§ 59-1346 — COMPUTATION OF EARLY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCES

(1) The annual amount of initial early retirement allowance of a member shall be a percentage of the member’s accrued retirement allowance. Such percentage shall be one hundred percent (100%) if the sum of the number of years and months of credited service and the age in years and months is equal to or greater than the sum indicated in this subsection. Otherwise, such percentage shall be one hundred percent (100%) reduced by one-fourth of one percent (.25%) for each month up to sixty (60) months that the member’s retirement precedes the date the member would be eligible to receive full accrued benefit without additional credited service, and further reduced by two-thirds of one percent (.6667%) for each additional month. Effective October 1, 1992, the further reduction for each additional month shall equal six thousand forty-two ten-thousandths of one percent (.6042%) of the member’s average monthly salary; effective October 1, 1993, the further reduction for each additional month shall equal five thousand four hundred seventeen ten-thousandths of one percent (.5417%) of the member’s average monthly salary; and effective October 1, 1994, the further reduction for each additional month shall equal four thousand seven hundred ninety-two ten-thousandths of one percent (.4792%) of the member’s average monthly salary. Entitlement to an annual amount of accrued retirement allowance shall not vest until the effective date of that annual amount of accrued retirement allowance. The retirement benefits shall be calculated on the amounts, terms and conditions in effect at the date of the final contribution by the member.
If a member’s service retirement ratio as defined by section 59-1341, Idaho Code, is: Then the sum of the member’s credited service and age must be equal to or greater than: 0.000 to 0.050 90 0.051 to 0.150 89 0.151 to 0.250 88 0.251 to 0.350 87 0.351 to 0.450 86 0.451 to 0.550 85 0.551 to 0.650 84 0.651 to 0.750 83 0.751 to 0.850 82 0.851 to 0.950 81 0.951 to 1.000 80
(2)(a) If the majority of a member’s credited service is as an elected official or as an appointed official, including a member of the Idaho legislature who first took office after July 1, 2019, and that official was normally in the administrative offices of the employer less than twenty (20) hours per week during the term of office, or was normally not required to be present at any particular workstation for the employer twenty (20) hours per week or more during the term of office, that member’s accrued retirement allowance shall be the sum of:
(i) That amount computed from an average monthly salary for salary received only for those months of service as an elected or as an appointed official that are in excess of the months of other credited service without consideration of any other credited service; and
(ii) That accrued retirement allowance that is computed from an average monthly salary for salary received during the member’s total months of credited service excluding those excess months referenced in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
(b) The initial retirement allowance of members of the Idaho legislature who first took office on or before July 1, 2019, will be computed under the provisions of this section, on the basis of their total months of credited service.
(3) In no case will a member’s initial early retirement benefit be equal to more than the member’s accrued benefit as of May 1, 1990, or one hundred percent (100%) of the member’s average compensation for the three (3) consecutive years of employment that produce the greatest aggregate compensation, whichever is greater. If the benefit is calculated to exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the member’s average compensation, the member shall be eligible for and may choose either:
(a) An annual early retirement allowance equal to the member’s average annual compensation for the three (3) consecutive years of employment that produced the greatest aggregate compensation; or
(b) A separation benefit.
(4) A member’s accrued retirement allowance, as otherwise provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, shall not be less than the minimum accrued retirement allowance provided in this subsection. The determination of the initial early retirement allowance provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section and the application of the provisions in subsection (3) of this section will be made after the determination of the minimum accrued retirement allowance provided in this subsection.
(a) The provisions of this subsection shall apply to members who have at least two (2) separate periods of employment covered under this chapter where each separate period of employment would otherwise be eligible for a separation benefit described in section 59-1359, Idaho Code. For purposes of this subsection, if a separation of employment occurs that does not exceed sixty (60) consecutive calendar months, then the member’s period of employment shall be considered a continuous period of employment. For purposes of this subsection, the date of last contribution is the date of final contribution for each period of employment.
(b) For each separate period of employment considered under this subsection, the member must not have received a separation benefit for that period or, if he has received such a separation benefit under section 59-1359, Idaho Code, he must have completed reinstatement of all previous credited service associated with all separation benefits for all periods of employment as permitted under section 59-1360, Idaho Code.
(c) The minimum accrued retirement allowance shall be equal to the largest accrued retirement allowance calculated at each date of last contribution based upon the benefit and eligibility provisions in effect as of the date of the last contribution made during such separate period of employment. For purposes of determining the accrued retirement allowance for each date of last contribution:
(i) The member must have at least sixty (60) months of credited service at the date of last contribution;
(ii) The member’s months of credited service and average monthly salary are determined based solely on all periods of employment up to that date of last contribution, ignoring later periods of employment; and
(iii) The accrued retirement allowance computed for each period is multiplied by the bridging factor as provided in section 59-1355 (3), Idaho Code, between the date of the last contribution made during the separate period of employment and the date of the member’s final contribution made during the last period of employment prior to retirement.

Legislative History

[(59-1346) 1980, ch. 143, sec. 4, p. 308; am. 1982, ch. 243, sec. 3, p. 629; am. 1985, ch. 168, sec. 3, p. 447; am. 1985, ch. 193; sec. 2, p. 493; am. and redesig. 1990, ch. 231, sec. 34, p. 634; am. 1990, ch. 258, sec. 2, p. 739; am. 1992, ch. 220, sec. 7, p. 667; am. 1992, ch. 342, sec. 3, p. 1044; am. 1993, ch. 350, sec. 6, p. 1302; am. 1994, ch. 276, sec. 4, p. 863; am. 2009, ch. 237, sec. 2, p. 732; am. 2018, ch. 177, sec. 1, p. 390; am. 2019, ch. 75, sec. 2, p. 176.]