Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 16 - RETIREMENT SYSTEMS › Division 10 - The Public School Retirement System of Missouri › Chapter 6 - The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri › Section 16 CSR 10-6.070 - Disability Retirement

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: The Public Education Employee Retirement
				  System (PEERS) is amending its rule regarding the disability retirement
				  program. The amendment reflects a policy change recently approved by the Board
				  of Trustees including setting forth what constitutes "earning a livelihood"
				  under section 169.663, RSMo, for PEERS disability retirees in making disability
				  retirement determinations. The amendment also includes provisions regarding the
				  utilization of a vocational review to more accurately evaluate the ability of
				  the member to earn a livelihood as required for the approval process. The
				  amendment also sets forth the PEERS standard for determining whether a
				  disability is "assumed to be permanent." The amendment makes additional
				  clarifying edits and adjusts section numbering where necessary.
(1) A member claiming disability retirement
				must file an application for retirement with the board of trustees on a form
				provided by the board.
(2) The
				board of trustees shall designate one (1) or more medical advisers whose duties
				shall be to review and determine eligibility for all disability retirement
				applicants, including assigning physicians and/or vocational specialists for
				examinations and reports, when necessary. The board of trustees shall pay the
				fees of the assigned examining physicians and/or vocational specialists and
				shall pay the medical advisers a fee for each application. The medical advisers
				shall report on their findings and the findings of the examining physicians
				and/or vocational specialists, if applicable, and the board of trustees or
				designated staff shall act on these findings.
(3) Disability, as a basis for retirement,
				shall consist of a physical and/or mental incapacity that renders the member
				incapable of earning a livelihood in any occupation and shall be of such a
				nature to warrant an assumption that it will be permanent.
(4) As a basis for making an initial
				disability determination, earning a livelihood in any occupation shall mean
				that the member must be able to engage in a gainful occupation for which the
				member is reasonably qualified by education, training, and experience. A
				gainful occupation is one that replaces not less than seventy-five percent
				(75%) of the average of the member's last three (3) years of salary and is
				reasonably found in the member's Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or Balance
				of State (BOS) area as established by the United States Bureau of Labor
				Statistics.
(5) In order to warrant
				an assumption that the disability is permanent, the medical advisers and/or the
				examining physicians must determine that the disabling condition is likely to
				persist for at least twelve (12) months. The medical advisers and/or the
				examining physicians shall require that the member's disability be reviewed on
				a regular basis unless and until a determination can be made that the member's
				disabling condition will continue until the member reaches age sixty (60). Such
				review may consist of submission of regular Certification of Disability Status
				forms as completed by the member's physician or the member may be required to
				obtain periodic examinations by physicians selected and paid by the board,
				provided there shall not be more than two (2) examinations in any
				year.
(6) The earliest date on
				which disability retirement may become effective is the first day of the
				calendar month following the calendar month in which the services of the member
				are terminated, or the first day of the month following the month in which the
				claim is approved, whichever is later; except that the earliest date on which
				disability retirement may become effective for a member retiring after
				receiving credit for a year of membership service shall be July 1, the first
				day of the school year following the termination of services. Termination from
				employment covered by the retirement system prior to the effective date of
				disability retirement is required to be eligible for a disability retirement
				benefit.
(7) The first payment
				after approval shall include any benefits which have accrued between the date
				of disability and the date of the first payment, provided, however, that
				benefits shall not accrue for more than sixty (60) days prior to the date of
				filing the application.
(8) Any
				member who is receiving a disability retirement allowance from the retirement
				system and who has attained age sixty (60) may be employed in any capacity for,
				and receive income of any amount from, any employer except a school district
				included in the retirement system. Any such member may be employed in a
				district included in the retirement system without a discontinuance of the
				retirement allowance if such employment does not exceed the limitations set
				forth in section 169.660, RSMo, and 16 CSR 10-6.060(4).
(9) Any member who is receiving a disability
				retirement allowance from the retirement system and who has not attained age
				sixty (60) may not be employed in any capacity by a district included in the
				retirement system and continue to receive the disability retirement allowance.
				Any such person may not be employed in any capacity for any other employer, the
				compensation for which employment would constitute a livelihood, and continue
				to receive the disability retirement allowance. The board of trustees will
				determine that a member who has been approved for disability retirement and is
				receiving a disability retirement allowance is earning a livelihood for any
				given year when, not including the member's disability retirement allowance,
				the member earns more than twelve (12) times the Substantial Gainful Activity
				monthly limit for non-blind Social Security Disability Insurance recipients for
				that year. Income is earned for purposes of this section when it is received as
				a result of wages including bonuses, commissions, severance pay, or is net
				earnings from self-employment. Investment income, pensions, capital gains,
				legal settlements or judgments, rental income that is not a part of
				self-employment (e.g., someone who is in the business of renting property),
				support or alimony payments, and inheritances are some examples of unearned
				income which would not count toward the earnings limit. The recipient of
				disability retirement benefits who has not attained age sixty (60) shall be
				required to submit an annual verification of income and may be required to
				submit tax returns, W-2 forms, paystubs, and other forms of documentation as
				evidence of continued eligibility for disability retirement.
(10) If the member fails to provide the board
				of trustees with the completed Certification of Disability Status form or
				obtain a periodic examination as required by section (5), fails to provide the
				income verification as required by section (9), or earns a livelihood in excess
				of the limits set forth in section (9), the member's disability benefit shall
				be suspended until such certification of the member's continued disability can
				be made or until the member reaches age sixty (60).
(11) A recipient of disability benefits may make a
				written request to the board of trustees to return to full-time or part-time
				employment on a trial basis. The written request shall include the proposed
				employer and the proposed start date of employment. The written request shall
				then either be approved or denied by the board of trustees. If the request is
				approved, the recipient's disability benefit shall be placed on hold by the
				board of trustees for the duration of the trial period, which is not to exceed
				twelve (12) calendar months. If the recipient is unable to complete his or her
				trial basis employment period, the recipient must provide written documentation
				to the board of trustees stating that he or she is not able to complete the
				trial period. The board of trustees may require the recipient to again submit
				to a periodic examination by physicians selected by the board of trustees, to
				determine if the recipient remains incapable of earning a livelihood in any
				occupation. If determined to still be incapable of earning a livelihood in any
				occupation, the recipient shall again be considered a disability retiree and
				receive a disability retirement benefit without resubmitting an Application for
				Disability Retirement; any contributions paid to the retirement system by the
				recipient and his or her employer during the incomplete trial basis employment
				period will be refunded to the employer, which shall then refund its employee
				for any employee-paid contributions. The recipient shall receive no additional
				service credit for the incomplete trial basis employment period. If the
				recipient does successfully complete his or her trial basis employment, his or
				her disability retirement will be terminated and his or her membership status
				as of the date of the member's disability retirement shall be restored; any
				contributions paid by the recipient and his or her employer to the retirement
				system during the trial basis employment period will be retained by the
				retirement system and applied to the member account as payment toward any
				disability benefits paid during the member's retirement. The recipient will be
				granted service credit for the trial basis employment period. In no event shall
				the recipient receive a benefit payment in the same calendar month in which the
				recipient either works for his or her trial basis employer or receives service
				credit.
(12) Upon the death of a
				disability retiree, his or her beneficiary is entitled to the same benefits as
				the beneficiary of a member who dies while employed in a district included in
				the retirement system as outlined under section 169.670, RSMo.
*Original authority: 169.610, RSMo 1965, amended 1977,
					 2005.