Title 38 — Public Officers and Employees

A. A member shall not earn more than one year of credited service in any fiscal year. B. A member shall earn proportionate credited service for each month for which the member performs service and is compensated equal to the ratio that the month bears to the number of months in t…

Consistent with the compliance statement issued by the United States internal revenue service, an employee who is employed with an ASRS employer in a position that was exempt from ASRS membership because the position was not included in agreements providing for the employee's cov…

A. A member whose membership commenced before July 1, 2011 and who leaves employment other than by retirement or death may elect to receive a return of the contributions as follows: 1. If the member has less than five years of credited service, ASRS shall disburse all of the memb…

A. ASRS shall return to active status an inactive member who terminates employment with an employer without terminating membership in ASRS and who later is reemployed by the same or another employer. B. On retirement, ASRS shall disburse benefits derived from service for all empl…

A. If an active member who received a return of contributions on termination of employment and by receipt of those contributions forfeited credited service earned on that employment, as provided in section 38-740, subsection A or B, is subsequently reemployed by an employer, the …

B. A member who elects to receive credit for service with the United States government, a state, territory, commonwealth, overseas possession or insular area of the United States or a political subdivision of a state, territory, commonwealth, overseas possession or insular area o…

A. A member may elect to be credited with service for retirement purposes for an officially granted leave of absence from employment without pay if all of the following apply: 1. At the time the absence was granted the member was an active member of ASRS or a member who was recei…

A. An active member of ASRS or a member who is receiving benefits pursuant to section 38-797.07 may purchase credited service in ASRS for active military service if all of the following apply: 1. The member was honorably separated from the military service. 2. The member submits …

A. Except as provided in subsection E, beginning on July 1, 2002, the annual compensation of each employee taken into account under ASRS for any fiscal year or for any other specified twelve consecutive month period shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars. In determining be…

A. A member who purchases credited service pursuant to section 38-738, 38-742, 38-743, 38-744, 38-745 or 38-922 shall either: 1. Make payments directly to ASRS as provided in subsection H of this section. 2. Elect to have the member's employer make payments as provided in subsect…

A. If an employer pays contributions on behalf of any person who is not eligible by statute or rule for ASRS membership or pays contributions on compensation that is not eligible by statute or rule for ASRS contributions and either ASRS or a court determines that ASRS shall provi…

A. If a termination incentive program that is offered by an employer results in an actuarial unfunded liability to ASRS, the employer shall pay to ASRS the amount of the unfunded liability. ASRS shall determine the amount of the unfunded liability in consultation with its actuary…

B. If the assets transferred from ASRS are less than the cost of the benefits accrued relative to the credited service as calculated pursuant to section 38-922, subsection B, paragraph 2, and unless a law otherwise provides, the employee shall elect either to pay the difference t…

A. ASRS shall establish a separate fund for an employer, other than a charter school, that is no longer participating in ASRS as a result of any of the following: 1. The character of the employer changes from a public entity to a private entity. 2. An employer, other than this st…

A. ASRS shall make information concerning a member's account accessible to the member in written or electronic form. This information shall include the member's current account balance, contact information, beneficiary election, estimated retirement date and estimated benefit amo…

A. The director shall develop, implement and maintain an outreach education program for members of ASRS that is designed to provide basic information on retirement planning. B. The outreach education program prescribed in subsection A shall include at least the following: 1. Info…

A. After application on a form prescribed by the director, a member may retire on reaching the member's normal retirement date. Except as provided in section 13-713, a member's right to the member's normal retirement benefit as described in subsection B of this section is nonforf…

A. A member who has attained age fifty, who has terminated employment with all employers and who has five years of total credited service is eligible to elect, in a form and manner prescribed by the board, to receive a reduced retirement income. B. For a member whose membership i…

A. A member who is eligible for normal retirement benefits on the member's normal retirement date may elect to defer receiving retirement benefits. B. Notwithstanding this section, payment of a member's deferred benefits shall not commence later than the member's required beginni…

A. On retirement, members may elect an optional form of retirement benefit as provided in this section. B. The optional retirement benefits available under this section include the following: 1. Joint and survivor life annuity in a reduced amount payable to the retiring member du…

A. On the death of any active or inactive member before retirement, the designated beneficiary of the member shall be paid a survivor benefit equal to the sum of both of the following: 1. The member's contribution and interest and the employer's contribution and interest to the d…

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, if a member dies after distribution of retirement benefits commences, ASRS shall continue to distribute the remaining portion of retirement benefits within the required distribution provisions of section 401(a)(9) of the inte…

A. Retirement is deemed to commence on a date elected by the member. That date shall not be earlier than the day following the date of termination of employment, the date ASRS receives the member's completed retirement application or the date specified by the member pursuant to s…

If any change or error in the records results in any member or beneficiary receiving from ASRS more or less than the member or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive if the records had been correct, ASRS shall correct the error and as far as practicable shall adjust the …

A. A retired member who is engaged to work by an employer for at least twenty weeks in each fiscal year and at least twenty hours per week resumes active membership in ASRS. ASRS shall suspend payment of the member's retirement benefits until the member either: 1. Terminates empl…

A. Notwithstanding section 38-766, at a retired member's election, a retired member may return to work and still be eligible to receive retirement benefits if all of the following requirements are satisfied: 1. The retired member has attained the member's normal retirement age. 2…

A. Notwithstanding section 38-766.01, subsection E, beginning July 1, 2012, an employer shall pay contributions at an alternate contribution rate on behalf of a retired member who returns to work with an ASRS employer in any capacity in a position ordinarily filled by an employee…

A. For a member whose membership commenced before the effective date of this amendment to this section, effective July 1 of each year, each retired member or beneficiary of a retired member is entitled to receive a permanent benefit increase in the base benefit equal to the amoun…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a retired member or beneficiary who is entitled to a benefit under this article shall receive at least a minimum monthly benefit that is computed pursuant to subsection B of this section if the retired member or beneficiary …

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, except as provided in subsection C of this section, the employer provided portion of a member's annual benefit payable in the form of a straight life annuity, at any time within a limitation year, shall not exceed one hundre…

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article that would limit a distributee's election under this section, a distributee may elect, at any time and in the manner prescribed by the board, to have any portion of an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to an eligib…

A. On or before December 31, 1995 a nonretired ASRS member who was a member of the defined contribution program administered by ASRS and who was transferred to the defined benefit program established by this article on July 1, 1981 shall elect to receive either retirement benefit…

A. A retired or nonretired ASRS member who was a member of the defined contribution program administered by ASRS, who was transferred to the defined benefit program established by this article on July 1, 1981, who is determined by ASRS to qualify under paragraph 1 of this subsect…

A. Amounts required of employers as provided in section 38-737, subsections A and B are in addition to any payments required of employers on behalf of prior service credits under the defined contribution program administered by ASRS arising from members of ASRS. Payments made to …

A. The board shall review any domestic relations order to which a member is a party and that is submitted to the board to determine if the domestic relations order is acceptable under this section. After a determination that a domestic relations order is acceptable under this sec…

A. A separate unfunded governmental excess benefit arrangement is established outside of and apart from the trust fund established by section 38-712 to pay members benefits that are otherwise payable by ASRS and that exceed the limitations on benefits imposed by section 415 of th…

1. Except as provided in the following sentence, the requirements of this section take precedence over any inconsistent provisions of this article and article 2.1 of this chapter. The rules of this section shall not restrict any form, calculation, adjustment or payment of benefit…

A. A member's current spouse may consent to one of the following requirements established in section 38-755 or 38-760 by signing and submitting an acknowledgement in a manner established by ASRS: 1. A change of beneficiary that provides the member's current spouse with less than …

A. One or more supplemental employee deferral plans may be established pursuant to this section to provide public employees an opportunity to save additional tax-deferred monies for retirement. B. ASRS may establish, administer, manage and operate supplemental employee deferral p…

A. The board shall establish group health and accident coverage for eligible retired members, surviving dependents and members with a disability and their dependents. The board may establish a self-insurance program for the purposes of this subsection if the board determines that…

A. Subject to subsections G, H and I of this section, the board shall pay from ASRS assets part of the single coverage premium of any health and accident insurance for each retired member, contingent annuitant or member with a disability of ASRS if the member elects to participat…

A. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as: 1. A contract of employment between an employer and any employee. 2. A right of any employee to continue in the employment of an employer. 3. A limitation of the rights of an employer to discharge any of its employees, w…

A. The benefits and annuities, the member and employer contributions and the securities in ASRS accounts provided for in this article are not subject to execution or attachment and are nonassignable except as specifically provided in this article. The member and employer contribu…

A person who knowingly makes any false statement or who falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of ASRS with an intent to defraud ASRS is guilty of a class 6 felony.

The right to modify, amend or repeal this article, or any provisions of this article, is reserved to the legislature.

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "ASRS" means the Arizona state retirement system established by article 2 of this chapter. 2. "Assets" means the accumulated resources of the LTD program. 3. "Board" means the ASRS board established pursuant to section 38…

A. A long-term disability program is established. B. The program is known as the LTD program.

A. The LTD trust fund is established for the purpose of paying benefits under and costs of administering the LTD program. B. The LTD trust fund consists of all monies paid into it in accordance with this article, whether in the form of cash, securities or other assets, and all mo…

A. The board shall administer the LTD program. ASRS officers, contractors and personnel shall perform the duties prescribed by this article. B. The board may determine the rights, benefits or obligations of any person under this article and afford any person dissatisfied with a d…

All members are subject to this article and shall participate in the LTD program.