KRS § 16.505 — KY Code / Title III / Chapter 16 / Section 16.505
16.505 Definitions for KRS 16.505 to 16.652
Status: in_force

16.505 Definitions for KRS 16.505 to 16.652.

As used in KRS 16.505 to 16.652, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "System" means the State Police Retirement System created by KRS 16.505 to

16.652;

(2) "Board" means the board of trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems;

(3) "Employer" or "State Police" means the Department of Kentucky State Police, or its

successor;

(4) "Current service" means the number of years and completed months of employment

as an employee subsequent to July 1, 1958, for which creditable compensation was

paid by the employer and employee contributions deducted except as otherwise

provided;

(5) "Prior service" means the number of years and completed months of employment as

an employee prior to July 1, 1958, for which creditable compensation was paid to

the employee by the Commonwealth. Twelve (12) months of current service in the

system are required to validate prior service;

(6) "Service" means the total of current service and prior service;

(7) "Accumulated contributions" at any time means the sum of all amounts deducted

from the compensation of a member and credited to his or her individual account in

the member's account, including employee contributions picked up after August 1,

1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4), together with interest credited on such amounts

as provided in KRS 16.505 to 16.652, and any other amounts the member shall

have contributed, including interest credited. For members who begin participating

on or after September 1, 2008, "accumulated contributions" shall not include

employee contributions that are deposited into accounts established pursuant to 26

U.S.C. sec. 401(h) within the funds established in KRS 16.510 and 61.515, as

prescribed by KRS 61.702(3)(b);

(8) "Creditable compensation":

(a) Except as provided by paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, means all salary

and wages, including payments for compensatory time, paid to the employee

as a result of services performed for the employer or for time during which the

member is on paid leave, which are includable on the member's federal form

W-2 wage and tax statement under the heading "wages, tips, other

compensation," including employee contributions picked up after August 1,

1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4);

(b) Includes:

1. Lump-sum bonuses, severance pay, or employer-provided payments for

purchase of service credit, which shall be averaged over the employee's

total service with the system in which it is recorded if it is equal to or

greater than one thousand dollars ($1,000);

2. Lump-sum payments for creditable compensation paid as a result of an

order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the Personnel Board, or the

Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, or for any creditable

compensation paid in anticipation of settlement of an action before a

court of competent jurisdiction, the Personnel Board, or the Kentucky

Commission on Human Rights, including notices of violations of state

or federal wage and hour statutes or violations of state or federal

discrimination statutes, which shall be credited to the fiscal year during

which the wages were earned or should have been paid by the employer.

This subparagraph shall also include lump-sum payments for reinstated

wages pursuant to KRS 61.569, which shall be credited to the period

during which the wages were earned or should have been paid by the

employer;

3. Amounts which are not includable in the member's gross income by

virtue of the member having taken a voluntary salary reduction provided

for under applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; and

4. Elective amounts for qualified transportation fringes paid or made

available on or after January 1, 2001, for calendar years on or after

January 1, 2001, that are not includable in the gross income of the

employee by reason of 26 U.S.C. sec. 132(f)(4); and

(c) Excludes:

1. Living allowances, expense reimbursements, lump-sum payments for

accrued vacation leave, and other items determined by the board;

2. For employees who begin participating on or after September 1, 2008,

lump-sum payments for compensatory time; and

3. Any salary or wages paid to an employee for services as a Kentucky

State Police school resource officer as defined by KRS 158.441;

(9) "Final compensation" means:

(a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the

creditable compensation of a member during the three (3) fiscal years he or

she was paid at the highest average monthly rate divided by the number of

months of service credit during the three (3) year period, multiplied by twelve

(12); the three (3) years may be fractional and need not be consecutive. If the

number of months of service credit during the three (3) year period is less than

twenty-four (24), one (1) or more additional fiscal years shall be used; or

(b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, but

prior to January 1, 2014, the creditable compensation of the member during

the three (3) complete fiscal years he or she was paid at the highest average

monthly rate divided by three (3). Each fiscal year used to determine final

compensation must contain twelve (12) months of service credit. If the

member does not have three (3) complete fiscal years that each contain twelve

(12) months of service credit, then one (1) or more additional fiscal years,

which may contain less than twelve (12) months of service credit, shall be

added until the number of months in the final compensation calculation is at

least thirty-six (36) months;

(10) "Final rate of pay" means the actual rate upon which earnings of a member were

calculated during the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the

member's effective retirement date, including employee contributions picked up

after August 1, 1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4). The rate shall be certified to the

system by the employer and the following equivalents shall be used to convert the

rate to an annual rate: two thousand eighty (2,080) hours for eight (8) hour

workdays, one thousand nine hundred fifty (1,950) hours for seven and one-half (7-

1/2) hour workdays, two hundred sixty (260) days, fifty-two (52) weeks, twelve

(12) months, or one (1) year;

(11) "Retired member" means any former member receiving a retirement allowance or

any former member who has filed the necessary documents for retirement benefits

and is no longer contributing to the retirement system;

(12) "Retirement allowance" means the retirement payments to which a retired member

is entitled;

(13) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the

basis of actuarial tables adopted by the board. In cases of disability retirement, the

options authorized by KRS 61.635 shall be computed by adding ten (10) years to

the age of the member, unless the member has chosen the Social Security

adjustment option as provided for in KRS 61.635(8), in which case the member's

actual age shall be used. For members who began participating in the system prior

to January 1, 2014, no disability retirement option shall be less than the same option

computed under early retirement;

(14) "Authorized leave of absence" means any time during which a person is absent

from employment but retained in the status of an employee in accordance with the

personnel policy of the Department of Kentucky State Police;

(15) "Normal retirement date" means:

(a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the first

day of the month following a member's fifty-fifth birthday, except that for

members over age fifty-five (55) on July 1, 1958, it shall mean January 1,

1959; or

(b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, the

first day of the month following a member's sixtieth birthday;

(16) "Disability retirement date" means the first day of the month following the last day

of paid employment;

(17) "Dependent child" means a child in the womb and a natural or legally adopted child

of the member who has neither attained age eighteen (18) nor married or who is an

unmarried full-time student who has not attained age twenty-two (22). Solely in the

cases where a member dies as a direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in

this section, dies as a result of a duty-related injury as defined in KRS 61.621,

becomes totally and permanently disabled as a direct result of an act in line of duty

as defined in this section, or becomes disabled as a result of a duty-related injury as

defined in KRS 61.621 and is eligible for the benefits provided by KRS

61.621(5)(a), "dependent child" also means a naturally or legally adopted disabled

child of the member, regardless of the child's age, if the child has been determined

to be eligible for federal Social Security disability benefits or is being claimed as a

qualifying child for tax purposes due to the child's total and permanent disability;

(18) "Optional allowance" means an actuarially equivalent benefit elected by the

member in lieu of all other benefits provided by KRS 16.505 to 16.652;

(19) "Act in line of duty" means:

(a) A single act occurring or a single thing done, which, as determined by the

board, was required in the performance of the duties specified in KRS 16.060;

(b) For employees in hazardous positions under KRS 61.592, a single act

occurring which was required in the performance of the principal duties of the

position as defined by the job description; or

(c) For employees participating in the State Police Retirement System and for

employees who are in hazardous positions under KRS 61.592, a single act of

violence committed against the employee that is found to be related to his or

her job duties, whether or not it occurs at his or her job site;

(20) "Early retirement date" means:

(a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the

retirement date declared by a member who is not less than fifty (50) years of

age and has fifteen (15) years of service; or

(b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, but

prior to January 1, 2014, the retirement date declared by a member who is not

less than fifty (50) years of age and has fifteen (15) years of service credited

under KRS 16.543(1) or 61.543(1) or another state-administered retirement

system;

(21) "Member" means any officer included in the membership of the system as provided

under KRS 16.520 whose membership has not been terminated under KRS 61.535;

(22) "Regular full-time officers" means the occupants of positions as set forth in KRS

16.010;

(23) "Hazardous disability" as used in KRS 16.505 to 16.652 means a disability which

results in an employee's total incapacity to continue as an employee in a hazardous

position, but the employee is not necessarily deemed to be totally and permanently

disabled to engage in other occupations for remuneration or profit;

(24) "Current rate of pay" means the member's actual hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly,

monthly, or yearly rate of pay converted to an annual rate as defined in final rate of

pay. The rate shall be certified by the employer;

(25) "Beneficiary" means the person, persons, estate, trust, or trustee designated by the

member in accordance with KRS 61.542 or 61.705 to receive any available benefits

in the event of the member's death. As used in KRS 61.702, "beneficiary" does not

mean an estate, trust, or trustee;

(26) "Recipient" means the retired member, the person or persons designated as

beneficiary by the member and drawing a retirement allowance as a result of the

member's death, or a dependent child drawing a retirement allowance. An alternate

payee of a qualified domestic relations order shall not be considered a recipient,

except for purposes of KRS 61.623;

(27) "Person" means a natural person;

(28) "Retirement office" means the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority office building

in Frankfort, unless otherwise designated by the Kentucky Public Pensions

Authority;

(29) "Vested" for purposes of determining eligibility for purchasing service credit under

KRS 61.552 means the employee has at least forty-eight (48) months of service if

age sixty-five (65) or older or at least sixty (60) months of service if under the age

of sixty-five (65). For purposes of this subsection, "service" means service in the

systems administered by the Kentucky Retirement Systems and County Employees

Retirement Systems;

(30) "Last day of paid employment" means the last date employer and employee

contributions are required to be reported in accordance with KRS 16.543 or 61.543

to the retirement office in order for the employee to receive current service credit

for the month. Last day of paid employment does not mean a date the employee

receives payment for accrued leave, whether by lump sum or otherwise, if that date

occurs twenty-four (24) or more months after previous contributions;

(31) "Objective medical evidence" means reports of examinations or treatments; medical

signs which are anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities that can

be observed; psychiatric signs which are medically demonstrable phenomena

indicating specific abnormalities of behavior, affect, thought, memory, orientation,

or contact with reality; or laboratory findings which are anatomical, physiological,

or psychological phenomena that can be shown by medically acceptable laboratory

diagnostic techniques, including but not limited to chemical tests,

electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, X-rays, and psychological tests;

(32) "Fiscal year" of the system means the twelve (12) months from July 1 through the

following June 30, which shall also be the plan year. The "fiscal year" shall be the

limitation year used to determine contribution and benefit limits established by 26

U.S.C. sec. 415;

(33) "Participating" means an employee is currently earning service credit in the system

as provided in KRS 16.543;

(34) "Month" means a calendar month;

(35) "Membership date" means the date upon which the member began participating in

the system as provided by KRS 16.543;

(36) "Participant" means a member, as defined by subsection (21) of this section, or a

retired member, as defined by subsection (11) of this section;

(37) "Qualified domestic relations order" means any judgment, decree, or order,

including approval of a property settlement agreement, that:

(a) Is issued by a court or administrative agency; and

(b) Relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital

property rights to an alternate payee;

(38) "Alternate payee" means a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a

participant, who is designated to be paid retirement benefits in a qualified domestic

relations order;

(39) "Accumulated employer credit" means the employer pay credit deposited to the

member's account and interest credited on such amounts as provided by KRS

16.583;

(40) "Accumulated account balance" means:

(a) For members who began participating in the system prior to January 1, 2014,

the member's accumulated contributions; or

(b) For members who began participating in the system on or after January 1,

2014, in the hybrid cash balance plan as provided by KRS 16.583, the

combined sum of the member's accumulated contributions and the member's

accumulated employer pay credit; and

(41) "Monthly average pay" means:

(a) In the case of a member who dies as a direct result of an act in line of duty as

defined in this section or who dies as a result of a duty-related injury as

defined in KRS 61.621, the higher of the member's monthly final rate of pay

or the average monthly creditable compensation earned by the deceased

member during his or her last twelve (12) months of employment; or

(b) In the case where a member becomes totally and permanently disabled as a

direct result of an act in line of duty as defined in this section or becomes

disabled as a result of a duty-related injury as defined in KRS 61.621 and is

eligible for the benefits provided by KRS 61.621(5)(a), the higher of the

member's monthly final rate of pay or the average monthly creditable

compensation earned by the disabled member during his or her last twelve

(12) months of employment prior to the date the act in line of duty or duty-

related injury occurred.