GA Code § 47-3-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 47 - Retirement and Pensions|Chapter 3 - Teachers Retirement System of Georgia|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 47-3-1. Definitions

 As used in this chapter, the term:    "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the earnable compensation of a member or paid by the member to establish or reestablish credit for service, which amounts are credited to his or her individual account in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest on such amounts, as provided in Code Section 47-3-41. Beginning July 1, 1987, "accumulated contributions" shall include the amount of employee contributions paid by employers on behalf of members and credited to the individual accounts of members in the annuity savings fund, together with regular interest thereon.   "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees.   "Annuity" means annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member.   "Annuity reserve" means the present value of all payments to be made on account of an annuity or benefit in lieu of an annuity, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables adopted by the board of trustees.   "Annuity savings fund" means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-3-41.   "Average final compensation" means the average annual earnable compensation of a teacher during the two consecutive years of membership service producing the highest such average.   "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit under this chapter.   "Board of trustees" means the board of trustees as provided for in Code Section 47-3-21 and whose purpose is to administer the retirement system.  (8.1) "Certified professional personnel" means employees of the State Board of Education or the Professional Standards Commission who, by policy of the State Board of Education, are required to possess a valid professional certificate issued by the Professional Standards Commission.    "Commencement date" means January 1, 1945.   "Creditable service" means prior service plus membership service and any other service established under this chapter.   "Earnable compensation" means the full rate of regular compensation payable to a member for his or her full normal working time and includes compensation paid to a member by an employer from grants or contracts made by outside agencies with the employer. All moneys paid by an employer for a member or by a member into any plan of tax sheltered annuity shall be included as earnable compensation for the purpose of computing any contributions required to be made to the retirement system and also for the purpose of computing any benefits or allowances payable under this chapter. Such term shall include contributions made to a qualified transportation plan, within the meaning of Section 132(f) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and before tax or salary deferral contributions made under Sections 125, 401(k), 402(g)(3), 457, or 414(h) of the federal Internal Revenue Code to this retirement system or to any other retirement plan maintained by an employer.   "Employer" means the State of Georgia, the county or independent board of education, the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, or any other agency of and within this state by which a teacher is paid. Notwithstanding any provisions in prior or future Acts to the contrary, the county and regional library boards of trustees shall be deemed to be the employer of the county or regional librarians, whose salaries are paid in full or in part from state funds.   "Expense fund" means the fund set forth in Code Section 47-3-47.   "Local retirement fund" means any teachers' retirement fund or other arrangement for the payment of retirement benefits to teachers, but not including the retirement system created under this chapter, which fund was maintained during the calendar year 1943 and is financed wholly or in part by contributions made by an employer.   "Member" means any teacher included in the membership of the retirement system.   "Membership service" means service as a teacher rendered while a member of the retirement system for which credit is allowable.   "Pension" means periodic payments for life, derived from contributions of the state or other employer.   "Pension accumulation fund" means the fund set forth under Code Section 47-3-43.   "Pension reserve" means the present value of all payments to be made on account of a pension, or benefit in lieu of a pension, computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the board of trustees.  (19.1) "Plan year" means the 12 month period beginning on July 1 of each year.    "Prior service" means service rendered prior to January 1, 1945, for which credit is allowable under Code Sections 47-3-83 and 47-3-86.   "Public school" means any day school which is conducted within this state and which is under the authority and supervision of a duly elected county or independent board of education.   "Regular interest" means interest compounded annually at such a rate as shall be determined by the board of trustees in accordance with this chapter.   "Retirement" means withdrawal from service with a retirement allowance granted under this chapter.   "Retirement allowance" means the sum of the annuity and the pension, or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof, under Code Section 47-3-121. All retirement allowances shall be payable in equal monthly installments, provided that the board of trustees may pay a lump sum of equivalent actuarial value in lieu of a retirement allowance of less than $10.00 per month.   "Retirement system" means the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia established under Code Section 47-3-20.  (25.1) "Salary" shall have the same meaning as earnable compensation.    "Service" means service rendered as a teacher and paid for by this state or other employer.   "Service credit" means creditable service, as defined in this Code section.   "Teacher" means a permanent status employee employed not less than half time as follows:   Employees of a public school or a local board of education with the exception of those employees required to be members of the Public School Employees Retirement System as governed by Chapter 4 of this title;   Public school lunchroom managers or supervisors, maintenance managers or supervisors, transportation managers or supervisors, and warehouse managers or supervisors who elect to participate in the retirement system pursuant to Code Section 47-3-63;   Employees of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia with the exception of those employees who elect to participate in the Regents Retirement Plan as governed by Chapter 21 of this title and maintenance and custodial employees employed prior to July 1, 1978, who elected to forgo membership;   Employees of any regional educational service agency created pursuant to Part 11 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20;   Certified professional personnel employed for the first time by the Department of Education on and after July 1, 1983, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to subsection (h) of Code Section 47-3-60, and any employee of the Department of Education employed in a teaching, supervisory, or clerical capacity;   Certified professional personnel employed by the Department of Education and who become members of this retirement system pursuant to the authority of subsection (i) of Code Section 47-3-60;   Professional personnel employed for the first time by the Technical College System of Georgia on and after July 1, 1985, and all nonprofessional personnel employed for the first time after July 1, 1987, by postsecondary vocational-technical schools governed by the Technical College System of Georgia if otherwise eligible under laws, rules, and regulations, unless such personnel elect membership in the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia pursuant to subsection (j) of Code Section 47-3-60;   Personnel employed by the Department of Education who are authorized to elect and elect to become or remain members of the retirement system pursuant to the applicable provisions of Code Section 47-3-60;   Employees of any school operated by the Department of Education; and   Librarians and clerical personnel employed by regional and county libraries. Any of such librarians and clerical personnel who were members of a local retirement system on January 1, 1977, and who elected to remain members of such local retirement system shall not be required to become members of this retirement system, or if they were members of this retirement system on that date, they may withdraw from such membership. This election must have been made, in writing, to the board of trustees by not later than January 1, 1978. Any of such librarians and clerical personnel failing to so notify the board of trustees by that date shall be members of this retirement system.  The term "teacher" shall not be deemed to include any emergency or temporary employee. The term "teacher" shall not include an individual classified by an employer as an independent contractor or a leased employee within the meaning of Section 414(n) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, even if such individual is later reclassified by the Internal Revenue Service as a common law employee. The board of trustees shall determine in doubtful cases whether any person is included within the definition set forth in this paragraph.       (Ga. L. 1943, p. 640, § 1; Ga. L. 1949, p. 1505, § 1; Ga. L. 1950, p. 261, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 470, § 1; Ga. L. 1956, p. 13, § 1; Ga. L. 1957, p. 118, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1959, p. 315, § 1; Ga. L. 1960, p. 935, § 1; Ga. L. 1962, p. 723, § 11; Ga. L. 1965, p. 438, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 652, § 1; Ga. L. 1966, p. 513, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 672, § 1; Ga. L. 1970, p. 217, § 1; Ga. L. 1971, p. 226, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 176, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 909, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1179, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 577, § 3; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1135, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1159, § 1; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1894, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 684, § 3; Ga. L. 1982, p. 965, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 36; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1859, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1314, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1543, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 575, § 8; Ga. L. 1987, p. 959, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 379, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1351, § 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 1742, § 2; Ga. L. 1990, p. 685, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1546, § 11; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2182, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 86, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 316, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 131, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 535, §§ 9, 10, 11/HB 460; Ga. L. 2008, p. 562, § 1/SB 434; Ga. L. 2009, p. 752, § 1/SB 98; Ga. L. 2010, p. 427, §§ 4, 5/HB 969; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 40/SB 436; Ga. L. 2012, p. 413, § 8/HB 805; Ga. L. 2013, p. 862, § 1/HB 345.)    The 2008 amendment,  effective July 1, 2008, substituted "Technical College System of Georgia" for "Department of Technical and Adult Education" twice in subparagraph (28)(F.2), and once in subparagraph (28)(F.3).    The 2009 amendment,  effective July 1, 2009, substituted "State Personnel Administration" for "State Merit System of Personnel Administration" in subparagraph (28)(F.1).    The 2010 amendments.  The first 2010 amendment, effective May 24, 2010, added the last sentence in paragraph (11); added paragraph (19.1); and, in the ending undesignated paragraph of paragraph (28), added the second sentence, in the fourth and fifth sentence, substituted "of this paragraph" for "of paragraph (28) of this Code section" four times, added "of this paragraph" at the end of the fourth sentence, and substituted "subparagraph (N) or (P) of this paragraph" for "said subparagraph (N) or (P)" in the fifth sentence. The second 2010 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, substituted "Sections 47-3-83 and 47-3-86" for "Sections 47-3-83, 47-3-86, and 47-3-87" at the end of paragraph (20).    The 2012 amendment,  effective July 1, 2012, inserted "or her" in the first sentence of paragraphs (1) and (11); substituted "Technical College System of Georgia" for "State Board of Vocational Education" in subparagraph (28)(F); and substituted "as defined by Code Section 45-20-2" for "of the State Personnel Administration" in subparagraph (28)(F.1).    The 2013 amendment,  effective July 1, 2013, rewrote paragraph (28).   Cross references.   - Eligibility of persons to become members of Teachers Retirement System of Georgia even though receiving retirement pay or allowances from or through Board of Regents, § 20-1-3.   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2010, p. 1207, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "The intent of this Act is to repeal obsolete and inoperative provisions and to make certain stylistic corrections in Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. Nothing in this Act shall deny, abridge, increase, renew, revive, or on any way affect any right, benefit, option, credit, or election to which any person was entitled pursuant to such title on June 30, 2010, and the board of trustees of each public retirement system is authorized and directed to provide by regulation for the continuation of any such right, benefit, option, credit, or election not otherwise covered in this Act; provided, however, that any such right, benefit, option, credit, or election shall be subject to the statutory provisions in effect on June 30, 2010."   Ga. L. 2012, p. 413, § 1/HB 805, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "The purpose of this Act is to make conforming amendments and correct references in Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to retirement and pensions, relative to the abolition of the State Personnel Administration and the transfer of certain functions of such agency to the Department of Administrative Services as provided by a separate Act." The separate Act referred to is Ga. L. 2012, p. 446/HB 642, which became effective July 1, 2012, and which provides for the abolition of the State Personnel Administration and the transfer of functions.   Ga. L. 2012, p. 413, § 13/HB 805, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, only if an Act abolishing the State Personnel Administration and providing for the transfer of certain functions of such agency to the Department of Administrative Services is enacted and becomes effective on that same date; otherwise, this Act shall not become effective and shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012." Ga. L. 2012, p. 446/HB 642, effective July 1, 2012, provides for the abolition of the State Personnel Administration and the transfer of functions.   U.S. Code.   - The provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, referred to in paragraph (11), is codified throughout 26 U.S.C.   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Compensation to buy out contract not considered.    - Plain meaning of paragraph (11) of O.C.G.A. § 47-3-1 is that in order for the compensation to be considered for purposes of the calculation of benefits, it must be regular compensation earned for full normal working time. This does not include compensation paid to buy out a three-year contract. Tate v. Teachers' Retirement Sys., 257 Ga. 365, 359 S.E.2d 649 (1987).   Tenured principal's right to non-renewal procedures ended when principal voluntarily retired.    - Tenured assistant principal effectively waived the principal's right to a due process hearing under O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-940 and20-2-942(b)(1) when the principal voluntarily filed for retirement and began receiving retirement benefits; by operation of O.C.G.A. § 47-3-101(a), the principal was no longer an employee of the school district and no longer entitled to a due process hearing. Ashley v. Carstarphen, 347 Ga. App. 457, 820 S.E.2d 70 (2018).   Use of mortality tables in determining actuarial equivalence.    - Although under O.C.G.A. § 47-3-23(b), the Board of Trustees of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia adopted new mortality tables every four years, the retirees' optional-plan benefits were erroneously calculated using option factors based upon a mortality table and interest rate adopted in 1983; in determining actuarial equivalence between the optional-plan benefits and the maximum-plan benefits as required under O.C.G.A. § 47-3-121(a), O.C.G.A. §§ 47-3-1(2) and47-3-23(b) required that the most recent mortality tables be used for such purposes. Plymel v. Teachers Ret. Sys., 281 Ga. 409, 637 S.E.2d 379 (2006).    Cited in Fulton County Sch. Dist. v. Sanders, 242 Ga. 298, 248 S.E.2d 670 (1978); Silliman v. Cassell, 292 Ga. 464, 738 S.E.2d 606 (2013).   OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL   ANALYSIS    Annuity   Average Final Compensation   Employer   Member   Prior Service   Teacher    RESEARCH REFERENCES   ALR.   - What constitutes "salary," "wages," "pay," or the like, within pension law basing benefits thereon, 91 A.L.R.5th 225.