97B.50 Early retirement.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a vested member who is at least fifty-five years of age, upon retirement prior to the normal retirement date for that member, is entitled to receive a monthly retirement allowance determined in the same manner as provided for normal retirement in sections 97B.49A, 97B.49E, and 97B.49G, reduced as follows:

a. For a member who is not vested on June 30, 2012, by one-half of one percent per month for each month that the early retirement date precedes the date the member attains age sixty-five.

b. For a member who is vested on June 30, 2012, the member’s retirement allowance shall be reduced as follows:

(1) For that portion of the member’s retirement allowance based on years of service through June 30, 2012, by twenty-five hundredths of one percent per month for each month that the early retirement date precedes the member’s earliest normal retirement date using the member’s age on the early retirement date and years of service as of June 30, 2012.

(2) For that portion of the member’s retirement allowance based on years of service after June 30, 2012, by one-half of one percent per month for each month that the early retirement date precedes the date the member attains age sixty-five.

2. a. A vested member who retires from the retirement system due to disability and commences receiving disability benefits pursuant to the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §423 et seq., and who has not reached the normal retirement date, shall receive benefits as selected under section 97B.51, and shall not have benefits reduced upon retirement as required under subsection 1 regardless of whether the member has completed thirty or more years of membership service. However, the benefits shall be suspended during any period in which the member returns to covered employment. This section takes effect July 1, 1990, for a member meeting the requirements of this paragraph who retired from the retirement system at any time after July 4, 1953. Eligible members retiring on or after July 1, 2000, are entitled to the receipt of retroactive adjustment payments for no more than thirty-six months immediately preceding the month in which written application for retirement due to disability was received by the system.

b. A vested member who retires from the retirement system due to disability and commences receiving disability benefits pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act, 45 U.S.C. §231 et seq., and who has not reached the normal retirement date, shall receive benefits as selected under section 97B.51, and shall not have benefits reduced upon retirement as required under subsection 1 regardless of whether the member has completed thirty or more years of membership service. However, the benefits shall be suspended during any period in which the member returns to covered employment. This section takes effect July 1, 1990, for a member meeting the requirements of this paragraph who retired from the retirement system at any time since July 4, 1953. Eligible members retiring on or after July 1, 2000, are entitled to the receipt of retroactive adjustment payments for no more than thirty-six months immediately preceding the month in which written application for retirement due to disability was received by the system.

c. A vested member who terminated service due to a disability, who has been issued payment for a refund pursuant to section 97B.53, and who subsequently commences receiving disability benefits as a result of that disability pursuant to the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §423 et seq. or the federal Railroad Retirement Act, 45 U.S.C. §231 et seq., may receive credit for membership service for the period covered by the refund payment, upon repayment to the system of the actuarial cost of receiving service credit for the period covered by the refund payment, as determined by the system. For purposes of this paragraph, the actuarial cost of the service purchase shall be determined as provided in section 97B.80C. The payment to the system as provided in this paragraph shall be made within ninety days after July 1, 2000, or the date federal disability payments commenced, whichever occurs later. For purposes of this paragraph, the date federal disability payments commence shall be the date that the member actually receives the first such payment, regardless of any retroactive payments included in that payment. A member who repurchases service credit under this paragraph and applies for retirement benefits shall have the member’s monthly allowance, including retroactive adjustment payments, determined in the same manner as provided in paragraph “a” or “b”, as applicable.

d. For a vested member who retires from the retirement system due to disability on or after July 1, 2009, and commences receiving disability benefits pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act, 45 U.S.C. §231 et seq., or the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §423 et seq., the system may require the vested member to certify on an annual basis continued eligibility for disability payments under the federal Railroad Retirement Act or the federal Social Security Act. If the vested member is under the age at which disability benefits are converted under the federal Social Security Act or the federal Railroad Retirement Act to retirement benefits and is no longer eligible for disability payments under either the federal Railroad Retirement Act or the federal Social Security Act, the vested member shall no longer be eligible to receive retirement benefits as provided by this subsection. If the system has paid retirement benefits to the member between the month the member was no longer eligible for payment pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act or the federal Social Security Act and the month the system terminated retirement benefits under this paragraph, the member shall return all retirement benefits paid by the system following the termination of such federal disability benefits, plus interest. The system shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this paragraph.

3. A member who is at least sixty-two years of age and less than sixty-five years of age, and who has completed twenty or more years of membership service and prior service, shall receive benefits under sections 97B.49A through 97B.49G, as applicable, determined as if the member had attained sixty-five years of age.

[C46, 50, §97.13, 97.45; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §97B.50]

84 Acts, ch 1285, §11, 12; 86 Acts, ch 1243, §19 – 21; 87 Acts, ch 227, §19, 20; 88 Acts, ch 1242, §45 – 47; 90 Acts, ch 1240, §37; 91 Acts, ch 105, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1201, §48, 49; 94 Acts, ch 1183, §43, 44; 96 Acts, ch 1187, §41; 98 Acts, ch 1183, §45, 77; 2000 Acts, ch 1077, §48 – 50; 2001 Acts, ch 68, §21, 24; 2003 Acts, ch 145, §179, 286; 2004 Acts, ch 1101, §16; 2004 Acts, ch 1103, §39, 40; 2008 Acts, ch 1171, §36, 48; 2010 Acts, ch 1167, §30, 39

Referred to in §97B.48A, 97B.49A, 97B.49E, 97B.49G, 97B.50A, 97B.53