Title 15, Education

There is hereby created the teachers' fund for retirement, which, upon the effective date of this chapter shall consist of the following: 1. All moneys contained in the teachers' insurance and retirement fund accumulated pursuant to chapter 15-39; and 2. All moneys thereafter rec…

The teachers' insurance and retirement fund shall, on July 1, 1971, cease to exist and the board administering said fund shall no longer function. All obligations of the teachers' insurance and retirement fund must be assumed by the newly created fund.

No person may be caused to be deprived of rights vested under the chapter superseded hereby. Any such person may elect to claim the person's retirement benefits according to the provisions of the retirement program for teachers in effect prior to July 1, 1971.

For purposes of this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Actuarial equivalent" means the amount calculated to be of equal actuarial value to the benefit otherwise payable when computed on the basis of actuarial assumptions and methods adopted by …

1. The authority to set policy for the fund rests in a board of trustees composed as follows: a. The governor shall appoint, from a list of three nominees submitted to the governor by North Dakota united, two board members who are actively employed as elementary or secondary teac…

The board: 1. Has the powers and privileges of a corporation, including the right to sue and be sued in its own name. The venue of all actions to which the board is a party must be Burleigh County. 2. Shall establish investment policy for the trust fund under section 21-10-02.1. …

The board may hold meetings as necessary for the transaction of business and a meeting may be called by the president or any two members of the board upon reasonable notice to the other members of the board. The president for the ensuing year must be elected at the first meeting …

Vacancies which may occur among the appointed members of the board must be filled by the governor and the appointee shall complete the term for which the original member was selected. The board may adopt such rules as may be necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the board.

Members of the board, excluding ex officio members, are entitled to receive one hundred forty-eight dollars as compensation per day and necessary mileage and travel expenses as provided in sections 44-08-04 and 54-06-09 for attending meetings of the board. No member of the board …

1. Except as otherwise provided by law, every teacher is a member of the fund and must be assessed upon the teacher's salary seven and seventy-five hundredths percent per annum, which must be deducted, certified, and paid monthly to the fund by the disbursing official of the gove…

1. The following members who have acquired a vested right to a retirement annuity as set forth in section 15-39.1-11 are eligible to receive monthly lifetime normal unreduced retirement benefits under this section: a. All tier one and tier two members who have attained the age of…

Every person receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account on which benefits were being paid on June 30, 1983, shall receive an increase in benefits beginning July 1, 1983, equal to fifteen percent of the person's present annuity. The percentage must be adjusted, if nece…

An individual who on June 30, 1999, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive a monthly increase equal to an amount determined by taking two dollars per month multiplied by the member's n…

An individual who on June 30, 2001, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive a monthly increase equal to an amount determined by taking two dollars per month multiplied by the member's n…

An individual who retired before January 1, 2009, and is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 on December 1, 2009, is entitled to receive a supplemental payment from the fund. The supplemental payment is equa…

Every person receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account on which benefits were being paid on June 30, 1985, shall receive an increase in benefits beginning July 1, 1985, equal to one percent for each year the person has been retired under the fund. No member may recei…

1. a. For the purpose of determining vesting of rights and eligibility for benefits under this chapter, a teacher's years of service credit is the total of the years of service credit earned in the fund and the years, with twelve months of compensation equal to a year, of service…

An individual who, on June 30, 1987, is receiving benefits from the fund on an account paid under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to a monthly increase in that individual's annuity. The monthly increase is fifteen dollars plus one dollar and fifty cents for every year benefits h…

An individual who on June 30, 1989, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive an increase in benefits equal to five cents times the individual's number of years of service credit under th…

Benefits with respect to a member participating under former chapter 15-39 or chapter 15-39.1 or 15-39.2 may not exceed the maximum benefits specified under section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code [26 U.S.C. 415], as amended, for governmental plans. The maximum dollar benefit ap…

An individual who on June 30, 1991, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive three dollars per month multiplied by the individual's number of years of credited service for individuals wh…

An individual who on June 30, 1993, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive three dollars per month multiplied by the individual's number of years of credited service for individuals wh…

An individual who on June 30, 1997, is receiving monthly benefits from the fund on an account paid under this chapter or under former chapter 15-39 is entitled to receive an increase of thirty dollars per month.

When a tier one member has earned three years of service credit in this state, that member has a vested right to a retirement annuity but is not entitled to payments under this chapter until the member meets the requirements set forth in section 15-39.1-10 or 15-39.1-12. When a t…

A member who has acquired a vested right to a retirement annuity as set forth in section 15-39.1-11 and who has attained age fifty-five may retire prior to the normal retirement age as set forth in section 15-39.1-10 but the benefits to which the member is then entitled must be r…

1. The board shall pay retirement benefits in accordance with the applicable requirements of any qualified domestic relations order. The board shall review a domestic relations order submitted to it to determine if the domestic relations order is qualified under this section and …

Nothing in this chapter may be construed as requiring retirement at any specific age. If the teacher elects to teach beyond age sixty-five, the teacher continues to earn credits at the same rate as prior to the age of sixty-five.

A teacher who has withdrawn from the fund as set forth in this chapter, by returning to teach in a public school or state institution of this state, may regain service credit for prior teaching by making the required payment. The required payment is the purchase cost on an actuar…

1. The board shall adopt rules providing for the receipt of retirement benefits in the following optional forms: a. Option one. Upon the death of the teacher, the reduced retirement allowance must be continued throughout the life of, and paid to, the teacher's designated benefici…

1. A member may designate a beneficiary to receive death benefits under the plan when the member dies. If the member is not married, the member may designate a person, estate, or organization as primary beneficiary to receive death benefits. If the member is married, the spouse o…

1. Any member may also retire and receive a disability annuity if, after a period of at least five years of service as a member in this state, the member qualifies for total disability as determined by the board. 2. The amount of the disability annuity is the amount computed by t…

1. a. Except as otherwise provided in section 15-39.1-19.2, a retired teacher who is receiving a retirement annuity under chapter 15-39, 15-39.1, or 15-39.2 may not return to covered employment until thirty calendar days have elapsed from the member's retirement date. A retired m…

1. A retired teacher who is receiving a retirement annuity under chapter 15-39, 15-39.1, or 15-39.2 may elect to return to teaching without losing any benefits under the provisions of this section or elect to return to teaching under the provisions of section 15-39.1-19.1. To ret…

A teacher may choose not to be a member of the fund and pay the assessment on the teacher's salary under section 15-39.1-09 if the teacher is: 1. Contractually employed in teaching in this state; 2. In the teacher's first year of teaching; and 3. An individual who served at least…

When a member of the fund ceases to be eligible under the terms of this chapter to participate in the fund, the member may, after a period of one hundred twenty days, withdraw from the fund and is then entitled to receive a refund of assessments accumulated with interest. The one…

Nothing herein contained may be construed to affect existing retirement benefits and all obligations of the teachers' insurance and retirement fund existing on July 1, 1971, must be assumed and paid from the teachers' fund for retirement. Amounts which persons retired on July 1, …

The board shall conduct an annual audit of the fund for the fiscal year ending the preceding June thirtieth.

Except for unintentional reporting errors, an employing body failing to file reports required by the board or failing to pay over for credit to the fund the amounts required to be paid by this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars and, as interest, on…

Prior to retirement a teacher who provides proof of eligibility under rules adopted by the board may purchase additional credit for use toward retirement in the following instances and manner: 1. A teacher may purchase service credit for years of elementary or secondary teaching …

Except as otherwise provided in chapter 15-39.2, the laws pertaining to the teachers' fund for retirement, as contained in chapter 15-39.1, apply to teachers, superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, special teachers, supervisors of instructio…

Investment of the fund is under the supervision of the state investment board in accordance with chapter 21-10. The moneys must be placed for investment only with a firm or firms whose endeavor is money management, and only after a trust agreement or contract has been executed. I…

In computing the terms of service of a member under this chapter, a member employed full time who receives compensation for at least seven hundred hours in a fiscal year earns one year of service. A member who receives compensation for less than seven hundred hours of service ear…

Any school district by a resolution of its school board may use the proceeds of levies, as permitted by section 57-15-14.2, for the purposes of meeting the district's contribution to the fund arising under this chapter and to provide the district's share, if any, of contribution …

Any person who knowingly makes a false statement, or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record or records of this retirement fund in any attempt to defraud such fund as a result of such act, is guilty of theft, and is punishable therefor under the laws of the state of North…

All records relating to the retirement benefits of a member or a beneficiary under this chapter are confidential and are not public records. The information and records may be disclosed, under rules adopted by the board, only to: 1. A person to whom the teacher has given written …

If any change or error in the records of the fund or any participating employer or error in any calculation results in any person receiving from the fund more than that person would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the board shall correct the error and,…

If any change or error in the records of the fund or any participating employer or any error in calculation results in any person receiving less from the fund than that person would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the board shall correct the error and …

A participating employer may purchase additional service credit on behalf of a member under the following conditions: 1. The member may not be given the option to choose between an employer service purchase and an equivalent amount paid in cash. 2. The member must meet one of the…

1. The board shall administer the plan in compliance with section 415, section 401(a)(9), section 401(a)(17), and section 401(a)(31) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions as they apply to governmental plans. 2. Pursuant to …

If the board determines that any section of this chapter does not comply with applicable federal statutes or rules, the board shall adopt appropriate terminology with respect to that section as will comply with those federal statutes or rules, subject to the approval of the emplo…