Montana Administrative Code

2.43.3401 RETIREMENT OPTIONS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS OTHER THAN LEGISLATORS Any elected or appointed official, other than a legislator, who becomes a member of PERS pursuant to 19-3-412, MCA, will receive service credit based upon the number of the member's compensated hours. Per d…

2.43.3402 RETIREMENT SYSTEM MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS FOR LEGISLATORS A legislator has three options with respect to retirement system membership. A legislator may elect membership in PERS. A legislator who is a member, but not a retiree, of JRS, GWPORS, HPORS, SRS, MPORS, or FURS due t…

2.43.3403 INVOLUNTARY RETIREMENT If an elected official, including a legislator, chooses not to run, runs for another office that is not covered by that retirement system, or is otherwise removed from office for cause, that official shall not be eligible for an involuntary retire…

2.43.3501 ADOPTION OF DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN DOCUMENT AND TRUST AGREEMENT The board adopts and incorporates by reference the following: State of Montana Public Employee Defined Contribution Plan Document that was approved by the board onJune 12, 2025, and describes the terms a…

2.43.3502 ADOPTION OF INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT AND FIXED FUND INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT The board adopts and incorporates by reference the State of Montana 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan Investment Policy Statement approved by the board on April 11, 2024. The Investment Po…

2.43.3503 DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN INVESTMENT OPTIONS The board will choose, regularly review, and may discontinue, add, or change investment options offered to participants of the DCRP. In doing so, the board will consider recommendations of the statutorily establish…

2.43.3504 DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN DEFAULT INVESTMENT FUND The board will identify an age-appropriate target date fund offered by the DCRP to be the default investment fund. Unless otherwise directed by the DCRP participant, the following assets will be deposited in t…

2.43.3505 ESTABLISHMENT OF LONG-TERM DISABILITY TRUST FUND The board shall establish a long-term disability trust fund to be used exclusively for the payment of disability benefits to participants of the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DCRP). The long-term disability trust …

2.43.3506 ADOPTION OF STATE OF MONTANA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES POOLED TRUST The board adopts and incorporates by reference the amended Declaration of Trust - State of Montana Public Employees Pooled Trust that was approved by the board on December 13, 2018, and became effective on Janua…

2.43.3510 ELECTION PERIOD Active PERS members have 12 months to complete the retirement plan choice election form provided by the board and file the election with MPERA. The 12-month election period starts the first day of the month following the month the member is initially rep…

2.43.3511 RETIREMENT PLAN CHOICE ELECTION FORM MPERA shall provide PERS members a retirement plan choice election form which will require the following information: full name (first, last, middle initial); social security number; date of birth; complete address; employing agency …

2.43.3512 ELECTION ELIGIBILITY AND CONFIRMATION Upon receipt of a retirement plan choice election form, MPERA will verify that the member is eligible to make the election. The member is eligible to make an election if all the following conditions are met: the member was an active…

2.43.3515 PURCHASE OF SERVICE NOT PERMITTED BY PARTICIPANT IN DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT PLAN A member of PERS with an existing non-PERS service purchase contract entered into pursuant to any MPERA statute or rule who wishes to elect the DCRP or the Montana University System…

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…