Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 58 - RETIREMENT › Part XVIII - Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System › Chapter 13 - Disability Retirement › Section XVIII-1301 - Qualifications for Disability Retirement

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. On behalf of the board of trustees, the
				executive director is authorized and directed to designate, under
				R.S.
				11:219, outside physicians in any area of
				medical specialty and from any area of the state either to review case
				histories or to conduct regular or appeal examinations of disability retirement
				applicants and beneficiaries.
B. No
				disability benefits will be considered certified by the board of trustees until
				the board-designated physician provides sufficient information for the
				executive director to determine whether the applicant is eligible for
				disability benefits and the percentage of average final compensation due to the
				applicant. If the member qualifies for any exemption from the provisions of
				R.S.
				11:221(A) through (C),
				findings of fact supporting the qualification for the exemption shall be
				included in the certification by the board-designated physician. For purposes
				of
				R.S.
				11:2223(B),
performance of his official duties
shall have the same meaning
				as injury sustained in the line of duty for survivor's benefits
				purposes.
C. When evaluating a
				mental disorder, the board-designated physician shall physically examine the
				patient, and the physician's diagnosis shall conform to the Diagnostic and
				Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), American
				Psychiatric Association (2013) or any subsequent revision thereof.
D. To be eligible for disability benefits
				under
				R.S.
				11:2223(E)(2) for total loss
				of use of limb, a board-designated physician must certify that no effective
				function remains other than that which would be equally served by an
				amputation. The board-designated physician must also certify the date of the
				injury that caused the loss of the total use of the limb.
E. If an applicant fails to appear for a
				medical examination and the board-designated physician charges a cancellation
				fee, the applicant shall pay the cancellation fee. If the applicant fails to
				pay the cancellation fee, said fee, plus interest at the actuarial assumed rate
				of return calculated from the date of payment by the system to the
				board-designated physician, shall be deducted from any benefit amount
				determined to be due to the applicant.
F. If the board-designated physician's final
				certification decision is submitted when there are more than thirty days until
				the next board meeting, the executive director may, in his sole discretion,
				approve the disability retirement or file a written appeal on behalf of the
				board of trustees with the applicant. The executive director shall apply this
				procedure in a manner consistent with his fiduciary duty and shall report any
				approvals or appeals to the board of trustees at the next board
				meeting.
G. Every disability
				beneficiary shall complete an annual attending physician statement (AAPS) by
				May 1 for the first five years following the disability retirement and once in
				every three years thereafter until the earlier of the date the disability
				attains age 62 or reaches the equivalent age of regular retirement (which
				depends on age and actual years of service). After reviewing the AAPS, the
				executive director may require a disability beneficiary to undergo a medical
				examination by a board-designated physician. Payments to any disability
				beneficiary who has not yet attained the equivalent age of regular retirement
				who refuses to submit to a required medical examination by a medical board
				physician designated by the board of trustees, shall be discontinued until the
				beneficiary complies. Failure to comply within one year of the request shall
				result in revocation of benefits by the board of trustees via written
				notification sent to the disability beneficiary by the executive
				director.
H. Beginning on May 1,
				2021, the benefits of every disability beneficiary who has not attained age
				sixty-two or reached the equivalent age of regular retirement who has not been
				certified by a board-designated physician as exempt under
				R.S.
				11:221(A)(2), 222, or 223
				who fails to submit the earnings statement required under
				R.S.
				11:221(C) by May first,
				shall beginning on June 1, be discontinued, without retroactive reimbursement,
				until the statement is filed. If the earnings statement is not received by the
				end of the calendar year, the executive director shall notify the retiree that
				all his rights in and to his disability pension have been revoked by the board
				of trustees pursuant to
				R.S.
				11:221(C)(1).
I. Retroactive payments of suspended benefits
				under
				R.S.
				11:220 and
				11:221
				must be requested in writing. The disability beneficiary must explain why any
				paperwork required was not submitted by the due date. All retroactive payments
				must be approved by the board of trustees. No retroactive payments shall be
				made to disability beneficiaries whose benefits were revoked.
J. Any disability beneficiary subject to
				R.S.
				11:221(D)(1) who receives a
				financial award solely as a result of his disability shall be required to
				provide proof of the gross financial award, along with all legal and court
				costs associated with the settlement. The system staff shall request the
				actuary to convert the lump sum financial award, net of any related legal fees
				and court costs, into a whole life annuity equivalent based upon board-approved
				interest, mortality, and unisex assumptions. The recipient's disability benefit
				shall be offset by an amount equal to the difference between the
				inflation-adjusted final average compensation used to determine the disability
				benefit and the sum of the maximum monthly benefit, whole life annuity
				equivalent, and other outside earnings under
				R.S.
				11:221. Disability applicants shall disclose
				any financial awards or pending claims for financial award on the application
				for disability retirement or within three days of filing a claim. Disability
				beneficiaries shall submit information regarding financial awards on the
				notarized annual earnings statement. Disability beneficiaries' benefits shall
				be reviewed annually for offset until the earlier of the beneficiaries' date of
				death or date of conversion to a regular retirement benefit. The monthly
				benefit of any disability beneficiary who is overpaid due to failure to report
				outside benefits or awards subject to
				R.S.
				11:221(D) shall cease until
				fully recouped by the system, including interest at the actuarial assumed rate
				of return and actuarial fees paid by the system in the calculation or
				collection of amounts.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
				  Promulgated in accordance with
				  R.S.
				  11:2225(A)(1).