2023 Arizona Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Officers and Employees › § 38-886.01 - Ordinary disability retirement; qualifications; amount of pension; conditions for continued payment of pension; definition

38-886.01.
Ordinary disability retirement;  qualifications;  amount of pension;  conditions for continued payment of pension;  definition
A. A member may retire and receive an ordinary disability pension if the local board finds that all of the following conditions occur:
1. An application for disability retirement is filed with the retirement plan or the local board by either the member or the member's participating employer after the disabling incident or within one year after the date the member ceases to be an employee and the member's employment is terminated before the member's normal retirement date by reason of ordinary disability. Timely application for an ordinary disability pension is a prerequisite to receipt of the pension.
2. The member undergoes all medical examinations and tests ordered by the local board and releases to the local board all medical reports and records requested by the local board.
3. The local board determines that an ordinary disability condition exists that meets the requirements for an ordinary disability.
4. The member is not participating in the reverse deferred retirement option plan pursuant to section 38-885.01.
B. The effective date of an ordinary disability retirement shall not predate the date of disability or the date the member ceases to be an employee,  and the disability pension payments shall not violate section 38-895.02.
C. Except for a full-time dispatcher or a person who becomes a member of the plan on or after January 1,  2012,  the amount of an ordinary disability pension is equal to a fraction times the member's normal retirement pension that is computed pursuant to section 38-885,  subsection C as if the member had twenty years of credited service. The fraction is the result obtained by dividing the member's actual years of credited service,  not to exceed twenty years of credited service,  by twenty. For a full-time dispatcher or a person who becomes a member of the plan on or after January 1,  2012,  the amount of an ordinary disability pension is equal to a fraction times the member's normal retirement pension that is computed pursuant to section 38-885,  subsection E as if the member had twenty-five years of credited service or subsection F as if the member had twenty-five years of credited service. The fraction is the result obtained by dividing the member's actual years of credited service,  not to exceed twenty-five years of credited service,  by twenty-five.
D. The local board may require a retired member with a disability to undergo periodic reevaluation of the continuation of ordinary disability. If the retired member with a disability refuses to submit to reevaluation,  the local board may suspend payment of the pension. If the refusal continues for one year,  the local board may revoke the rights to the pension of the retired member with a disability. An ordinary disability pension is terminated if the local board finds the retired member no longer meets the requirements for ordinary disability retirement. This subsection does not apply after a retired member with a disability reaches the member's normal retirement date. The amount of a disability pension shall not be recomputed at the normal retirement date of a retired member with a disability.
E. A member does not qualify for an ordinary disability pension if the local board determines that the member's disability results from any of the following:
1. An injury suffered while engaged in a felonious criminal act or enterprise.
2. Service in the armed forces of the United States that entitles the member to a veteran's disability pension.
3. A physical or mental condition or injury that existed or occurred before the member's date of membership in the plan.
F. Local boards shall base a finding of ordinary disability on medical evidence that is obtained by a designated physician or a physician working in a clinic selected by the local board and shall disregard any other medical evidence or opinions. If the local board retains more than one physician or clinic in connection with the application,  the local board shall resolve any material conflicts presented in the medical evidence that is presented by the designated physicians or clinics.
G. If an ordinary disability ceases before a retired member reaches the member's normal retirement date and the member is reemployed by an employer under the plan,  the pension payable on the member's subsequent retirement shall be determined as provided in section 38-885.
H. For the purposes of this section,  " ordinary disability"  means a physical condition that the local board determines will prevent an employee from totally and permanently performing a reasonable range of duties within the employee's department or a mental condition that the local board determines will prevent an employee from totally and permanently engaging in any substantial gainful activity.