Sec. 8.03. EXEMPTION OF BENEFITS FROM JUDICIAL PROCESS OR ALIENATION. (a) A portion of the fund or benefit or amount awarded to any primary party, qualified survivor, beneficiary of a member's DROP account, excess benefit participant, or survivor of an excess benefit participant under this article may not be held, seized, taken, subjected to, or detained or levied on by virtue of any execution, attachment, garnishment, injunction, or other writ, order, or decree, or any process or proceedings issued from or by any court for the payment or satisfaction, in whole or in part, of any debt, damage, claim, demands, or judgment against any person entitled to benefits from any plan within the pension system or from the excess benefit plan. The fund and the excess benefit plan or any claim against the fund or the excess benefit plan may not be directly or indirectly assigned or transferred, and any attempt to transfer or assign the fund or the excess benefit plan or a claim against the fund or the excess benefit plan is void.

(b) A benefit under any plan created or existing pursuant to this article or Article 6243a is subject to division pursuant to the terms of a qualified domestic relations order. The executive director shall determine the qualifications of a domestic relations order according to a uniform, consistent procedure approved by the board. The total benefit payable to a primary party or to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order may not actuarially exceed the benefits to which a primary party would be entitled in the absence of the qualified domestic relations order. In calculating the alternate payee's benefits under a qualified domestic relations order, the interest rate is the rate used by the pension system's actuary in the actuarial evaluation for that year, except that the minimum interest rate for this purpose is the minimum required by Section 414 of the code.

(c) This section does not preclude:

(1) the payment of death benefits to a trust for certain children of a primary party pursuant to Section 6.06(n) of this article;

(2) the withholding of federal taxes from pension benefits;

(3) the recovery by the board of overpayments of benefits previously made to any person;

(4) the direct deposit of benefit payments to an account in a bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other financial institution, provided the arrangement is not an alienation;

(5) under any policy adopted by the board and uniformly applied to voluntary arrangements entered into by a primary party or qualified survivor, any voluntary and revocable arrangement entered into by a pensioner or a qualified survivor that permits the withholding and direct payment of health care or life insurance premiums or similar payments from the monthly benefit payments; or

(6) an assignment of the distribution from an annuitized DROP account to a third party under Section 6.14(e-3)(1) of this article.

(d) For purposes of Subsection (c) of this section, an attachment, garnishment, levy, execution, or other legal process is not considered a voluntary arrangement.

Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 553, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 872, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 669, Sec. 164, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1163 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 190, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.01, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.02, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.03, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.04, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.05, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.06, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.07, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.08, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.09, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.10, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.11, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.12, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.13, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.14, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.15, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.16, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.17, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.18, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.19, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.20, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.21, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.22, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.23, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.24, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.25, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.26, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.27, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.28, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.29, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.30, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.31, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.32, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.33, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.34, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.35, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.36, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.37, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.38, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.39, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.40, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.41, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.42, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.43, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.44, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.45, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.46, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.47, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.48, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.49, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.50, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(7), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(1), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(2), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(3), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(4), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(5), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 1.52(6), eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 318 (H.B. 3158), Sec. 2.01, eff. May 31, 2017.