Sec. 91a.

(1) An individual who first became a member or qualified participant on or after September 4, 2012 or who made the election under subsection (5) shall not receive any health insurance coverage premium from the retirement system for any benefits under section 91 or as a result of benefits provided under section 86, 87, or 89. In lieu of any of these benefits that might have been paid by the retirement system, a member's or qualified participant's employer shall make a matching contribution up to 2% of the member's or qualified participant's compensation to Tier 2 for each member who first became a member or qualified participant on or after September 4, 2012 or who made the election under subsection (5). A matching contribution under this subsection shall not be used as the basis for a loan from an employee's Tier 2 account. If the department or retirement system offers a health expenditure account or similar account for the purpose of managing a member's health care funds under this section, as permitted by state or federal law, the department or retirement system shall issue a request for proposals before implementation of that health expenditure account or similar account.

(2) An individual who first became a member or qualified participant on or after September 4, 2012 or who made the election under subsection (5) may make a contribution up to 2% of the member's or qualified participant's compensation to a Tier 2 account. A member or qualified participant described in this subsection may make additional contributions to his or her Tier 2 account as permitted by the department and the internal revenue code.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a member or qualified participant is vested in contributions made to his or her Tier 2 account under subsections (1) and (2) according to the vesting provisions under section 132. A member who is eligible for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system as a result of benefits provided under section 90 is not vested in any employer contributions under subsection (1) and forfeits the employer contributions and earnings on those contributions.

(4) The contributions described in this section shall begin with the first payroll date after the member or qualified participant is employed or on or after the transition date for a member who makes the election under subsection (5) and end upon his or her termination of employment.

(5) Except as otherwise provided in this section, beginning September 4, 2012 and ending at 5 p.m. eastern standard time on January 9, 2013, the retirement system shall permit each qualified member to make an election to opt out of health insurance coverage premiums that would have been paid by the retirement system under section 91 and opt into the Tier 2 account provisions of this section effective on the transition date. A qualified member who makes the election under this subsection shall cease accruing years of service credit for purposes of calculating a portion of the health insurance coverage premiums that would have been paid by the retirement system under section 91 as if that section continued to apply.

(6) A qualified member who does not make the election under subsection (5) continues to be eligible for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system under section 91 and is not eligible for the Tier 2 account provisions of this section. An individual who is not a qualified member, who is a former member on September 3, 2012, and who is reemployed by an employer on or after September 4, 2012 shall be treated in the same manner as a member described in this subsection who did not make the election under subsection (5).

(7) The retirement system shall calculate an amount to be credited to a Tier 2 account for each member who makes the election under subsection (5). The amount described in this subsection shall be an amount equal to the contributions made by the member under section 43e. A member who makes the election under subsection (5) shall cease making contributions under section 43e as determined by the retirement system, but no later than the first payroll date after the transition date. The amount calculated under this subsection shall be deposited as an employer contribution into the member's Tier 2 account as determined by the retirement system, but no later than the first payroll date after March 1, 2013. A member is immediately 100% vested in amounts deposited to his or her Tier 2 account under this subsection.

(8) A member or former member who does not make the election under subsection (5), who is 60 years of age or older, who does not qualify for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system under section 91, and who files an application with the retirement system on or after termination of employment shall receive a separate retirement allowance as calculated under this subsection. Except as otherwise provided under this subsection, the separate retirement allowance under this subsection shall be paid for 60 months and shall be equal to 1/60 of the amount equal to the contributions made by the member under section 43e. The retirement system may pay out de minimus amounts as a lump sum as determined by the retirement system and as permitted by the internal revenue code. A member receiving a separate retirement allowance under this subsection shall not subsequently receive the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system under section 91. A member who dies before qualifying for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system under section 91 shall have a separate retirement allowance as provided in this subsection paid to the member's beneficiary upon application to the retirement system. A member who qualifies for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system under section 91 but who dies before the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system in an amount equal to or greater than the amounts contributed under section 43e shall have a separate retirement allowance as provided in this subsection paid to the member's beneficiary following the cessation of health insurance coverage premiums paid by the retirement system in an amount equal to the difference between the health insurance coverage premiums paid by the retirement system under section 91 and contributions made by the member under section 43e. The amount of the separate retirement allowance as determined under this subsection shall be increased in a manner as determined by the retirement system by a percentage equal to 1.5% multiplied by the total number of years that member made contributions under section 43e.

(9) A member or former member who has a break in service and is reemployed retains the same election that the member made under this section before the break in service. If the member made the election under subsection (5), the member shall continue to receive the Tier 2 account contributions as provided in subsections (1) and (2). If the member did not make the election under subsection (5), the member shall continue to make the contributions as provided under section 43e and is subject to subsection (8), if applicable.

(10) In lieu of any other health insurance coverage premium that might have been paid by the retirement system under section 91, a credit to a health reimbursement account within the trust created under the public employee retirement health care funding act, 2010 PA 77, MCL 38.2731 to 38.2747, shall be made by the retirement system in the amounts and to the members or qualified participants as follows:

(a) Two thousand dollars to an individual who first became a member or qualified participant on or after September 4, 2012, who is 60 years of age or older, and who has at least 10 years of service at his or her first termination of employment.

(b) One thousand dollars to an individual who first became a member or qualified participant on or after September 4, 2012, who is less than 60 years of age, and who has at least 10 years of service at his or her first termination of employment.

(11) The retirement system shall determine a method to implement subsections (5) to (10), including a method for crediting the amounts in those subsections to comply with any restrictions imposed by the internal revenue code. Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary, the Tier 2 plan provisions of this section shall be implemented by the department as soon as feasible but not later than January 1, 2013.

(12) Subsections (5) to (10) do not apply to a member who is eligible for the payment of health insurance coverage premiums by the retirement system as a result of benefits provided under section 90.

(13) On or before July 1, 2017, the retirement system shall provide a report to the chairs of the house and senate appropriations committees that provides the projected impact of subsection (10) as it applies to members first employed and entered upon the payroll of reporting units on or after July 1, 2017 with regard to the annual required contribution as used by the governmental accounting standards board and for purposes of the annual financial statements prepared under section 28(1).

(14) As used in this section:

(a) "Compensation" means that term as defined in section 122(2).

(b) "Qualified member" means a member who meets all of the following requirements:

(i) He or she first became a member before September 4, 2012.

(ii) He or she has earned service credit in the 12 months ending September 3, 2012 or was on an approved professional services or military leave of absence on September 3, 2012.

History: Add. 2012, Act 300, Imd. Eff. Sept. 4, 2012 ;-- Am. 2012, Act 359, Imd. Eff. Dec. 14, 2012 Compiler's Notes: Enacting section 2 of Act 300 of 2012 provides:"Enacting section 2. (1) If the office of retirement services in the department of technology, management, and budget receives notification from the United States internal revenue service that any section or any portion of a section of this amendatory act will cause the retirement system to be disqualified for tax purposes under the internal revenue code, then the portion that will cause the disqualification does not apply."(2) The provisions of this amendatory act are severable. If any part of this amendatory act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, that declaration shall not affect the remaining part of this amendatory act."Popular Name: Act 300