A.C.A. §
24-7-704
I.
RULES (as amended by Acts 468 and 743 of 2009, Act
219 of 2015)
A. Disability retirement
benefits shall commence the month the member files a written application with
ATRS if at the time the member files the application the member is no longer
employed by an ATRS-covered employer, if the member is otherwise eligible under
A.C.A. §
24-7-704 and these Rules, and if after the Medical Committee
determines a disability exists for the member.
B.
i.
Termination of active membership for disability retirement benefits shall be
the last date of any employer payment to the member due to the end of the
employee/employer relationship.
ii.
The member is considered active if they are using earned sick leave, Family
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, annual leave and catastrophic leave. Worker's
compensation, which may or may not include the use of leave granted by the
employer, is not considered leave by which a member is considered active, nor
does it extend the date of active membership.
C.
i. The
following criteria and deadlines, applied to the individual ATRS member
circumstances, affects eligibility for continued disability payments for a
member who has been approved by ATRS for disability retirement, based upon the
date of the first ATRS disability retirement check. The deadlines may be
extended under the provisions of this rule and A.C.A. §
24-7-704.
(a) If member is fifty-seven (57) years or
older before July 1, 2015, and is receiving disability retirement benefits, the
member may continue to receive retirement benefits without submitting
additional documentation to ATRS.
(b) If the first disability retirement check
to the member is dated before July 1, 2015, and the member is under fifty-seven
(57) years before July 1, 2015, the member shall submit to ATRS a Social
Security Administration (SSA) determination letter dated before July 1, 2018,
that finds that the member is disabled. In the absence of a SSA determination
letter, the member's disability retirement payments will cease on June 30,
2018.
(c) If the first disability
retirement check to the member is dated July 1, 2015, or after, and the member
is under fifty-seven (57) years on the date of the first disability retirement
check, member shall submit to ATRS a Social Security
Administration (SSA) determination letter dated within thirty-six
(36) months from the date of the first disability retirement check that finds
that the member is disabled. In the absence of a SSA determination letter, the
member's disability retirement payments will cease thirty-six (36) months from
the date of the first disability retirement check. For example:
Date of 1st ATRS disability retirement
check: January 2017 Social Security Administration determination letter finding
dated by: December 2019
Date of last disability retirement check if no SSA determination
letter: December 2019
ii. ATRS will grant an extension to the above
deadlines if the member can provide documentation to ATRS that:
(a) The SSA disability claim was properly
filed and remained active for at least twenty-four (24) months prior to the
deadline above; and
(b) An active
SSA disability claim is still under review by the SSA with no voluntary
dismissal or withdrawal.
iii. In any event, once the member reaches 60
years of age and they are still receiving disability retirement, the member
will receive retirement benefits and no Social Security Administration
determination letter is required thereafter.
D.
i. A
member cannot simultaneously be employed by an ATRS-
covered employer and receive ATRS disability retirement. A.C.A.
§
24-7-701 also prohibits a member from receiving disability retirement if
the member performs work for an ATRS covered employer as an independent
contractor in certain circumstances.
ii. If a member is approved for disability
retirement but continues to work for the covered employer (directly or
indirectly), he/she must terminate employment with the covered employer or
indirect employer by the proposed disability retirement effective date or up to
two (2) full calendar months after the Medical Committee meets if the member is
wrapping up final work for which the member is paid to receive disability
retirement.
iii If the member does not terminate employment under the Rules
and A.C.A. §
24-7-502, the application is rescinded and the member can
reapply.
E. If
the application for disability retirement benefits is denied and the member
elects and otherwise qualifies for voluntary retirement, the effective date for
retirement shall be determined by the date the disability retirement
application is filed.
F. If the
member dies after the disability application is received by ATRS but before
disability retirement is approved, then ATRS shall consider the member to have
died in "active" service and survivor benefits under A.C.A. §
24-7-710
shall be paid.
G. The annuity
formula for computing disability retirement benefits is the same as for
voluntary age and service retirement.
H.
i. For
all disability retirement applications approved by the Medical Committee after
May 31, 2011, in accordance with rule making authority granted to the ATRS
Board under A.C.A. §
24-7-706(a)(3), the Board shall allow a disability
retiree at the time of retirement to designate an Option A or Option B
beneficiary. Option C beneficiaries shall not be available to disability
retirees.
ii If a disability
retiree designates an Option A or Option B spouse beneficiary, and the
disability retiree dies before reaching age 60, then the same rules that apply
to active member option beneficiaries shall apply to the disability Option A
and Option B beneficiaries under A.C.A. §
24-7-710(b).
iii If a disability retiree designates an
Option A or Option B incapacitated child beneficiary, and the disability
retiree dies before reaching age 60, then the same rules that apply to an
active member surviving child shall apply to the disability Option A or Option
B beneficiary under A.C.A. §
24-7-710(c) until the disability retiree
would have turned age 60, then the Option A or Option B incapacitated child
beneficiary shall receive the greater of the surviving child annuity under
A.C.A. §
24-7-710(c) or the Option A spouse annuity under A.C.A. §
24-7-710(a).
I.
Disability retirants who are disapproved for further disability annuities due
to a medical examination reviewed by the Medical Committee shall be removed
from ATRS' retirant payroll the earlier of six months following the review date
or the first of the month following the return to covered employment.
J. If a member applies for disability
retirement and is disapproved, he/she has the right to file a new disability
application submitting additional information for review as long as the member
remains active.
Amended: June 15, 2004
July 18, 2005
June 19, 2007
December 18, 2009
July 1, 2011
Adopted: August 8, 2011
Effective: November 11, 2011
Approved by Board: February 6, 2012
Amended: April 18, 2012
Effective: May 29, 2012
Approved by Board: July 26, 2013
Amended: October 9, 2013
Effective: November 8, 2013
Approved by Board: October 5, 2015
Amended: February 1, 2016
Effective: February 10,
2016
