PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT BOARD

2.43.3517 FAMILY LAW ORDERS, EXECUTIONS, AND INCOME-WITHHOLDING ORDERS AND ELECTIONS A member of PERS who is subject to a PERS Family Law Order pursuant to 19-2-907, MCA, and wishes to elect the DCRP or the Montana University System Retirement Program (MUS-RP), must have the Fami…

2.43.3520 ELECTION FOR EMPLOYEES IN OPTIONAL PERS MEMBERSHIP POSITIONS An employee eligible for optional membership who, pursuant to 19-3-412, MCA, chooses to be a member of PERS will initially be a participant of the PERS DBRP. The DBRP participant will have 12 months from the f…

2.43.3523 MEMBERSHIP IN OTHER TITLE 19 RETIREMENT PLANS A PERS member who is also a member of another Title 19 retirement system shall make a retirement plan election pursuant to ARM 2.43.3510 and 2.43.3511. PERS members employed full- or part-time by both a PERS-covered employer…

2.43.3524 RETIREES NOT ENTITLED TO ELECTION Retired members of the PERS may not elect the PERS Defined Contribution Retirement Plan or the Montana University System Retirement Program, but must remain members of the PERS Defined Benefit Retirement Plan regardless of reemployment …

2.43.3525 MONTANA UNIVERSITY SYSTEM EMPLOYEE ELECTIONS A Montana University System (MUS) employee who is a PERS member is required to make a retirement plan election pursuant to ARM 2.43.3510 and 2.43.3511. A MUS employee who is a PERS member may be a participant of the MUS Retir…

2.43.3531 TIMING OF TRANSFERS TO THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Once a member's election to join either the PERS DCRP or the Montana University System Retirement Program (MUS-RP) has been confirmed, MPERA will transfer contributions to the participant's individual accou…

2.43.3532 CREDITING OF INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS MPERA will transfer a DCRP participant's statutorily required employee and employer contributions to the DCRP recordkeeper within two working days after receipt in good order of each reporting agency's contribution report and contributio…

2.43.3533 REALLOCATION OF CERTAIN PERS EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS TO DCRP MEMBER ACCOUNTS (REPEALED) (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-2104, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-316, 19-3-2117, MCA History: NEW, 2016 MAR p. 310, Eff. 2/20/16; REP, 2025 MAR, Notice No. 20…

2.43.3540 DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS OF THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN Members of the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DCRP) who are found by the board to be disabled are entitled to a disability benefit pursuant to 19-3-2141, MCA. The disability benefit award…

2.43.3545 DISTRIBUTION TO PARTICIPANT A DCRP participant is entitled to receive the participant's vested accounts upon termination of service in a PERS-covered position, whether for retirement or for other purposes. The participant shall, within 120 days after the participant ter…

2.43.3546 DISTRIBUTION UPON DEATH OF PARTICIPANT If a DCRP participant dies prior to the start of the distribution of the participant's benefits, the participant's beneficiary, provided the beneficiary is the participant's spouse, has the same payment options as the participant w…

2.43.3601 ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS ON BEHALF OF MONTANA UNIVERSITY SYSTEM EMPLOYEES IN THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-2104, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-2104, MCA History: NEW, 2013 MAR p. 2070, Eff. 1…

2.43.4003 HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS' MINIMUM BENEFIT ADJUSTMENTS When the state of Montana has not negotiated a salary agreement with its actively employed highway patrol officers by July 1 of any year, MPERA shall take the following actions: Retirement benefits will be paid to non…

2.43.4006 DEFINITIONS "DROP" means the HPORS deferred retirement option plan. "DROP account" means the accumulated amount of money that has accrued to a DROP participant, and interest. "Monthly DROP accrual" means the amount equal to the monthly benefit that would have been payab…

2.43.4009 DROP APPLICATION PROCESS Eligible members who wish to participate in the DROP must file a DROP information request with MPERA. The information request must include the member's: full name; social security number; mailing address; date of birth; and anticipated DROP peri…

2.43.401 AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): Title 19, Ch. 3, part 2, MCA History: Eff. 12/31/72; REP, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86.

2.43.4010 DROP PERIOD The DROP period must begin on the first day of a month, must be prospective, and must end on the last day of a month. The DROP period will end as specified on the application, upon termination, or upon the participant's death, whichever occurs first. If the …

2.43.4013 DROP PARTICIPATION LIMITS A DROP participant: is not eligible for disability retirement; may not purchase service; may not receive membership or service credit, except as provided in 2.43.4023; and may not receive a refund of their HPORS account balance. Authorizing sta…

2.43.4015 ESTIMATED MONTHLY DROP ACCRUAL Once a member files an application to participate in the DROP and the participant's DROP period begins, estimated monthly DROP accruals will be paid into the participant's DROP account. The employer shall provide all documents MPERA needs …

2.43.4016 INTEREST PAID TO PARTICIPANTS A participant's DROP account must include compounded annual interest. Subject to (3), the interest rate will be fixed at the end of each fiscal year and will equal the actuarially assumed rate of return for the trust fund. Interest credited…

2.43.4017 DISTRIBUTION OF DROP BENEFIT The DROP benefit will be distributed upon the participant's termination of employment. The participant may request to receive the DROP benefit in a lump sum, or in a direct rollover to another eligible plan, as allowed by the Internal Revenu…

2.43.4018 DISTRIBUTION OF DROP BENEFIT PURSUANT TO FAMILY LAW ORDER A family law order (FLO) may distribute all or a portion of a DROP participant's DROP benefit to an alternate payee. To do so, the FLO must specifically reference distribution of a DROP benefit and provide a spec…

2.43.4020 EMPLOYMENT AFTER THE DROP PERIOD -- PAYMENTS Unless the participant's DROP period is extended pursuant to ARM 2.43.4023, monthly DROP accruals will stop at the end of the designated DROP period even if the participant continues HPORS-covered employment. The participant'…

2.43.4023 IMPACT OF UNIFORMED SERVICE DURING DROP PERIOD HPORS DROP participants called to duty for a period or periods of service in the uniformed services during their DROP period must, within 90 days from the date they return to employment, make an irrevocable election to eith…

2.43.4024 DIFFERENTIAL PAY FOR MILITARY LEAVE For purposes of (2) and (3), differential pay is pay by an employer to a member who leaves HPORS-covered employment to serve in the uniformed services, and the pay is for all or some of the difference between the member's normal salar…

2.43.409 IMPROPER CREDIT (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, 19-5-201, 19-6-201, 19-7-201, 19-8-201, 19-9-201, 19-13-202, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-2-903, 19-3-1403, 19-5-703, 19-6-704, 19-7-704, 19-8-804, 19-9-1003, 19-13-1002, MCA History: NEW, 1986 MAR…

2.43.411 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP -- APPLICATION (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-402, MCA History: NEW, 1979 MAR p. 4, Eff. 1/12/79; AMD, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1996 MAR p. 408, Eff. 2/9/96.

2.43.412 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP -- CREDITABLE SERVICE (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-402, Title 19, Ch. 3, part 5, MCA History: NEW, 1979 MAR p. 4, Eff. 1/12/79; AMD, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1996 MAR p. 408…

2.43.413 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP -- PRIOR CREDITABLE SERVICE (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-402, Title 19, Ch. 3, part 5, MCA History: NEW, 1979 MAR p. 4, Eff. 1/12/79; AMD, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1996 MAR …

2.43.414 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP -- REPORTING (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-402, MCA History: NEW, 1979 MAR p. 4, Eff. 1/12/79; AMD, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1996 MAR p. 408, Eff. 2/9/96.

2.43.415 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP -- TERMINATION AND RETIREMENT (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-402, 19-3-406, 19-3-703, 19-3-901, MCA History: NEW, 1979 MAR p. 4, Eff. 1/12/79; REP, 1996 MAR p. 408, Eff. 2/9/96.

2.43.416 SCHOOL TERM AS SERVICE YEAR (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-401(3), MCA History: NEW, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1990 MAR p. 994A, Eff. 7/1/90.

2.43.417 SEASONAL EMPLOYEES (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-3-304, MCA Implementing statute(s): 19-3-401, MCA History: NEW, 1986 MAR p. 1454, Eff. 8/29/86; REP, 1990 MAR p. 994A, Eff. 7/1/90.

2.43.419 JOB SHARING (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 19-2-403, 19-3-304, 19-6-201, 19-7-201, 19-8-201, 19-9-201, 19-13-202, MCA Implementing statute(s): Title 19, Ch. 3, part 3, Ch. 6, part 3, Ch. 7, part 3, Ch. 8, part 3, Ch. 9, part 4, Ch. 13, part 4, MCA History: NEW, 1986 …

2.43.4203 DETENTION OFFICER MEMBERSHIP IN SHERIFFS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (SRS) An active PERS member on July 1, 2005 is eligible to become a member of the SRS, and an employee hired by a sheriff after July 1, 2005 must become a member of the SRS, pursuant to Title 19, chapter 7, par…

2.43.4204 DETENTION OFFICER ELECTION TO TRANSFER TO SHERIFFS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (SRS) An active PERS member who, on July 1, 2005, met all the criteria to be a "detention officer" was eligible to make an election to become a member of SRS. A detention officer who elected to change…

2.43.4207 DETENTION CENTER REPORTS FROM SHERIFFS On or before June 1 of each year, the board will provide each sheriff an employer report containing the information from the immediately preceding report, on which the sheriff need only provide new information or corrections regard…