Title 03, Title 03: Executive

§ 467. Death benefit after retirement—Group C If a Group C member in receipt of a retirement allowance dies, the member’s dependent spouse shall receive until the dependent’s death a retirement allowance that shall be equal to 70 percent of the retirement allowance to that the me…

§ 468. Optional benefits (a) Until the first payment on account of a retirement allowance becomes normally due, any member may elect to convert the retirement allowance otherwise payable to the member after retirement into a retirement allowance that is its actuarial equivalent, …

§ 469. Minimum benefit—Group C Anything contained in this title to the contrary notwithstanding, the benefit payable to or on account of a Group C member, inclusive of any benefit provided by his or her additional contributions as specified in subsection 473(b) of this title toge…

§ 470. Postretirement adjustments to retirement allowances (a) Postretirement adjustments to retirement allowance. Beginning January 1, 2023 and each year thereafter, the retirement allowance of each beneficiary of the System who is in receipt of a retirement allowance and who me…

§ 471. Retirement Board; Medical Board; actuary; rates of contribution; safekeeping of securities (a) The general administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the Retirement System and for making effective the provisions of this subchapter are hereby vested in a …

§ 471a. Reports (a) The Board shall prepare and submit, consistent with 2 V.S.A. § 20(a), reports on the following subjects: (1) the fiscal transactions of the Retirement System, pursuant to subsection 471(g) of this title; (2) the results of an actuarial reevaluation of the Reti…

§ 472. Investments; interest rate; disbursements (a) The members of the Vermont Pension Investment Commission established in chapter 17 of this title shall be the trustees of the Funds created by this subchapter, 16 V.S.A. chapter 55, and 24 V.S.A. chapter 125, and with respect t…

§ 472a. Compliance with federal law (a) Intent. The General Assembly intends that the Retirement System and any trusts or custodial accounts established to hold the assets of the Retirement System in accordance with subsection (b) of this section be maintained, in form and operat…

§ 473. Funds (a) Assets. All of the assets of the Retirement System shall be credited to the Vermont State Retirement Fund. (b) Member contributions. (1) Allocations and periodic review. (A) Allocations. Contributions deducted from the compensation of members together with any me…

§ 473a. Periodic actuarial reports The Board shall cause to be made an actuarial reevaluation of the rate of member contributions deducted from earnable compensation pursuant to subdivision 473(b)(2) of this title, on a periodic basis at least every three years, to determine whet…

§ 474. Predecessor systems Any beneficiary of a predecessor system who is in receipt of a benefit on the date of establishment shall become a beneficiary and shall continue to receive the benefit being paid from the Fund of this System, under the conditions of the predecessor sys…

§ 475. Errors Should any change or error in the records result in any member or beneficiary receiving from the Retirement System more or less than he or she would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the Retirement Board shall have the power to correct such…

§ 476. Exemption of member’s interest; assignment A member’s annuity, pension, or retirement allowance under this subchapter and the member’s assets in the Retirement System shall not be exempt from taxation, including income tax, but shall be exempt from the operation of any law…

§ 476a. Alternate payee; domestic relations orders (a) As used in this section: (1) “Alternate payee” means any individual who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all, or a portion of, another individual’s payment rights in the Retirement Syst…

§ 477. Prior service credit An employee who has ceased being a member upon reemployment is entitled to prior service credit upon depositing in the Fund the contributions that would have been deducted from the employee’s compensation had he or she remained a member with interest a…

§ 477a. Elections (a) Any member who has rendered 15 years of creditable service and who has, prior to becoming a member of the System, served a minimum of one full year of full-time service in the military or one full year of full-time service as a member of the Cadet Nurse Corp…

§ 479. Group insurance (a)(1) As provided under section 631 of this title, a member who is insured by the respective group insurance plans immediately preceding the member’s effective date of retirement shall be entitled to continuation of group insurance as follows: (A)(i) cover…

§ 479a. State Employees’ Postemployment Benefits Trust Fund (a) Creation. A “State Employees’ Postemployment Benefits Trust Fund” (Benefits Fund) is hereby created for the purpose of accumulating and providing reserves to support retiree postemployment benefits for members, and t…

§ 480a. Group A members; limit on contributions Contributions in the form of a deduction from compensation under section 473 of this title shall cease for any Group A member who attains 25 years of creditable service and the member shall continue to accrue creditable service, wit…

§ 481. Definitions The following words and phrases as used in this subchapter, unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings: (1) “Employee” shall mean any regular officer or employee who is employed for not less than 40 calendar…

§ 482. Participation by local governments; election by employer (a) Any governing board of an employer that elected to have its eligible employees participate in the Vermont State Retirement System shall, by virtue of said election, have its eligible employees participate in the …

§ 483. Petition by employees; transfer of assets (a) Should a majority of the members of any local retirement fund elect to become members of the Vermont State Retirement System, by a petition duly signed by those members, the participation of those members in the Vermont State R…

§ 484. Election by employee; service credits Membership in the Vermont State Retirement System shall be optional with employees who are in the service of the employer on the date when participation becomes effective pursuant to subsection 482(a) or subsection 483(a) of this title…

§ 485. Compulsory membership Membership in the Vermont State Retirement System shall be compulsory for all employees entering the service of such employer after the date participation becomes effective, and shall be effective upon the date of hire. (Added 1971, No. 231 (Adj. Sess…

§ 486. Duty of local officers The chief fiscal officer of the employer, and heads of its departments, shall submit to the Retirement Board such information and shall cause to be performed with respect to the employees of such employer such duties as shall be prescribed by the Ret…

§ 487. Rates of contribution Employees who become members of the Vermont State Retirement System under the provisions of this subchapter shall contribute at the same rate and in the same manner as if they were employees of the State of Vermont. The actuary of the System shall com…

§ 488. Payment of contributions The contributions computed under section 487 of this title together with a pro rata share of the cost of the administration of the Vermont State Retirement System based upon the payroll of the employees of the employer who are members shall be cert…

§ 489. Benefits Persons who become members of the Vermont State Retirement System under this subchapter and on behalf of whom contributions are paid as provided in this subchapter shall be entitled to benefits under the Vermont State Retirement System as though they were employee…

§ 490. Default; paid up deferred annuity The agreement of any employer to contribute on account of its employees shall be irrevocable, but should any employer for any reason become financially unable to make the contributions on account of its employees as provided in this subcha…

§ 491. Liability of retirement system Anything in this subchapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the Vermont State Retirement System shall not be liable for the payment of any pensions or other benefits on account of the employees or beneficiaries of any employer under this sub…

§ 495. Transfer of memberships (a) The words “retirement system” as used in this section shall mean and include the following: (1) Vermont State Retirement System as established by subchapter 1 of this chapter, and including employees of certain political subdivisions under the p…

§ 500. Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (a) The State Treasurer shall offer a retirement plan for State employees who are not members of the classified system. The Plan shall qualify as a defined contribution plan under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, as amended. Participatio…

§ 521. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Commission” means the Vermont Pension Investment Commission. (2) “Financial expert” means an individual with material expertise and experience in institutional fund management or other significant pension or other relevant financia…

§ 522. Vermont Pension Investment Commission (a) Members. There is created the Vermont Pension Investment Commission, an independent commission, to comprise nine members as follows: (1) one member and one alternate, elected by the employee and retiree members of the Board of the …

§ 523. Vermont Pension Investment Commission; duties (a) General. The Vermont Pension Investment Commission shall be responsible for the investment of the assets of the Vermont State Teachers’ Retirement System, the Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System, and the Vermont Muni…

§ 524. Vermont Pension Investment Commission Special Fund (a) Creation. There is hereby created the Vermont Pension Investment Commission Special Fund, administered by the Vermont Pension Investment Commission, for the purpose of receiving funds transferred to the Commission purs…

§ 525. Vermont Pension Investment Commission; market factor analysis for classified positions The Department of Human Resources shall conduct and implement a market factor analysis for all classified positions within the Vermont Pension Investment Commission not later than Januar…

§ 531. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Contribution level” means the contribution rate for the participant that may be expressed as one of the following: (A) A percentage of the participant’s taxable wages as is required to be reported under Sections 6041 and 6051 of th…

§ 532. Vermont Saves Program; establishment (a) Establishment; purpose. There is established the Vermont Saves Program (Program), administered by the Office of the State Treasurer, for the purpose of increasing financial security for Vermonters by providing access to an IRA for V…

§ 533. Duties of the State Treasurer In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the Treasurer: (1) May adopt such rules, pursuant to the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act, as the Treasurer determines to be necessary or advisable for the implementation and general administra…

§ 534. Vermont Retirement Security Fund (a) There is established the Vermont Retirement Security Fund to be administered by the State Treasurer. (b) The Fund shall consist of the following: (1) any monies appropriated to the Fund by the General Assembly; (2) any monies transferre…

§ 535. Penalties (a) Failure to comply. If a covered employer fails to be in compliance with this chapter without reasonable cause, the covered employer is subject to a penalty for each covered employee for each calendar year or portion of a calendar year during which the covered…

§ 536. Protection from liability (a) Employer protection from liability. (1) A covered employer shall not be considered a fiduciary in relation to the Program. (2) A covered employer or other employer shall not be liable for and shall not bear responsibility for: (A) any employee…

§ 537. Confidentiality The Treasurer shall establish policies and procedures, consistent with the Vermont Public Records Act and other statutory provisions, for the Program participants’ personal and confidential information. (Added 2023, No. 43, § 1, eff. July 1, 2023.)

§ 538. Accounting and reports Beginning on January 15, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Treasurer shall submit a report to the Governor and the House Committees on Commerce and Economic Development and on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committees on E…

§ 571. Declaration of policy In order to extend to employees of the State and its political subdivisions and to the dependents and survivors of those employees the basic protection accorded to others by the Old Age and Survivors Insurance System embodied in the Social Security Ac…