This section sets retirement benefit eligibility and limits, including rules for members who retire, return to work for a district attorney, or choose between benefit formulas.
PART IV. BENEFITS §1631. Retirement benefits; application; eligibility requirements A. Each member shall be paid retirement benefits according to the eligibility requirements and benefits specified in R.S. 11:1632 or R.S. 11:1633, whichever is applicable. B.(1) Any person becoming a member of the system on or after July 1, 1990, shall be eligible for and receive benefits as specified in R.S. 11:1633. (2) If the Public Retirement Systems' Actuarial Committee adopts a net direct employer contribution rate equal to or less than one and twenty-five hundredths percent (1.25%) applicable to this system for Fiscal Year 1998-1999 or Fiscal Year 1999-2000, then any person who is a member of the system on the date such rate is adopted and who is eligible to receive benefits under R.S. 11:1632 shall be eligible for and receive benefits as specified in R.S. 11:1633 unless he notifies the board of trustees in writing of his election to receive benefits under R.S. 11:1632 within ninety days of the adoption of such rate. C. The actual retirement benefit paid to any member after reduction for optional allowance as set forth in R.S. 11:1637 shall not exceed one hundred percent of his average final compensation as defined by R.S. 11:1581(5) regardless of the number of years of service of the affected member. D. The retirement allowance shall begin as of the date specified by the member in his application for retirement or the date that the member's application for retirement is received by the board, whichever is later; however, in no event shall the allowance begin before the member's withdrawal from service. E. Should any member who has retired from this system be retained by any district attorney in the state in any capacity other than as an employee, his benefit shall be suspended during said employment and he shall not be paid any benefits for the period covered by such employment. F.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, if any member who has retired from this system is reemployed as an employee by any district attorney in the state, his retirement benefit shall be suspended during said employment, and he shall not be paid any benefits for the period covered by such employment. He shall, upon such reemployment, again become an active contributing member of the system, with the option of establishing service credit for any period of full-time employment as district attorney or assistant district attorney since returning to such employment following retirement by payment into the system the employer and employee amount plus interest that would have been withheld and paid into the system for that period based upon his total salary for such period. He shall accrue a supplemental retirement benefit based on his service rendered after reemployment. If the member continues employment after retirement for a period of less than sixty months, his supplemental monthly retirement benefit shall equal the benefit calculated under R.S. 11:1632 or 1633, whichever is applicable, based on the lesser of his average final compensation at his original retirement date or his average final compensation during the period of his subsequent reemployment. If the member continues in employment after retirement for a period of sixty months or more, his supplemental monthly retirement benefit shall equal the benefit calculated under R.S. 11:1632 or 1633, whichever is applicable, based on his average final compensation during his period of reemployment. Upon retirement subsequent to reemployment, his benefit shall be equal to the benefits he was receiving immediately prior to reemployment plus the supplemental benefit earned during his reemployment. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the benefit of a retiree shall not be suspended during reemployment by any district attorney in this state, and he shall not be considered a member, earn additional service credit, or be required to pay contributions, if he meets all of the following requirements: (a) He retired in accordance with R.S. 11:1633(A)(1)(b) or (c). (b) More than sixty days has passed since the effective date of his retirement. (c) He is paid a salary of less than one of the following as applicable: (i) If he is younger than the age set for working retirement by 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(36), one half of his final annual salary at the time of his retirement or the annual salary provided for in R.S. 16:11(A)(1), whichever is less. (ii) If he is not younger than the age set for working retirement by 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(36), the annual salary provided for in R.S. 16:11(A)(1). G. Forfeitures resulting from a termination of employment or a withdrawal of a member's own contributions may not be used to increase benefits to remaining members. Added by Acts 1956, No. 56, §5(1); Redesignated from R.S. 16:1041 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1993, No. 234, §1, eff. June 1, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 682, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1052, §1; Acts 2008, No. 719, §1; Acts 2012, No. 515, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2012, No. 523, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2022, No. 201, §1, eff. June 30, 2022.