Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 16 - RETIREMENT SYSTEMS › Division 10 - The Public School Retirement System of Missouri › Chapter 5 - Retirement, Options and Benefits › Section 16 CSR 10-5.020 - Disability Retirement

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: The Public School Retirement System (PSRS)
				  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 169.060,
				  RSMo, for PSRS 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 PSRS 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 169.560, RSMo, and 16 CSR 10-5.010(6). Pursuant to section
				169.560, RSMo, the limitations apply to disability retirees over age 60 who are
				employed by a third party or as an independent contractor, if such disability
				retiree is performing work in a district included in the retirement system as a
				temporary or long-term substitute teacher or in any other position that would
				normally require that person to be duly certificated under the laws governing
				the certification of teachers in Missouri if such person was employed by the
				district.
(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 sections 169.070 and 169.075, RSMo.
*Original authority: 169.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1951,
					 1953, 1967, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005,
					 2009.