§3682. Definitions

The following words and phrases, as used in this Subpart, unless expressly indicated to the contrary or unless a different meaning is plainly required by context, shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Accumulated contribution" means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the Employee Savings Account established in R.S. 11:532, together with regular interest thereon as provided in R.S. 11:3688.

(2) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equivalent value to the accumulated contributions, annuity, or benefits, as the case may be, computed upon the basis of such interest and mortality assumptions as are adopted by the board or provided in law.

(3) "Annuity reserve" means the present value of all payments to be made on account of any annuity, or benefit in lieu of any annuity, computed upon the basis of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by the Board of Trustees, and regular interest.

(4)(a) "Average compensation" for the limited purpose of applying Section 415(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, means the average compensation earned by a member for the period of three consecutive years during which the member was an active member of the plan and had the greatest aggregate compensation from the employer.

(b) "Compensation" for purposes of this Paragraph, means the total compensation reportable by the state of Louisiana, its agencies, or its political subdivisions as income to the member for the reported year. However, for the limited purpose of this Paragraph, "compensation" shall specifically exclude amounts not includable or reported in the member's gross income for federal tax purposes pursuant to the provisions of Sections 125 and 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code or any other provision of federal law, such as deferred compensation contributions.

(5) "Average final compensation" means the average annual earned compensation of an employee for any period of thirty-six successive or joined months of service as an employee during which the said earned compensation was the highest. In case of interruption of employment, the thirty-six-month period shall be computed by joining employment periods immediately preceding and succeeding the interruption.

(6) "Beneficiary" means any person designated to receive a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit as provided by this Subpart.

(7) "Board of trustees" or "board" means the board provided for in R.S. 11:511.

(8) "Creditable service" means service for which credit is allowable as provided in R.S. 11:3684.

(9) "Defined benefit plan" means a pension plan established and maintained by an employer primarily to provide systematically for the payment of definitely determinable benefits to employees over a period of years after retirement based upon factors such as years of service and compensation received by employees.

(10) "Defined contribution plan" means a pension plan established and maintained by an employer which provides benefits based upon amounts contributed to an employee's individual account, plus any earnings allocated to the account, for distribution to the employee or his beneficiary either at retirement, after a fixed number of years, or upon the occurrence of some special event.

(11) "Direct rollover" means a payment by the system to the eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee.

(12) "Distributee" means a member or former member. In addition, the member's or former member's surviving spouse, or the member's or former member's spouse or former spouse with whom a benefit or a return of employee contributions is to be divided pursuant to R.S. 11:291(B), are distributees with reference to an interest of the member or former member.

(13) "Earned compensation" means the full amount of compensation earned by an employee for a given month, but shall not include overtime.

(14) "Eligible retirement plan" means an individual retirement account described in Section 408(a), an individual retirement annuity described in Section 408(b), an annuity plan described in Section 403(a), or a qualified trust described in Section 401(a), all of the Internal Revenue Code, that accepts the member's eligible rollover distribution. However, in the case of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving spouse, an eligible retirement plan is an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity.

(15) "Eligible rollover distribution" means any distribution of all or any portion of the balance to the credit of a member, except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include any distribution that is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments not less frequently than annually, made for the life or life expectancy of the member or the joint lives or joint life expectancies of the member and the member's designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of ten years or more, or any distribution to the extent such distribution is required under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the portion of any distribution that is not includable in gross income.

(16) "Employee" means any commissioned member or employee of the Harbor Police Department of the Port of New Orleans prior to July 1, 2004, or any commissioned member of the Harbor Police Department of the Port of New Orleans on or after July 1, 2004 and hired on or before June 30, 2014.

(17) "Employer" means the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

(18) "Medical board" means the board of physicians provided for in R.S. 11:403.

(19) "Member" includes any employees, as defined in Paragraph (16) of this Section, included in the membership of this plan as provided in R.S. 11:3683.

(20) "Membership service" means service as an employee while a member of the Harbor Police Retirement System or this plan.

(20.1) "Plan" means the Harbor Police Retirement Plan established in this Subpart and administered as a plan within the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System pursuant to R.S. 11:631.

(21) "Port commission" means the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.

(22) "Prior service" means service rendered prior to August 1, 1971 for which credit is allowable as provided in R.S. 11:3684.

(23) "Qualified participant" means a member of the system who first became a member before January 1, 1990.

(24) "Retirement" means withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this Subpart.

(25) "Retirement allowance" means any benefit paid to a member under R.S. 11:3685(A) or any optional benefit payable in lieu thereof

(26) "Retirement system" or "system" means the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System.

(27) "Section 401(a)(17) employee" means an employee whose current accrued benefit as of a date on or after the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, is based on compensation for a year beginning prior to the first day of the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, that exceeded one hundred fifty thousand dollars.

(28) "Service" means service rendered as an employee as described in Paragraph (16) of this Section.

(29) Repealed by Acts 2014, No. 648, §3, eff. July 1, 2015.

(30) "Spouse" means that person who is legally married to the member on the member's effective date of retirement or effective date of participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, whichever is earlier.

(31) "Survivor's benefit" means any benefit paid to a survivor of a member under this Subpart.

Acts 1971, No. 80 §2, designated by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 97, §1, eff. May 5, 1998; Acts 2004, No. 621, §1, eff. July 5, 2004; Acts 2014, No. 648, §§1, 2, and 3, see Act for effective date.