1. Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as used in sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 shall mean:
(1) "Act" , the year 2000 plan created by sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(2) "Actuary" , an actuary who is experienced in retirement plan financing and who is either a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or an enrolled actuary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974;
(3) "Annuity" , annual benefit amounts, paid in equal monthly installments, from funds provided for in, or authorized by, sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(4) "Annuity starting date" means the first day of the first month with respect to which an amount is paid as an annuity pursuant to sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(5) "Beneficiary" , any persons or entities entitled to receive an annuity or other benefit pursuant to sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 based upon the employment record of another person;
(6) "Board of trustees" , "board" , or "trustees" , a governing body or bodies established for the year 2000 plan pursuant to sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(7) "Closed plan" , a benefit plan created pursuant to this chapter and administered by a system prior to July 1, 2000. No person first employed on or after July 1, 2000, shall become a member of the closed plan, but the closed plan shall continue to function for the benefit of persons covered by and remaining in the closed plan and their beneficiaries;
(8) "Consumer price index" , the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the United States, or its successor index, as approved by the board, as such index is defined and officially reported by the United States Department of Labor, or its successor agency;
(9) "Credited service" , the total credited service to a member's credit as provided in sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ; except that in no case shall more than one day of credited service be credited to any member or vested former member for any one calendar day of eligible credit as provided by law;
(10) "Department" , any department or agency of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the state of Missouri receiving state appropriations, including allocated funds from the federal government but not including any body corporate or politic unless its employees are eligible for retirement coverage from a system pursuant to this chapter as otherwise provided by law;
(11) "Early retirement eligibility" , a member's attainment of fifty-seven years of age and the completion of at least five years of credited service;
(12) "Effective date" , July 1, 2000;
(13) "Employee" shall be any person who is employed by a department and is paid a salary or wage by a department in a position normally requiring the performance of duties of not less than one thousand forty hours per year, provided:
(a) The term "employee" shall not include any patient or inmate of any state, charitable, penal or correctional institution, or any person who is employed by a department in a position that is covered by a state-sponsored defined benefit retirement plan not created by this chapter;
(b) The term "employee" shall be modified as provided by other provisions of sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(c) The system shall consider a person who is employed in multiple positions simultaneously within a single agency to be working in a single position for purposes of determining whether the person is an employee as defined in this subdivision;
(d) The term "employee" shall include any person as defined under paragraph (b) of subdivision (21) of subsection 1 of section 104.010 who is first employed on or after July 1, 2000, but prior to August 28, 2007;
(14) "Employer" , a department;
(15) "Executive director" , the executive director employed by a board established pursuant to the provisions of sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(16) "Final average pay" , the average pay of a member for the thirty-six full consecutive months of service before termination of employment when the member's pay was greatest; or if the member was on workers' compensation leave of absence or a medical leave of absence due to an employee illness, the amount of pay the member would have received but for such leave of absence as reported and verified by the employing department; or if the member was employed for less than thirty-six months, the average monthly pay of a member during the period for which the member was employed. The board of each system may promulgate rules for purposes of calculating final average pay and other retirement provisions to accommodate for any state payroll system in which pay is received on a monthly, semimonthly, biweekly, or other basis;
(17) "Fund" , a fund of the year 2000 plan established pursuant to sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 ;
(18) "Investment return" , or "interest" , rates as shall be determined and prescribed from time to time by a board;
(19) "Member" , a person who is included in the membership of the system, as set forth in section 104.1009 ;
(20) "Normal retirement eligibility" , a member's attainment of at least sixty-two years of age and the completion of at least five or more years of credited service or, the attainment of at least forty-eight years of age with a total of years of age and years of credited service which is at least eighty or, in the case of a member of the highway patrol who shall be subject to the mandatory retirement provisions of section 104.081 , the mandatory retirement age and completion of five years of credited service or, the attainment of at least forty-eight years of age with a total of years of age and years of credited service which is at least eighty;
(21) "Pay" shall include:
(a) All salary and wages payable to an employee for personal services performed for a department; but excluding:
a. Any amounts paid after an employee's employment is terminated, unless the payment is made as a final installment of salary or wages at the same rate as in effect immediately prior to termination of employment in accordance with a state payroll system adopted on or after January 1, 2000;
b. Any amounts paid upon termination of employment for unused annual leave or unused sick leave;
c. Pay in excess of the limitations set forth in Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and other applicable federal laws or regulations;
d. Any nonrecurring single sum payments; and
e. Any amounts for which contributions have not been made in accordance with section 104.1066 ;
(b) All salary and wages which would have been payable to an employee on workers' compensation leave of absence during the period the employee is receiving a weekly workers' compensation benefit, as reported and verified by the employing department;
(c) All salary and wages which would have been payable to an employee on a medical leave due to employee illness, as reported and verified by the employing department;
(d) For purposes of members of the general assembly, pay shall be the annual salary provided to each senator and representative pursuant to section 21.140 , plus any salary adjustment pursuant to section 21.140 ;
(e) The board by its rules may further define "pay" in a manner consistent with this definition and subdivision;
(22) "Retiree" , a person receiving an annuity from the year 2000 plan based upon the person's employment record;
(23) "State" , the state of Missouri;
(24) "System" or "retirement system" , the Missouri state employees' retirement system or the Missouri department of transportation and highway patrol employees' retirement system, as the case may be;
(25) "Vested former member" , a person entitled to receive a deferred annuity pursuant to section 104.1036 ;
(26) "Year 2000 plan" , the benefit plan created by sections 104.1003 to 104.1093 .
2. Benefits paid under the provisions of this chapter shall not exceed the limitations of Internal Revenue Code Section 415, the provisions of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board of trustees may establish a benefit plan under Section 415(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Such plan shall be created solely for the purposes described in Section 415(m)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The board of trustees may promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection and to create and administer such benefit plan.