Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 088 - Arkansas Teacher Retirement System › Rule 088.00.17-003 - Rule 9-4: Disability Retirement

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
RULE
		  9-4
DISABILITY RETIREMENT
A.C.A. § 24-7-704
I.
RULES
A. Disability
		  retirement benefits shall commence the month the member files a written
		  application with ATRS if at the time the member files the application the
		  member is no longer employed by an ATRS-covered employer, if the member is
		  otherwise eligible under A.C.A. § 24-7-704 and these Rules, and if after
		  the Medical Committee determines a disability exists for the member.
B.
i.
		  Termination of active membership for disability retirement benefits shall be
		  the last date of any employer payment to the member due to the end of the
		  employee/employer relationship.
ii. The member is considered active if they
		  are using earned sick leave, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, annual
		  leave and catastrophic leave. Worker's compensation, which may or may not
		  include the use of leave granted by the employer, is not considered leave by
		  which a member is considered active, nor does it extend the date of active
		  membership.
C.
i. The following criteria and deadlines,
		  applied to the individual member circumstances, affect eligibility for
		  continued disability payments for a member who has been approved by ATRS for
		  disability retirement, based upon the date of the first ATRS disability
		  retirement check. The deadlines may be extended under the provisions of this
		  Rule and A.C.A. § 24-7-704.
a. If the
		  first disability retirement check to the member is dated before July 1, 2015,
		  and the member is under fifty-seven (57) years before July 1, 2015, the member
		  shall submit to ATRS a Social Security Administration (SSA) determination
		  letter dated before July 1, 2018, that finds that the member is disabled. In
		  the absence of a SSA determination letter, the member's disability retirement
		  payments will cease on June 30, 2018.
b. If the first disability retirement check
		  to the member is dated July 1, 2015, or after, and the member is under
		  fifty-seven (57) years on the date of the first disability retirement check,
		  member shall submit to ATRS a Social Security Administration (SSA)
		  determination letter dated within thirty-six (36) months from the date of the
		  first disability retirement check that finds that the member is disabled. In
		  the absence of a SSA determination letter, the member's disability retirement
		  payments will cease thirty-six (36) months from the date of the first
		  disability retirement check. For example:
* Date of 1stATRS disability
			 retirement check: January 2017, then
* Social Security Administration determination letter finding
			 dated by: December 2019; or
* Date of last disability retirement check if no SSA
			 determination letter: December 2019
ii. ATRS will grant an extension to the above
		  deadlines if the member can provide documentation to ATRS that:
a. The SSA disability claim was properly
		  filed and remained active for at least twenty-four (24) months prior to the
		  deadline above; and
b. An active
		  SSA disability claim is still under review by the SSA with no voluntary
		  dismissal or withdrawal.
iii. Once the member who is receiving
		  disability retirement reaches 60 years of age, the member thereafter will
		  receive regular retirement benefits as if voluntarily retired under A.C.A.
		  § 24-7-701 and no Social Security Administration determination letter is
		  required.
iv. A member may apply
		  for an additional review of a disability claim within three (3) months of
		  disability benefits ceasing due to a denial letter and finding by the Social
		  Security Administration that the member is not disabled. The member's
		  disability claim review will follow the procedure set forth in A.C.A. §
		  24-7-704.
D.
i. A member may be employed by an
		  ATRS-covered employer and also receive ATRS disability retirement from ATRS if
		  the member meets the specific criteria in A.C.A. § 24-7-704 for providing
		  services to a covered employer. There are two (2) distinct employment
		  situations outlined below. See also A.C.A. § 24-7-701 which prohibits a
		  member from receiving disability retirement if the member performs work for an
		  ATRS covered employer as an independent contractor in certain circumstances.The
		  two (2) distinct employment situations for simultaneous employment with a
		  ATRS-covered employer and receipt of an ATRS disability retirement are:
a. The member may be employed in a position
		  that is less than forty (40) days of actual service during a fiscal year;
		  or
b. The member may be employed in
		  a position that is forty (40) or more days of actual service during a fiscal
		  year but in a substantially different position, where the job requirements and
		  work duties are also substantially different from the position from which they
		  received disability retirement and the yearly salary is less than the final
		  average salary used to compute the member's disability benefit; and
c. Both of the employment situations
		  described in this section may require the ATRS-covered employer to request and
		  receive a waiver from ATRS. Before accepting any employment described here and
		  forfeiting the disability retirement, the disability retiree and the
		  ATRS-covered employer should review A.C.A. § 24-7-704 and request the
		  waiver accordingly.
ii.
		  If a member is approved for disability retirement but continues to work for the
		  covered employer (directly or indirectly), the member must terminate employment
		  with the covered employer or indirect employer by the proposed disability
		  retirement effective date or up to two (2) full calendar months after the
		  Medical Committee meets if the member is wrapping up final work for which the
		  member is paid to receive disability retirement.
iii. If the member does not terminate
		  employment under the Rules and A.C.A. § 24-7-502, the application is
		  rescinded and the member can reapply.
iv. A member may choose to return to regular
		  employment with an ATRS-covered employer after receiving ATRS disability
		  retirement and, after return to employment, forego their disability retirement.
		  In this instance, the member would no longer receive disability retirement and
		  would be an active member.
See
A.C.A. § 24-7-738 for
		  specific criteria that applies under the law (Act 549 of 2017).
E. If the application for
		  disability retirement benefits is denied and the member elects and otherwise
		  qualifies for voluntary retirement, the effective date for retirement shall be
		  determined by the date the disability retirement application is
		  filed.
F. If the member dies after
		  the disability application is received by ATRS but before disability retirement
		  is approved, then ATRS shall consider the member to have died in "active"
		  service and survivor benefits under A.C.A. § 24-7-710 shall be paid,
		  unless the member has designated an alternative residual beneficiary or
		  beneficiaries.
G. The annuity
		  formula for computing disability retirement benefits is the same as for
		  voluntary age and service retirement.
H.
i. For
		  all disability retirement applications approved by the Medical Committee after
		  May 31, 2011, in accordance with rule making authority granted to the ATRS
		  Board under A.C.A. § 24-7-706(a)(3), the Board shall allow a disability
		  retiree at the time of retirement to designate an Option A or Option B
		  beneficiary. Option C beneficiaries shall not be available to disability
		  retirees.
ii. If a disability
		  retiree designates an Option A or Option B spouse beneficiary, and the
		  disability retiree dies before reaching age 60, then the same rules that apply
		  to active member option beneficiaries shall apply to the disability Option A
		  and Option B beneficiaries under A.C.A. § 24-7-710(b).
iii. If a disability retiree designates an
		  Option A or Option B incapacitated child beneficiary, and the disability
		  retiree dies before reaching age 60, then the same rules that apply to an
		  active member surviving child shall apply to the disability Option A or Option
		  B beneficiary under A.C.A. § 24-7-710(c) until the disability retiree
		  would have turned age 60, then the Option A or Option B incapacitated child
		  beneficiary shall receive the greater of the surviving child annuity under
		  A.C.A. § 24-7-710(c) or the Option A spouse annuity under A.C.A. §
		  24-7-710(a).
I.
		  Disability retirants who are disapproved for further disability annuities due
		  to a medical examination reviewed by the Medical Committee shall be removed
		  from ATRS' retirant payroll the earlier of six months following the review date
		  or the first of the month following the return to covered employment.
J. If a member applies for disability
		  retirement and is disapproved, he/she has the right to file a new disability
		  application submitting additional information for review as long as the member
		  remains active.
HISTORY
Amended:
June 15,2004
July 18, 2005
June 19,2007
December 18, 2009
July 1,2011
Adopted:
August 8, 2011
Effective:
November 11, 2011
Approved by Board: February 6, 2012
Amended:
April 18,2012
Effective:
May 29, 2012
Approved by Board: July 26, 2013
Amended:
October 9, 2013
Effective:
November 8, 2013
Approved by Board: October 5, 2015
Amended:
February 1, 2016
Effective:
February 10, 2016
Approved by Board:
February 5, 2018
Effective: