19-2-303. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, for each of the retirement systems subject to this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all the regular and any additional contributions made by a member in a system, together with the regular interest on the contributions.
(2) "Active member" means a member who is a paid employee of an employer, is making the required contributions, and is properly reported to the division for the most current reporting period.
(3) "Actuarial cost" means the amount determined by the board in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner to represent the present value of the benefits to be derived from the additional service to be credited based on the most recent actuarial valuation for the system and the age, years until retirement, and current salary of the member.
(4) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of the 1971 Group Annuity Mortality Table, with ages set back 4 years and an interest rate of 8% compounded annually.
(5) "Actuarial liabilities" means the excess of the present value of all benefits payable under a retirement system over the present value of future normal costs in that retirement system.
(6) "Actuary" means the actuary retained by the board in accordance with 19-2-405.
(7) "Additional contributions" means contributions made by a member to purchase various types of optional service credit as allowed by the applicable retirement system.
(8) "Annuity" means equal and fixed payments for life that are the actuarial equivalent of a lump-sum payment under a retirement system and as such are not benefits paid by a retirement system and are not subject to periodic or one-time increases.
(9) "Benefit" means the service or disability retirement or survivorship benefit payment provided by a retirement system.
(10) "Board" means the public employees' retirement board provided for in 2-15-1009.
(11) "Contingent annuitant" means a person designated to receive a continuing monthly benefit after the death of a retired member.
(12) "Credited service" or "service credit" means the periods of time for which the required contributions have been made to a retirement system and that are used to calculate service or disability retirement or survivorship benefits under a retirement system.
(13) "Department" means the department of administration.
(14) "Designated beneficiary" means the person designated by a member or payment recipient to receive any survivorship benefits or lump-sum payments upon the death of the member or payment recipient, including annuities derived from the benefits or payments.
(15) "Disability" means a total inability of the member to perform the member's duties by reason of physical or mental incapacity. The disability must be incurred while the member is an active member and must be one of permanent duration or of extended and uncertain duration, as determined by the board on the basis of competent medical opinion.
(16) "Division" means the public employees' retirement division of the department of administration.
(17) "Employee" means a person who is employed by an employer in any capacity and whose salary is paid by the employer.
(18) "Employer" means a governmental entity participating in a retirement system enumerated in 19-2-302 on behalf of its eligible employees.
(19) "Essential elements of the position" means fundamental job duties. An element may be considered essential because of but not limited to the following factors:
(a) the position exists to perform the element;
(b) there are a limited number of employees to perform the element; or
(c) the element is highly specialized.
(20) "Fiscal year" means any year commencing with July 1 and ending the following June 30.
(21) "Inactive member" means a member who is not an active or retired member.
(22) "Member" means any person with accumulated contributions and service credited with a retirement system or receiving a retirement benefit on account of the person's previous service credited in a retirement system.
(23) "Membership service" or "years of service" means the periods of service that are used to determine eligibility for retirement or other benefits.
(24) "Normal cost" or "future normal cost" means an amount calculated under an actuarial cost method required to fund accruing benefits for members of a retirement system during any year in the future. Normal cost does not include any portion of the supplemental costs of a retirement system.
(25) "Pension" means benefit payments for life derived from contributions to a system made from state- or employer-controlled funds.
(26) "Pension trust fund" means a fund established to hold the contributions, income, and assets of a retirement system in public trust.
(27) "Regular contributions" means contributions required from members under a retirement system.
(28) "Regular interest" means interest at the rate set from time to time by the board.
(29) "Retirement" or "retired" means the status of a member who has terminated from service and has received and accepted a retirement benefit from a retirement system.
(30) "Retirement benefit" means the periodic benefit payable as a result of service, early, or disability retirement under a retirement system. An annuity is not a retirement benefit.
(31) "Retirement system" or "system" means one of the public employee retirement systems enumerated in 19-2-302.
(32) "Service" means employment of an employee in a position covered by a retirement system.
(33) "Statutory beneficiary" means the surviving spouse or dependent child or children of a member of the highway patrol officers', municipal police officers', or firefighters' unified retirement system who are statutorily designated to receive benefits upon the death of the member.
(34) "Supplemental cost" means an element of the total actuarial cost of a retirement system arising from benefits payable for service performed prior to the inception of the retirement system or prior to the date of contribution rate increases, changes in actuarial assumptions, actuarial losses, or failure to fund or otherwise recognize normal cost accruals or interest on supplemental costs. These costs are included in the unfunded actuarial liabilities of the retirement system.
(35) "Survivorship benefit" means payments for life to the statutory or designated beneficiary of a deceased member who died while in service under a retirement system.
(36) "Termination of employment" or "termination of service" means that the member has severed the employment relationship with the employer and has been paid all compensation due upon termination of employment, including but not limited to payment of accrued annual leave credits, as provided in 2-18-617, and payment of accrued sick leave credits, as provided in 2-18-618. For purposes of this subsection, compensation as a result of legal action, court order, appeal, or settlement to which the board was not party is not a payment due upon termination.
(37) "Unfunded actuarial liabilities" or "unfunded liabilities" means the excess of a retirement system's actuarial liabilities at any given point in time over the value of its cash and investments on that same date.
(38) "Vested member" or "vested" means a member or the status of a member who has attained the minimum membership service requirements to be eligible for retirement benefits under a retirement system.
(39) "Written application" means a written instrument duly executed and filed with the board and containing all information required by the board, including such proofs of age as the board considers necessary.
History: En. 68-1503 by Sec. 4, Ch. 323, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 190, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 132, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 332, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 68-1503; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 114, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 496, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 282, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 45, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 71, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 265, L. 1993; Sec. 19-3-104, MCA 1991; redes. 19-2-303 by Sec. 238, Ch. 265, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 412, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 370, L. 1997.
