SF 1308

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/06/2024 04:07pm

A bill for an act
relating to retirement; making administrative changes to the statutes governing the
retirement plans administered by the Minnesota State Retirement System; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections 352B.08, subdivision 1; 490.1211; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 490.124, subdivision 10.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 352B.08, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Eligibility; when to apply; accrual.

(a) Every member who is credited
with three or more years of allowable service if first employed before July 1, 2013, or with
at least ten years of allowable service if first employed after June 30, 2013, is entitled to
separate from state service and upon becoming 50 years old, is entitled to receive a life
annuity, upon separation from state service.

(b) Members must apply for an annuity in a form and manner prescribed by the executive
director.

(c) No application may be made more than deleted text begin 90 deleted text end new text begin 60 new text end days before the date the member is
eligible to retire by reason of both age and service requirements.

(d) An annuity begins to accrue no earlier than 180 days before the date the application
is filed with the executive director.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 490.1211, is amended to read:

490.1211 UNIFORMED SERVICE.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Federal uniformed service protections. new text end

(a) A judge 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 state employment as a judge upon
discharge from service in the uniformed service within the time frame required in United
States Code, title 38, section 4312(e), may obtain service credit for the period of the
uniformed service, provided that the judge did not separate from uniformed service with a
dishonorable or bad conduct discharge or under other than honorable conditions.

(b) The judge may obtain credit by paying into the fund equivalent member contribution
based on the contribution rate or rates in effect at the time that the uniformed service was
performed multiplied by the full and fractional years being purchased and applied to the
annual salary rate. The annual salary rate is the average annual salary during the purchase
period that the judge would have received if the judge had continued to provide employment
services to the state rather than to provide uniformed service, or if the determination of that
rate is not reasonably certain, the annual salary rate is the judge's average salary rate during
the 12-month period of judicial employment rendered immediately preceding the deleted text begin purchase deleted text end
period new text begin of the uniformed service new text end .

(c) The equivalent employer contribution and, if applicable, the equivalent employer
additional contribution, must be paid by the employing unit, using the employer and employer
additional contribution rate or rates in effect at the time that the uniformed service was
performed, applied to the same annual salary rate or rates used to compute the equivalent
member contribution.

(d) If the member equivalent contributions provided for in this section are not paid in
full, the judge's allowable service credit must be prorated by multiplying the full and
fractional number of years of uniformed service eligible for purchase by the ratio obtained
by dividing the total member contributions received by the total member contributions
otherwise required under this section.

(e) To receive allowable service credit under this section, the contributions specified in
this section deleted text begin and section 490.121 deleted text end must be transmitted to the fund during the period which
begins with the date on which the individual returns to judicial employment and which has
a duration of three times the length of the uniformed service period, but not to exceed five
years. If the determined payment period is calculated to be less than deleted text begin one year deleted text end new text begin three years new text end ,
the contributions required under this section to receive service credit deleted text begin may deleted text end new text begin must new text end be new text begin transmitted
to the fund new text end within deleted text begin one year deleted text end new text begin three years new text end from the discharge date.

(f) The amount of allowable service credit obtainable under this section and section
490.121 may not exceed five years, unless a longer purchase period is required under United
States Code, title 38, section 4312.

(g) The state court administrator shall pay interest on all equivalent member and employer
contribution amounts payable under this section. Interest must be at the applicable annual
rate or rates specified in section 356.59, subdivision 2, 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.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin State-authorized purchase of service credit for periods of military service. new text end

new text begin (a)
Unless prohibited under paragraph (b), a judge is eligible to purchase service credit, not to
exceed five cumulative years of service credit, for one or more periods of service in the
uniformed services, as defined in United States Code, title 38, section 4303(13), if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the judge has at least three years of service credit with the judges retirement plan
under this chapter;
new text end

new text begin (2) the duration of the judge's current period of employment is at least six months; and
new text end

new text begin (3) the judge did not obtain service credit for a period of military service under
subdivision 1.
new text end

new text begin (b) A service credit purchase is prohibited if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the judge separated from uniformed service with a dishonorable or bad conduct
discharge or under other than honorable conditions;
new text end

new text begin (2) the judge has purchased or otherwise received service credit from any Minnesota
public employee pension plan for the same period of service in the uniformed services; or
new text end

new text begin (3) the judge's service in the uniformed services occurred before the judge was first
appointed or elected as a judge.
new text end

new text begin (c) When purchasing a period of service, if the period of service in the uniformed services
is one year or less, then the judge must purchase the full period of service. If the period of
service in the uniformed services is longer than one year, the judge may purchase the full
period, not to exceed five cumulative years, or may purchase a portion of the period of
service. If the judge purchases a portion of the period of service in the uniformed services,
the portion must: (1) not be less than one year; and (2) be in increments of six months of
service.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Application and documentation. new text end

new text begin To purchase service credit under subdivision
2, a judge must apply to the executive director of the Minnesota State Retirement System
to make the purchase. The application must include all necessary documentation of the
judge's qualifications to make the purchase, signed written permission to allow the executive
director to request and receive necessary verification of applicable facts and eligibility
requirements, and any other relevant information that the executive director may require.
The judge must submit with the application payment of the administrative fee in the amount
of $250 to cover the costs of calculating the purchase payment amount under section 356.551.
If the judge proceeds with the purchase, the administrative fee will be credited toward the
purchase payment amount.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Purchase payment amount; service credit grant. new text end

new text begin (a) The purchase payment
amount for a purchase under subdivision 2 is the amount determined under section 356.551
for the period or periods of service requested, except that, for purposes of calculating the
purchase payment amount to purchase service credit for service in the uniformed services
that occurred before becoming a judge or between periods of employment as a judge, section
356.551, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), does not apply.
new text end

new text begin (b) Service credit must be granted by the judges retirement plan to the purchasing judge
upon the executive director's receipt of the purchase payment amount. The service credit
purchased under this section may not be used for the purpose of determining a disability
benefit under section 490.124, subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin (c) Payment must be made before the effective date of the judge's retirement.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 490.124, subdivision 10, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 23-01850

490.124 MATURITY OF BENEFITS; RETIREMENT AND SURVIVORS' ANNUITIES.

No active language found for: 490.124.10