§ 11-49-117.1 — Termination of service before normal retirement date

Oklahoma § 11-49-117.1

• Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
• Title 11: Cities And Towns

Text

- Refunds - Vested benefits - Retirement annuity - Rejoining System. A. A member who terminates service before normal retirement date, other than by death or disability shall, upon application filed with the State Board, be refunded from the Fund an amount equal to the sum of: 1. Accumulated contributions the member has made to the Fund; 2. Payments made to repurchase credited service pursuant to this section; 3. Payments made to transfer credited service from another retirement system pursuant to subsection A of Section 49-117.2 or Section 49-117.3 of this title; and 4. Payments made to purchase prior military service credit pursuant to subsection E of Section 49-138 of this title. A refund made pursuant to this paragraph shall exclude interest earned or paid with respect to any contribution or payment described in subparagraphs 1 through 4 of this subsection, and any amount contributed by the municipality or state, and interest earned with respect to such contributed amount. B. If a member has completed ten (10) years of credited service at the date of termination, the member may elect a vested benefit in lieu of receiving the refund described in subsection A of this section. C. If the member who has completed ten (10) or more years of credited service as prescribed by subsection B of this section elects the vested benefit, the member shall be entitled to a monthly retirement annuity commencing on the date the member reaches fifty (50) years of age or the date the member would have had twenty (20) years of credited service had the member's employment continued uninterrupted, whichever is later. The annual amount of such retirement annuity shall be equal to two and one-half percent (2 1/2%) of the annualized final average salary multiplied by the number of years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years. The death benefits provided for in Section 49-113.2 of this title shall not apply to any member retiring under the provisions of this section. D. If a member who terminated employment and elected, or was eligible to elect, a vested benefit dies prior to being eligible to receive benefits, the member's beneficiary, as defined in paragraph 16 of Section 49-100.1 of this title, shall be entitled to the member's normal monthly retirement benefit on the date the deceased member would have been eligible to receive the benefit. E. If a member terminates employment and withdraws the member's accumulated contributions and then subsequently rejoins the System, he may pay to the System the sum of the accumulated contributions he has withdrawn plus ten percent (10%) annual interest from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment and shall receive the same benefits as if he had never withdrawn his contributions. F. Members may make the repayment described in subsection E of this section in cash by a trustee-to-trustee transfer or direct rollover of non-Roth funds from a Code Section 403(b) annuity or custodial account, an eligible deferred compensation plan described in Code Section 457(b) which is maintained by an eligible employer described in Code Section 457(e)(1)(A), a Code Section 401(a) qualified plan, or a combination thereof, provided that after-tax funds in retirement plans shall not be used to make a repayment. G. In the event the member does not pay the purchase price in whole or part pursuant to subsection F of this section, the State Board may permit the member to pay the remaining purchase price in cash by certified check, to amortize the remaining purchase price over a period not to exceed sixty (60) months, or other method approved by the State Board. Any amortized payments under this subsection shall be made by payroll deductions on an after-tax basis and shall not be picked up by the member's employer. The amortized payments shall include interest at a rate not to exceed the actuarially assumed interest rate adopted by the State Board for investment earnings each year. Any member who ceases to make payment, terminates, retires, or dies before completing the payments provided for in this subsection shall receive prorated service credit for only those payments made, not including interest, unless the unpaid balance, including interest, is paid by the member, the member's surviving spouse, the member's beneficiary, or the member's estate or successor in interest within ninety (90) days after the first to occur of said member's termination, retirement, or death; provided that no retirement benefits shall be payable until the earliest of the date the unpaid balance is paid in full or ninety (90) days after the first to occur of the member's termination, retirement, or death. H. A firefighter shall not be permitted to withdraw from the System while employed as a firefighter in a participating municipality. I. The State Board shall promulgate such rules or procedures as are necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1980, c. 352, § 27, eff. Jan. 1, 1981. Amended by Laws 1985, c. 222, § 8, emerg. eff. July 8, 1985; Laws 1987, c. 236, § 147, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1990, c. 340, § 1, eff. July 1, 1990; Laws 1993, c. 126, § 4, emerg. eff. May 3, 1993; Laws 2002, c. 398, § 6, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 128, § 7, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2013, c. 165, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 388, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 281, § 6, emerg. eff. May 12, 2014; Laws 2016, c. 37, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2022, c. 232, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2025, c. 142, § 3, emerg. eff. May 12, 2025.