North Dakota Administrative Code

Repealed effective April 1, 2016.

A married member may elect to receive one of the following optional retiree health credit benefits in lieu of the retiree health insurance credit option provided in this chapter: 1. Fifty percent joint and survivor benefit. A member shall receive an actuarially reduced retiree he…

retirement plan. Notwithstanding section 71-02-03-01.1, members of the defined contribution retirement plan vest in their retiree health credit in the same manner as members of the retirement program to which they would belong if they had not elected to participate in the defined…

Eligible retiree health insurance credit benefits that have been substantiated by the office must be directly deposited into a financial account identified by the member or sent to the member's last-known address. If the benefit checks are returned with no forwarding information,…

Withdrawal under this chapter is governed by section 71-02-08-02. History: Effective April 1, 2019. General Authority: NDCC 54-52-04 Law Implemented: NDCC 54-52-02

1. Section 71-02-04-10 applies to overpayments of the retiree health insurance credit. 2. Section 71-02-04-11 applies to underpayments of the retiree health insurance credit. 3. A person who has received written notice pursuant to section 71-02-04-10 that the person received an o…

The board must prepare a plan document for the pretax benefits program. The plan document must meet applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. The board must annually review any plan document updates prior to the beginning of each new plan year if necessary due to chan…

Upon request of the employee, the retirement board shall make available a descriptive booklet setting forth the enrollment requirements of the plan and explanation of the pretax benefits program under section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. History: Effective April 1, 1992; ame…

Within six months of the end of the plan year, the executive director must return to the payroll clearing account any surplus in the pretax benefits account. Surplus includes employer Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax savings and forfeited employee account balances not used…

Repealed effective January 1, 2025.

Vesting in that portion of the accumulated fund balance attributable to the employer's contribution which is transferred from the defined benefit public employees retirement system pursuant to North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-03 will follow the same schedule provided in …

For purposes of the spousal signature requirements of subsection 4 of North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-02 and North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-11, extenuating circumstances alleviating the requirement of a spouse's signature are only present if the board determi…

Members of the public employees retirement system under North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52 who have a valid qualified domestic relations order on their account may only transfer to the defined contribution retirement plan if they obtain a new qualified domestic relations ord…

December 31, 1999. The amount the board shall transfer for persons beginning or transferring to eligible employment after December 31, 1999, and before January 1, 2025, must equal the actual employer and employee contributions plus interest, as provided in subsection 2 of North D…

to work. A member of the public employees retirement system defined benefit plan who has retired and received a retirement annuity and later returns to work in a position that is eligible for the defined contribution retirement plan is nonetheless ineligible to transfer into the …

Repealed effective January 1, 2025.

Pursuant to subdivision a of subsection 4 of North Dakota Century Code section 15-10-17, funds may be transferred on behalf of those persons who are eligible through their employment with the state board of higher education. The following requirements apply: 1. Applicant must fil…

plan, the national guard plan, the bureau of criminal investigation plan, the public safety plan, the highway patrol retirement plan, the teachers' fund for retirement plan, or the alternate retirement plan of the state board of higher education. 1. If a member of the defined con…

Other than as provided in section 71-08-02-01, a former participating member of the defined contribution retirement plan who returns to state employment following a previous termination or retirement continues to be a member of the defined contribution retirement plan even if the…

1. Purpose. North Dakota Century Code section 54-52-02.11 and subsection 3 of section 54-52.6-02.1 conflict with Internal Revenue Code sections 401(a)(36) and 401(k)(4)(B)(ii) and related regulations and relevant guidance. Pursuant to the authority granted to the board under Nort…

The board shall allow distribution of the participating member's vested account balance if the board determines the participating member has become totally and permanently disabled using the procedure provided in section 71-02-05-06. If approved, the disabled member has the same …

Retirement moneys must be paid in accordance with any qualified domestic relations order issued in compliance with North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-12. History: Effective July 1, 2000. General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02(1) Law Implemented: NDCC 54-52.6-12

1. Upon receipt of a proposed domestic relations order, the public employees retirement system shall: a. Send an initial notice to each person named therein, including the member and the alternate payee named in the order, with an explanation of the procedures followed by the fun…

The board shall use the same review and formal review procedures as provided in chapter 71-02-09. History: Effective July 1, 2000. General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02(1) Law Implemented: NDCC 54-52.6-13 1

To be eligible to receive service credit with the defined contribution plan for military time under this chapter, a veteran must have had an interruption of the veteran's employment and been discharged under honorable conditions. History: Effective May 1, 2004. General Authority:…

A veteran with eligible time may receive up to sixty months' credit upon proper application. A veteran eligible to receive service credit for military time must apply for and, if required to pay any portion of the employee contribution, purchase that time within the lesser of thr…

The burden of proof will be on the member for providing documentation necessary to determine what military time is eligible for service credit. At a minimum, the following documentation is required before service credit will be awarded: 1. The member must provide a legible copy o…

The cost for purchase of eligible military service in the defined contribution plan may be paid as follows: 1. The cost for any required employee contributions to be paid by the member may be paid in a lump sum or in installments pursuant to the rules established for purchase or …

If an employee purchased military service at a cost higher than determined in this chapter, overpayments may be refunded. Upon verification that the previously purchased military service meets the general eligibility requirements under section 71-08-06-01, a refund may be issued …

An employer may elect to provide additional employer contributions to an employee's account in an amount not exceeding the equivalent of a purchase of up to five years of service credit for that employee and the purchase of an employee's unused sick leave that meets the requireme…

document it in writing and submit a copy to the public employees retirement system. The governing authority of the employer shall also submit to the executive director of the public employees retirement system a letter indicating: 1. The program meets all the requirements of the …

If the office determines that any required employee-paid contributions have not been made, the cost of any required employee-paid contributions may be paid in a lump sum or in installments in a manner consistent with installment payments permitted under section 71-02-03-02.2. His…

For each eligible temporary employee who elects to participate as such in the defined contribution plan, the following applies: 1. A temporary employee hired before January 1, 2025, must submit a completed participation agreement within six months of the date of hire as a tempora…

The benefits of a retired member of the defined contribution plan who returns to permanent employment must be suspended except as provided in section 71-08-02-03 and North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-02. History: Effective July 1, 2006; amended effective July 31, 2025; Ja…

1. Under this chapter "eligible employee" means a permanent employee who: a. Meets all the eligibility requirements set by North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52; b. Is at least eighteen years of age; c. Becomes a participating member after December 31, 2024; and d. Is not eligi…

1. A participating member who first joined the defined contribution retirement plan under North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52.6 after December 31, 2024, except for an employee who elects to participate in the defined contribution retirement plan under North Dakota Century Cod…

A member may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries by filing such designation with the office. A member has the right to change the member's designation of beneficiary without the consent of the beneficiary, but no such change shall be effective or binding unless it is receive…

than month earned. Adjustments for the following must be made for all participating members: 1. Participating employers shall report bonuses or profit-sharing amounts paid when remitting the contribution associated with the bonus. Recruitment and retention bonuses paid pursuant t…

arrangements. 1. Amounts deducted from a participating member's salary at the participating member's option to a qualified section 125 cafeteria plan, 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan, or 457 plan are part of wages or salary when calculating retirement contributions. 2. Employee contribu…

1. A written election submitted under subsection 3 of North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-09 must be reported to the board a minimum of thirty-one days prior to the effective date. 1 2. An employer electing to pay employee monthly salary contributions under North Dakota Cen…

workweek. Retirement contributions must be made on wages paid to a permanent employee who is regularly scheduled for less than forty hours per week but who works at least twenty hours per week during a twelve-month period. History: Effective January 1, 2025. General Authority: ND…

Individual employee incentive payments received under North Dakota Century Code section 54-06-24 or similar programs are not considered to be salary and are not subject to retirement contributions. History: Effective January 1, 2025. General Authority: NDCC 54-52-04, 54-52.6-01(8…

1. The lump sum amount to be transferred from the defined benefit retirement plan under North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-02.2 and North Dakota Century Code section 54-52.6-03 based on the actuarial present value of the eligible employee's accumulated benefit obligation a…

For an eligible employee who is employed by a state employer who transfers from the defined benefit plan to the defined contribution plan under North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52.6, the eligible employee's state employer, on January 1 of each year an additional contribution …

Distribution of accumulated account balance must cancel all vesting service credit accumulated prior to the distribution and must extinguish the right to any retiree benefits provided by North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52.6. History: Effective July 1, 2026. General Authority…

A political subdivision may choose to extend the benefits of the defined contribution plan to its employees by agreeing to abide by the terms of the defined contribution plan and rules developed by the board, executing a participation agreement, and submitting a copy of a signed …

1. A political subdivision may discontinue participation in the defined contribution retirement plan by providing the board a written resolution adopted by the governing authority authorizing the termination of participation in the defined contribution retirement plan. The resolu…