97B.42 Mandatory membership — membership in other systems.

1. Each employee whose employment commences after July 4, 1953, or who has not qualified for credit for prior service rendered prior to July 4, 1953, or any publicly elected official of the state or any of its political subdivisions shall become a member upon the first day in which such employee is employed. The employee shall continue to be an active member so long as the employee continues in covered employment. The employee shall cease to be an active member if the employee joins another retirement system in the state which is maintained in whole or in part by public contributions or payments and receives retirement credit for service in that other system for the same position previously covered under this chapter. If an employee joins another publicly maintained retirement system and ceases to be an active member under this chapter, the employee may elect to leave the employee’s accumulated contributions in the retirement fund or receive a refund of the employee’s accumulated contributions in the manner provided for members who are terminating covered employment pursuant to section 97B.53. However, if an employee joins another publicly maintained retirement system and leaves the employee’s accumulated contributions in the retirement fund, the employee shall not be eligible to receive retirement benefits until the employee has a bona fide retirement from employment with a covered employer as provided in section 97B.52A, or until the employee would otherwise be eligible to receive benefits upon attaining the age of seventy years as provided in section 97B.46.

2. Employment shall not be covered under this chapter until the employment is covered under the federal Social Security Act and any agreements which are required pursuant to chapter 97C are effective.

3. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to exclude from coverage, under the provisions of this chapter, any public employee who was not on or as of July 4, 1953, a member of another retirement system supported by public funds. All such employees and their employers shall be required to make contributions as specified as to other public employees and employers. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit the reestablishment of a retirement system supported by public funds which had been in operation prior to July 4, 1953, and was subsequently liquidated.

4. Persons who are members of any other retirement system in the state which is maintained in whole or in part by public contributions other than persons who are covered under the provisions of chapter 97, Code 1950, as amended by the Fifty-fourth General Assembly on the date of the repeal of said chapter, under the provisions of sections 97.50 through 97.53 shall not become members under this chapter while still actively participating in that other retirement system unless the persons do not receive retirement credit for service in that other system for the position to be covered under this chapter.

5. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to permit any employer to make any public contributions or payments on behalf of an employee in the same position for the same period of time to both the Iowa public employees’ retirement system and any other retirement system in the state which is supported in whole or in part by public contributions or payments.

6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a person newly entering employment with a community college on or after July 1, 1990, may elect coverage under an eligible alternative retirement benefits system described in section 260C.14, subsection 17, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1), in lieu of coverage under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system, but only if the person is already a member of the alternative retirement benefits system. An election to participate in an eligible alternative retirement benefits system as described in section 260C.14, subsection 17, is irrevocable as to the person’s employment with that community college and any other community college in this state.

7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, commencing July 1, 1994, a member who is employed by a community college may elect coverage under an eligible alternative retirement benefits system as provided in section 260C.14, subsection 17, in lieu of continuing or commencing contributions to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. However, the employer’s annual contribution in dollars to the eligible alternative retirement benefits system shall not exceed the annual contribution in dollars which the employer would contribute if the employee had elected to remain an active member under this chapter, as set forth in section 97B.11. A member employed by a community college who elects coverage under an eligible alternative retirement benefits system may withdraw the member’s accumulated contributions effective when coverage under the eligible alternative retirement benefits system commences. A member who is employed by a community college prior to July 1, 1994, must file an election for coverage under the eligible alternative retirement benefits system described in section 260C.14, subsection 17, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1), with the system and the employing community college within eighteen months of the first day on which coverage commences under the community college’s eligible alternative retirement benefits system described in section 260C.14, subsection 17, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1), or the employee shall remain a member under this chapter and shall not be eligible to elect to participate in that community college’s eligible alternative retirement benefits system described in section 260C.14, subsection 17, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (1) at a later date. Employees of a community college hired on or after July 1, 1994, must file an election for coverage under an eligible alternative retirement benefits system with the system and the employing community college within sixty days of commencing employment, or the employee shall remain a member under this chapter and shall not be eligible to elect to participate in an eligible alternative retirement benefits system of the community college at a later date. The system shall cooperate with the boards of directors of the community colleges to facilitate the implementation of this provision.

8. Except as otherwise provided in this section, an employer shall not sponsor and a member shall not participate in another retirement system in this state supported in whole or in part by public contributions or payments where such retirement system is in lieu of the retirement system established by this chapter. However, in addition to the retirement system established by this chapter, an employer may sponsor and a member may participate in a supplemental defined contribution plan qualified under Internal Revenue Code §401(a), a tax-deferred annuity qualified under Internal Revenue Code §403(b), or an eligible deferred compensation plan qualified under Internal Revenue Code §457, regardless of whether contributions to such supplemental plans are characterized as employer contributions or employee contributions, and subject to the applicable limits set forth in the Internal Revenue Code for such plans. A defined benefit plan that supplements the retirement system established by this chapter shall not be offered by public employers covered under this chapter.

[C46, 50, §97.2, 97.6, 97.45; C54, 58, 62, 66, §97B.42, 97B.63; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §97B.42]

90 Acts, ch 1240, §24; 92 Acts, ch 1201, §36, 37; 94 Acts, ch 1183, §23, 24; 96 Acts, ch 1187, §23 – 26; 97 Acts, ch 14, §1, 3; 98 Acts, ch 1077, §1; 2001 Acts, ch 68, §21, 24; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §286; 2004 Acts, ch 1103, §18; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §16

Referred to in §97B.1A, 97B.52A, 260C.14