Tex. Government Code § 824.601 — TX Code / Code gv / Chapter 824 / Section 824.601
§ 824.601. LOSS OF MONTHLY BENEFITS.
Status: in_force

(a) In this section, "third-party entity" means an entity retained by a Texas public educational institution to provide personnel to the institution that perform duties or provide services that employees of the institution would otherwise perform or provide.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1) or (b-4), or Section 824.602 and subject to Subsection (b-2) and, if applicable, Subsection (b-3), a retiree is not entitled to service or disability retirement benefit payments, as applicable, for any month in which the retiree is employed in any position by a Texas public educational institution.

(b-1) Subsection (b) does not apply to a retiree under Section 824.202 whose effective date of retirement is on or before January 1, 2021.

(b-2) A retiree is considered to be employed by a Texas public educational institution for purposes of Subsection (b) if the retiree performs duties or provides services for or on behalf of the institution that an employee of the institution would otherwise perform or provide and:

(1) the retiree waives, defers, or forgoes compensation from the institution for the performance of the duties or provision of the services at any time during the 12 consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement, notwithstanding any other law, including Sections 824.602(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4);

(2) the retiree performs the duties or provides the services for or on behalf of the institution as an independent contractor at any time during the 12 consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement; or

(3) the retiree, as a volunteer without compensation, performs the same duties or provides the same services for an institution that the retiree performed or provided immediately before retiring and the retiree has an agreement to perform those duties or provide those services after the 12 consecutive calendar months after the retiree's effective date of retirement.

(b-3) A retiree under Section 824.202 is subject to Subsection (b) only if the retirement system first issues the following notices to the retiree:

(1) with respect to the first occurrence of the retiree's employment that does not qualify for an exception under Section 824.602, the system issued a written warning notifying the retiree of that fact; and

(2) in a month following the month in which the system issued the warning described by Subdivision (1) and with respect to a subsequent occurrence of the retiree's continued employment that does not qualify for an exception under Section 824.602, the system issued a written notice:

(A) warning the retiree of the fact described by this subdivision; and

(B) requiring the retiree to pay to the system, in a form and manner prescribed by the system, an amount, as elected by the retiree, that equals the total sum the retiree:

(i) earned for all employment by Texas public educational institutions for each month occurring after the issuance of the warning under Subdivision (1) for which the retiree did not qualify for an exception under Section 824.602 and before the month the system issued the written notice described by this subdivision; or

(ii) received in retirement benefit payments for each month occurring after the issuance of the warning under Subdivision (1) for which the retiree did not qualify for an exception under Section 824.602 and before the month the system issued the written notice described by this subdivision.

(b-4) A retiree under Section 824.302 who is employed in any position by a Texas public educational institution for more than 90 days in a school year is not entitled to disability retirement benefit payments for the remaining months of the school year during which the retiree continues to be employed by an institution unless the retiree qualifies for the exception described by Section 824.602(g).

(c) A Texas public educational institution, for the purposes of this subchapter, is any entity included in the definition of "employer" or "public school" in Section 821.001 or any entity in whose employment the retiree has earned credit as a member of the retirement system.

(d) A retiree who is an employee of a third-party entity is considered to be employed by a Texas public educational institution for purposes of this subchapter unless the retiree does not perform duties or provide services on behalf of or for the benefit of the institution.

(e) Loss of benefits under this section does not extend any period of guaranteed benefits elected pursuant to Section 824.204.

(f) Redesignated by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 141 (H.B. 1585), Sec. 3, eff. May 26, 2021.