Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 120 - Treasury Department
Chapter 00 - N/A
Subchapter 00 - N/A
Part 1 - Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island and Municipal Employees' Retirement System Regulations
Section 120-RICR-00-00-1.14 - Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011 Regulations

1. The language in R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-12(c)(iv) differs slightly from language in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-10-9(c)(iv) and 45-21-16(ii)(D). The Retirement Board endeavors to interpret the language of each of these procedures for service retirement statutes consistently with one another.

2. Accordingly, the reference to this section found in the first (1st) sentence of R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-12(c)(iv) shall be interpreted to mean R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-16-12(c).

1. Under this section, for members who become eligible to retire on or after July 1, 2012, if more than one half (1/2) of the member's total years of service consist of years of service during which the member devoted less than thirty (30) business hours per week to the service of the State, but the member's average compensation consists of three (3) or more years during which the member devoted more than thirty (30) business hours per week to the service of the State, the member's average compensation shall mean the average of the highest ten (10) consecutive years of compensation within the total service when the average compensation was the highest.

2. The Retirement Board recognizes that one (1) of the intentions of the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011 is to protect a member's accrued benefit on June 30, 2012. See, e.g., R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-10-9, 16-16-12, 45-21-16, 45-21-2(8), 45-21.2-5, 45-21.2-2, and 42-28-22.

3. Furthermore, the Retirement Board recognizes the need for a consistent method of interpretation and administration of the provisions of the Act wherever possible, in order to efficiently and fairly administer the Retirement Systems. The Retirement Board further recognizes that R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 45-21-2(8) and 45-21.2-2 specifically protect a member's accrued benefit on June 30, 2012, consistent with the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011, by providing that in no event shall a member's final compensation be lower than their final compensation determined as of June 30, 2012. In order to ensure fairness and consistency in its interpretation and administration of the Retirement Systems, and consistency with the expressed intention of the Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011, the Retirement Board shall interpret and administer R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-8-1(5)(b) consistently with R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 45-21-2(8) and 45-21.2-2, and in no event shall it deem a member's average compensation to be less than their average compensation determined as of June 30, 2012.