviving spouse, or if
there is none, to the person's designated beneficiary, or if there is none, to the legal representative
of the person's estate. The refund shall be in an amount equal to the person's accumulated
contributions plus interest at the rate of six percent per annum compounded annually.
    Subd. 2. Death while eligible to retire; surviving spouse optional annuity. (a) The
surviving spouse of a coordinated member who has credit for at least three years of service and
dies prior to retirement may elect to receive, instead of a refund with interest under subdivision 1,
an annuity equal to the 100 percent joint and survivor annuity the member could have qualified
for had the member terminated service on the date of death. The surviving spouse eligible for
a surviving spouse benefit under this paragraph may apply for the annuity at any time after the
date on which the deceased employee would have attained the required age for retirement based
on the employee's allowable service. A surviving spouse eligible for surviving spouse benefits
under paragraph (b) or (c) may apply for an annuity at any time after the member's death. The
member's surviving spouse shall be paid a joint and survivor annuity under section 354A.32 and
computed under section 354A.31.
(b) If the member was under age 55 and has credit for at least 30 years of allowable service
on the date of death, the surviving spouse may elect to receive a 100 percent joint and survivor
annuity based on the age of the member and surviving spouse on the date of death. The annuity is
payable using the full early retirement reduction under section 354A.31, subdivision 6, paragraph
(a), to age 55 and one-half of the early retirement reduction from age 55 to the age payment begins.
(c) If the member was under age 55 and has credit for at least three years of allowable
service on the date of death but did not yet qualify for retirement, the surviving spouse may
elect to receive the 100 percent joint and survivor annuity based on the age of the member and
the survivor at the time of death. The annuity is payable using the full early retirement reduction
under section 354A.31, subdivision 6 or 7, to age 55 and one-half of the early retirement reduction
from age 55 to the date payment begins.
Sections 354A.37, subdivision 2, and 354A.39 apply to a deferred annuity or surviving
spouse benefit payable under this section. The benefits are payable for the life of the surviving
spouse, or upon expiration of the term certain benefit payment under subdivision 2b.
    Subd. 2a. Modification in survivor coverage in certain instances. Any person who
elected joint and survivor annuity coverage pursuant to subdivision 2 prior to July 1, 1981 and
the spouse of the person shall be entitled to modify that election by making a joint specification
in writing on a form prescribed by the executive secretary that the benefits provided in this
section, whichever is applicable, shall be paid only to a designated beneficiary. Authority for any
person and the spouse of the person to modify the prior election shall expire on the date of the
retirement of the person who elected the coverage or the date of death of the person who elected
the coverage, whichever occurs first.
    Subd. 2b. Survivor coverage term certain. In lieu of the 100 percent optional annuity under
subdivision 2, or a refund under subdivision 1, the surviving spouse of a deceased member may
elect to receive survivor coverage in a term certain of five, ten, 15, or 20 years, but monthly
payments must not exceed 75 percent of the average high-five monthly salary of the deceased
member. The monthly term certain annuity must be actuarially equivalent to the 100 percent
optional annuity under subdivision 2.
If a surviving spouse elects a term certain annuity and dies before the expiration of the
specified term certain period, the commuted value of the remaining annuity payments must be
paid in a lump sum to the survivor's estate.
    Subd. 2c. Dependent child survivor coverage. If there is no surviving spouse eligible
for benefits under subdivision 2, a dependent child or children as defined in section 354A.011,
subdivision 12a , is eligible for monthly payments. Payments to a dependent child must be paid
from the date of the member's death to the date the dependent child attains age 20 if the child is
under age 15. If the child is 15 years or older on the date of death, payment must be made for
five years. The payment to a dependent child is an amount actuarially equivalent to the value of
a 100 percent optional annuity under subdivision 2 using the age of the member and age of the
dependent child at the date of death. If there is more than one dependent child, each dependent
child shall receive a proportionate share of the actuarial value of the employee's account.
    Subd. 3. Death after retirement. If a retiree from a coordinated program dies after
retirement, the retiree or the retiree's designated beneficiary shall be entitled to the annuity
payment due for the full month during which death occurs unless an optional annuity was elected
by the retiree pursuant to subdivision 2 or section 354A.32. If a joint and survivor optional
annuity covering the spouse of the retiree was elected by the retiree from a coordinated program,
the retiree's surviving spouse shall be paid a joint and survivor annuity as provided in section
354A.32 and computed pursuant to section 354A.31. If an optional annuity other than a joint and
survivor optional annuity covering the spouse of the retiree was elected by the retiree from a
coordinated program, the optional annuity shall be paid according to its terms.
    Subd. 4. Payment of minimal refund and benefit amounts. If a coordinated member or
former coordinated member dies without having designated a beneficiary or if the designated
beneficiary dies without there existing any other designated beneficiary and prior to making
application for the refund credited to the deceased coordinated member or coordinated former
member, and if the amount of the refund does not exceed $1,500, the board in its discretion
may, in absence of probate proceedings, make payment 90 days after the date of death of the
coordinated member or former coordinated member to the surviving spouse of the deceased
coordinated member or former coordinated member, or if none, to the next of kin as determined
under the laws of descent of the state. A payment under this subdivision shall be a bar to recovery
by any other person or persons. Any retirement annuity in any amount which has accrued at the
time of the death of a coordinated retiree may be paid by the board in its discretion using the
procedure set forth in this subdivision.
    Subd. 5. Payment to designated beneficiary. Any coordinated member and the spouse
of the coordinated member may make a joint specification in writing on a form prescribed by
the executive secretary that the benefits provided in subdivision 1 or 2, shall be paid only to a
designated beneficiary. For purposes of this subdivision, a designated beneficiary may only be
either a former spouse or a child, either natural or adopted, of the member.
History: 1979 c 217 s 20; 1981 c 156 s 5; 1981 c 224 s 140,141; 1982 c 578 art 3 s 8; 1983
c 286 s 13; 1Sp1985 c 7 s 25; 1986 c 458 s 19; 1987 c 372 art 9 s 32; 1989 c 319 art 13 s 81,82;
1993 c 336 art 5 s 1; art 6 s 17-19; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 3 s 24

354A.36 PERMANENT DISABILITY BENEFITS.
    Subdivision 1. Minimum age, service, and salary requirements. Any coordinated member
who has at least three years of allowable service credit, has an average salary of at least $75 per
month, and has become totally and permanently disabled shall be entitled to a disability benefit.
If the disabled coordinated member's allowable service credit has not been continuous, at least
two years of the required allowable service shall be required to have been rendered subsequent
to the last interruption in service.
    Subd. 2. Time and manner of payments. The disability benefit shall begin to accrue from
the later of either 90 days following the commencement of the permanent disability or the first day
of the month following the date on which the written application for the disability benefit has been
filed with the board, but payment shall not begin to accrue until any salary which is received by the
disabled coordinated member for either annual or sick leave during the period of disability ceases.
    Subd. 3. Computation of disability benefit. The coordinated permanent disability benefit is
an amount equal to the normal coordinated retirement annuity computed under section 354A.31,
subdivision 4 , based on allowable service credited to the date of disability but without any
reduction for the commencement of the benefit prior to the attainment of normal retirement age or
age 62 with at least 30 years of service credit as specified in section 354A.31, subdivision 6.
    Subd. 3a. Optional annuity election. A disabled coordinated member may elect to receive
the normal disability benefit or an optional annuity as provided in section 354A.32. The election
of an optional annuity shall be made prior to commencement of payment of the disability benefit
and shall be effective 30 days after receipt of the election or the date on which the disability
benefit begins to accrue, whichever occurs later. Upon becoming effective, the optional annuity
shall begin to accrue on the same date as provided for the disability benefit.
    Subd. 4. Determination of disability. The board of the teachers retirement fund association
shall make the final determination of the existence of a permanent and total disability. The board
shall have the coordinated member examined by at least two licensed physicians, licensed
chiropractors, or licensed psychologists who are selected by the board. After making any required
examinations, each physician, chiropractor, or psychologist with respect to a mental impairment,
shall make a written report to the board concerning the coordinated member, which shall include
a statement of the expert opinion of the physician, chiropractor, or psychologist as to whether
or not the member is permanently and totally disabled within the meaning of section 354A.011,
subdivision 14 . The board shall also obtain a written statement from the employer as to whether
or not the coordinated member was terminated or separated from active employment due to
a disability which is deemed by the employer to reasonably prevent further service by the
member to the employer and which caused the coordinated member not to be entitled to further
compensation from the employer for services rendered by the member. If, after consideration of
the reports of the physicians, chiropractors, or psychologists with respect to a mental impairment,
and any evidence presented by the member or by any other interested parties, the board determines
that the coordinated member is totally and permanently disabled within the meaning of section
354A.011, subdivision 14, it shall grant the coordinated member a disability benefit. A member
who is placed on a leave of absence without compensation as a result of the disability is not
barred from receiving a disability benefit under this section.
    Subd. 5. Offset against benefits paid under other laws. The coordinated disability benefit
shall be reduced by any amounts received or receivable by a coordinated member from the school
district under applicable workers' compensation laws.
    Subd. 6. Requirement for regular physical examinations. At least once each year during
the first five years following the granting of a disability benefit to a coordinated member by the
board and at least once in every three year period thereafter, the board shall require the disability
benefit recipient to undergo an expert examination as a condition for continued entitlement of
the benefit recipient to receive a disability benefit. The expert examination must be made at the
place of residence of the disability benefit recipient or at any other place mutually agreeable
to the disability benefit recipient and the board. The expert examination must be made by a
physician or physicians, by a chiropractor or chiropractors, or by one or more psychologists
engaged by the board. The physician or physicians, the chiropractor or chiropractors, or the
psychologist or psychologists with respect to a mental impairment, conducting the expert
examination shall make a written report to the board concerning the disability benefit recipient
and the recipient's disability, including a statement of the expert opinion of the physician,
chiropractor, or psychologist as to whether or not the member remains permanently and totally
disabled within the meaning of section 354A.011, subdivision 14. If the board determines from
consideration of the written expert examination report of the physician, of the chiropractor, or
of the psychologist, with respect to a mental impairment, that the disability benefit recipient is
no longer permanently and totally disabled or if the board determines that the benefit recipient
is engaged or is able to engage in a gainful occupation, unless the disability benefit recipient is
partially employed under subdivision 7, then further disability benefit payments from the fund
must be discontinued. The discontinuation of disability benefits must occur immediately if the
disability recipient is reinstated to the district payroll following sick leave and within 60 days
of the determination by the board following the expert examination and report of the physician
or physicians, chiropractor or chiropractors, or psychologist or psychologists engaged by the
board that the disability benefit recipient is no longer permanently and totally disabled within the
meaning of section 354A.011, subdivision 14.
    Subd. 7. Partial reemployment of disability benefit recipient. If a disability benefit
recipient resumes gainful employment but the compensation from the employment is less than
the recipient's salary at the date of disability or the salary paid currently to positions similar to
the position which the recipient held at the date of disability, the recipient shall be entitled to a
disability benefit from the board in an amount which when added to the compensation for the
partial reemployment does not exceed the lower of the recipient's salary at the date of disability
or the salary paid currently to positions similar to the position which the recipient held at the
date of disability, and does not in any event exceed the disability benefit originally computed
pursuant to subdivision 3.
    Subd. 8. Examination refusal. If a disability benefit recipient refuses to submit to a medical
examination as provided in subdivision 6, then further disability benefit payments from the fund
shall be discontinued and all rights of the recipient to a disability benefit shall be revoked by
the board.
    Subd. 9. Return to teaching service. Any disability benefit recipient who resumes active
teaching service in the district in which the teachers retirement fund association is located shall
also resume making employee contributions to the fund pursuant to section 354A.12, subdivision
1 .
    Subd. 10. Retirement status upon attaining normal retirement age. No person shall be
entitled to receive both a disability benefit under this section and a retirement annuity under
section 354A.31. If a disability benefit recipient remains totally and permanently disabled upon
attaining normal retirement age, the disability benefit shall terminate and the former disability
benefit recipient shall be deemed to be on retirement status. If the former disability benefit
recipient had elected an optional annuity pursuant to subdivision 3a, the recipient shall receive
an annuity in accordance with the terms of the optional annuity previously elected, or if the
recipient had not elected an optional annuity pursuant to subdivision 3a, the recipient shall be
entitled either to receive a retirement annuity in an amount equal to the greater of either a single
life retirement annuity calculated pursuant to section 354A.31 or the disability benefit paid to
the recipient immediately prior to the recipient's attaining normal retirement age or elect either a
single life retirement annuity as provided in this section or an actuarial equivalent optional form
retirement annuity as provided in section 354A.32. Election of an optional annuity shall be made
prior to the person attaining normal retirement age. If an optional annuity is elected, the election
shall be effective on the date on which the person attains the normal retirement age and the
optional annuity shall begin to accrue on the first day of the month next following the month in
which the person attains normal retirement age.
History: 1979 c 217 s 21; 1981 c 68 s 27,28; 1987 c 372 art 9 s 33; 1989 c 319 art 13 s
83-85; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 16; 2004 c 267 art 8 s 31,32

354A.37 REFUNDS.
    Subdivision 1. Eligibility for refund. Any coordinated member who ceases to render
teaching service for the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association is
located shall be entitled to a refund in lieu of any other annuity or benefit from the teachers
retirement fund association other than an annuity from a tax shelter annuity program and fund
as authorized pursuant to section 354A.021, subdivision 5. The amount of the refund shall be
calculated pursuant to subdivision 3. The application for the refund shall not be made prior to
30 days after the cessation of teaching services if the coordinated member has not resumed
active teaching services for the district. Payment of the refund shall be made within 90 days after
receipt of the refund application by the board.
    Subd. 2. Eligibility for deferred retirement annuity. Any coordinated member who ceases
to render teaching services for the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association
is located, with sufficient allowable service credit to meet the minimum service requirements
specified in section 354A.31, subdivision 1, shall be entitled to a deferred retirement annuity in
lieu of a refund pursuant to subdivision 1. The deferred retirement annuity shall be computed
pursuant to section 354A.31 and shall be augmented as provided in this subdivision. The deferred
annuity shall commence upon application after the person on deferred status attains at least the
minimum age specified in section 354A.31, subdivision 1.
The monthly annuity amount that had accrued when the member ceased to render teaching
service must be augmented from the first day of the month following the month during which
the member ceased to render teaching service to the effective date of retirement. There is no
augmentation if this period is less than three months. The rate of augmentation is three percent
compounded annually until January 1 of the year following the year in which the former member
attains age 55, and five percent compounded annually after that date to the effective date
of retirement if the employee became an employee before July 1, 2006, and at 2.5 percent
compounded annually if the employee becomes an employee after June 30, 2006. If a person has
more than one period of uninterrupted service, a separate average salary determined under section
354A.31 must be used for each period, and the monthly annuity amount related to each period
must be augmented as provided in this subdivision. The sum of the augmented monthly annuity
amounts determines the total deferred annuity payable. If a person repays a refund, the service
restored by the repayment must be considered as continuous with the next period of service for
which the person has credit with the fund. If a person does not render teaching services in any
one fiscal year or more consecutive fiscal years and then resumes teaching service, the formula
percentages used from the date of resumption of teaching service are those applicable to new
members. The mortality table and interest assumption used to compute the annuity are the table
established by the fund to compute other annuities, and the interest assumption under section
356.215 in effect when the member retires. A period of uninterrupted service for the purpose of
this subdivision means a period of covered teaching service during which the member has not
been separated from active service for more than one fiscal year.
The augmentation provided by this subdivision applies to the benefit provided in section
354A.35, subdivision 2. The augmentation provided by this subdivision does not apply to any
period in which a person is on an approved leave of absence from an employer unit.
    Subd. 3. Computation of refund amount. A former coordinated member who qualifies
for a refund pursuant to subdivision 1 shall receive a refund equal to the amount of the former
coordinated member's accumulated contributions with interest at the rate of six percent per annum
compounded annually.
    Subd. 4. Certain refunds at normal retirement age. Any coordinated member who has
attained the normal retirement age with less than ten years of allowable service credit and has
terminated active teaching service shall be entitled to a refund in lieu of a proportionate annuity
pursuant to section 356.32. The refund shall be equal to the coordinated member's accumulated
employee contributions plus interest at the rate of six percent compounded annually.
    Subd. 5. Unclaimed minimal refund amounts; disposition. If a coordinated member ceases
to render teaching services for the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association
is located but does not apply for a refund pursuant to subdivision 1 within five years after the end
of the plan year next following the cessation of teaching services and if the amount of the refund
that the former coordinated member would have been entitled to pursuant to subdivision 3 is $500
or less, then the amount of the refund and any accumulated interest shall be credited to and become
a part of the retirement fund. If the former coordinated member subsequently renders teaching
services for the school district in which the teachers retirement fund association is located and the
amount of the refund that the former coordinated member would have previously been entitled
to pursuant to subdivision 3 is at least $5, then the amount of the refund and any accumulated
interest shall be restored to the member's individual account. If the amount of the refund that the
former coordinated member would have previously been entitled to pursuant to subdivision 3 is at
least $5 and the former coordinated member applies for a refund pursuant to subdivision 1 or for
an annuity pursuant to sections 354A.31 and 354A.32 or section 356.30, the amount of the refund
and any accumulated interest shall be restored to the member's individual account.
History: 1979 c 217 s 22; 1984 c 564 s 40,41; 1989 c 319 art 13 s 86-88; 2006 c 277 art 2 s 9

354A.38 EFFECT OF REFUND; REPAYMENT OF REFUND.
    Subdivision 1. Effect of refund; termination of service credit. If a coordinated member
or former coordinated member applies for and accepts a refund pursuant to section 354A.37, all
allowable service which was credited to the member or former member shall be terminated.
    Subd. 2. Repayment of refund. A coordinated member with at least two years of allowable
service credited subsequent to the member's last application for and acceptance of a refund
pursuant to section 354A.37 shall be entitled to repay the refund. The amount of the refund
repayment shall be calculated pursuant to subdivision 3. If the member has previously applied
for and accepted more than one refund, and the previous refund or refunds have not been repaid,
then the member shall be entitled only to repay all outstanding refunds and shall not be entitled to
repay only the most recent refund.
    Subd. 3. Computation of refund repayment amount. If the coordinated member elects
to repay a refund under subdivision 2, the repayment to the fund must be in an amount equal to
refunds the member has accepted plus interest at the rate of 8.5 percent compounded annually
from the date that the refund was accepted to the date that the refund is repaid.
History: 1979 c 217 s 23; 1980 c 509 s 141; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 17

354A.39 SERVICE IN OTHER PUBLIC RETIREMENT FUNDS; ANNUITY.
Any person who has been a member of the Minnesota State Retirement System, the Public
Employees Retirement Association including the Public Employees Retirement Association
Police and Fire Fund, the Teachers Retirement Association, the Minnesota State Patrol Retirement
Association, the legislators retirement plan, the constitutional officers retirement plan, the
Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund, the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association
new law coordinated program, the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association coordinated
program, or any other public employee retirement system in the state of Minnesota having a
like provision but excluding all other funds providing retirement benefits for police officers or
firefighters shall be entitled when qualified to an annuity from each fund if the person's total
allowable service in all of the funds or in any two or more of the funds totals three or more years,
provided that no portion of the allowable service upon which the retirement annuity from one
fund is based is used again in the computation for a retirement annuity from another fund and
provided further that the person has not taken a refund from any of funds or associations since the
person's membership in the fund or association has terminated. The annuity from each fund or
association shall be determined by the appropriate provisions of the law governing each fund or
association, except that the requirement that a person must have at least three years of allowable
service in the respective fund or association shall not apply for the purposes of this section,
provided that the aggregate service in two or more of these funds equals three or more years.
History: 1979 c 217 s 24; 1981 c 37 s 2; 1981 c 269 s 7; 1981 c 298 s 11; 1987 c 372 art 9 s
34; 1989 c 319 art 13 s 89; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 28

354A.40 COMPUTATION OF BENEFITS WITH PARTIAL SERVICE AS
COORDINATED MEMBER.
    Subdivision 1. Retirement annuity. Any coordinated member of the St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association who has credited service prior to July 1, 1978 shall be entitled to
receive a retirement annuity when otherwise qualified, the calculation of which shall utilize the
applicable retirement annuity formula specified in articles of incorporation and bylaws of the
teachers retirement fund association governing the basic program for that portion of credited
service which was served prior to July 1, 1978, and the retirement annuity formula specified in
section 354A.31 for the remainder of the member's credited service, both applied to the member's
average salary as specified in section 354A.31, subdivision 4. The formula percentages to be
used in calculating the coordinated portion of the retirement annuity or coordinated service
under this section shall recognize the coordinated service as a continuation of any service prior
to July 1, 1978.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1992 c 598 art 6 s 22]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1992 c 598 art 6 s 22]
History: 1979 c 217 s 25; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 29

354A.41 ADMINISTRATION OF COORDINATED PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Administrative provisions. The provisions of the articles of incorporation
and bylaws of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association relating to the administration
of the fund shall govern the administration of the coordinated and basic programs and the
provisions of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund
Association relating to the administration of the fund shall govern the administration of the new
law coordinated program in instances where the administrative provisions are not inconsistent
with the provisions of sections 354A.31 to 354A.41, including but not limited to provisions
relating to the composition and function of the board of trustees, the investment of assets of the
teachers retirement fund association, and the definition of the plan year. The administrative
provisions in the articles of incorporation and the bylaws of the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement
Fund Association pertaining to the granting of pension benefits of the basic and coordinated
programs are no longer in effect after June 30, 2006.
    Subd. 2. Actuarial valuations. In any actuarial valuation of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement
Fund Association, or the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association under section 356.215
prepared by the actuary retained under section 356.214 or supplemental actuarial valuation
prepared by an approved actuary retained by the teachers retirement fund association, there shall
be included a finding of the condition of the fund showing separately the basic and coordinated
programs or the old law coordinated and new law coordinated programs, as appropriate. The
finding shall include the level normal cost and the applicable employee and employer contribution
rates for each program.
History: 1979 c 217 s 26; 1981 c 269 s 8; 1Sp1985 c 7 s 35; 1987 c 259 s 51; 2006 c
271 art 3 s 47; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 30

354A.42 ST. PAUL TEACHER INCREASE LIMIT.
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association
may not pay a postretirement adjustment of more than five percent in any year, effective July 1,
2010.
History: 2006 c 277 art 1 s 2