§ 11:221 — Authority of retirement boards to modify benefits; earnings statements

§221. Authority of retirement boards to modify benefits; earnings statements
A.(1) Should the board of trustees of a state or statewide retirement system determine
that a disability beneficiary is engaged in a gainful occupation paying more than the
difference between his retirement allowance and his average final compensation, and should
the board of trustees concur in such report, then the amount of his pension shall be reduced
to an amount, which, together with his annuity and the amount earnable by him, shall equal
the amount of his average final compensation. Should his earning capacity be later changed,
the amount of his pension shall be further modified; however, the new pension shall not
exceed the amount of the pension originally granted nor an amount, which, when added to
the amount earnable by the beneficiary together with his annuity, equals the amount of his
average final compensation.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subsection, any disability retiree of the
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System or Firefighters' Retirement System who has
attained the age of sixty-two years, or any member of the Municipal Police Employees
Retirement System who was a full-time police officer, who is a disability beneficiary, and
whose disability was caused while the police officer suffered a bilateral knee injury disability
while the police officer was in the discharge of his duties shall not have his benefit reduced
as a result of any earned income attributable to gainful employment. Such earned income
shall not be considered or included in any calculation otherwise required by Paragraph (1)
of this Subsection. No funds derived from the assessments against insurers pursuant to R.S.
22:1476 shall be used to pay any increased costs or increase in liability of the system
resulting from inclusion of disability retirees who have attained the age of sixty-two in the
provisions of this Paragraph.
B. For the purposes of this Section, there shall be an annual cost-of-living adjustment
to the average final compensation figure used in the modification computations. This
cost-of-living adjustment shall be based upon and directly reflect the annual percentage
increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year.
C.(1) Every disability beneficiary of a state or statewide retirement system shall
submit to the board of trustees by May first of every year a notarized annual earnings
statement detailing his earned income from employment in the previous tax year. Should a
beneficiary refuse to submit such an earnings statement by May first, his allowance may be
discontinued, without retroactive reimbursement, until the statement is filed. Should his
refusal continue for the remainder of the calendar year, all his rights in and to his disability
pension may be revoked by the board of trustees.
(2) Every disability retiree of the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System
or Firefighters' Retirement System who has attained the age of sixty-two years shall be
exempt from the provisions of this Subsection. No funds derived from the assessments
against insurers pursuant to R.S. 22:1476 shall be used to pay any increased costs or increase
in liability of the system resulting from the provisions of this Paragraph.
D.(1) Any disability retirement allowance, including that received under authority
of R.S. 11:217, shall be modified by the board of trustees when the sum of a whole life
annuity equivalent of the benefits or financial awards which accrue to a disability retiree
solely as a result of his disability and the disability pension to which the retiree is entitled
exceeds the amount of his average final compensation, in such a matter that the sum of the
above equals the amount of average final compensation. Should these outside benefits or
awards be reduced, exhausted, or terminated, the board of trustees may increase the disability
pension then being received by retirees so that the sum of the pension benefits and the
outside benefits equals the amount of average final compensation; but in no case shall the
disability pension be increased to an amount greater than that to which the beneficiary was
originally entitled when he retired.
(2) Individual private insurance settlements and separate private retirement accounts
and other similar nonsystem resources, including disability benefits from the Social Security
Administration and the Veterans Administration, other than worker's compensation, shall be
specifically exempted from consideration in any of the above computations. Social security
shall not be deducted if the retirement system in which the member is vested provides for
joint participation and benefits with social security.
(3) For the purposes of this Subsection, there shall be an annual cost-of-living
adjustment to the average final compensation figure used in the modification computations.
This cost-of-living adjustment shall be based upon and directly reflect the annual percentage
increased or decreased in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year.
(4) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any member who retires while in
service on a disability retirement and who has credit for the years of service required for
normal retirement shall, upon attainment of the age required for normal retirement, be
eligible to receive full normal retirement benefits. To receive such benefits, the member
shall file an application with the board of trustees of the retirement system. Upon
commencement of regular retirement benefits, disability benefits shall cease.
E. The provisions of this Section, as applied to the Teachers' Retirement System,
shall be applied in conjunction with R.S. 11:780, if applicable.

Legislative History

Added by Acts 1978, No. 727, §10, eff. Jan. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 808, §1; Acts 1983, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 1, §6; Acts 1987, No. 828, §1; Acts 1990, No. 171, §1, eff. July 1, 1990; Redesignated from R.S. 42:705 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 94, §1, eff. April 17, 2000; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 115, §1, eff. July 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 89, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 606, §1; Acts 2008, No. 415, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2025, No. 344, §1.