Title: S.L. 2002-153
Subject: Session Law 2002-153
Category: Introduced Bill 2002

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001

SESSION LAW 2002-153
SENATE BILL 1238

AN ACT to allow the purchase of withdrawn service in the local governmental employees' retirement system, to CORRECT the calculation of benefits for members of the teachers' and state employees' retirement system who purchase withdrawn service, and to increase appropriations to the retirement systems division.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 128‑26(i) reads as rewritten:
"(i)	Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, any person who withdrew his contributions in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 128‑27(f) or 135‑5(f) or the rules and regulations of the Law Enforcement Officers' Retirement System and who subsequently returns to service may, upon completion of  five years of prior and current membership service, repay in a total lump sum any and all of the accumulated contributions previously withdrawn with  interest compounded annually at the rate of six and one-half percent (6.5%) for each calendar year from the year of withdrawal to the year of repayment plus a fee to cover expense of handling which shall be determined by the Board of Trustees, and receive credit for the service forfeited at time of withdrawal(s).  These provisions shall apply equally to retired members who had attained  five years of prior and current membership service prior to retirement.  The retirement allowance of a retired member who restores service under this subsection shall be increased the month following the month payment is received. The increase in the retirement allowance shall be the difference between the initial retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, and the amount of the retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, to which the retired member would have been entitled had the service not been previously forfeited, adjusted by any increases in the retirement accrual rate occurring between the member's date of retirement and the date of payment. The increase in the retirement allowance shall not include any adjustment for cost-of-living increases granted since the date of retirement."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 128‑26(k) reads as rewritten:
"(k)	Notwithstanding any language to the contrary of any provision of this section, or of any repealed provision of this section that was repealed with the inchoate and accrued rights preserved, all repayments and purchases of service credits, allowed under the provisions of this section or of any repealed provision of this section that was repealed with inchoate and accrued rights preserved, must be made within three years after the member first becomes eligible to make such repayments and purchases. Any member who does not repay or purchase service credits within said three years after first eligibility to make such repayments and purchases may, under the same conditions as are otherwise required, repay or purchase service credits provided that the repayment or purchase equals the full cost of the service credits calculated on the basis of the assumptions used for purchases of the actuarial valuation of the System's liabilities and shall take into account the additional retirement allowance arising on account of such additional service credit commencing at the earliest age at which such member could retire on an unreduced retirement allowance as determined by the Board of Trustees upon the advice of the consulting actuary. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection that provide for the purchase of service credits, the terms "full cost", "full liability", and "full actuarial cost" include assumed annual post‑retirement allowance increases, as determined by the Board of Trustees, from the earliest age at which a member could retire on an unreduced service allowance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, on and after January 1, 2003, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the repayment of contributions withdrawn pursuant to subsection (i) of this section."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 128‑26(n) is repealed.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 135‑4(k) reads as rewritten:
"(k)	Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, any person who withdrew his contributions in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 128‑27(f) or G.S. 135‑5(f) or the rules and regulations of the Law‑Enforcement Officers' Retirement System and who subsequently returns to service may, upon completion of five years of membership service, repay in a total lump sum any and all of the accumulated contributions previously withdrawn with interest compounded annually at the rate of six and one‑half percent (6.5%) for each calendar year from the year of withdrawal to the year of repayment plus a fee to cover expense of handling which shall be determined by the Board of Trustees, and receive credit for the service forfeited at time of withdrawal. These provisions shall apply equally to retired members who had attained five years of membership service prior to retirement.  The retirement allowance of a retired member who restores service under this subsection shall be increased the month following the month payment is received. The increase in the retirement allowance shall be the difference between the initial retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, and the amount of the retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, to which the retired member would have been entitled had the service not been previously forfeited, adjusted by any increases in the retirement accrual rate occurring between the member's date of retirement and the date of payment. The increase in the retirement allowance shall not include any adjustment for cost‑of‑living increases granted since the date of retirement.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a law enforcement officer who was transferred from the Law Enforcement Officers' Retirement System to this Retirement System pursuant to Article 12C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes and withdrew his accumulated contributions prior to January 1, 1985, in accordance with G.S. 128‑27(f) or G.S. 135‑5(f) for non‑law enforcement service and who has five years or more of membership service standing to his credit may repay in a total lump sum the accumulated contributions previously withdrawn with interest compounded annually at the rate of six and one‑half percent (6.5%) for each calendar year from the year of withdrawal to the year of repayment plus a fee to cover expense of handling which shall be determined by the Board of Trustees, and receive credit for the service forfeited at time of withdrawal(s). The retirement allowance of a retired member who restores service under this subsection shall be increased the month following the month payment is received. The increase in the retirement allowance shall be the difference between the initial retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, and the amount of the retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, to which the retired member would have been entitled had the service not been previously forfeited, adjusted by any increases in the retirement accrual rate occurring between the member's date of retirement and the date of payment. The increase in the retirement allowance shall not include any adjustment for cost‑of‑living increases granted since the date of retirement."
SECTION 4.1.   The appropriation to the Department of State Treasurer, Retirement Systems Division, is increased in the amount of two hundred forty‑seven thousand seven hundred thirteen dollars ($247,713) to fund eight two‑year time‑limited positions to implement the provisions of this act.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2003.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23^rd day of September, 2002.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 2:36 p.m. this 9^th day of October, 2002

Page 	Session Law 2002-153	Senate Bill 1238

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