Chapter 22 — Chapter 22

As used in the Educational Retirement Act: A. "member" means an employee, except for a participant or a retired member, coming within the provisions of the Educational Retirement Act; B. "regular member" means: (1) a person regularly employed by a state educational institution, e…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1993, ch. 69, § 11 repealed 22-11-20 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 143, relating to membership fees, effective June 18, 1993. For provisions of former section, see the 1992 NMSA 1978 on NMOneSource.com.

A. Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, for a member whose annual salary is greater than twenty-four thousand dollars ($24,000), the member shall make contributions to the fund at the rate of ten and seven-tenths percent of the member's annual salary. B. For a memb…

Commencing on July 1, 1983, each local administrative unit shall, solely for the purpose of compliance with Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, pick up, for the purposes specified in that section, member contributions required by Subsection A of Section 22-11-21 NMSA 197…

In establishing a member's average annual salary for determination of retirement benefits, salary in excess of limitations set forth in Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be disregarded. The limitation on compensation for eligible employees…

A. Commencing on July 1, 1998, each local administrative unit may, solely for the purpose of compliance with Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, pick up, for the purposes specified in that section, member contributions permitted by Section 22-11-17 NMSA 1978; Sub…

A. Contributions shall be deducted from the salaries of members by the local administrative units as the salaries are paid. These contributions shall be forwarded monthly to the director for deposit in the fund. B. Contributions of local administrative units shall be derived from…

2010. A. A member who was a member on June 30, 2010, or was a member at any time prior to that date and had not, on that date, been refunded all member contributions pursuant to Subsection A of Section 22-11-15 NMSA 1978, shall be eligible for retirement benefits when: (1) the me…

1, 2010. A. A member who initially became a member on or after July 1, 2010, or a member who was a member at any time prior to that date and had, before that date, been refunded all member contributions pursuant to Subsection A of Section 22-11-15 NMSA 1978, shall be eligible for…

2013. A. A member who initially became a member on or after July 1, 2013 or a member who was a member at any time prior to July 1, 2013 and had, before that date, been refunded all member contributions pursuant to Subsection A of Section 22-11-15 NMSA 1978, and had not restored a…

1, 2019. A member who initially became a member on or after July 1, 2019 or a member who was a member before July 1, 2019 and had, before that date, been refunded all member contributions in accordance with Subsection A of Section 22-11-15 NMSA 1978 and had not restored all refun…

A. A member shall have acquired not less than five years of contributory employment to be eligible for retirement benefits pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act. B. A member desiring to retire before having completed five years of contributory employment shall be limited to …

A. A member retired pursuant to the provisions of the Educational Retirement Act may be removed from retirement status by returning to employment. A reemployed member shall make regular contributions pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act. Upon termination of reemployment, th…

A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsections B, F, H and I of this section, until January 1, 2024, a retired member who begins employment with a local administrative unit at a level greater than one-quarter full-time employee, regardless of salary level, is required to suspend …

Public Employees Retirement Act. A. An employee who is retired pursuant to the Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978] and who has not suspended retirement benefits received pursuant to that act shall not make contributions to the fund as otherwise requ…

If a member dies during a period of reemployment following retirement pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act, the benefits to be paid shall be determined according to the following: A. if the member did not elect to exercise Option B or C pursuant to Subsection A of Section 2…

A. A member who is eligible for retirement may continue in employment and shall continue to pay contributions as provided by the Educational Retirement Act. B. Provided that the contributions that the member has made are left in the fund, a member eligible for retirement benefits…

A. Application for retirement shall be made by a member on forms provided by the board. B. Retirement pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act shall become effective on July 1 following approval of the application for retirement by the board. With approval of the board and the …

A. Upon retirement pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act, a member may elect, and, except as provided in Subsection D, E or F of this section, such election shall be irrevocable, to receive the actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement benefit, as provided in Section 2…

A. The "educational retirement board" is created. B. The board shall be composed of nine members, consisting of the following: (1) the secretary of public education, or a designee of the secretary who: (a) is a resident of New Mexico; (b) is a current employee of the public educa…

A. Retirement benefits for a member retired pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act on or before June 30, 1967 shall be paid monthly and shall be one-twelfth of a sum equal to one and one-half percent of the first four thousand dollars ($4,000) of the member's average annual s…

The educational retirement board, by rule, may establish and maintain a qualified excess benefit arrangement under Section 415(m) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for employees hired before July 1, 1999. The amount of annual benefit that would be payable but for…

ratio; additional contributions. A. For the purposes of this section: (1) "adjustment factor" means a multiplicative factor computed to provide an annuity adjustment pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B of this section; (2) "annuity" means any benefit payable under the Educ…

A. If retirement or disability benefits cause a decrease in the amount of monetary payments due to a member or beneficiary from any public agency, the retirement or disability benefits shall be reduced to result in the maximum total benefits to the member or beneficiary. B. If th…

A. Upon a member filing an application for retirement or disability benefits, earned service credit for the time of contributory employment shall be certified by the director and subject to the review of the board. B. A member shall be certified to have earned service credit for …

A. A member shall be certified to have acquired allowed service credit pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for those periods of time when the member was: (1) employed prior to July 1, 1967 in a federal educational program within New Mexico, including United States India…

A. Beginning on July 1, 2020, a member who has acquired the minimum number of years of contributory employment to be eligible for retirement benefits under the Educational Retirement Act may pay to have unused sick leave, earned from the member's contributory employment and for w…

A. A member shall be eligible for disability benefits if the member has acquired ten years or more of earned service credit and if the board certifies the member to be totally disabled to continue the member's employment and unable to obtain and retain other gainful employment co…

A. Unless designated by the board as being permanently disabled, to continue to receive disability benefits, a member shall, on the anniversary date in each year of the member's being placed on a disability status, present current medical records to the medical authority in suppo…

A. The annual disability benefit shall be equal to two percent of the member's average annual salary multiplied by the number of years of the member's total service- credit if the result is greater than one-third of the member's average annual salary. If the result of that formul…

A member receiving disability benefits upon attaining the age of sixty years shall be considered as retiring pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act at the rate of benefits received for the disability. History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-38, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 161.

A. A member receiving disability benefits shall report to the director in writing any substantial improvement in the member's disability within thirty days after the member has or reasonably should have knowledge of the improvement. B. A member failing to report to the director a…

A. The board shall hold regular meetings four times each year and may provide for additional regular meetings. Prior to each regular meeting, written notice shall be given to each member of the board specifying the time and place of the regular meeting. B. Special meetings of the…

If a member is obligated to restore any sum of money to the fund and fails or refuses to do so for a period of three months after written demand is made by the director, the member shall forfeit membership and receive no further benefits pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1993, ch. 69, § 11 repealed 22-11-41 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 164, relating to prohibitions on insurance and continued eligibility after retirement, effective June 18, 1993. For provisions of former section, see the 1992 NMSA 1978 …

property; child support obligations. A. Except as specifically provided in the Educational Retirement Act and the provisions of Subsections B and C of this section, contributions or benefits mentioned in the Educational Retirement Act shall not be assignable either in law or in e…

In the absence of specific provisions to the contrary, no law of this state regulating insurance policies, insurance companies or banking institutions shall apply to the administration of the Educational Retirement Act. History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-43, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16…

A. Any person retired pursuant to the provisions of any laws repealed by the Educational Retirement Act shall be considered to have retired pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act and shall continue to receive retirement benefits in the same amount as received prior to the ena…

ANNOTATIONS Repeals. — Laws 1993, ch. 69, § 11 repealed 22-11-44.1 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1982, ch. 37, § 2, relating to the transfer of assets of the New Mexico activities association, effective June 18, 1993. For provisions of former section, see the 1992 NMSA 1978 on NM…

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-45, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 168; repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 21, § 20.

A. Beginning October 1, 1991, any employee of the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, New Mexico institute of mining and technology, New Mexico highlands university, eastern New Mexico university or western New Mexico university who is eligible to become a part…

A. Contributions made by a qualifying state educational institution on behalf of a participant together with any interest accrued on those contributions shall be credited to the benefit of the participant and shall be distributed or treated as agreed upon between the contractor o…

A. A participant shall contribute an amount equal to the percentage of the participant's salary that the participant would be required to contribute if the participant were, instead, a regular member. The contribution shall be made as provided by the board. B. A qualifying state …

A. The board shall elect from its membership a chairman and a vice chairman. B. A record shall be taken and preserved of all meetings of the board. C. A quorum of the board shall be required for the transaction of any business. A majority of the members of the board constitute a …

History: Laws 1999, ch. 153, § 2; 2017, ch. 21, § 3; repealed by Laws 2025, ch. 6, § 6.

The board shall have the authority to determine whether the alternative retirement plan shall be qualified under Section 401(a) or 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and shall make that determination based upon which choice is most advantageous to the partic…

unemployment. A. No retirement, death or other benefit shall be paid by the board from the fund for services credited under the alternative retirement plan. Such benefits are payable to participants or their beneficiaries only by the appropriate alternative retirement plan contra…

carrier; administration. A. The board shall solicit and review proposals for providing retirement, death and any other benefits deemed desirable by the board for participants in the alternative retirement plan. The board shall solicit proposals for providing the benefits through …

A. If an error or omission in an application for retirement or its supporting documents results in an overpayment to a member or the beneficiary of a member, the board shall correct the error or omission and adjust all future payments accordingly. The board shall recover all over…