2023 Texas Statutes › Vernon's Civil Statutes › Title 109 - Pensions › Article 6243h. Municipal Pension System in Cities of 1,500,000 or More › Section 13. Disability Pensions

Sec. 13.  DISABILITY PENSIONS.  (a)  A member who has completed five or more years of credited service and who becomes disabled is eligible, regardless of age, for an ordinary disability retirement and shall receive a monthly disability pension computed in accordance with Section 10(d) of this Act.
(b)  A member who is disabled by reason of a personal injury sustained or a hazard undergone as a result of, and while in the performance of, the member's employment duties at some definite place and at some definite time on or after the date of becoming a member, without serious and wilful misconduct on the member's part, is eligible for a service disability retirement and shall receive a monthly disability pension equal to the greater of:
(1)  the monthly normal retirement pension computed under Section 10(d) of this Act; or
(2)  20 percent of the member's monthly salary on the date the injury occurred or the hazard was undergone.
(c)  In addition to the monthly disability pension under Subsection (b)(2) of this section, a group A member shall receive one percent of the salary under Subsection (b)(2) of this section for each year of credited service.  The total disability pension computed under Subsection (b)(2) of this section may not exceed the greater of:
(1)  40 percent of that monthly salary; or
(2)  the monthly normal retirement pension computed in accordance with Section 10(d) of this Act.
(d)  A disability pension may be granted under this section to a member only if the member is unable to perform work or services as an employee due to the disability.  A member who is granted a disability pension is considered to have resigned and shall be removed from the employment rolls of the city or the pension system not later than the last day of the month in which the disability pension is approved.
(e)  A person retired for disability under this Act or a person receiving survivor benefits as a disabled dependent child under this Act shall file an annual report of employment activities and earnings with the pension board.  The pension board shall establish the form of the report and the time for filing the report.  If the amount of the earnings added to the disability pension being received by the member exceeds the amount of the monthly salary of the member at the time of the member's separation from service, as adjusted annually by cost-of-living adjustments equal to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the preceding year, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, but not to exceed the cost-of-living adjustment provided by Section 10(h) of this Act, the pension board may reduce the amount of the pension.  A disability pension recipient is not required to submit the annual affidavit of employment activities and earnings after the recipient reaches:
(1)  the date on which the recipient would be eligible to retire, if Section 10(b) or (c) applied to the recipient; or
(2)  65 years of age.
(f)  A member may not receive a disability pension and a deferred or normal retirement pension at the same time.  If a member who has at least five years of credited service is eligible for a disability pension, the member's disability ceases to exist, and the member does not return to work for the city, the member is eligible to receive a deferred or normal retirement pension, beginning on the later of the member's effective retirement date or the date the disability ceases.  The deferred or normal retirement pension is based on actual credited service up to the time of disability and is computed based on the schedule of benefits and provisions in effect on the person's last day of credited service.
(g)  A former member who is retired for disability or a person receiving survivor benefits as a disabled dependent child under this Act is subject at all times to reexamination by the pension board and shall submit to an examination the pension board requires.  If the disability retiree or dependent child who is receiving survivor benefits as a disabled child refuses to submit to a required examination, the pension board may order that payments be suspended, up to and including discontinuation of the disability pension or survivor benefit.  If the pension board determines that a member who has been retired for a disability or a person who is receiving survivor benefits as a disabled dependent child recovers so that the member or person is able to perform the usual and customary duties formerly handled by the member or person or other full-time duties that could be performed by the member or person, the pension board shall suspend or discontinue pension or survivor benefit payments.
(h)  The result of an examination, report by a physician, or report of employment activities and earnings shall be considered by the pension board in determining whether the benefits shall be continued, increased if less than the maximum provided, decreased, or discontinued.  The pension board may reduce, suspend, or discontinue all benefits to a person receiving benefits under this section who, after notice from the pension board:
(1)  fails to appear for a required examination;
(2)  fails to file a report of employment activities and earnings or another related report requested by the pension board; or
(3)  files a materially false or misleading report of employment activities and earnings or examination result or other report, as determined by the pension board.
(i)  To apply for a disability pension, a person must be a member or a former member whose separation from service occurred not more than 30 days before the date the pension system receives the person's request to apply for a disability pension as a result of a disability that arose during employment, except that a member may not apply for a disability pension after the sixth month after the date of the member's last day of credited service.