Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 58 - RETIREMENT › Part III - Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana › Chapter 15 - Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) › Section III-1501 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Terms not
				otherwise defined in this Chapter shall have the meaning given by the
Internal Revenue Code
.
B. Whenever used in the plan, each of the
				following terms has the meaning stated below.
Account
-the total of the individual sub-
				  account(s) maintained on behalf of each participant, beneficiary, or alternate
				  payee under the investment option(s) held pursuant to the plan. The following
				  sub-accounts shall be maintained by the ORP providers: an employer
account
to which employer contributions shall be credited; and
				  an employee
account
to which employee contributions shall be
				  credited. The ORP provider shall maintain such other accounts as determined by
				  the ORP provider and the plan administrator.
Alternate Payee
-a person who is an
alternate payee
under an order directed to the plan that the
				  plan administrator or ORP provider has determined to be a domestic relations
				  order.
Applicable Form-
a form prescribed by the
				  plan administrator or an ORP provider.
Applicable Law
-the law of the state of
				  Louisiana or, where required, federal law, including the
Internal
				  Revenue Code
.
Beneficiary
-the eligible recipient of an
				  annuity or other benefit provided by the plan. A
beneficiary
shall be a natural person or the succession of a natural person.
Board of Trustees
-the board provided for by
				  retirement system law to administer the plan.
Contributions
-
contributions
under the provisions of this plan, including employee
contributions
and employer
contributions
.
Distributee
-any participant or beneficiary
				  who receives, or but for his/her instruction to the plan administrator or ORP
				  provider is entitled to receive, a distribution. A
distributee
includes an alternate payee to whom the plan administrator or ORP provider is
				  directed to make a payment under a domestic relations order.
Distribution
-as appropriate in the context,
				  any kind of
distribution
or the particular kind of
distribution
provided by the plan.
Distribution Commencement Date
-the first
				  date on which a distribution (or any payment under a distribution) is paid or
				  becomes payable.
Domestic Relations Order
or
DRO
-a
domestic relations order
directed to
				  the plan that creates or recognizes the existence of the right of an alternate
				  payee to receive all or a portion of any benefit payable to a participant under
				  the plan and that further meets all requirements for a
domestic
				  relations order
as applied to a governmental plan.
DRO Distribution
-a distribution to an
				  alternate payee required or permitted following a DRO.
Earnable Compensation
-the compensation
				  earned by an employee during the full normal working time as a teacher as
				  defined in
				  R.S.
				  11:701.
Earnable
				  compensation
shall include any differential wage payment as defined by
				  26
				  U.S.C. §3401(h)(2) that is
				  made by an employer to any individual performing qualified military service.
Earnable compensation
shall not include per diem, post
				  allowances, payment in kind, hazardous duty pay, or any other allowance for
				  expense authorized and incurred as an incident to employment, nor payments in
				  lieu of unused sick or annual leave, nor retroactive salary increases unless
				  such an increase was granted by legislative act or by a city or parish system
				  wide salary increase, nor payment for discontinuation of contractual services,
				  unless the payment is made on a monthly basis. If an employee is granted an
				  official leave and he or she makes contributions for the period of leave,
				  earnable compensation shall not include compensation paid for other employment
				  which would not have been possible without the leave. The board of trustees
				  shall determine whether or not any other payments are to be classified as
earnable compensation
.
Effective Date
-July 1, 1990, which is the
effective date
of the plan. The implementation of the plan for
				  academic and administrative employees of public institutions of higher
				  education occurred on July 1, 1990. The implementation of the plan for
				  employees of constitutionally established higher education boards occurred on
				  July 1, 1998.
Eligible Employee
-has the meaning provided
				  in
				  R.S.
				  11:921 and
				  11:928.
Employee Contribution
-contributions
				  required from the participant under
				  R.S.
				  11:927.
Employer
-any
employer
of an
				  employee who makes irrevocable election to be in the plan which includes
				  employees of the Board of Regents, Board of Supervisors of the University of
				  Louisiana System, Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and
				  Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Board of Supervisors of Southern
				  University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, or their successors, any
				  other constitutionally established board which manages institutions of higher
				  education, public institutions of higher education, or any other TRSL-covered
employer
with an employee required to continue participation
				  in the ORP as provided in
				  R.S.
				  11:928.
Employer Contributions
-contributions made by
				  the employer under
				  R.S.
				  11:927.
Enabling Statute
-R.S.
				  11:921 et seq.
Internal Revenue Code
or
IRC
-the
Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as
				  amended, and including any regulations and rulings (or other guidance of
				  general applicability) under the
IRC
, as applicable to a
				  governmental plan as defined by
IRC
§414(d)
Investment Option
-any investment option
				  offered by the ORP provider.
ORP Provider
-a company designated by the
				  Board of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana under
				  R.S.
				  11:924.
Participant
-the eligible employee who has
				  irrevocably elected to participate in the plan.
Payout Option
-any of the annuity options or
				  other options for payment that is provided in
				  R.S.
				  11:929. A
payout option
must
				  satisfy all applicable provisions of the plan.
Personal Representative
-the person duly
				  appointed by an order of the court (or of a registrar or administrator under
				  the courts supervision) having jurisdiction over the estate of the participant
				  that grants the person the authority to receive the property of the deceased
				  participant and to act as the
personal representative
of the
				  participants probate estate.
Plan
or
ORP
-the Louisiana
				  optional retirement
plan
provided by
				  R.S.
				  11:921 et seq., and applicable
				  regulations.
Plan Administrator
-consistent with
				  R.S.
				  11:923 and
				  R.S.
				  11:924, the Teachers' Retirement System of
				  Louisiana Board of Trustees or any successor.
Plan Sponsor
-the state of Louisiana.
Regular Retirement Plan
-the defined benefit
				  pension plan administered by the Teachers Retirement System of
				  Louisiana.
Retirement System Law
-those provisions of
				  title 11 of the
Revised Statutes
of Louisiana that apply
				  generally to the management or administration of this plan or the regular
				  retirement plan of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana.
Rollover Distribution
-any eligible
rollover distribution
that is to be paid directly into an
				  eligible retirement plan as a rollover under IRC §§401(a)(31) and 402.
R.S
.-
Louisiana Revised
				  Statutes
.
SEC
-the Securities and Exchange Commission,
				  an agency of the government of the United States of America, established by
				  §4(a) of the federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Severance from Employment
-the date the
				  participant terminates employment with an employer with no obligation for
				  future services to be performed for an employer in the plan by the
				  participant.
Spouse
-the person to whom a participant is
				  married if the marriage is recognized by the state or other United States
				  territory where the marriage is entered into, regardless of domicile. A
				  domestic partner shall not be treated as a spouse.
State
-the
state
of
				  Louisiana unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
TRSL
-Teachers Retirement System of
				  Louisiana.
Trust
-the legal entity and the legal
				  relationship created by state law. Consistent with IRC §401(a)(2), the
trust
must be solely for the purposes of the
				  plan.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
				  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 11:921-929.