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Section 5.05. Permissive Service Credit

TX Civ Stat § 5.05 (2019) (N/A)
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Sec. 5.05. PERMISSIVE SERVICE CREDIT. (a) The police retirement board may by rule provide that a member or eligible surviving spouse of a member, or a deceased member's designated beneficiary if there is no surviving spouse, may establish creditable service by depositing with the retirement system the actuarial present value, at the time of deposit, of the additional life annuity (modified cash refund) defined in Section 6.01 of this Act that would be attributable to the purchase of the service credit under this section, based on rates and tables recommended by the retirement system's actuary and adopted by the board of trustees. The police retirement board may also by rule provide that a member or eligible surviving spouse of a member, or a deceased member's designated beneficiary if there is no surviving spouse, may establish creditable service by depositing with the retirement system the actuarial present value, at the time of deposit, of the additional deferred life annuity (modified cash refund) that would be attributable to the purchase of the service credit under this section, based on rates and tables recommended by the retirement system's actuary and adopted by the board of trustees. As used in this section, a "deferred life annuity (modified cash refund)" means a series of equal monthly payments, payable for life after an inactive member's deferred retirement date, which is on or before the last day of the month in which the inactive member would have satisfied the eligibility requirements of Section 6.02 of this Act if the member had continued as an active-contributory member, excluding any permissive service credit established under this section and excluding any military service credit established under Section 5.02 of this Act.

(b) Prior to allowing the purchase of service credit under this section, the police retirement board shall adopt rules relating to the maximum amount of credit which may be purchased by a person under this section, the eligibility requirements that a person must satisfy before purchasing credit under this section, and such other matters as the board considers necessary for the administration of this section.

(c) The board may not adopt a rule authorizing the purchase of credit under this section unless the board has obtained an actuarial study indicating that adoption of the rule will not cause the amortization period for the retirement system's unfunded actuarial accrued liability to exceed the maximum amortization period adopted by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

(d) The board may not adopt a rule authorizing the purchase of credit under this section if that rule would be inconsistent with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 1 et seq.) and its successors.

(e) The board may modify or repeal a rule adopted under this section. A modification of a rule adopted under this section must comply with the requirements of this section.

(f)(1) At the time a member establishes creditable service for a deferred retirement date under this section, the member may file with the board the member's written statement either selecting one of the optional benefits authorized by this Act and designating the beneficiary of the option if one is selected or stating that the member has been afforded an opportunity to select an option but does not desire to do so. An option selection becomes effective at the member's date of deferred retirement. The member retains the right to make a final selection until the date of deferred retirement. The final selection is binding on all parties.

(2) If the member dies before the date of deferred retirement but after filing the written statement selecting one of the optional benefits, the member's survivor benefit is calculated as if the member had retired on the date of deferred retirement under the optional benefit selected and died the next day.

(3) In the event a member who is eligible for a deferred retirement dies before the deferred retirement date without making a written selection of an option listed in Section 6.03 of this Act and the member has a spouse surviving, the surviving spouse of the member may select the optional form of a survivor benefit in the same manner as if the member had made the selection on the member's scheduled date of deferred retirement or may select a lump-sum payment equal to the accumulated deposits standing to the member's credit in Fund No. 1 plus an equivalent amount from Fund No. 2. If the member does not have a surviving spouse, the member's beneficiary or, if no beneficiary exists, the executor or administrator of the member's estate is entitled to select either an Option V survivor benefit (15-Year Certain and Life Annuity), effective on the member's scheduled date of deferred retirement, or a lump-sum payment equal to the accumulated deposits standing to the member's credit in Fund No. 1 plus an equivalent amount from Fund No. 2.

(4) When monthly survivor benefits are payable as a result of the death of a member before the member's deferred retirement date, an additional sum of $10,000 is payable as a death benefit to the member's beneficiary or, if no beneficiary exists, to the member's estate.