Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) If they meet the applicable requirements
set out in this section, the following persons are eligible to enroll in the
health benefits program under the Texas Public School Retired Employees Group
Benefits Act (TRS-Care):
(1) service retirees
of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) who are not eligible to enroll
as an employee or retiree in a plan provided under the Texas Employees Group
Benefits Act (Insurance Code, Chapter 1551), or under the State University
Employees Uniform Insurance Benefits Act (Insurance Code, Chapter
1601);
(2) disability retirees of
TRS;
(3) surviving spouses of
deceased service or disability retirees of TRS or of certain deceased active
TRS members; and
(4) surviving
dependent children of deceased service or disability retirees of TRS or of
certain deceased active TRS members.
(b) To be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care
under this section, a service retiree of TRS who retires before September 1,
2004 must have 10 years of service credit for actual service in the public
schools of Texas, which can include only the following types of service credit:
(1) service credit for actual service in
Texas public schools;
(2) service
credit transferred to TRS from the Employees Retirement System of Texas
(ERS);
(3) withdrawn service credit
that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account;
(4) service credit for
unreported service that the member has purchased and that has been credited to
the member's account;
(5) service
credit for substitute service that the member has purchased and that has been
credited to the member's account; and
(6) up to five years of out-of-state service
credit that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account.
(c) To be
eligible to enroll in TRS-Care under this section, a service retiree of TRS who
retires after September 1, 2005 must meet the following requirements:
(1) at the time of retirement, a member has
at least 10 years of service credit in the system, which can include only the
following types of service credit:
(A)
service credit for actual service in Texas public schools;
(B) service credit transferred to TRS from
ERS;
(C) withdrawn service credit
that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account;
(D) service credit for
unreported service that the member has purchased and that has been credited to
the member's account;
(E) service
credit for substitute service that the member has purchased and that has been
credited to the member's account;
(F) up to five years of military service
credit that the member has purchased and that has been credited to the member's
account, or up to five years of re-employed veteran's (USERRA) service credit,
whether purchased or not, evidence of which is provided by the service retiree
to the satisfaction of TRS; and
(2) at the time of retirement, a member
either:
(A) meets the Rule of 80, which is
determined by having the sum of the individual's age and the amount of service
credit in the system noted in subparagraph(C) of this paragraph, equal or
exceed 80, regardless of whether the member had a reduction in the retirement
annuity for early age retirement; or
(B) has 30 or more years of service credit in
the system noted in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(C) for purposes of this paragraph (2) of
this subsection, service credit in the system includes the following:
(i) the types of service credit in the system
listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection;
(ii) out-of-state service credit under §
25.81
of this title (relating to Out-of-State Service Eligible for Credit);
(iii) credit for developmental leave under
§
25.151
of this title (relating to Developmental Leave, Eligibility, Cost);
(iv) work experience service credit under
§
25.161
of this title (relating to Work Experience Service Credit);
(v) state personal or sick leave credit under
§
25.162
of this title (relating to State Personal or Sick Leave Credit);
(vi) credit under the service credit purchase
option under §
25.163 of
this title (relating to Service Credit Purchase);
(vii) credit for service during a school year
with a membership waiting period under §
25.164
of this title (relating to Credit for Service During School Year With
Membership Waiting Period); and
(viii) any other type of service credit
purchased for equivalent or special service credit allowed by law or by rule
adopted by TRS.
(d) To be eligible to enroll in TRS-Care
under this section, a service retiree of TRS who retires after September 1,
2004, but on or before August 31, 2005, must meet, on September 1, 2005, either
of the following requirements:
(1) the
10-year service credit requirement of subsection (b) of this section;
or
(2) the 10-year service credit
requirement of subsection (c)(1) of this section and one of the requirements of
subsection (c)(2) of this section.
(e) Any service retiree of TRS who is
enrolled in TRS-Care on August 31, 2005, maintains eligibility for TRS-Care on
or after September 1, 2005, unless and until an applicable rule or law
prohibits continued enrollment in TRS-Care.
(f) For purposes of this section, "public
school" is an educational institution or organization in this state that is
entitled by law to be supported in whole or in part by state, county, school
district, or other municipal corporation funds.
(g) A disability retiree with less than 10
years of service credit will not be eligible for coverage under TRS-Care when
disability retirement benefits terminate.
(h) A surviving spouse of a deceased TRS
service or disability retiree is eligible to enroll in TRS-Care if the deceased
TRS service or disability retiree was enrolled, eligible to enroll, or would
have been eligible to enroll in TRS-Care at the time of the retiree's
death.
(i) A surviving spouse of a
deceased active TRS member is eligible to enroll in TRS-Care if the deceased
active member:
(1) died on or after September
1, 1986;
(2) had 10 or more years
of actual service credit in TRS; and
(3) made contributions to TRS-Care at the
member's last place of employment in public education in Texas.
(j) A surviving dependent child of
a deceased TRS retiree or deceased active TRS member is eligible to enroll in
TRS-Care if the deceased retiree met the conditions of subsection (h) of this
section or the deceased active member met the conditions of subsection (i) of
this section. A surviving dependent child must also meet the following
conditions:
(1) the child must be a natural or
adopted child of or a child who was lawfully placed for legal adoption with the
deceased retiree or member or must be a foster child, stepchild, or other child
who lived in a parent-child relationship with the retiree or member;
and
(2) the child must be under age
26, or if 26 years of age or older, must be unmarried and have a mental
disability or is physically incapacitated to such an extent as to have been
dependent upon the deceased retiree or active member for support at the time of
the retiree's or active member's death, as determined by TRS as trustee and as
described by Insurance Code, §
1575.003.
(k) Combined service credit under the
Proportionate Retirement Program may not be used to establish eligibility for
TRS-Care.
