b. QDRO Issued by Court
1. ATRS shall accept a QDRO issued by a
circuit court of the State of Arkansas or other court of competent jurisdiction
regarding a member and an alternate payee, subject to the following:
A. The alternate payee is eligible to receive
benefit payments if the member:
i. Retires;
or
ii. Terminates employment with a
covered employer and receives a refund of contributions.
B. ATRS shall:
i. Promptly notify the member and the
alternate payee upon receiving a QDRO; and
ii. Determine within a reasonable time after
receiving the QDRO whether the QDRO complies with the Arkansas Code, ATRS
Rules, ATRS' model QDRO, and other applicable laws.
C. The member or the alternate payee may file
a QDRO with ATRS before the member's retirement or termination of covered
employment.
D. A QDRO shall not
require ATRS to:
i. Provide the alternate
payee with any type or form of benefit or option not otherwise available to the
member;
ii. Provide the alternate
payee actuarial benefits not available to the member; or
iii. Pay any benefits to the alternate payee
that are required to be paid to another alternate payee under an existing
QDRO.
E. Any benefit
that would be due to the alternate payee under the QDRO shall revert back to
the member if the alternate payee dies before receiving the benefit.
F. If the member dies before retirement, the
alternate payee shall receive the same portion of the member's contributions,
if any, as was assigned by the QDRO.
G. The alternate payee shall not receive
monthly retirement annuity benefits from ATRS if the member has not received
his or her retirement annuity at the time of his or her death.
H. ATRS shall compute the alternate payee's
monthly retirement annuity benefit under a QDRO using the benefit formula in
effect at the time of the member's retirement and shall include only service
credit earned by the member during the marriage.
I. If the QDRO issued by the circuit court
assigns a marital portion or other part of the member's interest in his or her
T-DROP plan deposits and interest, the benefits in the member's T-DROP account
shall be computed as a separate calculation as provided by ATRS' model
QDRO.
J. ATRS shall have the right
to:
i. Make any necessary correction to the
monthly retirement benefit paid under the QDRO; and
ii. Recover any overpayments owed to ATRS
from either the member or the alternate payee.
K. The alternate payee shall:
i. Notify ATRS of a change of the alternate
payee's mailing address; and
ii.
Verify annually his or her address with ATRS beginning one (1) year from the
date of the letter notifying the alternate payee of ATRS' acceptance of the
QDRO.
L. The alternate
payee's portion of the member's retirement benefits or contributions shall be
held in the member's account until the alternate payee is eligible to receive
benefit payments under this ATRS Rule 11 VII b.1.A.
M. If the alternate payee is eligible to
receive benefit payments, ATRS shall:
i. Not
hold the alternate payee's portion of the member's retirement benefits or
contributions in the member's account;
ii. Pay the alternate payee's portion of the
member's retirement benefits or contributions when payment is due to the:
a. Alternate payee if the alternate payee has
completed and submitted to ATRS an enrollment form and all other documents
required by ATRS in order to issue the payment; or
b. Member to be held by the member as
constructive trustee.
N. If the alternate payee is eligible to
receive benefit payments and has not completed and submitted an enrollment form
or all other required documents to ATRS, the following shall apply:
i. ATRS shall notify the member in writing
that the alternate payee has not completed and submitted an enrollment form or
all other documents required in order for ATRS to issue a payment to the
alternate payee;
ii. ATRS shall pay
the alternate payee's portion of the member's retirement benefits or
contributions to the member;
iii.
The member shall hold as constructive trustee the alternate payee's portion of
the member's retirement benefits or contributions upon receiving the alternate
payee's portion of the member's retirement benefits or contributions;
and
iv. The member shall be
responsible for verifying with ATRS the amount of the alternate payee's portion
of the member's retirement benefits or contributions to be held by the member
as constructive trustee.
O. If an amount that should not have been
distributed to the member or alternate payee under the QDRO is received by the
member or alternate payee, the member or alternate payee shall:
i. Be responsible for holding the amount as a
constructive trustee; and
ii.
Notify ATRS immediately that he or she received the amount.
P. ATRS shall not make restitution
for:
i. A payment that is issued to the
alternate payee before ATRS receives notice of the alternate payee's change of
address;
ii. A distributed amount
that:
a. The alternate payee is entitled to
receive under the terms of a QDRO; and
b. Is received by the member as constructive
trustee; or
iii. A
distributed amount that:
a. The member is
entitled to receive under the terms of a QDRO; and
b. Is received by the alternate payee as
constructive trustee.
Q. A benefit enhancement enacted by the
General Assembly or the Board after entry of the QDRO shall inure to the
benefit of the member and shall not be assigned to the alternate
payee.
R. ATRS shall not accept a
QDRO for a member who does not have five (5) years of actual service with ATRS
at the time the QDRO is issued by a court.
S. ATRS shall pay the member the total
retirement benefit if ATRS determines that the alternate payee's monthly
retirement benefit is less than twenty dollars ($20.00).
T. The member shall be responsible for paying
the alternate payee his or her portion under the QDRO if ATRS determines that
the alternate payee's monthly retirement benefit is less than twenty dollars
($20.00).
U. The QDRO issued by the
circuit court shall not require ATRS to provide any benefit that is an
actuarial cost to ATRS and is not otherwise contemplated in the law and rules
applicable to ATRS.
V. No provision
in this ATRS Rule 11 or in a QDRO accepted by ATRS shall require ATRS to
violate any plan qualification requirement in the Internal Revenue Code,
26 U.S.C.
§
401(a), or otherwise
affect ATRS' requirement to operate as a governmental plan under the Internal
Revenue Code,
26 U.S.C. §
414(d).