PART IV. RETIREMENT AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS

SUBPART A. REGULAR RETIREMENT

§441. Eligibility for retirement

A.(1) Any member hired on or before June 30, 2006, or any member who receives a benefit calculated pursuant to R.S. 11:444(A)(2)(b) and whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010, shall be eligible for retirement if he has:

(a) Thirty years or more of service, at any age.

(b) Twenty-five years or more of service, at age fifty-five or thereafter.

(c) Ten years or more of service, at age sixty or thereafter.

(d) Twenty years of service credit at any age, exclusive of military service and unused annual and sick leave, but any person retiring under this Subparagraph shall have his benefit, inclusive of military service credit and allowable unused annual and sick leave, actuarially reduced. Any member retiring under this Subparagraph who is in state service at the time of his retirement shall have his benefit actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Subparagraph (a), (b), or (c) of this Paragraph if he had continued in service to that age. Any member retiring under this Subparagraph who is out of state service at the time of his retirement shall have his benefit actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Subparagraph (a), (b), or (c) of this Paragraph based upon his years of service as of the date of retirement. Any employee who elects to retire under the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan provided by R.S. 11:447 or the Initial Benefit Option provided by R.S. 11:446(A)(5).

(2)(a) Any member hired on or after July 1, 2006, shall be eligible for retirement if he has:

(i) Five years or more of service, at age sixty or thereafter.

(ii) Twenty years of service credit at any age, exclusive of military service and unused annual and sick leave; however, any person retiring under this Item shall have his benefit, inclusive of military service credit and allowable unused annual and sick leave, actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Item (i) of this Subparagraph if he had continued in service to that age. Any employee who elects to retire under the provisions of this Item shall not be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan provided by R.S. 11:447 or the Initial Benefit Option provided by R.S. 11:446.

(b) Except for members of the Hazardous Duty Services Plan, as defined in R.S. 11:612, any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or after January 1, 2011, and on or before June 30, 2015, including any judge, court officer, governor, lieutenant governor, clerk or sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives, secretary or sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, or state treasurer, shall be eligible for retirement if he has:

(i) Five years or more of service, at age sixty or thereafter.

(ii) Twenty years of service credit at any age, exclusive of military service and unused annual and sick leave, but any person retiring under this Item shall have his benefit, inclusive of military service credit and allowable unused annual and sick leave, actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Item (i) of this Subparagraph if he had continued in service to that age. Any employee who elects to retire under the provisions of this Item shall not be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan provided by R.S. 11:447 or the Initial Benefit Option provided by R.S. 11:446.

(c) Except for members of the Hazardous Duty Services Plan, as defined in R.S. 11:612, any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or after July 1, 2015, including any judge, court officer, governor, lieutenant governor, clerk or sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives, secretary or sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, or state treasurer, shall be eligible for retirement if he has:

(i) Five years or more of service, at age sixty-two or thereafter.

(ii) Twenty years of service credit at any age, exclusive of military service and unused annual and sick leave, but any person retiring under this Item shall have his benefit, inclusive of military service credit and allowable unused annual and sick leave, actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Item (i) of this Subparagraph if he had continued in service to that age. Any employee who elects to retire under the provisions of this Item shall not be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan provided by R.S. 11:447 or the Initial Benefit Option provided by R.S. 11:446.

(3) Any full-time law enforcement personnel, supervisor, or administrator who is employed with the Department of Revenue, office of alcohol and tobacco control, on June 30, 2007, or thereafter, whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010, who is P.O.S.T.-certified, who has the power to arrest, and who holds a commission from such office shall be eligible to retire if he has:

(a) Twenty-five years or more of service, at any age.

(b) Ten years or more of service, at age sixty or thereafter.

(c) Twenty years of service credit at any age, exclusive of military service and unused annual and sick leave, but any person retiring under this Subparagraph shall have his benefit, inclusive of military service credit and allowable unused annual and sick leave, actuarially reduced from the earliest age that he would normally become eligible for a regular retirement benefit under Subparagraph (a) or (b) of this Paragraph if he had continued in service to that age. Any employee who elects to retire under the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan provided by R.S. 11:447 or the Initial Benefit Option provided by R.S. 11:446(A)(5).

B. For purposes of acquiring eligibility for regular retirement, disability retirement and survivor's benefits only, a part-time employee shall count every year in which he works on a part-time basis for at least eleven months as a full year of retirement credit but for eligibility only.

C. Retirement eligibility shall not be cancelled after it is earned except by refund requested by the member.

D.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A hereof, correctional officers and security personnel employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall be eligible for retirement at any age upon attaining twenty or more years of service, at least ten of which were served immediately prior to application for retirement in a security capacity with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in addition to being subject to the foregoing provisions, correctional officers and security personnel employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections after August 15, 1986, shall not be able to retire or begin to receive regular benefits until attaining the age of fifty years, regardless of the number of years of service. If a member who becomes employed as a correctional officer or as security personnel after August 15, 1986, has creditable service other than that as a correctional officer or as security personnel, then only two-thirds of that noncorrectional officer or nonsecurity personnel service shall be counted toward meeting the twenty-year service requirement for correctional officers and security personnel.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, effective July 1, 1999, correction officers, probation and parole officers, and security personnel employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall be eligible for retirement at any age upon attaining twenty-five or more years of service, at least ten of which were served immediately prior to application for retirement in a position with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(4) For purposes of this Subsection, Department of Public Safety and Corrections includes predecessor and successor agencies to such department.

E.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A hereof, probation and parole officers employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall be eligible for retirement at any age upon attaining twenty or more years of service, at least ten of which were served immediately prior to application for retirement as a probation and parole officer with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in addition to being subject to the foregoing provisions probation and parole officers employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections after August 15, 1986, shall not be able to retire or begin to receive regular benefits until attaining the age of fifty years, regardless of the number of years of service. If a member who becomes employed as a probation and parole officer after August 15, 1986, has creditable service other than that as a probation and parole officer, then only two-thirds of that nonprobation and parole officer service shall be counted toward meeting the twenty-year minimum service requirement for probation and parole officers.

(3) For purposes of this Subsection, Department of Public Safety and Corrections includes predecessor and successor agencies to such department.

F. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section or any other provision of law to the contrary, employees of the bridge police section of the Crescent City Connection Division of the Department of Transportation and Development whose first employment making them eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010, who are members of the system shall be eligible for retirement at any age upon attaining twenty-five or more years of service credit, at least ten of which were served immediately prior to application for retirement in a position with the bridge police section of the Crescent City Connection Division of the Department of Transportation and Development.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the rights of all members to benefits shall be nonforfeitable to the extent required by Internal Revenue Code Section 411 and the regulations thereunder, as amended from time to time.

Acts 1972, No. 135, §1, eff. July 26, 1972. Amended by Acts 1975, No. 373, §1; Acts 1978, No. 67, §3. Acts 1984, No. 660, §§1-9, eff. July 12, 1984; Acts 1985, No. 796, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 42:571 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 305, §1, eff. Dec. 31, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 570, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 1277, §1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 1320, §1, eff. July 12, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1348, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 267, §1, eff. June 1, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 844, §§1-6, eff. June 26, 2001; Acts 2005, No. 75, §1, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2006, No. 835, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 353, §1, eff. June 30, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 414, §1, eff. June 30, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 740, §1; Acts 2010, No. 99, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 102, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 992, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2014, No. 226, §1, eff. June 30, 2014.

NOTE: See Acts 1984, No. 660, §§1-9, regarding an early retirement incentive program.

NOTE: See Acts 2001, No. 884, §§1-6 regarding early retirement and payroll reduction (Early Retirement and Payroll Reduction Act).

NOTE: See Acts 2004, No. 194, §§1-9, regarding early retirement and payroll reduction (Early Retirement and Payroll Reduction Act).

NOTE: See Acts 2004, No. 7, §6, providing that the Act shall not affect or change any law relative to retirement or retirement or survivor benefits of employees of the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections.