Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Upon receipt of a notice of a judgment
overturning the conviction of a former TRS member or service retiree for a
qualifying felony that resulted in the termination of membership in TRS or the
forfeiture of service retirement benefits required in §
824.009,
Government Code, or upon receipt of a notice of judgment that the person whose
membership in TRS was terminated or who forfeited service retirement benefits
as required in §
824.009,
Government Code meets the requirements for innocence under §
103.001(a)(2),
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, TRS shall restore the person to membership or
distribute service retirement benefits to the person as provided in this
section.
(b) A person whose
membership in TRS was terminated as provided in § 29.90 of this subchapter
before the distribution of service retirement benefits commenced shall be
restored to membership in TRS as follows:
(1)
If there was a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) in effect before
September 1, 2017, membership shall be restored upon receipt from the former
member of an amount equal to the total accumulated contributions paid on behalf
of the member under § 29.90 of this subchapter, including any accumulated
contributions paid to an alternate payee under the terms of a QDRO. However,
TRS shall not pay to the alternate payee any portion of any benefits restored
under this section under the terms of a QDRO in effect before September 1,
2017, even if the benefits result in part from the reinstatement of service
credit initially credited during the marriage.
(2) If a QDRO was entered on or after
September 1, 2017 under the authority provided in §
824.009(i),
Government Code, the person shall repay all of the accumulated contributions
distributed under §29.90, and:
(A) If a
distribution of service retirement benefits has not yet commenced to the
alternate payee, the amount of accumulated contributions held under
§29.90(c)(3) for the benefit of the alternate payee shall be restored to
the member account. Any future distribution of benefits on behalf of the member
shall be subject to the terms of the QDRO entered under the authority of §
824.009,
Government Code; or
(B) If a
distribution of service retirement benefits has commenced to the alternate
payee, the former member shall pay the amount of accumulated contributions
refunded on his or her behalf less the portion of accumulated contributions
retained by TRS under the terms of the QDRO and TRS shall commence distributing
to the member the portion of the retirement benefits elected by the member and
not awarded to the alternate payee. The alternate payee shall continue to
receive the portion of the standard service retirement annuity awarded under
the terms of the QDRO until the earlier of the death of the alternate payee or
the member.
(3) If a
QDRO was entered on or after September 1, 2017 but not under the authority
provided in §824.009(i), membership shall be restored upon receipt from
the person of an amount equal to the total accumulated contributions paid on
behalf of the member under §29.90, including any accumulated contributions
paid to an alternate payee. However, TRS shall not pay to the alternate payee
any portion of any benefits restored under this section under the terms of a
QDRO in effect before September 1, 2017, even if the benefits result in part
from the reinstatement of service credit initially credited during the
marriage.
(4) If there was no QDRO
in effect with respect to the member, membership is restored upon receipt by
TRS of an amount equal to all accumulated contributions refunded to the
member.
(c) A person
whose membership in TRS was terminated as provided in §29.90 after the
commencement of service retirement benefits shall be restored to TRS membership
as follows:
(1) If there was a QDRO in effect
before September 1, 2017 or on or after September 1, 2017 under the authority
provided in §
824.009(i),
Government Code:
(A) the member shall receive
an amount equal to the accrued total of annuity payments, including any PLSO
payments, previously forfeited due to the conviction through the calendar month
of notice of the judgement overturning the conviction to TRS plus interest,
less any amounts paid to the alternate payee under the terms of a
QDRO;
(B) the member shall repay to
TRS an amount equal to the portion of the accumulated contributions refunded to
the member. A distribution of service retirement annuities, less any amount
distributed to the alternate payee under the terms of the QDRO, may resume to
the member effective with the annuity payable for the calendar month in which
TRS receives the member's payment of the amount refunded under this
section;
(2) If there
was a QDRO in effect after September 1, 2017 and not under the authority of
provided in §
824.009(i),
Government Code:
(A) the member shall receive
an amount equal to the accrued total of annuity payments, including any PLSO
payments, previously forfeited due to the conviction through the calendar month
of notice of the judgement overturning the conviction to TRS plus
interest;
(B) the member shall
repay to TRS an amount equal to all accumulated contributions refunded by TRS,
including any accumulated contributions paid to an alternate payee pursuant to
the QDRO. A distribution of service retirement annuities may resume to the
member effective with the annuity payable for the calendar month in which TRS
receives the member's payment of the amount of refunded accumulated
contributions. TRS shall not pay to the alternate payee any portion of any
benefits restored under this section under the terms of the QDRO, even if the
benefits result in part from the reinstatement of service credit initially
credited during the marriage.
(3) If there was no QDRO in effect with
respect to the member, the member shall receive an amount equal to the accrued
total of annuity payments, including any PLSO payments, previously forfeited
due to the conviction through the calendar month of notice of the judgement
overturning the conviction to TRS plus interest. A distribution of service
retirement annuities may resume to the member effective with the annuity
payable for the calendar month in which TRS receives the member's payment of
the total amount accumulated contributions refunded to the member.
(d) The amount of interest payable
under subsection (c) of this section is the amount of interest provided for
member contributions in §
825.307,
Government Code, for the time period that the service retirement benefits were
previously forfeited.
