Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 088 - Arkansas Teacher Retirement System › Rule 088.00.07-003 - Rule # 6-1 -- Rules of Membership; Rule # 6-1A -- Contributory/Noncontributory Service; Rule # 6-2 -- Reciprocity; Rule # 6-9 -- Erroneous Membership; Rule # 6-11 -- Confidentiality of Members Accounts

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
DEFINITIONS
Active member
means any member rendering service to
			 an employer that is covered by the System.
Deferred member
means a member who has five (5) or
			 more years of actual or reciprocal service who is eligible for retirement under
			 § 24-7-707.
Inactive member
means a member who is no longer
			 rendering service covered by the System and who is not retired.
Member
means any person included in the membership
			 of the System.
Nonteacher
means any member except a teacher.
Teacher
means any member employed by a school for
			 purposes of giving instruction and whose employment requires state
			 licensure.
MEMBERSHIP IN THE ARKANSAS TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL
			 INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:
1. All teachers hired after July 1, 1971, who
		  are not participating in another state-supported retirement plan;
2. All employees of an Arkansas public school
		  district hired after July 1, 1989 
		  1; and
3. All persons newly hired after July 1,
		  1989, by any covered employer who are not participating in an alternate or
		  other state-supported retirement plan.
RULES
1. A
		  person who has excluded himself from membership before July 1, 1991, may
		  rescind the exclusion by filing with the System a Membership Data
		  form.
1 Those employees whose
		  nonteaching service began before July 1, 1989, and whose nonteaching service is
		  covered or coverable by the Public Employees Retirement System, shall continue
		  to be covered by that System for all nonteaching service.
2 Effective July 1, 2001, those employees
		  whose nonteaching service began before July 1, 1989, and whose nonteaching
		  service is covered or coverable by the Public Employees Retirement System may
		  elect to be covered by the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. The elections
		  shall be made prior to May 31 on a form provided by System and shall be
		  effective the following July 1. (Act 742 of 2001).
3. Employees who are eligible for membership
		  in the Teacher Retirement System are ineligible for membership in another state
		  retirement system while employed in a position covered by Teacher Retirement
		  excluding service in the Arkansas General Assembly §
		  24-7-204(6).
4. Employees hired by
		  the following employers are ineligible to become members of the System unless
		  the employee has prior service in the System with another covered employer:
		  Arkansas Activities Association; Arkansas Association of Educational
		  Administrators; Arkansas School Board Insurance Trust, Arkansas Easter Seals
		  Society; Ashley County Adult Education; Florence Crittenden Home; Jefferson
		  County Adult Education; Laidlaw Transit; and the Literacy Council of Lonoke.
		  (See ATRS Board Resolution 2006-15, IRS Private Letter Ruling, June 17,
		  2006.)
ACTIVE MEMBERS
An active member means a person rendering service to a covered
			 employer as follows:
1. For the purpose
		  of crediting service in a fiscal year, an active member must earn a year of
		  credit (120 teaching days) or a fraction thereof (not less than 1/4 year - 30
		  teaching days).
2. No service
		  credit shall accrue until the member works thirty (30) days for a covered
		  employer in a fiscal year. If the member does not accrue any service credit for
		  a fiscal year, then any employee contributions shall be refunded to the member
		  by the System at the end of the fiscal year.
3. Active membership will continue beyond a
		  fiscal year in which actual service was rendered, provided the employing
		  institution certified continuing employment, and leave of absence with pay upon
		  which the member is making contributions or is a noncontributory member, also
		  continues active membership
4. An
		  inactive member will become an active member after returning to covered
		  employment and completing at least 30 (thirty) days of credited service.
TERMINATION OF ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP
Active membership in the System will terminate upon the
			 occurrence of any of the following:
RULES
1. An
		  active member who terminates covered employment and retires becomes inactive
		  and is not eligible to accrue additional service credit or make employee
		  contributions to the System unless the member's retirement is
		  rescinded.
2. An active member who
		  is no longer employed by a covered employer and does not retire shall become
		  inactive.
3. If an inactive member
		  who has not retired becomes employed by a covered employer, he/she will become
		  an active member and is eligible to accrue service credit upon the completion
		  of 30 days of service to the employer.
ADMISSION OF NEW EMPLOYERS COVERED BY THE
			 SYSTEM
1. All employees of a
		  new ATRS employer must participate in the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System as
		  a condition of their employment.
2.
		  Employees of a new ATRS employer will enter the System as a noncontributory
		  member, and be allowed one (1) year from the date the new employer is approved
		  by the Board of Trustees to make an irrevocable choice to participate in either
		  the contributory or noncontributory plan.
3. Employees of a new employer who want to
		  purchase their previous service with the new employer may do so in accordance
		  with the policies pertaining to the purchase of prior service. Service with
		  other Arkansas educational nonprofit corporations not covered by ATRS may be
		  purchased in accordance with the policies pertaining to the purchase of private
		  school service.
4. A retiree who is
		  working for a new ATRS employer on the date the employer is approved by the
		  Board of Trustees may continue employment with the employer without being
		  considered to be rendering service to a covered employer. A retiree working for
		  a newly covered employer in this instance is not subject to the ATRS earnings
		  limitation.
CONTRIBUTORY/NONCONTRIBUTORY SERVICE
A.C.A. § 24-7-406 as amended by Act 93 of 2007)
DEFINITIONS
1.
Contributory service
is
		  service on which a member makes or made member contributions to the Teacher
		  Retirement System.
2. A
contributory election
is a written election by a member to make
		  member contributions to the Teacher Retirement System. To be valid, an election
		  must be on an election form provided by the System and signed by both the
		  member and the employer.
3.
Noncontributory service
is service on which a member does not make
		  member contributions to the Teacher Retirement System and accepts a reduced
		  retirement annuity for the years of service on which he/she does not
		  contribute.
4.
Nonteacher
means any member except a teacher.
5.
Teacher
means any person
		  employed by a school for the purpose of giving instructions and whose
		  employment requires state licensure.
RULES
(Act 385 of 2005 and Act 93 of 2007)
1. All service rendered before July
		  1, 1986, is contributory service.
2. All new members under contract for 181 or
		  more days will make member contributions to the Teacher Retirement System.
		  (Acts 81 and 907 of 1999)
3.
A. Until June 30, 2007, all new members under
		  contract for 180 days or less will have one (1) year from their hire date to
		  make an irrevocable election to make member contributions.
B. Effective July 1, 2007, all new members
		  under contract for 180 days or less may elect to become contributory
		  members.