§ 11:143 — Transfers between systems

Louisiana § 11:143

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 11: Consolidated Public Retirement Systems

Text

§143. Transfers between systems
A. As provided in Subsection G of this Section, any person who is in active service
and is a member of any public retirement or pension system, fund, or plan maintained
primarily for officers and employees of the state of Louisiana or of any political subdivision
thereof, or of any district, board, commission, or other agency of either, or of any other such
public entity who has been a member of such system, fund, or plan for at least six months
and who has membership credit in or who transferred service credit from any other such
system, fund, or plan shall have the option of transferring all of his credit from every such
system, fund, or plan to the system, fund, or plan he is currently contributing to or to the
system to which he last contributed.
B. All credit that the employee had in the system, fund, or plan from which he is
transferring, whether regular service credit, prior service credit, military service credit, or
other credit, shall be transferred, except as provided below:
(1) In the event that the member has six months or more of concurrent service in the
transferring and receiving systems, the concurrent service in the transferring system and the
funds attributable to such service shall remain in the transferring system.
(2) In the event that the member has less than six months of concurrent service in the
transferring and receiving systems, the concurrent service in the transferring system shall be
canceled and the funds attributable to such service shall be transferred to the receiving
system.
C. Except as provided in Paragraph (D)(6) of this Section and notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, the system, fund, or plan from which the person transfers
such credit shall transfer to the receiving system, fund, or plan an amount which is the lesser
of the following:
(1) The greater of, the actuarial cost to the receiving system for the service
transferred, or all employee contributions from the transferring system.
(2)(a) All employee contributions, all employer contributions, provided that in any
system, fund, or plan, where the employer contribution is not a fixed percentage of the
employee's earnings, an employer contribution that is equal to the employee contribution, in
addition to a sum, representing interest, equal to the board-approved actuarial valuation rate
of the transferring system, fund, or plan compounded annually, of all contributions per
annum for each year of contribution to the date of transfer.
(b) For any system covered by the provisions of R.S. 11:102 or 103, "employer
contributions" as used in this Paragraph means the actuarially required employer
contributions determined in accordance with R.S. 11:102 or 103, as applicable.
D.(1) In the event that the amount of funds transferred is less than the actuarial cost
of the service transferred in the receiving system, the person transferring, except as provided
for herein, shall pay the deficit or difference including the interest thereon at the board-approved actuarial valuation rate of the receiving system.
(2) In lieu of paying the deficit or difference plus interest, the person may at his
option, but only at the time of transfer, be granted an amount of credit in the receiving
system, fund, or plan which is based on the amount of funds actually transferred by the
transferring system, fund, or plan plus any additional funds less than the deficit paid by the
member.
(3) If the person transferring had any free service credit in the transferring system,
he may transfer said service to the receiving system, but only upon payment of the employer
and employee contributions that would have been paid if he had been a member of the
receiving system at the time of service, plus interest thereon at the board approved actuarial
valuation rate of the receiving system from date of such service until paid.
(4) Except as provided in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection, in the event that a person
completes a transfer under the provisions of this Section, the retirement percentage factor of
the transferring system shall be used to calculate his retirement benefit based on the number
of years transferred.
(5) If the accrual rate of the receiving system is greater than the accrual rate of the
transferring system, a person executing a transfer pursuant to the provisions of this Section
may elect to purchase the accrual rate of the receiving system applicable to the member on
the date of such purchase for the purpose of applying that accrual rate to the transferred
service credit by paying an amount calculated on an actuarial basis which totally offsets the
increase in accrued liability of the receiving system resulting from the accrual rate
adjustment.
(6) Any member of the Louisiana judiciary who took office prior to July 1, 1986, and
who transfers service credit from the District Attorneys' Retirement System to another
retirement system shall not be required to pay the actuarial cost for such transfer between
systems, and the actuarial cost of such transfer shall be paid from the interest earnings of the
receiving system which exceed the actuarially projected interest earnings in the fiscal years
following such transfer.
E. After the date on which the transfer is completed, the system, fund, or plan from
which the member transfers shall have no future liability with respect to the person who
transferred.
F.(1)(a) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, any member who
transfers credit to the system, fund, or plan to which he last contributed shall be subject to
the provisions of this Paragraph.
(b) A member shall be allowed to execute a reverse transfer only one time, and the
transfer must be executed immediately prior to retirement from the receiving system.
(c) The request for a reverse transfer shall be accompanied by the member's
application for retirement from the receiving system. On the day of the transfer, the member
must terminate employment that made him eligible to be a member of the transferring
system, and the member's date of retirement shall be made effective on the next business day
following the transfer.
(d) The member shall be allowed to apply such transferred credit toward attainment
of the retirement eligibility requirements of the receiving system.
(e) Any member who would not be eligible to retire from the receiving system after
the transfer shall not be eligible to execute such a transfer under the provisions of this
Paragraph.
(f) Any member who executes a reverse transfer and is reemployed by an employer
who is covered by the transferring system shall be ineligible for membership in the
transferring system after the effective date of the transfer.
(g) After the transfer is executed, the member who is transferring credit shall be
ineligible for active contributing membership in the receiving system, unless the member is
both:
(i) Employed in a capacity which would require membership in the receiving system
as a condition of employment.
(ii) Compliant with all applicable provisions of law regarding the reemployment of
a retiree.
(h) A reverse transfer shall be subject to the provisions of Subsection D of this
Section.
(2)(a) The provisions of this Paragraph shall apply only to persons who are not state
employees and only to applications for transfer submitted to the receiving system on or
before December 31, 2013.
(b) Any person to whom this Section applies may execute a reverse transfer from the
retirement system to which he is currently contributing to any other system to which he
previously contributed if at the time he began contributing to the current system he was
legally permitted to elect instead to remain a contributing member of the previous system.
(c) The member shall be allowed to apply such transferred credit toward attainment
of the retirement eligibility requirements of the receiving system.
(d) After the transfer is complete, the member shall be an active, contributing
member of the receiving system.
G.(1) Each board of trustees or other such governing board shall adopt such rules and
regulations, not in conflict herewith, as are necessary to carry out the provisions and intent
of this Section and to prevent any duplication of credit.
(2) No governing authority shall approve a transfer in which the transferred amount
is less than one hundred percent of the increase in accrued liability to the receiving system
created by such transfer; however, the person can pay the difference in the assets to be
transferred and the actuarial cost to the receiving system.
(3) The transfer of service credit and funds out of a system shall be at the sole option
of the member.
H.(1) A member of a receiving system, fund, or plan must make a written application
to the receiving system, fund, or plan requesting a transfer under this Section.
(2)(a) In the event that a member dies after a written application for a transfer under
this Section is received in the office of a receiving system, fund, or plan which normally
accepts such transfers, such system, fund, or plan shall complete the transfer, and it shall be
considered as completed the day before the death of the member.
(b) A survivor, heir, or the estate of a deceased person or member shall not be
allowed to request a transfer under this Section.
{{ NOTE: See Acts 1984, No. 733, §2.}}
NOTE: See Acts 2013, No. 365, §2 regarding certain transfers of service
credit from the New Orleans Fire Fighters' Pension and Relief Fund to the
Firefighters' Retirement System.

Legislative History

Acts 1984, No. 733, §1; Acts 1985, No. 462, §1; Acts 1987, No. 725, §1; Acts 1988, No. 749, §1; Acts 1990, No. 233, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 42:697.1 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 1112, §1; Acts 1997, No. 582, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; Acts 1997, No. 1201, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 1079, §2, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2013, No. 220, §3, eff. June 11, 2013; Acts 2013, No. 365, §§1 and 2, eff. June 30, 2013; Acts 2024, No. 46, §1, eff. June 30, 2024.