104.010. Definitions.
Definitions.
104.010. 1. The following words and phrases as used in sections104.010 to 104.800, unless a different meaning is plainly required by thecontext, shall mean:
(1) "Accumulated contributions", the sum of all deductions forretirement benefit purposes from a member's compensation which shall becredited to the member's individual account and interest allowed thereon;
(2) "Active armed warfare", any declared war, or the Korean orVietnamese Conflict;
(3) "Actuarial equivalent", a benefit which, when computed upon thebasis of actuarial tables and interest, is equal in value to a certainamount or other benefit;
(4) "Actuarial tables", the actuarial tables approved and in use by aboard at any given time;
(5) "Actuary", the actuary who is a member of the American Academy ofActuaries or who is an enrolled actuary under the Employee RetirementIncome Security Act of 1974 and who is employed by a board at any giventime;
(6) "Annuity", annual payments, made in equal monthly installments,to a retired member from funds provided for in, or authorized by, thischapter;
(7) "Average compensation", the average compensation of a member forthe thirty-six consecutive months of service prior to retirement when themember's compensation was greatest; or if the member is on workers'compensation leave of absence or a medical leave of absence due to anemployee illness, the amount of compensation the member would have receivedmay be used, as reported and verified by the employing department; or ifthe member had less than thirty-six months of service, the average annualcompensation paid to the member during the period up to thirty-six monthsfor which the member received creditable service when the member'scompensation was the greatest; or if the member is on military leave, theamount of compensation the member would have received may be used asreported and verified by the employing department or, if such amount is notdeterminable, the amount of the employee's average rate of compensationduring the twelve-month period immediately preceding such period of leave,or if shorter, the period of employment immediately preceding such periodof leave. The board of each system may promulgate rules for purposes ofcalculating average compensation and other retirement provisions toaccommodate for any state payroll system in which compensation is receivedon a monthly, semimonthly, biweekly, or other basis;
(8) "Beneficiary", any person entitled to or nominated by a member orretiree who may be legally entitled to receive benefits pursuant to thischapter;
(9) "Biennial assembly", the completion of no less than two years ofcreditable service or creditable prior service by a member of the generalassembly;
(10) "Board of trustees", "board", or "trustees", a board of trusteesas established for the applicable system pursuant to this chapter;
(11) "Chapter", sections 104.010 to 104.800;
(12) "Compensation":
(a) All salary and wages payable out of any state, federal, trust, orother funds to an employee for personal services performed for adepartment; but including only amounts for which contributions have beenmade in accordance with section 104.436, or section 104.070, whichever isapplicable, and excluding any nonrecurring single sum payments or amountspaid after the member's termination of employment unless such amounts paidafter such termination are a final installment of salary or wages at thesame rate as in effect immediately prior to termination of employment inaccordance with a state payroll system adopted on or after January 1, 2000,or any other one-time payments made as a result of such payroll system;
(b) All salary and wages which would have been payable out of anystate, federal, trust or other funds to an employee on workers'compensation leave of absence during the period the employee is receiving aweekly workers' compensation benefit, as reported and verified by theemploying department;
(c) Effective December 31, 1995, compensation in excess of thelimitations set forth in Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) shall bedisregarded. The limitation on compensation for eligible employees shallnot be less than the amount which was allowed to be taken into accountunder the system as in effect on July 1, 1993. For this purpose, an"eligible employee" is an individual who was a member of the system beforethe first plan year beginning after December 31, 1995;
(13) "Consumer price index", the Consumer Price Index for All UrbanConsumers for the United States, or its successor index, as approved by aboard, as such index is defined and officially reported by the UnitedStates Department of Labor, or its successor agency;
(14) "Creditable prior service", the service of an employee which waseither rendered prior to the establishment of a system, or prior to thedate the employee last became a member of a system, and which is recognizedin determining the member's eligibility and for the amount of the member'sbenefits under a system;
(15) "Creditable service", the sum of membership service andcreditable prior service, to the extent such service is standing to amember's credit as provided in this chapter; except that in no case shallmore than one day of creditable service or creditable prior service becredited any member for any one calendar day of eligible service credit asprovided by law;
(16) "Deferred normal annuity", the annuity payable to any formeremployee who terminated employment as an employee or otherwise withdrewfrom service with a vested right to a normal annuity, payable at a futuredate;
(17) "Department", any department or agency of the executive,legislative or judicial branch of the state of Missouri receiving stateappropriations, including allocated funds from the federal government butnot including any body corporate or politic unless its employees areeligible for retirement coverage from a system pursuant to this chapter asotherwise provided by law;
(18) "Disability benefits", benefits paid to any employee whiletotally disabled as provided in this chapter;
(19) "Early retirement age", a member's attainment of fifty-fiveyears of age and the completion of ten or more years of creditable service,except for uniformed members of the water patrol;
(20) "Employee":
(a) Any elective or appointive officer or person employed by thestate who is employed, promoted or transferred by a department into a newor existing position and earns a salary or wage in a position normallyrequiring the performance by the person of duties during not less than onethousand forty hours per year, including each member of the generalassembly but not including any patient or inmate of any state, charitable,penal or correctional institution. However, persons who are members of thepublic school retirement system and who are employed by a state agencyother than an institution of higher learning shall be deemed employees forpurposes of participating in all insurance programs administered by a boardestablished pursuant to section 104.450. This definition shall not excludeany employee as defined in this subdivision who is covered only under thefederal Old Age and Survivors' Insurance Act, as amended. As used in thischapter, the term "employee" shall include:
a. Persons who are currently receiving annuities or other retirementbenefits from some other retirement or benefit fund, so long as they arenot simultaneously accumulating creditable service in another retirement orbenefit system which will be used to determine eligibility for or theamount of a future retirement benefit;
b. Persons who have elected to become or who have been made membersof a system pursuant to section 104.342;
(b) Any person who is not a retiree and has performed services in theemploy of the general assembly or either house thereof, or any employee ofany member of the general assembly while acting in the person's officialcapacity as a member, and whose position does not normally require theperson to perform duties during at least one thousand forty hours per year,with a month of service being any monthly pay period in which the employeewas paid for full-time employment for that monthly period; except thatpersons described in this paragraph shall not include any such persons whoare employed on or after August 28, 2007, and who have not previously beenemployed in such positions;
(c) "Employee" does not include special consultants employed pursuantto section 104.610;
(d) The system shall consider a person who is employed in multiplepositions simultaneously within a single agency to be working in a singleposition for purposes of determining whether the person is an employee asdefined in this subdivision;
(21) "Employer", a department of the state;
(22) "Executive director", the executive director employed by a boardestablished pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
(23) "Fiscal year", the period beginning July first in any year andending June thirtieth the following year;
(24) "Full biennial assembly", the period of time beginning on thefirst day the general assembly convenes for a first regular session untilthe last day of the following year;
(25) "Fund", the benefit fund of a system established pursuant tothis chapter;
(26) "Interest", interest at such rate as shall be determined andprescribed from time to time by a board;
(27) "Member", as used in sections 104.010 to 104.272 or 104.601 to104.800 shall mean an employee, retiree, or former employee entitled to adeferred annuity covered by the Missouri department of transportation andhighway patrol employees' retirement system. "Member", as used in thissection and sections 104.312 to 104.800, shall mean an employee, retiree,or former employee entitled to deferred annuity covered by the Missouristate employees' retirement system;
(28) "Membership service", the service after becoming a member thatis recognized in determining a member's eligibility for and the amount of amember's benefits under a system;
(29) "Military service", all active service performed in the UnitedStates Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and members of theUnited States Public Health Service or any women's auxiliary thereof; andservice in the Army national guard and Air national guard when engaged inactive duty for training, inactive duty training or full-time nationalguard duty, and service by any other category of persons designated by thePresident in time of war or emergency;
(30) "Normal annuity", the annuity provided to a member uponretirement at or after the member's normal retirement age;
(31) "Normal retirement age", an employee's attainment of sixty-fiveyears of age and the completion of four years of creditable service or theattainment of age sixty-five years of age and the completion of five yearsof creditable service by a member who has terminated employment and isentitled to a deferred normal annuity or the member's attainment of agesixty and the completion of fifteen years of creditable service, exceptthat normal retirement age for uniformed members of the highway patrolshall be fifty-five years of age and the completion of four years ofcreditable service and uniformed employees of the water patrol shall befifty-five years of age and the completion of four years of creditableservice or the attainment of age fifty-five and the completion of fiveyears of creditable service by a member of the water patrol who hasterminated employment and is entitled to a deferred normal annuity andmembers of the general assembly shall be fifty-five years of age and thecompletion of three full biennial assemblies. Notwithstanding any otherprovision of law to the contrary, a member of the highways andtransportation employees' and highway patrol retirement system or a memberof the Missouri state employees' retirement system shall be entitled toretire with a normal annuity and shall be entitled to elect any of thesurvivor benefit options and shall also be entitled to any other provisionsof this chapter that relate to retirement with a normal annuity if the sumof the member's age and creditable service equals eighty years or more andif the member is at least forty-eight years of age;
(32) "Payroll deduction", deductions made from an employee'scompensation;
(33) "Prior service credit", the service of an employee renderedprior to the date the employee became a member which service is recognizedin determining the member's eligibility for benefits from a system but notin determining the amount of the member's benefit;
(34) "Reduced annuity", an actuarial equivalent of a normal annuity;
(35) "Retiree", a member who is not an employee and who is receivingan annuity from a system pursuant to this chapter;
(36) "System" or "retirement system", the Missouri department oftransportation and highway patrol employees' retirement system, as createdby sections 104.010 to 104.270, or sections 104.601 to 104.800, or theMissouri state employees' retirement system as created by sections 104.320to 104.800;
(37) "Uniformed members of the highway patrol", the superintendent,lieutenant colonel, majors, captains, director of radio, lieutenants,sergeants, corporals, and patrolmen of the Missouri state highway patrolwho normally appear in uniform;
(38) "Uniformed members of the water patrol", employees of theMissouri state water patrol of the department of public safety who areclassified as water patrol officers who have taken the oath of officeprescribed by the provisions of chapter 306, RSMo, and who have those peaceofficer powers given by the provisions of chapter 306, RSMo;
(39) "Vesting service", the sum of a member's prior service creditand creditable service which is recognized in determining the member'seligibility for benefits under the system.
2. Benefits paid pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall notexceed the limitations of Internal Revenue Code Section 415, the provisionsof which are hereby incorporated by reference. Notwithstanding any otherlaw to the contrary, the board of trustees may establish a benefit planunder Section 415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.Such plan shall be created solely for the purposes described in Section415(m)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The boardof trustees may promulgate regulations necessary to implement theprovisions of this subsection and to create and administer such benefitplan.
(L. 1955 p. 718 § 1, A.L. 1965 p. 223, A.L. 1969 p. 174, A.L. 1972 S.B. 650, A.L. 1981 H.B. 835, et al., A.L. 1982 H.B. 1720, et al., A.L. 1983 H.B. 713 Revision, A.L. 1987 H.B. 713, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1643 & 1399, A.L. 1989 S.B. 135, A.L. 1992 S.B. 499, et al., A.L. 1994 H.B. 1149, A.L. 1997 H.B. 356, A.L. 1999 S.B. 308 & 314, A.L. 2000 H.B. 1808, A.L. 2001 S.B. 371, A.L. 2003 S.B. 248, et al., A.L. 2007 S.B. 406)(2000) Circuit court employees, who are paid entirely by the county and are hired and fired by court administrator, are not "state employees" qualified to participate in state retirement system; source of salary test, rather than right to control test, applies. Boone County v. County Employees' Retirement Fund, 26 S.W.3d 257 (Mo.App.W.D.).