Effective 28 Aug 2003

104.370. General assembly members entitled to normal annuity, requirements, limitation — election to state office, effect — certain members entitled to creditable prior service — former members as special consultants, compensation — elected county officials, prior service. — 1. Any member of the general assembly who has served at least three full biennial assemblies as a member of the general assembly and who meets the conditions for retirement at or after the member's normal retirement age shall be entitled to a normal annuity in a monthly amount equal to one hundred fifty dollars multiplied by the number of biennial assemblies in which such member has served. For the purpose of calculating benefits due under this subsection:

(1) Service in any portion of a biennial assembly after service in at least three biennial assemblies shall be credited as service in a full biennial assembly; and

(2) Any person who is elected as a member of the general assembly at a special election and who serves the remainder of that term to which he was elected at such special election shall receive credit for a full biennial assembly for such service.

2. If a member of either retirement system established by this chapter, who has served at least three full biennial assemblies as a member of the general assembly, is elected to a state office, appointed to a state office, or employed by the state before, after, or before and after his service as a member of the general assembly, the member may, at the end of such employment, receive upon retirement, at or after the member's normal retirement age, the amount which shall be due the member for creditable service as a member of the general assembly. If he has not fully vested as a result of his employment as other than a member of the general assembly, he shall be credited with additional service as a legislator just as though all of the service combined had in fact been rendered as a member of the general assembly and receive a normal annuity. If the member retires before normal retirement age, the member shall receive the actuarial reduction approved by the board. Nothing in this section shall allow any member to simultaneously accumulate service in more than one state retirement system as a member of the general assembly and an employee or state officer; provided that, any member who otherwise would accrue simultaneous creditable service as a member of the general assembly and as an employee or state officer may elect prior to retirement to receive such simultaneous creditable service in the state retirement plan that covered the member's service as an employee or state officer in lieu of receiving such creditable service as a member of the general assembly pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section. Any member who makes such election shall receive creditable service for the member's remaining legislative service equal to the pro rata portion of the biennial assembly actually served by such member. The provisions of this subsection providing an election with regard to simultaneous creditable service shall apply to any member of the general assembly who is employed on or after August 28, 2003, or any former member of the general assembly who is employed as an employee or state officer on or after August 28, 2003. The term "state officer" as used in this subsection includes a statewide elected official as described in section 104.371, an administrative law judge or legal advisor as defined in section 287.812, or a judge as defined in section 476.515.

3. A member who has fully vested as a state officer or employee and has service as a member of the general assembly of less than three full biennial assemblies, upon retirement, at or after the member's normal retirement age, shall be credited with additional service as a state officer or employee for the time he served as a member of the general assembly. If the member retires before normal retirement age, he shall receive the actuarial reduction approved by the board.

4. Any member of the general assembly who has served at least three full biennial assemblies and whose service as such terminates on or after October 1, 1984, and who served as an employee, as that term is defined in section 104.010, prior to the respective dates on which the retirement systems to which such sections apply originally became effective, but was not such an employee on such dates, shall be entitled to the creditable prior service that such employee would have been entitled to in either or both systems had such employee become a member on the date of inception of either or both systems. The maximum number of years of creditable prior service to which a member may become entitled pursuant to this section is less than ten years. The benefits attributable to such service shall be calculated as if all service was rendered as a member of the general assembly.

5. Any former member of the general assembly who is receiving benefits under the provisions of this section shall, upon written request to the board, be made, constituted, appointed and employed by the board as a special consultant on the problems of retirement and other related matters and shall upon request of the board give opinions in writing or orally in response to such requests. As compensation for such services, the retired member shall have his retirement benefits recalculated the first of the month next following his application under this subsection to reflect that any portion of a year of creditable service shall be counted as one full biennial session.

6. Any retired member who is receiving benefits from the system and is elected to the general assembly but does not serve at least three biennial sessions shall receive creditable service for the time he served in the general assembly and upon leaving the general assembly shall have an additional benefit calculated using such service.

7. Benefits paid for service credited to legislative service shall be funded as provided in section 104.436.

8. Any former member of the general assembly not retired on August 28, 1994, who is fifty-five years of age or more and who has creditable service in the general assembly of at least three full biennial assemblies and has not used such services as creditable services in any other retirement system shall be made and employed by the board as a special consultant on the problems related to retirement and shall, when requested by the board, give opinions either written or orally on such problems. As compensation for such duties the former member of the general assembly shall be entitled to retire with a normal annuity effective the first of the month following receipt by the board of a written application.

9. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any active member of the Missouri state employees' retirement system who is vested, on August 28, 1994, under the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, and who has served as an elected county official and who, by virtue of such service was a member of a retirement system other than the Missouri state employees' retirement system but was not vested in such other retirement system, or was not a member of any retirement system, shall receive creditable prior service in the Missouri state employees' retirement system for such previous service as an elected county official.

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(L. 1981 H.B. 835, et al., A.L. 1984 H.B. 1370, A.L. 1985 H.B. 790, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1496, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1643 & 1399, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1100, et al., A.L. 1989 H.B. 674, A.L. 1992 S.B. 499, et al., A.L. 1993 S.B. 126, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1149, A.L. 2003 S.B. 248, et al.)

(1994) Where former state legislator sued state retirement system for denial of benefits for period from date he reached the age for eligibility for legislative retirement until time he retired from circuit judge position. Former legislator was ineligible under statute until his retirement from circuit judge position. Former members of general assembly are ineligible for retirement benefit during any period which they are serving as elected or appointed stated officers. Geary v. Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, 878 S.W.2d 918 (Mo. App. W.D.).