Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024
(a) Compensation for retirement purposes, as
determined by the Board of Trustees, shall be limited to salary and wages as
follows:
(1) "Salary" means a predetermined
or fixed amount of cash remuneration that is made payable by the participating
employer to the employee in exchange for services rendered personally by the
employee for the participating employer but excluding any type of overtime
payments paid to an employee for service rendered in excess of
full-time;
(2) "Wages" means cash
remuneration, dependent upon the hours of work, that is made payable by the
participating employer to the employee in exchange for services rendered
personally by the employee for the participating employer excluding any type of
overtime payments paid to an employee for service rendered in excess of
full-time.
(b) Subject
to the limitations contained elsewhere in the retirement act or in these rules,
salary and wages include, by way of example and not by limitation, the
following:
(1) any longevity payments made to
employees based upon a standardized plan which recognizes length of service to
the employer,
(2) pay differential
which is paid to employees in return for special or hazardous shifts or in
return for additional training or duties,
(3) amounts deducted from the employee's
paycheck for retirement and deferred compensation contributions,
(4) pre-tax cafeteria purchases which are not
funded by the employer or the employee's benefit allowance,
(5) performance, skill, or mission critical
based pay adjustments.
(c) Any payments made by an employer to an
employee which do not meet the definition of salary or wages as set forth in
subsection (a) of this rule are not to be considered compensation for
retirement purposes, including but not limited to the following:
(1) payments which are for reimbursement for
expenses incurred by the employee,
(2) payments for maintenance or allowances,
including, but not limited to, uniform allowances, clothing allowances, or
housing allowances,
(3) any
payments or amounts made available to an employee for insurance benefits or
benefits allowances, including any amounts paid directly to the
employee,
(4) illegal payments made
to an employee by an employer,
(5)
payments made in error to an employee,
(6) payments made by the employer for
services rendered by the employee, which services are not part of the
employee's job duties and responsibilities of his or her job position with the
participating employer,
(7)
payments in the form of tips or commissions paid to an employee in the course
of his or her employment,
(8)
payments made to other than the employee by the participating employer which
are not deducted from the employee's paycheck,
(9) workers compensation benefit
payments,
(10) any payments made by
a participating employer to a non-employee, such as compensation to Board or
Commission members,
(11) payments
made in anticipation of employment, such as signing bonuses,
(12) any payments which are excluded from
retirement compensation by law.
(d) The provisions of this rule shall be
effective for all compensation paid for service by an employee to the employer
on or after July 1, 2003. It shall be the responsibility of the employer to
ensure that the appropriate retirement contributions are deducted or paid
correctly and in accordance with this rule.
(e) The compensation of each member as set
forth above shall be used for calculating the monthly retirement compensation
for each retiring member. Provided, however, the calculation shall include the
compensation prior to July 1, 2003, for which retirement contributions were
withheld in determining the final average compensation, if applicable, for the
highest three (3) years of the last ten (10) years of service.
Added as 590:10-1-14 at
20 Ok Reg 2809, eff 6-19-03 (emergency); Added at 21 Ok Reg 1759, eff
6-11-04
