The board of trustees must award disability benefits to eligible members who are officially certified as disabled. A Plan C member retired because of disability may choose optional benefit payment modes, and the benefit amount is calculated under the section’s formula and cap.
§1974. Computation of disability benefits A. The board of trustees shall award disability benefits to eligible members who have been officially certified as having a disability by the State Medical Disability Board. B. The disability benefit shall be determined as follows: (1) Upon retirement caused by disability, a member of Plan C shall receive a normal retirement allowance if he is eligible therefor; otherwise, he shall receive a disability benefit which shall consist of (a) an amount equal to two percent of the member's final compensation, multiplied by his years of creditable service; however, for computation purposes, such number of years shall not be considered to be less than fifteen or (b) a retirement benefit which would be payable assuming continued service to the age of sixty years using other current computation factors, whichever of (a) or (b) is less. In no event shall the benefit exceed one hundred percent of final compensation. (2) Upon retirement caused by disability, a member of Plan C may select any of the optional modes of benefit payments provided by R.S. 11:1932. The computation of any optional benefit payment shall be based upon the option factors the system utilizes for normal retirement and the ages of the member and the option beneficiary, projected to the member's earliest normal retirement age assuming the member remained in continuous service until that time. Acts 1997, No. 867, §1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 2014, No. 811, §4, eff. June 23, 2014. NOTE: Acts 2014, No. 811 changed terminology referring to persons with disabilities throughout the La. Revised Statutes and codes of law, and included a listing of terms that were deleted and their respective successor terms (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §36). The Act provides that it is not the intent of the legislature that changes in terminology effected therein alter or affect in any way the substance, interpretation, or application of any law or administrative rule; further provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to expand or diminish any right of or benefit for any person provided by any law or administrative rule (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §35(C) and (D)).