2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 10 - Education and Culture › Chapter 167a - Teachers' Retirement System › Section 10-183ff. - Erroneous payments; adjustment, repayment or refund. Erroneous invoices; purchase of additional credited service. Payment of benefits when material error in estimate of benefits statement.

(a) Should any change or error in records result in any member or beneficiary receiving from the teachers' retirement system more or less than the member or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, then upon discovery of any such error the Teachers' Retirement Board shall notify the member or beneficiary affected. The board shall, to the extent feasible, adjust the member's or beneficiary's payments so that the member or beneficiary is paid the actuarial equivalent of the benefit he or she was correctly entitled to be paid. If such error or adjustment results in any member or beneficiary receiving less than he or she is eligible to receive, such member or beneficiary may elect to have such benefit paid in a single payment. The board may grant a request for a reimbursement of overdraft charges incurred by a member or beneficiary that resulted from an error in benefit payments, provided the member or beneficiary makes a request for such reimbursement in writing to the board not later than the last business day of the month after the error occurred.
(b) If a member or beneficiary has been overpaid through no fault of his or her own, and the member or beneficiary could not reasonably have been expected to detect the error, the board may waive any repayment which it determines would cause hardship.
(c) Upon determination by the board that any person has erroneously been included in membership in the teachers' retirement system, contributions and interest credited under the provisions of this chapter shall be refunded and records of related service voided.
(d) Upon determination that the board has invoiced a member for the purchase of additional credited service in an amount in excess of that permitted by law, and such member has paid the invoiced amount, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded to such member with interest at a rate equal to the average of interest rates for the most recent ten-year period from the date of the member's retirement to the date such amount is refunded.
(e) Upon determination by the board that a member received, on or after November 1, 2008, an estimate of benefits statement from the board that contained a material error, the board shall pay the member the benefits set forth in such estimate if the board determines that (1) the member could not reasonably have been expected to detect such error, and (2) the member, in reliance upon such estimate, irrevocably submitted (A) his or her resignation to the employing board of education, and (B) a formal application of retirement to the board. For purposes of this subsection, “material error” means an error that amounts to a difference of ten per cent or greater between the estimated retirement benefits and the actual retirement benefits to which such member would otherwise be entitled.
(P.A. 83-397, S. 1, 2; P.A. 97-301, S. 6, 10; P.A. 10-57, S. 3; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2, S. 53; P.A. 22-118, S. 185.)
History: P.A. 97-301 added Subsecs. (d) and (e), effective September 1, 1997; P.A. 10-57 added Subsec. (f) re payment of benefits when member receives estimate of benefits statement containing a material error; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2 made a technical change in Subsec. (f); P.A. 22-118 amended Subsec. (a) to replace provision re board to correct error and as far as practicable adjust payments with provision re board to adjust payments to the extent feasible and to add provision re granting of request for reimbursement of overdraft charges, amended Subsec. (b) to replace “believes” with “determines”, deleted Subsec. (e) re member determined not to have purchased additional invoiced credited service in amount in excess of that permitted by law, redesignated existing Subsec. (f) as new Subsec. (e), and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2022.