Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 088 - Arkansas Teacher Retirement System › Rule 088.00.93-001 - Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for Active Members

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS FOR ACTIVE
			 MEMBERS
DEFINITIONS
(1)
		  "Alternate payee" means a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a
		  participant under Arkansas law.
POLICIES
1. Qualified
		  domestic relations orders issued by a chanceiy court of the State of Arkansas
		  and which apply to a participant of the Teacher Retirement System (retirement
		  plan) shall be accepted by the system, subject to the following restrictions:
(a) Benefits to the alternate payee shall
		  begin when the participant retires, or ceases employment in a covered position
		  and receives a refund of contributions.
(b) participants receiving disability
		  benefits, as defined in Section 24-7-704 of the Arkansas Code of 1987,
		  Annotated, from the retirement plan shall not be subject to quahfied domestic
		  relations orders.
(c) Pursuant to
		  Act 1143 of 1993, a model qualified domestic relations order is added as
		  Addendum A to these policies. Any qualified domestic relation order issued by a
		  chancery court must comply with the content of and substantially follow the
		  form set out in the addendtim.
(d)
		  When a quahfied domestic relations order is received by the retirement plan,
(1) the plan administrator shall promptly
		  notify the participant and the alternate payee of the receipt of such order,
		  and
(2) within a reasonable time
		  after receipt of the order, determine whether the order is a qualified domestic
		  relations order as set out in Addendum A to these policies and notify the
		  participant and the alternate payee of such determination.
(e) Qualified domestic relations orders
		  received prior to a participant's retirement or cessation of employment will be
		  handled as set out in (d) above, but any amounts payable to the alternate payee
		  will be held in the participant's account until due to be paid.
(f) Nothing contained in the qualified
		  domestic relations order shall be construed to require the retirement plan to
		  provide an alternate payee any type or form of benefit or option not otherwise
		  available to the participant; to provide the alternate payee actuarial benefits
		  not available to the participant; or to pay an benefits to the alternate payee
		  which are required to be paid to another alternate payee under a previous
		  quahfied domestic relations order.
(g) Should the alternate payee die prior to
		  the receipt of benefits under the qualified domestic relations order, the
		  entire amoimt due the alternate payee shall revert to the
		  participant.
(h) Should the
		  participant die prior to retirement, the alternate payee shall receive the same
		  percentage of the participant's contributions, if any, as was awarded by the
		  court in dividing the marital property. In no case shall be the alternate payee
		  receive monthly benefits from the retirement plan.
(i) Monthly benefits paid the alternate payee
		  shall be computed on the benefit formula in effect at the time of the
		  participant's retirement, but shall include only service credit earned by the
		  participant diaring the marital relationship.
(j) The retirement plan shall have the right
		  to malte any necessary correction to the monthly benefit amount paid both to
		  the participant and the alternate payee and to recover from either, or both,
		  any overpayments made.
(k) If the
		  alternate payee fails at any time to notify the retirement plan of any mailing
		  address change, the retirement plan shall not be eligible for failure to malce
		  the payments as due.
(l) Should the
		  retirement plan determine that the alternate payee's monthly benefits are less
		  than $20.00, the participant shall be paid the total benefit due and shall be
		  responsible for paying the alternate payee the amoimt due.
(m) Qualified domestic relations order
		  received by the retirement plan before the effective date of Act 1143 of 1993
		  may be honored but only if the participant or the alternate payee notifies the
		  plan, and it is determined that the order is a quahfied order as set out in
		  Addendiun A.