Introduced By: Representative Salisbury
Date Introduced : February 3, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 36-8-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-8 entitled "Retirement System--administration" is hereby amended to read as follows:
36-8-1. Definition of terms. -- The following words and phrases as used in chapters 8 to 10 of this title unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Accumulated contributions" shall mean the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his or her individual account together with regular interest thereon.
(2) "Actuarial equivalent" shall mean an allowance or benefit of equal value to any other allowance or benefit when computed upon the basis of the actuarial tables in use by the system.
(3) "Annuity reserve" shall mean the present value of all payments to be made on account of any annuity, benefit, or retirement allowance granted under the provisions of chapter 10 of this title computed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted from time to time by the retirement board with regular interest.
(4) "Average compensation" shall mean the average of the highest three (3) consecutive years of compensation, within the total service when the average compensation was the highest.
(5) "Beneficiary" shall mean any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit as provided by chapter 10 of this title.
(6) "Casual employee" shall mean those persons hired for an occasional period to perform special jobs or functions not necessarily related to the work of regular employees.
(7) "Compensation" as used in chapters 8 -- 10 of this title, chapters 16 and 17 of title 16, and chapter 21 of title 45 shall mean salary or wages earned and paid for the performance of duties for covered employment, including regular longevity or incentive plans approved by the board, but shall not include payments made for overtime or reasons other than performance of duties or activities, including but not limited to the types of payments listed below:
(i) Payments contingent on the employee having terminated or died;
(ii) Payments made at termination for unused sick leave, vacation leave, or compensatory time;
(iii) Payments contingent on the employee terminating employment at a specified time in the future to secure voluntary retirement or to secure release of an unexpired contract of employment;
(iv) Individual salary adjustments which are granted primarily in anticipation of the employee's retirement;
(v) Additional payments for performing temporary or extra duties beyond the normal or regular work day or work year.
(8) "Employee" shall mean any officer or employee of the state of Rhode Island whose business time is devoted exclusively to the services of the state, but shall not include one whose duties are of a casual or seasonal nature. The retirement board shall determine who are employees within the meaning of this chapter. The governor of the state, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the general treasurer, and the members of the general assembly, ex officio, shall not be deemed to be employees within the meaning of that term unless and until they elect to become members of the system as provided in section 36-9-6, but in no case shall it deem as an employee, for the purposes of this chapter, any individual who devotes less than twenty (20) business hours per week to the service of the state, and who receives less than the equivalent of minimum wage compensation on an hourly basis for his or her services, except as provided in section 36-9-24. Any commissioner of a municipal housing authority or any member of a part-time state board, commission, committee or other public authority shall not be deemed to be an employee within the meaning of this chapter.
(9) "Full actuarial costs" or "full actuarial value" shall mean the lump sum payable by a member claiming service credit for certain employment for which that payment is required which is determined according to the age of the member and the employee's annual rate of compensation at the time he or she applies for service credit and which is expressed as a rate percent of the employee's annual rate of compensation to be multiplied by the number of years for which he or she claims service credit as prescribed in a schedule adopted by the retirement board from time to time on the basis of computation by the actuary.
(10) "Inactive member" shall mean a member who has withdrawn from service as an employee but who has not received a refund of contributions.
(11) "Members" shall mean any person included in the membership of the retirement system as provided in sections 36-9-1 -- 36-9-7.
(12) "Prior service" shall mean service as a member rendered before July 1, 1936, certified on his or her prior service certificate and allowable as provided in section 36-9-28.
(13) "Regular interest" shall mean interest at the rate of two percent (2%) per annum, compounded annually, or at such other rate determined from the actual experience of the system as may be prescribed from time to time by the board.
(14) "Retirement allowance" shall mean annual payments for life made after retirement under and in accordance with chapters 8 to 10 of this title. All allowances shall be paid in equal monthly installments beginning as of the effective date thereof; provided, that a smaller pro rata amount may be paid for part of a month where separation from service occurs during the month in which the application was filed, and when the allowance ceases before the last day of the month.
(15) "Retirement board" shall mean the board provided in section 36-8-3 to administer the retirement system.
(16) "Retirement system" shall mean the employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island as defined in section 36-8-2.
(17) "Service" shall mean service as an employee of the state of Rhode Island as described in subdivision (8) of this section.
(18) "Total service" shall mean prior service as defined above, plus service rendered as a member on or after July 1, 1936.
{ADD (19) "Active member" shall mean any employee of the state of Rhode Island as defined in this section for whom the retirement system is currently receiving regular contributions pursuant to R.I.G.L. sections 36-10-1 and 36-10-1.1. ADD}
SECTION 2. Section 16-16-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-16 entitled "Teachers' Retirement" is hereby amended to read as follows:
16-16-1. Definitions. -- The following words and phrases used in this chapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Beneficiary" shall mean any person in receipt of annuity, benefit, or retirement allowance from the retirement system as provided in this chapter.
(2) "Child" as used herein shall include a stepchild of a deceased member who has been a stepchild for at least one year immediately preceding the date on which the member died or an adopted child of a deceased member without regard to the length of time the child has been adopted.
(3) "Former spouse divorced" shall mean a person divorced from a deceased member, but only if the person meets one of the following conditions:
(i) Is the mother or father of the deceased member's child(ren);
(ii) Legally adopted the deceased member's child(ren) while married to the deceased member and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or
(iii) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally adopted a child(ren) under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(4) "Member" shall mean any person included in the membership of the retirement system under the provisions of this chapter.
(5) "Prior service" shall mean service as a teacher rendered prior to the first day of July, 1949, certified on his or her prior service certificate and allowable as prior service under the provisions of this chapter.
(6) "Retired teacher" shall mean any teacher who shall have retired prior to July 1, 1949, pursuant to the provisions of G.L. 1938, ch. 195, as amended, and who on June 30, 1949, was in receipt of a pension under the provisions of that chapter.
(7) "Retirement system" and "system" shall mean the employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island created by chapter 8 of title 36, and "retirement board" shall mean the board established under that chapter.
(8) "Salary" or "compensation" shall include any and all salary paid for teaching services regardless of whether any part of the salary or compensation is derived from any state or federal grant or appropriation for teachers' salaries, as the term is defined in section 36-8-1(11).
(9) "Service" shall mean service as a teacher as described in subdivision (11) of this section. Periods of employment as teacher, principal, assistant principal, supervisor, superintendent, or assistant superintendent shall be combined in computing periods of service and employment.
(10) "Spouse" shall mean the surviving person who was married to a deceased member, but only if the surviving person meets one of the following conditions:
(i) Was married to the deceased member for not less than one year immediately prior to the date on which the member died;
(ii) Is the mother or father of the deceased member's child(ren);
(iii) Legally adopted the deceased member's child(ren) while married to the deceased member and while the child(ren) was under the age of eighteen (18) years; or
(iv) Was married to the deceased member at the time both of them legally adopted a child(ren) under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(11) "Teacher" shall mean a person required to hold a certificate of qualification issued by or under the authority of the board of regents for elementary and secondary education and who is engaged in teaching as his or her principal occupation and is regularly employed as a teacher in the public schools of any city or town in the state, or any formalized, commissioner approved, cooperative service arrangement. The term shall include a person employed as a teacher, supervisor, principal, assistant principal, superintendent, or assistant superintendent of schools, director, assistant director, coordinator, consultant, dean, assistant dean, educational administrator, nurse teacher, and attendance officer or any person who has worked in the field of education or is working in the field of education that holds a teaching or administrative certificate and any substitute teacher who serves during a school year at least three-quarters ( 3/4) of the number of days that the public schools are required by law to be in session during the year. In determining the number of days served by a substitute teacher the total number of days served in any public school of any city or town in the state may be combined for any one school year. The term shall also include a school business administrator whether or not the administrator holds a teaching or administrative certificate, and shall also include occupational therapists and physical therapists licensed by the department of health and employed by a school committee in the state, or by any formalized, commissioner approved, cooperative service arrangement. Except that occupational therapists and physical therapists defined herein who are members of a municipal retirement system may elect within six (6) months of passage of this act to transfer their service credits, assets and contributions to the Rhode Island state employees retirement system.
(12) "Teaching" shall include teaching, supervising, and superintending or assistant superintending of schools.
(13) "Total service" shall mean prior service as defined in subdivision (4) of this section, plus service rendered as a member of the system on or after the first day of July, 1949.
(14) {ADD "Active member" shall mean any teacher as defined in this section for whom the retirement system is currently receiving regular contributions pursuant to R.I.G.L. sections 16-16-22 and 16-16-22.1. ADD} Except as otherwise provided in this section, the words and phrases used in this chapter shall, so far as applicable, have the same meanings as they have in chapters 8 to 10 of title 36.
{DEL (15) The masculine pronoun wherever used shall include the feminine
pronoun also.DEL}
SECTION 3. Section 45-21-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-21 entitled "Retirement of Municipal Employees" is hereby amended to read as follows:
45-21-2. Definitions. -- The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:
(1) "Accumulated contributions" shall mean the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his or her individual account in the members' contribution reserve account.
(2) "Actuarial reserve" shall mean the present value of all payments to be made on account of any annuity, retirement allowance, or benefit, computed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by the retirement board with regular interest.
(3) "Beneficiary" shall mean any person in receipt of a retirement allowance, annuity, or other benefit as provided by this chapter.
(4) "Effective date of participation" shall mean the date on which the provisions of this chapter have become applicable to a municipality accepting the provisions of the chapter in the manner set forth in section 45-21-4.
(5) "Employee" shall mean any regular and permanent employee or officer of any municipality, whose business time at a minimum of twenty (20) hours a week is devoted to the service of the municipality, including elective officials and officials and employees of city and town housing authorities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term "employee", for the purposes of this chapter, shall not include any person whose duties are of a casual or seasonal nature. The retirement board shall decide who are employees within the meaning of this chapter, but in no case shall it deem as an employee any individual who annually devotes less than twenty (20) business hours per week to the service of the municipality and who receives less than the equivalent of minimum wage compensation on an hourly basis for his or her services, except as provided in section 45-21-14.1. A casual employee shall mean those persons hired for an occasional period to perform special jobs or functions not necessarily related to the work of regular employees. Any commissioner of a municipal housing authority, or any member of a part-time state board commission, committee or other authority shall not be deemed to be an employee within the meaning of this chapter.
(6) "Final compensation" shall mean the average annual compensation, pay, or salary of a member for services rendered during the period of three (3) consecutive years within the total service of the member when such average was highest, and as the term, average annual compensation, is further defined in section 36-8-1(11).
(7) "Fiscal year" shall mean the period beginning on July 1 in any year and ending on June 30 of the next succeeding year.
(8) "Full actuarial costs" or "full actuarial value" shall mean the lump sum payable by a member claiming service credit for certain employment for which payment is required, which is determined according to the age of the member and his or her annual rate of compensation at the time he or she applies for service credit, and which is expressed as a rate percent of the annual rate of compensation to be multiplied by the number of years for which he or she claims the service credit, as prescribed in a schedule adopted by the retirement board, from time to time, on the basis of computation by the actuary.
(9) "Governing body" shall mean any and all bodies so empowered to appropriate monies for, and administer the operation of, the units as defined in subdivision (1) of this section.
(10) "Member" shall mean any person included in the membership of the retirement system as provided in section 45-21-8.
(11) "Municipality" shall mean any town or city in the state of Rhode Island, any city or town housing authority, fire, water, sewer district, regional school district, public building authority as established by chapter 14 of title 37, or any other municipal financed agency to which the retirement board has approved admission in the retirement system.
(12) "Participating municipality" shall mean any municipality which has accepted this chapter, as provided in section 45-21-4.
(13) "Prior service" shall mean service as a member rendered before the effective date of participation as defined above, certified on his or her prior service certificate, and allowable as provided in section 45-21-15.
(14) "Regular interest" shall mean interest compounded annually as shall be determined by the retirement board based upon the experience of the system.
(15) "Retirement allowance" or "annuity" shall mean the amounts paid to any member of the municipal employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island, or a survivor of the member, as provided in this chapter. All such retirement allowances or annuities shall be paid in equal monthly installments for life, unless otherwise specifically provided.
(16) "Retirement board" shall mean the state retirement board created by chapter 8 of title 36.
(17) "Retirement system" shall mean the "municipal employees' retirement system of the state of Rhode Island" as defined in section 45-21-32.
(18) "Service" shall mean service as an employee of a municipality of the state of Rhode Island as defined in subdivision (5).
(19) "Total service" shall mean prior service as defined above plus service rendered as a member on or after the effective date of participation.
{ADD (20) "Active member" shall mean any employee of a participating municipality as defined in this section for whom the retirement system is currently receiving regular contributions pursuant to R.I.G.L. sections 45-21-41, 45-21-41.1 or 45-21.2-14. ADD}
SECTION 4. Severability. If any provision to this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act, which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon passage.
