Title 24, Retirement and Pensions

When any retirement system on or after March 14, 1995, has unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities being amortized over a period exceeding thirty (30) years, that system shall not have a legislated benefit enhancement until the unfunded actuarial accrued liability is reduced to a …

(a) No benefit enhancement provided for by §§ 24-2-302, 24-2-306, 24-2-401, 24-2-402, 24-2-501, § 24-3-102 [repealed], § 24-3-106 [repealed], § 24-3-201 [repealed], § 24-3-208 [repealed], § 24-3-209 [repealed], § 24-3-301 [repealed], § 24-3-303 [repealed], § 24-3-304 [repealed], …

(a) (1) The Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System and the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System shall establish policies and promulgate rules to recognize the service credit for members of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retire…

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide notice to an applicant for concurrent employment in a public employee position that the concurrent employment might affect the employee's retirement benefits and to allow the employee and employer an opportunity to consider an alterna…

In order to extend to employees of the State of Arkansas and its political subdivisions and the employees' dependents and survivors the basic protection accorded to others by the federal old age, survivors' and disability insurance, and health insurance coverage embodied in the S…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Commissioner of Social Security” means any individual to whom the Commissioner of Social Security has delegated any of his or her functions under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., with respect to coverage under that act of emplo…

The Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System shall make and publish rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter it finds necessary or appropriate to the efficient administration of the functions with which it is charged under this subchapter.

(a) The Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System is authorized to enter, on behalf of the state, into a Section 218 agreement consistent with the terms and provisions of this subchapter, with the Commissioner of Social Security for the purpose of extending the benefits of the…

(1) Each political subdivision of the state is authorized to submit for approval by the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System a plan for extending the benefits of Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., in conformity with the applicable provisions of …

(a) For the purpose of entering into agreements with the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System, the following named officers are authorized and empowered to make the agreement on behalf of their agency or political subdivision:(1) (A) (i) The board of control of each state…

(a) Every employee of the state whose service is covered by a Section 218 agreement entered into under § 24-1-204 shall be required to pay contributions for the period of the coverage with respect to wages as defined in § 24-1-202, equal to the amount of tax levied under the Soci…

(a) (1) Each political subdivision as to which a plan has been approved under § 24-1-205, with respect to wages as defined in § 24-1-202 and at such time or times as the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System may by rule prescribe, shall pay contributions in the amounts and…

(a) The Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System shall make studies concerning the problem of old age, survivors' and disability insurance, and health insurance protection for employees of the state and its political subdivisions and studies concerning the operation of agreem…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Beneficiary” means an individual who receives or is designated by a member or retirant to receive a plan benefit under a retirement system; and(2) “Retirement system” means:(A) The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, established by the Arkansas…

(a) (1) A beneficiary forfeits his or her right to benefit payments under a retirement system if he or she:(A) Is convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of the unlawful killing of the member or retirant;(B) Pleads guilty or nolo contendere to the unlawful killing of the m…

(a) A retirement system may suspend benefit payments to a beneficiary if the retirement system:(1) Receives the written notice required under § 24-1-304 from a prosecuting attorney; or(2) Has reasonable cause to believe that the beneficiary will be charged with the unlawful killi…

(a) A prosecuting attorney shall send written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the executive director or executive secretary of the applicable retirement system when a beneficiary:(1) Is charged with an offense described under § 24-1-302; or(2) (A) Will not …

(a) (1) The executive director or executive secretary of the applicable retirement system or his or her designee shall notify a beneficiary when benefits shall not be paid as provided under § 24-1-302.(2) The notice provided under subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall advise t…

(a) The board of trustees of any public employee retirement system of any political subdivision of the State of Arkansas shall, from time to time, as funds are available for investment purposes, invest in obligations set out in this section. (b) The boards of trustees of public e…

(a) All securities purchased or sold by the board of trustees shall be upon sealed offers after publication of notice of proposal to purchase or sell, except securities provided for in § 24-2-201(b)(1), (2), (7), (8), (10), (11), and (12). (b) (1) (A) Not fewer than seven (7) day…

(a) Whenever mutually agreeable to the respective boards of trustees, the State Board of Finance may sell and the retirement systems may purchase first lien serial coupon bonds of local industrial development corporations. (b) Payment under any sale and purchase agreement may be …

(a) In the event of default in payment of the principal of or interest on bonds or other obligations held in the respective retirement funds, if the issuer of the obligations is a state-supported institution of higher learning, a county, a municipal corporation, including boards,…

(a) All obligations purchased or received shall be held in trust for the use and benefit of the system, which trust shall be subject only to the right of the board of trustees to sell or otherwise dispose of the obligations as provided in the various plans. (b) No purchase or rec…

(a) (1) The various retirement system funds, as established in the State Treasury, are created and constituted trust funds.(2) All assets of the various funds, both cash and securities, shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the respective boards of trustees and shall be he…

All assets and income of any retirement system of a city or other political subdivision of the State of Arkansas shall be held, invested, or disbursed for the exclusive purpose of providing for benefits, investment management, and administrative expenses and shall not be encumber…

(1) As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Eligible retirement system” means the retirement system in which the employee is eligible for membership;(2) “Employer” means an employing state agency or an employing school district; and(3) “Retirement s…

(1) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this subchapter, all employees of the State of Arkansas or any of its political subdivisions who are members or become members of a state retirement system shall be members of the retirement system indicated in this section as foll…

(a) Any employee who was erroneously enrolled in a state retirement system before January 1, 1979, and whose contributions have not been refunded prior to March 26, 1979, shall continue to be a member of the retirement system of record. (b) The member shall receive service credit…

(a) (1) When it is discovered by an employee, employer, or a state retirement system that an employee became erroneously enrolled in a state retirement system on or after January 1, 1979, the employee may elect to remain a member of the retirement system of record or may become a…

Other provisions of this subchapter to the contrary notwithstanding, a school janitor, bus driver, or cafeteria worker who is enrolled in one (1) of those positions as a member of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System and later is promoted to a position as school maint…

(1) Any member of the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System who is erroneously enrolled in the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System because of concurrent enrollment in another state-funded or state-authorized retirement system, other than Social Security, due to se…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Deferred retirement option plan” means an option for retirement under a reciprocal system whereby the retirement system members, in lieu of terminating employment, can continue with employment with covered employers and can accept a service ret…

(a) (1) A member who maintains deferred service credit in one (1) or more reciprocal systems may combine the deferred service credit with service credit earned under a reciprocal system to meet the separate eligibility requirements for receiving a monthly retirement benefit under…

(a) The date a member's annuity, if any, becomes payable by each reciprocal system shall be determined by those provisions in force for each reciprocal system. (b) In no case shall any annuity become payable nor be paid prior to the date the member retires from, and ceases to be,…

(a) The boards of trustees of the reciprocal systems may enter into an agreement whereby the reciprocal system from which a member retires shall be the disbursing system for his or her annuities payable, as provided in this subchapter, by the other reciprocal systems. (b) The agr…

(a) A member of a reciprocal system with five (5) or more years of credited service in two (2) or more reciprocal systems shall be eligible to apply for disability benefits from each reciprocal system in which he or she has credited service. (b) Each reciprocal system shall make …

(a) No benefit enhancement provided for by this subchapter shall be implemented if it would cause the publicly supported retirement system's unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities to exceed a thirty-year amortization. (b) No benefit enhancement provided for by this subchapter sha…

In establishing credited service under this subchapter, persons who receive credited service pursuant to § 24-4-101(18)(B)(xiii) for dual full-time employment in the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System and the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System under the pr…

(a) (1) Any member of the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System established by § 24-8-201 et seq. shall be entitled to receive free credited service in the system for a period of not to exceed two (2) years for service rendered by him or her in the United States Armed Forces during…

(a) Any person who is or was a member of a state-supported retirement system in this state and who was not receiving benefits under the system on July 9, 1975, shall be entitled to purchase credited service in the system for a period not to exceed five (5) years for service rende…

(a) As used in this section, “armed forces reserve” means a reserve component of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, United States Space Force, or United States Coast Guard. (b) (1) A member of the Arkansas Public Emplo…

(a) An active member of the state retirement system who is called to active military duty or state active military duty shall be afforded all employment protections as provided in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq., as in effec…

(a) (1) In the case of a member who dies while performing qualified military service, including state active military duty, on or after January 1, 2011, and who otherwise would have been entitled to reemployment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Righ…

(a) All investments of the retirement systems covered by this subchapter shall be in strict compliance with the provisions of this subchapter. (b) The term “trust” as used in this subchapter refers to the following Arkansas retirement systems:(1) The State Police Retirement Syste…

(a) The boards of trustees of the State Police Retirement System, the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System, the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the Arkansas State Highway Employees' Retirement System, and the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System shall have full power t…

(a) In the event of default in payment of the principal or interest of any investment obligation held by any state retirement system where the issuer of the obligation receives moneys from the state, the default shall be certified by the board of the respective system to the Trea…