Retirement; persons convicted of certain felonies shall forfeit benefits from PERS, SLRP and MHSPRS.

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To: State Affairs;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Haney

HOUSE BILL NO. 1046

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTIONS 25-11-149, 25-11-321 AND 1
25-13-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE RECEIPT OF 2
RETIREMENT BENEFITS FROM THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, 3
THE SUPPLEMENTAL LEGISLATIVE RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE MISSISSIPPI 4
HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM IS CONDITIONED ON THE 5
MEMBER'S HONEST AND FAITHFUL PERFORMANCE OF HIS OR HER PUBLIC 6
DUTIES FOR THE STATE; TO PROVIDE THAT A MEMBER'S CONVICTION OF OR 7
PLEA OF GUILTY OR NOLO CONTENDERE TO A FELONY INVOLVING PUBLIC 8
FUNDS OF $50,000.00 OR MORE IS CONSIDERED TO BE A BREACH OF THE 9
PUBLIC TRUST AND A BREACH OF THE MEMBER'S CONTRACT WITH THE STATE; 10
TO PROVIDE THAT IF A MEMBER OF THE SYSTEM OR PLAN IS CONVICTED OF 11
OR ENTERS A PLEA OF GUILTY OR NOLO CONTENDERE IN ANY COURT TO A 12
FELONY INVOLVING PUBLIC FUNDS OF $50,000.00 OR MORE THAT IS 13
COMMITTED ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2026, THE COURT SHALL CONDUCT A 14
HEARING IN A SEPARATE CIVIL PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE IF ALL OF THE 15
CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MET; TO PROVIDE THAT IF ALL OF THE CONDITIONS 16
HAVE BEEN MET, THE COURT SHALL ISSUE AN ORDER THAT THE MEMBER BE 17
TERMINATED FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN AND FORFEIT HIS 18
OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFITS FROM THE SYSTEM OR PLAN; TO PROVIDE 19
THAT A MEMBER WHO IS CONVICTED OF SUCH A CRIME SHALL NOT BE 20
TERMINATED FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN OR FORFEIT HIS OR 21
HER RETIREMENT BENEFITS FROM THE SYSTEM OR PLAN UNTIL ALL APPEALS 22
OF THE CONVICTION HAVE BEEN FINALLY CONCLUDED OR THE TIME FOR AN 23
APPEAL FROM THE CONVICTION HAS EXPIRED; TO PROVIDE THAT AFTER 24
RECEIVING THE TERMINATION AND FORFEITURE ORDER FROM THE COURT, THE 25
SYSTEM SHALL REQUEST THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR A DETERMINATION OF 26
WHETHER ALL APPEALS OF THE CONVICTION HAVE BEEN FINALLY CONCLUDED 27
OR THE TIME FOR AN APPEAL FROM THE CONVICTION HAS EXPIRED; TO 28
PROVIDE THAT AFTER THE ATTORNEY GENERAL NOTIFIES THE SYSTEM THAT 29
ALL APPEALS OF THE CONVICTION HAVE BEEN FINALLY CONCLUDED OR THE 30
TIME FOR AN APPEAL FROM THE CONVICTION HAS EXPIRED, THE SYSTEM 31
SHALL TERMINATE THE MEMBER FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN 32
AND THE MEMBER SHALL FORFEIT HIS OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFITS FROM 33
THE SYSTEM OR PLAN; TO PROVIDE THAT A MEMBER WHO IS TERMINATED 34
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FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN SHALL HAVE HIS OR HER 35
CONTRIBUTIONS REFUNDED WITHOUT ANY INTEREST; TO PROVIDE THAT IF A 36
MEMBER OF THE SYSTEM OR PLAN IS ALSO A MEMBER OF ANOTHER 37
RETIREMENT SYSTEM ADMINISTERED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE 38
SYSTEM, AND THE CRIME FOR WHICH THE MEMBER WAS CONVICTED OR 39
ENTERED A PLEA OF GUILTY OR NOLO CONTENDERE IS A FELONY INVOLVING 40
PUBLIC FUNDS OF $50,000.00 OR MORE THAT IS COVERED BY ONLY ONE OF 41
THE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS, THE MEMBER WILL BE TERMINATED ONLY FROM 42
THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN WHICH HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT WAS COVERED 43
AT THE TIME THAT HE OR SHE COMMITTED THE CRIME, AND WILL FORFEIT 44
RETIREMENT BENEFITS ONLY FROM THAT RETIREMENT SYSTEM; TO PROVIDE 45
THAT THE SYSTEM MAY CONCLUSIVELY RELY ON A TERMINATION AND 46
FORFEITURE ORDER FROM THE COURT AND THE NOTICE FROM THE ATTORNEY 47
GENERAL THAT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT HAVE BEEN MET IN 48
TERMINATING A MEMBER FROM MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN; TO 49
PROVIDE THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY MISTAKE IN THE 50
PAYMENT OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO A MEMBER IN GOOD FAITH RELIANCE 51
ON A TERMINATION AND FORFEITURE ORDER FROM THE COURT AND THE 52
NOTICE FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; TO PROVIDE THAT ANY AMBIGUITY OR 53
UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHETHER A MEMBER SHOULD BE TERMINATED FROM 54
MEMBERSHIP IN THE SYSTEM OR PLAN OR FORFEIT HIS OR HER RETIREMENT 55
BENEFITS FROM THE SYSTEM OR PLAN SHALL BE RESOLVED IN FAVOR OF THE 56
MEMBER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-11-105, 25-11-111, 25-11-117, 57
25-11-120, 25-11-129, 25-11-305, 25-11-309, 25-11-311, 25-11-319, 58
25-13-3, 25-13-11, 25-13-21, 25-13-28 AND 25-13-31, MISSISSIPPI 59
CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR 60
RELATED PURPOSES. 61
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 62
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 63
25-11-149, Mississippi Code of 1972: 64
25-11-149. (1) As used in this section, the term "felony 65
involving public funds" means one or more felonies in which public 66
funds in an aggregate amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars 67
($50,000.00) or more were unlawfully taken, obtained or 68
misappropriated in the abuse or misuse of the person's office or 69
employment or money coming into the person's hands by virtue of 70
the person's office or employment. 71
(2) A member's receipt of retirement benefits from the 72
Public Employees' Retirement System is conditioned on the member's 73
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honest and faithful performance of his or her public duties for 74
the state. A member's conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo 75
contendere to a felony involving public funds is considered to be 76
a breach of the public trust and a breach of the member's contract 77
with the state. 78
(3) (a) If an active member of the system is convicted of 79
or enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this 80
state to a felony involving public funds that is committed on or 81
after July 1, 2026; or 82
(b) If a retired member of the system who is employed 83
or elected under Section 25-11-127 is convicted of or enters a 84
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this state to a 85
felony involving public funds that is committed on or after July 86
1, 2026; or 87
(c) If a retired member of the system, or a member of 88
the system who has withdrawn from service but is not receiving a 89
retirement allowance from the system, is convicted of or enters a 90
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this state to a 91
felony involving public funds that was committed while the member 92
was an active employee on or after July 1, 2026, the court shall 93
conduct a hearing in a separate civil proceeding to determine if 94
all of the conditions in this subsection have been met. The court 95
shall provide notice of the hearing to the member and each person 96
who is named as a beneficiary of the member in the records of the 97
system. If, after the hearing, the court determines that all of 98
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the conditions in this subsection have been met, the court shall 99
issue an order that the member be terminated from membership in 100
the system and forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the 101
system as provided in this section. The court shall send a copy 102
of its termination and forfeiture order to the system. 103
(4) (a) If an active member of the system is convicted of 104
or enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of 105
another state or a federal court to a crime that would be a felony 106
under the laws of this state if the crime were committed in this 107
state, and that is a felony involving public funds that is 108
committed on or after July 1, 2026; or 109
(b) If a retired member of the system who is employed 110
or elected under Section 25-11-127 is convicted of or enters a 111
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of another state or a 112
federal court to a crime that would be a felony under the laws of 113
this state if the crime were committed in this state, and that is 114
a felony involving public funds that is committed on or after July 115
1, 2026; or 116
(c) If a retired member of the system, or a member of 117
the system who has withdrawn from service but is not receiving a 118
retirement allowance from the system, is convicted of or enters a 119
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of another state or a 120
federal court to a crime that would be a felony under the laws of 121
this state if the crime were committed in this state, and that is 122
a felony involving public funds that was committed while the 123
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member was an active employee on or after July 1, 2025, the 124
Attorney General of Mississippi shall enter a motion in the 125
circuit court of the county of residence of the member, or in the 126
Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, 127
Mississippi, if the member does not reside in Mississippi for 128
termination from membership in the system and forfeiture of the 129
member's retirement benefits from the system. The court shall 130
conduct a civil hearing to determine if all of the conditions in 131
this subsection have been met. The court shall provide notice of 132
the hearing to the member and each person who is named as a 133
beneficiary of the member in the records of the system. If, after 134
the hearing, the court determines that all of the conditions in 135
this subsection have been met, the court shall issue an order that 136
the member be terminated from membership in the system and forfeit 137
his or her retirement benefits from the system as provided in this 138
section. The court shall send a copy of its termination and 139
forfeiture order to the system. 140
(5) A member who is convicted of a crime described in 141
subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall not be terminated from 142
membership in the system or forfeit his or her retirement benefits 143
from the system until all appeals of the conviction have been 144
finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 145
has expired. Upon receipt of the termination and forfeiture order 146
from the court, the system shall request the Attorney General for 147
a determination of whether all appeals of the conviction have been 148
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finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 149
has expired. After the Attorney General notifies the system that 150
all appeals of the conviction have been finally concluded or the 151
time for an appeal from the conviction has expired, the system 152
shall terminate the member from membership in the system and the 153
member shall forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the 154
system as provided in this section. 155
(6) (a) An active member, or a member of the system who has 156
withdrawn from service but is not receiving a retirement allowance 157
from the system, who has been terminated from membership in the 158
system shall not receive a retirement allowance or other 159
retirement benefits from the system following the date that the 160
system receives the notice from the Attorney General. The member 161
shall have his or her contributions, without any interest, 162
refunded in accordance with Section 25-11-117. 163
(b) A retired member who has been terminated from 164
membership in the system shall have his or her retirement 165
allowance terminated beginning on the first day of the month 166
following the date that the system receives the notice from the 167
Attorney General, and the member shall not receive any additional 168
retirement benefits from the system after that date. If a 169
member's retirement allowance is terminated under the provisions 170
of this paragraph and the total amount that the member received 171
from the retirement allowance is less than the amount of the 172
member's accumulated contributions, the member shall be refunded 173
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the difference between the amount received from the retirement 174
allowance and the amount of his or her contributions, without any 175
interest, in accordance with Section 25-11-117. Termination of 176
the member's retirement allowance shall not affect any retirement 177
benefits that the member received before the date of the 178
termination. 179
(c) When a member has been terminated from membership 180
in the system, the member shall forfeit all current and future 181
retirement benefits from all service that was or should have been 182
credited to the system before the date that the member was 183
terminated from the system, and the member shall not be allowed to 184
receive creditable service for that service by repaying the amount 185
of the contributions that were refunded under Section 25-11-117, 186
or to otherwise purchase creditable service for that service. 187
However, if a person is later employed in the state service after 188
having been terminated from the system under this section, the 189
person shall become a member of the system again and receive 190
creditable service for his or her new employment in the state 191
service. 192
(7) If a member of the system is also a member of another 193
retirement system administered by the Board of Trustees of the 194
Public Employees' Retirement System, and the crime for which the 195
member was convicted or entered a plea of guilty or nolo 196
contendere is a felony involving public funds that is covered by 197
only one (1) of the retirement systems, the member will be 198
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terminated only from the retirement system in which his or her 199
employment was covered at the time that he or she committed the 200
crime, and will forfeit retirement benefits only from that 201
retirement system. In the case of a retired member who is 202
employed or elected under Section 25-11-127, the member will be 203
terminated only from the retirement system in which his or her 204
employment would have been covered if the member had been an 205
active member in the same employment at the time that he or she 206
committed the crime, and will forfeit retirement benefits only 207
from that retirement system. 208
(8) The system may conclusively rely on a termination and 209
forfeiture order from the court and the notice from the Attorney 210
General that the requirements of this section have been met in 211
terminating a member from membership in the system. The system is 212
not liable for any mistake in the payment of retirement benefits 213
to a member in good faith reliance on a termination and forfeiture 214
order from the court and the notice from the Attorney General, and 215
a member who receives any such mistaken payments shall not be 216
liable to repay those benefits to the system. 217
(9) A member shall not be terminated from membership in the 218
system or forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the system 219
unless there is a specific provision in this section applicable to 220
the member's situation that requires the termination of membership 221
in the system and forfeiture of retirement benefits from the 222
system. Any ambiguity or uncertainty about whether a member 223
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should be terminated from membership in the system or forfeit his 224
or her retirement benefits from the system shall be resolved in 225
favor of the member. 226
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 227
25-11-321, Mississippi Code of 1972: 228
25-11-321. (1) As used in this section, the term "felony 229
involving public funds" means one or more felonies in which public 230
funds in an aggregate amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars 231
($50,000.00) or more were unlawfully taken, obtained or 232
misappropriated in the abuse or misuse of the person's office or 233
money coming into the person's hands by virtue of the person's 234
office. 235
(2) A member's receipt of retirement benefits from the 236
Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan is conditioned on the 237
member's honest and faithful performance of his or her public 238
duties for the State Legislature or as President of the Senate. A 239
member's conviction of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a 240
felony involving public funds is considered to be a breach of the 241
public trust and a breach of the member's contract with the state. 242
(3) (a) If an active member of the plan is convicted of or 243
enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this 244
state to a felony involving public funds that is committed on or 245
after July 1, 2026; or 246
(b) If a retired member of the plan, or a member of the 247
plan who is not serving in the State Legislature or as President 248
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of the Senate but is not receiving a retirement allowance from the 249
plan, is convicted of or enters a plea of guilty or nolo 250
contendere in any court of this state to a felony involving public 251
funds that was committed while the member was serving in the State 252
Legislature or as President of the Senate on or after July 1, 253
2026, the court shall conduct a hearing in a separate civil 254
proceeding to determine if all of the conditions in this 255
subsection have been met. The court shall provide notice of the 256
hearing to the member and each person who is named as a 257
beneficiary of the member in the records of the system. If, after 258
the hearing, the court determines that all of the conditions in 259
this subsection have been met, the court shall issue an order that 260
the member be terminated from membership in the plan and forfeit 261
his or her retirement benefits from the plan as provided in this 262
section. The court shall send a copy of its termination and 263
forfeiture order to the system. 264
(4) (a) If an active member of the plan is convicted of or 265
enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of another 266
state or a federal court to a crime that would be a felony under 267
the laws of this state if the crime were committed in this state, 268
and that is a felony involving public funds that is committed on 269
or after July 1, 2026; or 270
(b) If a retired member of the plan, or a member of the 271
plan who is not serving in the State Legislature or as President 272
of the Senate but is not receiving a retirement allowance from the 273
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plan, is convicted of or enters a plea of guilty or nolo 274
contendere in a court of another state or a federal court to a 275
crime that would be a felony under the laws of this state if the 276
crime were committed in this state, and that is a felony involving 277
public funds that was committed while the member was serving in 278
the State Legislature or as President of the Senate on or after 279
July 1, 2026, the Attorney General of Mississippi shall enter a 280
motion in the circuit court of the county of residence of the 281
member, or in the Circuit Court of the first Judicial District of 282
Hinds County, Mississippi, if the member does not reside in 283
Mississippi, for termination from membership in the plan and 284
forfeiture of the member's retirement benefits from the plan. The 285
court shall conduct a civil hearing to determine if all of the 286
conditions in this subsection have been met. The court shall 287
provide notice of the hearing to the member and each person who is 288
named as a beneficiary of the member in the records of the system. 289
If, after the hearing, the court determines that all of the 290
conditions in this subsection have been met, the court shall issue 291
an order that the member be terminated from membership in the plan 292
and forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the plan as 293
provided in this section. The court shall send a copy of its 294
termination and forfeiture order to the system. 295
(5) A member who is convicted of a crime described in 296
subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall not be terminated from 297
membership in the plan or forfeit his or her retirement benefits 298
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from the plan until all appeals of the conviction have been 299
finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 300
has expired. Upon receipt of the termination and forfeiture order 301
from the court, the system shall request the Attorney General for 302
a determination of whether all appeals of the conviction have been 303
finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 304
has expired. After the Attorney General notifies the system that 305
all appeals of the conviction have been finally concluded or the 306
time for an appeal from the conviction has expired, the system 307
shall terminate the member from membership in the plan and the 308
member shall forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the plan 309
as provided in this section. 310
(6) (a) A member of the plan who is serving in the State 311
Legislature or as President of the Senate, or a member of the plan 312
who is not serving in the State Legislature or as President of the 313
Senate but is not receiving a retirement allowance from the plan, 314
who has been terminated from membership in the plan shall not 315
receive a retirement allowance or other retirement benefits from 316
the plan following the date that the system receives the notice 317
from the Attorney General. The member shall have his or her 318
contributions, without any interest, refunded in accordance with 319
Section 25-11-311. 320
(b) A retired member of the plan who has been 321
terminated from membership in the plan shall have his or her 322
retirement allowance terminated beginning on the first day of the 323
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month following the date that the system receives the notice from 324
the Attorney General, and the member shall not receive any 325
additional retirement benefits from the plan after that date. If 326
a member's retirement allowance is terminated under the provisions 327
of this paragraph and the total amount that the member received 328
from the retirement allowance is less than the amount of the 329
member's accumulated contributions, the member shall be refunded 330
the difference between the amount received from the retirement 331
allowance and the amount of his or her contributions, without any 332
interest, in accordance with Section 25-11-311. Termination of 333
the member's retirement allowance shall not affect any retirement 334
benefits that the member received before the date of the 335
termination. 336
(c) When a member has been terminated from membership 337
in the plan, the member shall forfeit all current and future 338
retirement benefits from all service that was or should have been 339
credited to the plan before the date that the member was 340
terminated from the plan, and the member shall not be allowed to 341
receive creditable service for that service by repaying the amount 342
of the contributions that were refunded under Section 25-11-311, 343
or to otherwise purchase creditable service for that service. 344
However, if a person later serves in the State Legislature or as 345
President of the Senate after having been terminated from the plan 346
under this section, the person shall become a member of the plan 347
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again and receive creditable service for his or her new service in 348
the State Legislature or as President of the Senate. 349
(7) If an active member of the plan, or a member of the plan 350
who is not serving in the State Legislature or as President of the 351
Senate but is not receiving a retirement allowance from the plan, 352
is terminated from membership in the plan under this section, the 353
member also will be terminated from membership in the Public 354
Employees' Retirement System and will forfeit his or her 355
retirement benefits from the system. If a retired member of the 356
plan is an active or retired member of the Public Employees' 357
Retirement System, or a member of the system who has withdrawn 358
from service but is not receiving a retirement allowance from the 359
system, who is terminated from membership in the system under 360
Section 25-11-147, the member will not be terminated from 361
membership in the plan if the crime for which the member was 362
convicted or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere is not a 363
felony involving public funds. 364
(8) The Public Employees' Retirement System may conclusively 365
rely on a termination and forfeiture order from the court and the 366
notice from the Attorney General that the requirements of this 367
section have been met in terminating a member from membership in 368
the plan. The system is not liable for any mistake in the payment 369
of retirement benefits under the plan to a member in good faith 370
reliance on a termination and forfeiture order from the court and 371
the notice from the Attorney General, and a member who receives 372
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any such mistaken payments shall not be liable to repay those 373
benefits to the plan. 374
(9) A member shall not be terminated from membership in the 375
plan or forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the plan 376
unless there is a specific provision in this section applicable to 377
the member's situation that requires the termination of membership 378
in the plan and forfeiture of retirement benefits from the plan. 379
Any ambiguity or uncertainty about whether a member should be 380
terminated from membership in the plan or forfeit his or her 381
retirement benefits from the plan shall be resolved in favor of 382
the member. 383
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 384
25-13-37, Mississippi Code of 1972: 385
25-13-37. (1) As used in this section, the term "felony 386
involving public funds" means one or more felonies in which public 387
funds in an aggregate amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars 388
($50,000.00) or more were unlawfully taken, obtained or 389
misappropriated in the abuse or misuse of the person's employment 390
or money coming into the person's hands by virtue of the person's 391
employment. 392
(2) A member's receipt of retirement benefits from the 393
Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System is conditioned 394
on the member's honest and faithful performance of his or her 395
public duties for the State of Mississippi. A member's conviction 396
of or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony involving 397
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public funds is considered to be a breach of the public trust and 398
a breach of the member's contract with the State of Mississippi. 399
(3) (a) If a member of the system is convicted of or enters 400
a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this state to 401
a felony involving public funds that is committed on or after July 402
1, 2026; or 403
(b) If a retired member of the system, or a member of 404
the system who has withdrawn from service but is not receiving a 405
retirement allowance from the system, is convicted of or enters a 406
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in any court of this state to a 407
felony involving public funds that was committed while the member 408
was an active employee on or after July 1, 2026, the court shall 409
conduct a hearing in a separate civil proceeding to determine if 410
all of the conditions in this subsection have been met. The court 411
shall provide notice of the hearing to the member and each person 412
who is named as a beneficiary of the member in the records of the 413
system. If, after the hearing, the court determines that all of 414
the conditions in this subsection have been met, the court shall 415
issue an order that the member be terminated from membership in 416
the system and forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the 417
system as provided in this section. The court shall send a copy 418
of its termination and forfeiture order to the system. 419
(4) (a) If a member of the system is convicted of or enters 420
a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of another state or 421
a federal court to a crime that would be a felony under the laws 422
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of this state if the crime were committed in this state, and that 423
is a felony involving public funds that is committed on or after 424
July 1, 2026; or 425
(b) If a retired member of the system, or a member of 426
the system who has withdrawn from service but is not receiving a 427
retirement allowance from the system, is convicted of or enters a 428
plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court of another state or a 429
federal court to a crime that would be a felony under the laws of 430
this state if the crime were committed in this state, and that is 431
a felony involving public funds that was committed while the 432
member was an active employee on or after July 1, 2026, the 433
Attorney General of Mississippi shall enter a motion in the 434
circuit court of the county of residence of the member, or in the 435
Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, 436
Mississippi, if the member does not reside in Mississippi, for 437
termination from membership in the system and forfeiture of the 438
member's retirement benefits from the system. The court shall 439
conduct a civil hearing to determine if all of the conditions in 440
this subsection have been met. The court shall provide notice of 441
the hearing to the member and each person who is named as a 442
beneficiary of the member in the records of the system. If, after 443
the hearing, the court determines that all of the conditions in 444
this subsection have been met, the court shall issue an order that 445
the member be terminated from membership in the system and forfeit 446
his or her retirement benefits from the system as provided in this 447
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section. The court shall send a copy of its termination and 448
forfeiture order to the system. 449
(5) A member who is convicted of a crime described in 450
subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall not be terminated from 451
membership in the system or forfeit his or her retirement benefits 452
from the system until all appeals of the conviction have been 453
finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 454
has expired. Upon receipt of the termination and forfeiture order 455
from the court, the system shall request the Attorney General for 456
a determination of whether all appeals of the conviction have been 457
finally concluded or the time for an appeal from the conviction 458
has expired. After the Attorney General notifies the system that 459
all appeals of the conviction have been finally concluded or the 460
time for an appeal from the conviction has expired, the system 461
shall terminate the member from membership in the system and the 462
member shall forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the 463
system as provided in this section. 464
(6) (a) An active member, or a member of the system who has 465
withdrawn from service but is not receiving a retirement allowance 466
from the system, who has been terminated from membership in the 467
system shall not receive a retirement allowance or other 468
retirement benefits from the system following the date that the 469
system receives the notice from the Attorney General. The member 470
shall have his or her contributions, without any interest, 471
refunded in accordance with Section 25-13-21. 472
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(b) A retired member who has been terminated from 473
membership in the system shall have his or her retirement 474
allowance terminated beginning on the first day of the month 475
following the date that the system receives the notice from the 476
Attorney General, and the member shall not receive any additional 477
retirement benefits from the system after that date. If a 478
member's retirement allowance is terminated under the provisions 479
of this paragraph and the total amount that the member received 480
from the retirement allowance is less than the amount of the 481
member's accumulated contributions, the member shall be refunded 482
the difference between the amount received from the retirement 483
allowance and the amount of his or her contributions, without any 484
interest, in accordance with Section 25-13-21. Termination of the 485
member's retirement allowance shall not affect any retirement 486
benefits that the member received before the date of the 487
termination. 488
(c) When a member has been terminated from membership 489
in the system, the member shall forfeit all current and future 490
retirement benefits from all service that was or should have been 491
credited to the system before the date that the member was 492
terminated from the system, and the member shall not be allowed to 493
receive creditable service for that service by repaying the amount 494
of the contributions that were refunded under Section 25-13-21, or 495
to otherwise purchase creditable service for that service. 496
However, if a person is later employed in service covered by the 497
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system after having been terminated from the system under this 498
section, the person shall become a member of the system again and 499
receive creditable service for his or her new employment in 500
service covered by the system. 501
(7) If a member of the system is also a member of another 502
retirement system administered by the Board of Trustees of the 503
Public Employees' Retirement System, and the crime for which the 504
member was convicted or entered a plea of guilty or nolo 505
contendere is a felony involving public funds that is covered by 506
only one (1) of the retirement systems, the member will be 507
terminated only from the retirement system in which his or her 508
employment was covered at the time that he or she committed the 509
crime, and will forfeit retirement benefits only from that 510
retirement system. 511
(8) The Public Employees' Retirement System may conclusively 512
rely on a termination and forfeiture order from the court and the 513
notice from the Attorney General that the requirements of this 514
section have been met in terminating a member from membership in 515
the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System. The 516
Public Employees' Retirement System is not liable for any mistake 517
in the payment of retirement benefits to a member in good faith 518
reliance on a termination and forfeiture order from the court and 519
the notice from the Attorney General, and a member who receives 520
any such mistaken payments shall not be liable to repay those 521
benefits to the system. 522
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(9) A member shall not be terminated from membership in the 523
system or forfeit his or her retirement benefits from the system 524
unless there is a specific provision in this section applicable to 525
the member's situation that requires the termination of membership 526
in the system and forfeiture of retirement benefits from the 527
system. Any ambiguity or uncertainty about whether a member 528
should be terminated from membership in the system or forfeit his 529
or her retirement benefits from the system shall be resolved in 530
favor of the member. 531
SECTION 4. Section 25-11-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 532
amended as follows: 533
25-11-105. I. THOSE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP 534
The membership of this retirement system shall be composed as 535
follows: 536
(a) (i) All persons who become employees in the state 537
service after January 31, 1953, and whose wages are subject to 538
payroll taxes and are lawfully reported on IRS Form W-2, except 539
those specifically excluded, or as to whom election is provided in 540
Articles 1 and 3, shall become members of the retirement system as 541
a condition of their employment. 542
(ii) From and after July 1, 2002, any individual 543
who is employed by a governmental entity to perform professional 544
services shall become a member of the system if the individual is 545
paid regular periodic compensation for those services that is 546
subject to payroll taxes, is provided all other employee benefits 547
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and meets the membership criteria established by the regulations 548
adopted by the board of trustees that apply to all other members 549
of the system; however, any active member employed in such a 550
position on July 1, 2002, will continue to be an active member for 551
as long as they are employed in any such position. 552
(b) All persons who become employees in the state 553
service after January 31, 1953, except those specifically excluded 554
or as to whom election is provided in Articles 1 and 3, unless 555
they file with the board before the lapse of sixty (60) days of 556
employment or sixty (60) days after the effective date of the 557
cited articles, whichever is later, on a form prescribed by the 558
board, a notice of election not to be covered by the membership of 559
the retirement system and a duly executed waiver of all present 560
and prospective benefits that would otherwise inure to them on 561
account of their participation in the system, shall become members 562
of the retirement system; however, no credit for prior service 563
will be granted to members who became members of the system before 564
July 1, 2007, until they have contributed to Article 3 of the 565
retirement system for a minimum period of at least four (4) years, 566
or to members who became members of the system on or after July 1, 567
2007, until they have contributed to Article 3 of the retirement 568
system for a minimum period of at least eight (8) years. Those 569
members shall receive credit for services performed before January 570
1, 1953, in employment now covered by Article 3, but no credit 571
shall be granted for retroactive services between January 1, 1953, 572
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and the date of their entry into the retirement system, unless the 573
employee pays into the retirement system both the employer's and 574
the employee's contributions on wages paid to him or her during 575
the period from January 31, 1953, to the date of his or her 576
becoming a contributing member, together with interest at the rate 577
determined by the board of trustees. Members reentering after 578
withdrawal from service shall qualify for prior service under the 579
provisions of Section 25-11-117. From and after July 1, 1998, 580
upon eligibility as noted above, the member may receive credit for 581
such retroactive service provided: 582
(i) The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to 583
the board of trustees of certification of that service from the 584
covered employer where the services were performed; and 585
(ii) The member shall pay to the retirement system 586
on the date he or she is eligible for that credit or at any time 587
thereafter before the date of retirement the actuarial cost for 588
each year of that creditable service. The provisions of this 589
subparagraph (ii) shall be subject to the limitations of Section 590
415 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations promulgated under 591
Section 415. 592
Nothing contained in this paragraph (b) shall be construed to 593
limit the authority of the board to allow the correction of 594
reporting errors or omissions based on the payment of the employee 595
and employer contributions plus applicable interest. 596
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(c) All persons who become employees in the state 597
service after January 31, 1953, and who are eligible for 598
membership in any other retirement system shall become members of 599
this retirement system as a condition of their employment, unless 600
they elect at the time of their employment to become a member of 601
that other system. 602
(d) All persons who are employees in the state service 603
on January 31, 1953, and who are members of any nonfunded 604
retirement system operated by the State of Mississippi, or any of 605
its departments or agencies, shall become members of this system 606
with prior service credit unless, before February 1, 1953, they 607
file a written notice with the board of trustees that they do not 608
elect to become members. 609
(e) All persons who are employees in the state service 610
on January 31, 1953, and who under existing laws are members of 611
any fund operated for the retirement of employees by the State of 612
Mississippi, or any of its departments or agencies, shall not be 613
entitled to membership in this retirement system unless, before 614
February 1, 1953, any such person indicates by a notice filed with 615
the board, on a form prescribed by the board, his or her 616
individual election and choice to participate in this system, but 617
no such person shall receive prior service credit unless he or she 618
becomes a member on or before February 1, 1953. 619
(f) Each political subdivision of the state and each 620
instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision, or both, 621
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is authorized to submit, for approval by the board of trustees, a 622
plan for extending the benefits of this article to employees of 623
any such political subdivision or instrumentality. Each such plan 624
or any amendment to the plan for extending benefits thereof shall 625
be approved by the board of trustees if it finds that the plan, or 626
the plan as amended, is in conformity with such requirements as 627
are provided in Articles 1 and 3; however, upon approval of the 628
plan or any such plan previously approved by the board of 629
trustees, the approved plan shall not be subject to cancellation 630
or termination by the political subdivision or instrumentality. 631
No such plan shall be approved unless: 632
(i) It provides that all services that constitute 633
employment as defined in Section 25-11-5 and are performed in the 634
employ of the political subdivision or instrumentality, by any 635
employees thereof, shall be covered by the plan, with the 636
exception of municipal employees who are already covered by 637
existing retirement plans; however, those employees in this class 638
may elect to come under the provisions of this article; 639
(ii) It specifies the source or sources from which 640
the funds necessary to make the payments required by paragraph (d) 641
of Section 25-11-123 and of paragraph (f)(v)2 and 3 of this 642
section are expected to be derived and contains reasonable 643
assurance that those sources will be adequate for that purpose; 644
(iii) It provides for such methods of 645
administration of the plan by the political subdivision or 646
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instrumentality as are found by the board of trustees to be 647
necessary for the proper and efficient administration thereof; 648
(iv) It provides that the political subdivision or 649
instrumentality will make such reports, in such form and 650
containing such information, as the board of trustees may from 651
time to time require; 652
(v) It authorizes the board of trustees to 653
terminate the plan in its entirety in the discretion of the board 654
if it finds that there has been a failure to comply substantially 655
with any provision contained in the plan, the termination to take 656
effect at the expiration of such notice and on such conditions as 657
may be provided by regulations of the board and as may be 658
consistent with applicable federal law. 659
1. The board of trustees shall not finally 660
refuse to approve a plan submitted under paragraph (f), and shall 661
not terminate an approved plan without reasonable notice and 662
opportunity for hearing to each political subdivision or 663
instrumentality affected by the board's decision. The board's 664
decision in any such case shall be final, conclusive and binding 665
unless an appeal is taken by the political subdivision or 666
instrumentality aggrieved by the decision to the Circuit Court of 667
the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in 668
accordance with the provisions of law with respect to civil causes 669
by certiorari. 670
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2. Each political subdivision or 671
instrumentality as to which a plan has been approved under this 672
section shall pay into the contribution fund, with respect to 673
wages (as defined in Section 25-11-5), at such time or times as 674
the board of trustees may by regulation prescribe, contributions 675
in the amounts and at the rates specified in the applicable 676
agreement entered into by the board. 677
3. Every political subdivision or 678
instrumentality required to make payments under paragraph (f)(v)2 679
of this section is authorized, in consideration of the employees' 680
retention in or entry upon employment after enactment of Articles 681
1 and 3, to impose upon its employees, as to services that are 682
covered by an approved plan, a contribution with respect to wages 683
(as defined in Section 25-11-5) not exceeding the amount provided 684
in Section 25-11-123(d) if those services constituted employment 685
within the meaning of Articles 1 and 3, and to deduct the amount 686
of the contribution from the wages as and when paid. 687
Contributions so collected shall be paid into the contribution 688
fund as partial discharge of the liability of the political 689
subdivisions or instrumentalities under paragraph (f)(v)2 of this 690
section. Failure to deduct the contribution shall not relieve the 691
employee or employer of liability for the contribution. 692
4. Any state agency, school, political 693
subdivision, instrumentality or any employer that is required to 694
submit contribution payments or wage reports under any section of 695
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this chapter shall be assessed interest on delinquent payments or 696
wage reports as determined by the board of trustees in accordance 697
with rules and regulations adopted by the board and delinquent 698
payments, assessed interest and any other amount certified by the 699
board as owed by an employer, may be recovered by action in a 700
court of competent jurisdiction against the reporting agency 701
liable therefor or may, upon due certification of delinquency and 702
at the request of the board of trustees, be deducted from any 703
other monies payable to the reporting agency by any department or 704
agency of the state. 705
5. Each political subdivision of the state 706
and each instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision 707
or subdivisions that submit a plan for approval of the board, as 708
provided in this section, shall reimburse the board for coverage 709
into the expense account, its pro rata share of the total expense 710
of administering Articles 1 and 3 as provided by regulations of 711
the board. 712
(g) The board may, in its discretion, deny the right of 713
membership in this system to any class of employees whose 714
compensation is only partly paid by the state or who are occupying 715
positions on a part-time or intermittent basis. The board may, in 716
its discretion, make optional with employees in any such classes 717
their individual entrance into this system. 718
(h) An employee whose membership in this system is 719
contingent on his or her own election, and who elects not to 720
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become a member, may thereafter apply for and be admitted to 721
membership; but no such employee shall receive prior service 722
credit unless he or she becomes a member before July 1, 1953, 723
except as provided in paragraph (b). 724
(i) If any member of this system changes his or her 725
employment to any agency of the state having an actuarially funded 726
retirement system, the board of trustees may authorize the 727
transfer of the member's creditable service and of the present 728
value of the member's employer's accumulation account and of the 729
present value of the member's accumulated membership contributions 730
to that other system, provided that the employee agrees to the 731
transfer of his or her accumulated membership contributions and 732
provided that the other system is authorized to receive and agrees 733
to make the transfer. 734
If any member of any other actuarially funded system 735
maintained by an agency of the state changes his or her employment 736
to an agency covered by this system, the board of trustees may 737
authorize the receipt of the transfer of the member's creditable 738
service and of the present value of the member's employer's 739
accumulation account and of the present value of the member's 740
accumulated membership contributions from the other system, 741
provided that the employee agrees to the transfer of his or her 742
accumulated membership contributions to this system and provided 743
that the other system is authorized and agrees to make the 744
transfer. 745
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(j) Wherever state employment is referred to in this 746
section, it includes joint employment by state and federal 747
agencies of all kinds. 748
(k) Employees of a political subdivision or 749
instrumentality who were employed by the political subdivision or 750
instrumentality before an agreement between the entity and the 751
Public Employees' Retirement System to extend the benefits of this 752
article to its employees, and which agreement provides for the 753
establishment of retroactive service credit, and who became 754
members of the retirement system before July 1, 2007, and have 755
remained contributors to the retirement system for four (4) years, 756
or who became members of the retirement system on or after July 1, 757
2007, and have remained contributors to the retirement system for 758
eight (8) years, may receive credit for that retroactive service 759
with the political subdivision or instrumentality, provided that 760
the employee and/or employer, as provided under the terms of the 761
modification of the joinder agreement in allowing that coverage, 762
pay into the retirement system the employer's and employee's 763
contributions on wages paid the member during the previous 764
employment, together with interest or actuarial cost as determined 765
by the board covering the period from the date the service was 766
rendered until the payment for the credit for the service was 767
made. Those wages shall be verified by the Social Security 768
Administration or employer payroll records. Effective July 1, 769
1998, upon eligibility as noted above, a member may receive credit 770
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for that retroactive service with the political subdivision or 771
instrumentality provided: 772
(i) The member shall furnish proof satisfactory to 773
the board of trustees of certification of those services from the 774
political subdivision or instrumentality where the services were 775
rendered or verification by the Social Security Administration; 776
and 777
(ii) The member shall pay to the retirement system 778
on the date he or she is eligible for that credit or at any time 779
thereafter before the date of retirement the actuarial cost for 780
each year of that creditable service. The provisions of this 781
subparagraph (ii) shall be subject to the limitations of Section 782
415 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations promulgated under 783
Section 415. 784
Nothing contained in this paragraph (k) shall be construed to 785
limit the authority of the board to allow the correction of 786
reporting errors or omissions based on the payment of employee and 787
employer contributions plus applicable interest. Payment for that 788
time shall be made beginning with the most recent service. Upon 789
the payment of all or part of the required contributions, plus 790
interest or the actuarial cost as provided above, the member shall 791
receive credit for the period of creditable service for which full 792
payment has been made to the retirement system. 793
(l) Through June 30, 1998, any state service eligible 794
for retroactive service credit, no part of which has ever been 795
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reported, and requiring the payment of employee and employer 796
contributions plus interest, or, from and after July 1, 1998, any 797
state service eligible for retroactive service credit, no part of 798
which has ever been reported to the retirement system, and 799
requiring the payment of the actuarial cost for that creditable 800
service, may, at the member's option, be purchased in quarterly 801
increments as provided above at the time that its purchase is 802
otherwise allowed. 803
(m) All rights to purchase retroactive service credit 804
or repay a refund as provided in Section 25-11-101 et seq. shall 805
terminate upon retirement. 806
II. THOSE WHO ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP 807
The following classes of employees and officers shall not 808
become members of this retirement system, any other provisions of 809
Articles 1 and 3 to the contrary notwithstanding: 810
(a) Patient or inmate help in state charitable, penal 811
or correctional institutions; 812
(b) Students of any state educational institution 813
employed by any agency of the state for temporary, part-time or 814
intermittent work; 815
(c) Participants of Comprehensive Employment and 816
Training Act of 1973 (CETA) being Public Law 93-203, who enroll on 817
or after July l, 1979; 818
(d) From and after July 1, 2002, individuals who are 819
employed by a governmental entity to perform professional service 820
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on less than a full-time basis who do not meet the criteria 821
established in I(a)(ii) of this section. 822
III. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP 823
Membership in this system shall cease by: 824
(a) A member withdrawing his or her accumulated 825
contributions * * *; 826
(b) A member withdrawing from active service with a 827
retirement allowance * * *; 828
(c) A member's death * * *; or 829
(d) A member being terminated from the membership in 830
the system under Section 25-11-149. 831
SECTION 5. Section 25-11-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 832
amended as follows: 833
25-11-111. (a) (1) Any member who became a member of the 834
system before July 1, 2007, upon withdrawal from service upon or 835
after attainment of the age of sixty (60) years who has completed 836
at least four (4) years of membership service, or any member who 837
became a member of the system before July 1, 2011, upon withdrawal 838
from service regardless of age who has completed at least 839
twenty-five (25) years of creditable service, shall be entitled to 840
receive a retirement allowance, which shall begin on the first of 841
the month following the date the member's application for the 842
allowance is received by the board, but in no event before 843
withdrawal from service. 844
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(2) Any member who became a member of the system on or 845
after July 1, 2007, but before March 1, 2026, upon withdrawal from 846
service upon or after attainment of the age of sixty (60) years 847
who has completed at least eight (8) years of membership service, 848
or any member who became a member of the system on or after July 849
1, 2011, but before March 1, 2026, upon withdrawal from service 850
regardless of age who has completed at least thirty (30) years of 851
creditable service, shall be entitled to receive a retirement 852
allowance, which shall begin on the first of the month following 853
the date the member's application for the allowance is received by 854
the board, but in no event before withdrawal from service. 855
(3) Any member who became a member of the system on or 856
after March 1, 2026, upon withdrawal from service upon or after 857
attainment of the age of sixty-two (62) years who has completed at 858
least eight (8) years of membership service, or upon withdrawal 859
from service regardless of age who has completed at least 860
thirty-five (35) years of creditable service, shall be entitled to 861
receive a retirement allowance, which shall begin on the first of 862
the month following the date the member's application for the 863
allowance is received by the board, but in no event before 864
withdrawal from service. 865
(b) (1) Any member who became a member of the system before 866
July 1, 2007, whose withdrawal from service occurs before 867
attaining the age of sixty (60) years who has completed four (4) 868
or more years of membership service and has not received a refund 869
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of his or her accumulated contributions, shall be entitled to 870
receive a retirement allowance, beginning upon his or her 871
attaining the age of sixty (60) years, of the amount earned and 872
accrued at the date of withdrawal from service. The retirement 873
allowance shall begin on the first of the month following the date 874
the member's application for the allowance is received by the 875
board, but in no event before withdrawal from service. 876
(2) Any member who became a member of the system on or 877
after July 1, 2007, but before March 1, 2026, whose withdrawal 878
from service occurs before attaining the age of sixty (60) years 879
who has completed eight (8) or more years of membership service 880
and has not received a refund of his or her accumulated 881
contributions, shall be entitled to receive a retirement 882
allowance, beginning upon his or her attaining the age of sixty 883
(60) years, of the amount earned and accrued at the date of 884
withdrawal from service. The retirement allowance shall begin on 885
the first of the month following the date the member's application 886
for the allowance is received by the board, but in no event before 887
withdrawal from service. 888
(3) Any member who became a member of the system on or 889
after March 1, 2026, whose withdrawal from service occurs before 890
attaining the age of sixty-two (62) years who has completed eight 891
(8) or more years of membership service and has not received a 892
refund of his or her accumulated contributions, shall be entitled 893
to receive a retirement allowance, beginning upon his or her 894
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attaining the age of sixty-two (62) years, of the amount earned 895
and accrued at the date of withdrawal from service. The 896
retirement allowance shall begin on the first of the month 897
following the date the member's application for the allowance is 898
received by the board, but in no event before withdrawal from 899
service. 900
(c) Any member in service who has qualified for retirement 901
benefits may select any optional method of settlement of 902
retirement benefits by notifying the Executive Director of the 903
Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System in 904
writing, on a form prescribed by the board, of the option he or 905
she has selected and by naming the beneficiary of the option and 906
furnishing necessary proof of age. The option, once selected, may 907
be changed at any time before actual retirement or death, but upon 908
the death or retirement of the member, the optional settlement 909
shall be placed in effect upon proper notification to the 910
executive director. 911
(d) Any member who became a member of the system before July 912
1, 2011, shall be entitled to an annual retirement allowance which 913
shall consist of: 914
(1) A member's annuity, which shall be the actuarial 915
equivalent of the accumulated contributions of the member at the 916
time of retirement computed according to the actuarial table in 917
use by the system; and 918
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(2) An employer's annuity, which, together with the 919
member's annuity provided above, shall be equal to two percent 920
(2%) of the average compensation for each year of service up to 921
and including twenty-five (25) years of creditable service, and 922
two and one-half percent (2-1/2%) of the average compensation for 923
each year of service exceeding twenty-five (25) years of 924
creditable service. 925
(3) Any retired member or beneficiary thereof who was 926
eligible to receive a retirement allowance before July 1, 1991, 927
and who is still receiving a retirement allowance on July 1, 1992, 928
shall receive an increase in the annual retirement allowance of 929
the retired member equal to one-eighth of one percent (1/8 of 1%) 930
of the average compensation for each year of state service in 931
excess of twenty-five (25) years of membership service up to and 932
including thirty (30) years. The maximum increase shall be 933
five-eighths of one percent (5/8 of 1%). In no case shall a 934
member who has been retired before July 1, 1987, receive less than 935
Ten Dollars ($10.00) per month for each year of creditable service 936
and proportionately for each quarter year thereof. Persons 937
retired on or after July 1, 1987, shall receive at least Ten 938
Dollars ($10.00) per month for each year of service and 939
proportionately for each quarter year thereof reduced for the 940
option selected. However, such Ten Dollars ($10.00) minimum per 941
month for each year of creditable service shall not apply to a 942
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retirement allowance computed under Section 25-11-114 based on a 943
percentage of the member's average compensation. 944
(e) Any member who became a member of the system on or after 945
July 1, 2011, but before March 1, 2026, shall be entitled to an 946
annual retirement allowance which shall consist of: 947
(1) A member's annuity, which shall be the actuarial 948
equivalent of the accumulated contributions of the member at the 949
time of retirement computed according to the actuarial table in 950
use by the system; and 951
(2) An employer's annuity, which, together with the 952
member's annuity provided above, shall be equal to two percent 953
(2%) of the average compensation for each year of service up to 954
and including thirty (30) years of creditable service, and two and 955
one-half percent (2-1/2%) of average compensation for each year of 956
service exceeding thirty (30) years of creditable service. 957
(f) Any member who became a member of the system on or after 958
July 1, 2011, but before March 1, 2026, upon withdrawal from 959
service upon or after attaining the age of sixty (60) years who 960
has completed at least eight (8) years of membership service, or 961
any such member upon withdrawal from service regardless of age who 962
has completed at least thirty (30) years of creditable service, 963
shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance computed in 964
accordance with the formula set forth in subsection (e) of this 965
section. In the case of the retirement of any member who has 966
attained age sixty (60) but who has not completed at least thirty 967
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(30) years of creditable service, the retirement allowance shall 968
be computed in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection 969
(e) of this section except that the total annual retirement 970
allowance shall be reduced by an actuarial equivalent factor for 971
each year of creditable service below thirty (30) years or the 972
number of years in age that the member is below age sixty-five 973
(65), whichever is less. 974
(g) Any member who became a member of the system on or after 975
March 1, 2026, upon withdrawal from service upon or after 976
attainment of the age of sixty-five (65) years who has completed 977
at least eight (8) years of membership service, or upon withdrawal 978
from service at the age of sixty-two (62) who has completed at 979
least thirty (30) years of creditable service, or upon withdrawal 980
from service regardless of age who has completed at least 981
thirty-five (35) years of creditable service, shall be entitled to 982
an annual retirement allowance which shall consist of a member's 983
annuity, which annuity shall be equal to one percent (1%) of the 984
average compensation for each year of creditable service. In the 985
case of the retirement of any member who has attained the age of 986
sixty-two (62) but has not completed at least thirty (30) years of 987
creditable service, the total annual retirement allowance 988
specified in this subsection (g) shall be reduced by an actuarial 989
equivalent factor for each year of creditable service below thirty 990
(30) years or the number of years in age that the member is below 991
age sixty-five (65), whichever is less. 992
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(h) No member, except members excluded by the Age 993
Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986 (Public Law 994
99-592), under either Article 1 or Article 3 in state service 995
shall be required to retire because of age. 996
(i) No payment on account of any benefit granted under the 997
provisions of this section shall become effective or begin to 998
accrue until January 1, 1953. 999
(j) (1) A retiree or beneficiary may, on a form prescribed 1000
by and filed with the retirement system, irrevocably waive all or 1001
a portion of any benefits from the retirement system to which the 1002
retiree or beneficiary is entitled. The waiver shall be binding 1003
on the heirs and assigns of any retiree or beneficiary and the 1004
same must agree to forever hold harmless the Public Employees' 1005
Retirement System of Mississippi from any claim to the waived 1006
retirement benefits. 1007
(2) Any waiver under this subsection shall apply only 1008
to the person executing the waiver. A beneficiary shall be 1009
entitled to benefits according to the option selected by the 1010
member at the time of retirement. However, a beneficiary may, at 1011
the option of the beneficiary, execute a waiver of benefits under 1012
this subsection. 1013
(3) The retirement system shall retain in the annuity 1014
reserve account amounts that are not used to pay benefits because 1015
of a waiver executed under this subsection. 1016
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(4) The board of trustees may provide rules and 1017
regulations for the administration of waivers under this 1018
subsection. 1019
(k) A member who is terminated from membership in the system 1020
under Section 25-11-149 shall not be eligible to receive a 1021
retirement allowance under this section. 1022
SECTION 6. Section 25-11-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1023
amended as follows: 1024
25-11-117. (1) A member may be paid a refund of the amount 1025
of accumulated contributions to the credit of the member in the 1026
annuity savings account, provided that the member has withdrawn 1027
from state service and has not returned to state service on the 1028
date the refund of the accumulated contributions would be paid. 1029
That refund of the contributions to the credit of the member in 1030
the annuity savings account shall be paid within ninety (90) days 1031
from receipt in the office of the retirement system of the 1032
properly completed form requesting the payment. The full amount 1033
of the accumulated contributions of any member who is terminated 1034
from membership in the system under Section 25-11-149 before 1035
receiving a retirement allowance, or the amount of the member's 1036
accumulated contributions that the member has not received from a 1037
retirement allowance if the member is terminated from membership 1038
in the system under Section 25-11-149 after receiving a retirement 1039
allowance, shall be refunded to the member, without any interest, 1040
within ninety (90) days after the member has been terminated from 1041
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membership in the system. In the event of death before retirement 1042
of any member whose spouse and/or children are not entitled to a 1043
retirement allowance, the accumulated contributions to the credit 1044
of the deceased member in the annuity savings account shall be 1045
paid to the designated beneficiary on file in writing in the 1046
office of the executive director of the board of trustees within 1047
ninety (90) days from receipt of a properly completed form 1048
requesting the payment. If there is no such designated 1049
beneficiary on file for the deceased member in the office of the 1050
system, upon the filing of a proper request with the board, the 1051
contributions to the credit of the deceased member in the annuity 1052
savings account shall be refunded under Section 25-11-117.1(1). 1053
The payment of the refund shall discharge all obligations of the 1054
retirement system to the member on account of any creditable 1055
service rendered by the member before the receipt of the refund. 1056
By the acceptance of the refund, the member shall waive and 1057
relinquish all accrued rights in the system. 1058
(2) Under the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 1059
(Public Law 102-318 (UCA)), a member or the spouse of a member who 1060
is an eligible beneficiary entitled to a refund under this section 1061
may elect, on a form prescribed by the board under rules and 1062
regulations established by the board, to have an eligible rollover 1063
distribution of accumulated contributions payable under this 1064
section paid directly to an eligible retirement plan, as defined 1065
under applicable federal law, or an individual retirement account. 1066
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If the member or the spouse of a member who is an eligible 1067
beneficiary makes that election and specifies the eligible 1068
retirement plan or individual retirement account to which the 1069
distribution is to be paid, the distribution will be made in the 1070
form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to the specified 1071
eligible retirement plan. A nonspouse beneficiary may elect to 1072
have an eligible rollover distribution paid in the form of a 1073
direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an individual retirement 1074
account established to receive the distribution on behalf of the 1075
nonspouse beneficiary. Flexible rollovers under this subsection 1076
shall not be considered assignments under Section 25-11-129. 1077
(3) (a) If any person who has received a refund, reenters 1078
the state service and again becomes a member of the system before 1079
July 1, 2007, the member may repay all or part of the amounts 1080
previously received as a refund, together with regular interest 1081
covering the period from the date of refund to the date of 1082
repayment; however, the amounts that are repaid by the member and 1083
the creditable service related thereto shall not be used in any 1084
benefit calculation or determination until the member has remained 1085
a contributor to the system for a period of at least four (4) 1086
years after the member's reentry into state service. Repayment 1087
for that time shall be made beginning with the most recent service 1088
for which refund has been made. Upon the repayment of all or part 1089
of that refund and interest, the member shall again receive credit 1090
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for the period of creditable service for which full repayment has 1091
been made to the system. 1092
(b) If any person who has received a refund, reenters 1093
the state service and again becomes a member of the system on or 1094
after July 1, 2007, but before March 1, 2026, the member may repay 1095
all or part of the amounts previously received as a refund, 1096
together with regular interest covering the period from the date 1097
of refund to the date of repayment; however, the amounts that are 1098
repaid by the member and the creditable service related thereto 1099
shall not be used in any benefit calculation or determination 1100
until the member has remained a contributor to the system for a 1101
period of at least eight (8) years after the member's reentry into 1102
state service. Repayment for that time shall be made beginning 1103
with the most recent service for which refund has been made. Upon 1104
the repayment of all or part of that refund and interest, the 1105
member shall again receive credit for the period of creditable 1106
service for which full repayment has been made to the system. 1107
(c) If any person who has received a refund reenters 1108
state service and again becomes a member of the system on or after 1109
March 1, 2026, the member shall not be eligible to repay any 1110
portion of amounts previously received as a refund and may not 1111
receive creditable service for service rendered before March 1, 1112
2026. 1113
(d) A member who has been terminated from membership in 1114
the system under Section 25-11-149 and received a refund of his or 1115
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her accumulated contributions under this section is not authorized 1116
to repay any of the amount received as a refund in order to 1117
receive creditable service for the period of service for which the 1118
contributions were made to the system. 1119
(4) (a) In order to provide a source of income to members 1120
who have applied for disability benefits under Section 25-11-113 1121
or 25-11-114, the board may provide, at the employee's election, a 1122
temporary benefit to be paid from the member's accumulated 1123
contributions, if any, without forfeiting the right to pursue 1124
disability benefits, provided that the member has exhausted all 1125
personal and medical leave and has terminated his or her 1126
employment. The board may prescribe rules and regulations for 1127
carrying out the provisions of this subsection (4). 1128
(b) If a member who has elected to receive temporary 1129
benefits under this subsection later applies for a refund of his 1130
or her accumulated contributions, all amounts paid under this 1131
subsection shall be deducted from the accumulated contributions 1132
and the balance will be paid to the member. If a member who has 1133
elected to receive temporary benefits under this subsection is 1134
later approved for a disability retirement allowance, and a 1135
service retirement allowance or survivor benefits are paid on the 1136
account, the board shall adjust the benefits in such a manner that 1137
no more than the actuarial equivalent of the benefits to which the 1138
member or beneficiary was or is entitled shall be paid. 1139
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(c) The board may study, develop and propose a 1140
disability benefit structure, including short- and long-term 1141
disability benefits, provided that it is the actuarial equivalent 1142
of the benefits currently provided in Section 25-11-113 or 1143
25-11-114. 1144
SECTION 7. Section 25-11-120, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1145
amended as follows: 1146
25-11-120. (1) Any individual aggrieved by an 1147
administrative determination, including a determination of the 1148
medical board, relating to the eligibility for or payment of 1149
benefits, or the calculation of creditable service or other 1150
similar matters relating to the Public Employees' Retirement 1151
System or any other retirement system or program administered by 1152
the board, may request a hearing before a hearing officer 1153
designated by the board. Such hearings shall be conducted in 1154
accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the board and 1155
formal rules of evidence shall not apply. The hearing officer is 1156
authorized to administer oaths, hear testimony of witnesses and 1157
receive documentary and other evidence. In case of disability 1158
appeals, the hearing officer shall have the authority to defer a 1159
decision in order to request a medical evaluation or test or 1160
additional existing medical records not previously furnished by 1161
the claimant. After the hearing and the receipt of any additional 1162
medical evidence requested by the hearing officer, the hearing 1163
officer shall certify the record to the board, which shall include 1164
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the hearing officer's proposed statement of facts, conclusions of 1165
law and recommendation. The record may include a taped recording 1166
of the proceedings of the hearing in lieu of a transcribed copy of 1167
the proceedings. The board shall receive the record and make its 1168
determination based solely on matters contained therein. 1169
(2) Any individual aggrieved by the determination of the 1170
board may appeal to the Circuit Court of the First Judicial 1171
District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in accordance with the 1172
Uniform Circuit Court Rules governing appeals to the circuit court 1173
in civil cases. Such appeal shall be made solely on the record 1174
before the board and this procedure shall be the exclusive method 1175
of appealing determinations of the board. 1176
(3) The board is authorized to appoint a committee of the 1177
board to serve as hearing officer or to employ or contract with 1178
qualified personnel to perform the duties of hearing officer and 1179
court reporter as may be necessary for conducting, recording and 1180
transcribing such hearings. The board may assess and collect fees 1181
to offset costs related to such hearings. Those fees shall be 1182
deposited to the credit of the Public Employees' Retirement 1183
System. 1184
(4) Interest shall not be paid on any benefits, including, 1185
but not limited to, benefits that are delayed as a result of an 1186
administrative determination or an appeal from an administrative 1187
determination. 1188
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(5) Termination from membership in the Public Employees' 1189
Retirement System, the Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan or 1190
the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System and 1191
forfeiture of retirement benefits from either of those systems or 1192
the plan under Section 25-11-149, 25-11-321 or 25-13-37 shall not 1193
be considered an administrative determination for which a hearing 1194
may be requested or held under this section. 1195
SECTION 8. Section 25-11-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1196
amended as follows: 1197
25-11-129. (1) The right of a person to an annuity, a 1198
retirement allowance or benefit, or to the return of 1199
contributions, or to any optional benefit or any other right 1200
accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions of Articles 1201
1 and 3, the system and the monies in the system created by * * * 1202
those articles, are * * * exempt from any state, county or 1203
municipal ad valorem taxes, income taxes, premium taxes, privilege 1204
taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes or other taxes not so 1205
named, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, 1206
and exempt from levy and sale, garnishment, attachment or any 1207
other process whatsoever, and shall be unassignable except as 1208
specifically otherwise provided in this article and except as 1209
otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section. The 1210
forfeiture of a member's retirement benefits from the system under 1211
Section 25-11-149 is not an attachment or assignment of the 1212
member's retirement benefits for the purposes of this section. 1213
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(2) Any retired member or beneficiary receiving a retirement 1214
allowance or benefit under this article may authorize the system 1215
to make deductions from the retirement allowance or benefit for 1216
the payment of employer or system sponsored group life or health 1217
insurance. The deductions authorized under this subsection shall 1218
be subject to rules and regulations adopted by the board. 1219
SECTION 9. Section 25-11-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1220
amended as follows: 1221
25-11-305. (1) The membership of the Supplemental 1222
Legislative Retirement Plan shall be composed as follows: 1223
(a) All members of the State Legislature who are 1224
currently serving in the capacity of an elected official of the 1225
State Legislature and the person currently serving as President of 1226
the Senate shall become members of this system on July 1, 1989, 1227
unless they file with the board within thirty (30) days after July 1228
1, 1989, on a form prescribed by the board, a notice of election 1229
not to be covered in the membership of the Supplemental 1230
Legislative Retirement Plan and a duly executed waiver of all 1231
present and prospective benefits which would otherwise inure to 1232
them on account of their participation in the plan. 1233
(b) All members of the State Legislature and the 1234
President of the Senate who are elected after July 1, 1989, but 1235
before March 1, 2026. 1236
(2) Any state legislators who would have otherwise qualified 1237
for membership in the plan under subsection (1) of this section 1238
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but who were excluded from membership by other provisions of this 1239
section as it read before March 26, 1991, shall become members of 1240
the plan upon March 26, 1991, and shall receive creditable service 1241
in the plan for the period from July 1, 1989, to March 26, 1991, 1242
upon payment of the proper employee and employer contributions for 1243
that period. 1244
(3) Membership in the plan shall cease by: 1245
(a) A member withdrawing his or her accumulated 1246
contributions * * *; 1247
(b) A member withdrawing from active service with a 1248
retirement allowance * * *; 1249
(c) Death of the member * * *; or 1250
(d) A member being terminated from the membership in 1251
the system under Section 25-11-321. 1252
(4) No benefits under the plan shall accrue or otherwise be 1253
payable to any person who does not qualify for membership in the 1254
plan under subsection (1) of this section. 1255
(5) If a member of the Supplemental Legislative Retirement 1256
Plan under this article withdrew from state service and received a 1257
refund of the amount of the accumulated contributions to the 1258
credit of the member before March 1, 2026, and the person reenters 1259
state service on or after March 1, 2026, the member shall be 1260
considered to have become a member of the Public Employees' 1261
Retirement System of Mississippi under Article 3 of this chapter 1262
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on or after March 1, 2026, and may not receive creditable service 1263
for service rendered before March 1, 2026. 1264
SECTION 10. Section 25-11-309, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1265
amended as follows: 1266
25-11-309. (1) The retirement allowance from the 1267
Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan shall consist of fifty 1268
percent (50%) of an amount equal to the retirement allowance 1269
determined by creditable service as an elected Senator or 1270
Representative of the State Legislature or as President of the 1271
Senate payable by the Public Employees' Retirement System in 1272
accordance with Section 25-11-101 et seq. 1273
(2) The percentage of the retirement allowance as provided 1274
in this section shall be transferred from the annuity savings 1275
account of the member and the employer accumulation account in the 1276
Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan to the retirement account 1277
of the member in the Public Employees' Retirement System as 1278
provided. 1279
(3) (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section or 1280
this title to the contrary, the maximum annual retirement 1281
allowance attributable to the employer contributions payable under 1282
the Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan to a member shall be 1283
subject to the limitations set forth in Section 415 of the 1284
Internal Revenue Code and any regulations issued thereunder 1285
applicable to governmental plans as the term is defined under 1286
Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. 1287
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(b) The board is authorized to provide by rule or 1288
regulation for the payment of benefits as provided under this 1289
chapter to members or beneficiaries of the Supplemental 1290
Legislative Retirement System at a time and under circumstances 1291
not otherwise provided for in this chapter to the extent that the 1292
payment is required to maintain the Supplemental Legislative 1293
Retirement System as a qualified retirement plan for purposes of 1294
federal income tax laws. 1295
(4) (a) A retiree or beneficiary may, on a form prescribed 1296
by and filed with the Executive Director of the Public Employees' 1297
Retirement System, irrevocably waive all or a portion of any 1298
benefits from the plan to which the retiree or beneficiary is 1299
entitled under this article. The waiver shall be binding on the 1300
heirs and assigns of any retiree or beneficiary and the same must 1301
agree to forever hold harmless the plan and the Public Employees' 1302
Retirement System from any claim to the waived retirement 1303
benefits. 1304
(b) Any waiver under this subsection shall apply only 1305
to the person executing the waiver. A beneficiary shall be 1306
entitled to benefits according to the option selected by the 1307
member at the time of retirement; however, a beneficiary may 1308
execute a waiver of benefits under this subsection. 1309
(c) The plan shall retain all amounts that are not used 1310
to pay benefits because of a waiver executed under this 1311
subsection. 1312
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(d) The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' 1313
Retirement System may provide rules and regulations for the 1314
administration of waivers under * * * this subsection. 1315
(5) A member who is terminated from membership in the plan 1316
under Section 25-11-321 shall not be eligible to receive a 1317
retirement allowance under this section. 1318
SECTION 11. Section 25-11-311, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1319
amended as follows: 1320
25-11-311. (1) A member may be paid a refund of the amount 1321
of accumulated contributions to the credit of the member in the 1322
annuity savings account, provided the member has withdrawn from 1323
state service and further provided the member has not returned to 1324
state service on the date the refund of the accumulated 1325
contributions would be paid. The refund of the contributions to 1326
the credit of the member in the annuity savings account shall be 1327
paid within ninety (90) days from receipt in the office of the 1328
retirement system of the properly completed form requesting that 1329
payment. The full amount of the accumulated contributions of any 1330
member who is terminated from membership in the plan under Section 1331
25-11-321 before receiving a retirement allowance, or the amount 1332
of the member's accumulated contributions that the member has not 1333
received from a retirement allowance if the member is terminated 1334
from membership in the plan under Section 25-11-321 after 1335
receiving a retirement allowance, shall be refunded to the member, 1336
without any interest, within ninety (90) days after the member has 1337
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been terminated from membership in the plan. In the event of 1338
death before retirement of any member whose spouse and/or children 1339
are not entitled to a retirement allowance, the accumulated 1340
contributions to the credit of the deceased member in the annuity 1341
savings account shall be paid to the designated beneficiary on 1342
file in writing in the office of the executive director of the 1343
board of trustees within ninety (90) days from receipt of a 1344
properly completed form requesting that payment. If there is no 1345
such designated beneficiary on file for the deceased member in 1346
the office of the system, upon the filing of a proper request with 1347
the board, the contributions to the credit of the deceased member 1348
in the annuity savings account shall be refunded under Section 1349
25-11-311.1(1). The payment of the refund shall discharge all 1350
obligations of the retirement system to the member on account of 1351
any creditable service rendered by the member before the receipt 1352
of the refund. By the acceptance of the refund, the member shall 1353
waive and relinquish all accrued rights in the plan. 1354
(2) Pursuant to the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1355
1992 (Public Law 102-318 (USCS)), a member or the spouse of a 1356
member who is an eligible beneficiary making application for a 1357
refund under this section may elect, on a form prescribed by the 1358
board under rules and regulations established by the board, to 1359
have an eligible rollover distribution of accumulated 1360
contributions payable under this section paid directly to an 1361
eligible retirement plan, as defined under applicable federal law, 1362
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or an individual retirement account. If the member or the spouse 1363
of a member who is an eligible beneficiary makes that election and 1364
specifies the eligible retirement plan or individual retirement 1365
account to which the distribution is to be paid, the distribution 1366
will be made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer 1367
to the specified eligible retirement plan. A nonspouse 1368
beneficiary may elect to have an eligible rollover distribution of 1369
accumulated contributions paid in the form of a direct 1370
trustee-to-trustee transfer to an individual retirement account 1371
established to receive the distribution on behalf of the nonspouse 1372
beneficiary. Flexible rollovers under this subsection shall not 1373
be considered assignments under Section 25-11-129. 1374
(3) (a) If any person who has received a refund, is 1375
reelected to the Legislature or as President of the Senate and 1376
again becomes a member of the plan before July 1, 2007, the member 1377
may repay all or part of the amounts previously received as a 1378
refund, together with regular interest covering the period from 1379
the date of refund to the date of repayment; however, the amounts 1380
that are repaid by the member and the creditable service related 1381
thereto shall not be used in any benefit calculation or 1382
determination until the member has remained a contributor to the 1383
system for a period of at least four (4) years after the member's 1384
reentry into state service. Repayment for that time shall be made 1385
beginning with the most recent service for which refund has been 1386
made. Upon the repayment of all or part of that refund and 1387
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interest, the member shall again receive credit for the period of 1388
creditable service for which full repayment has been made to the 1389
system. 1390
(b) If any person who has received a refund, reenters 1391
the state service and again becomes a member of the system on or 1392
after July l, 2007, the member may repay all or part of the amount 1393
previously received as a refund, together with regular interest 1394
covering the period from the date of refund to the date of 1395
repayment; however, the amounts that are repaid by the member and 1396
the creditable service related thereto shall not be used in any 1397
benefit calculation or determination until the member has remained 1398
a contributor to the system for a period of at least eight (8) 1399
years after the member's reentry into state service. Repayment 1400
for that time shall be made beginning with the most recent service 1401
for which refund has been made. Upon the repayment of all or part 1402
of that refund and interest, the member shall again receive credit 1403
for the period of creditable service for which full repayment has 1404
been made to the system. 1405
(c) A member who has been terminated from membership in 1406
the plan under Section 25-11-321 and received a refund of his or 1407
her accumulated contributions under this section is not authorized 1408
to repay any of the amount received as a refund in order to 1409
receive creditable service for the period of service for which the 1410
contributions were made to the plan. 1411
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SECTION 12. Section 25-11-319, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1412
amended as follows: 1413
25-11-319. (1) The right of a person to an annuity, a 1414
retirement allowance or benefit, or to the return of 1415
contributions, or to any optional benefit or any other right 1416
accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions of the 1417
Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan, and the monies in the 1418
plan created by this article, are exempt from any state or 1419
municipal tax, and exempt from levy and sale, garnishment, 1420
attachment or any other process whatsoever, and shall be 1421
unassignable except as specifically otherwise provided in this 1422
article. The forfeiture of a member's retirement benefits from 1423
the plan under Section 25-11-321 is not an attachment or 1424
assignment of the member's retirement benefits for the purposes of 1425
this section. 1426
(2) Any retired member or beneficiary receiving a retirement 1427
allowance or benefit under this article may authorize the system 1428
to make deductions from the retirement allowance or benefit for 1429
the payment of employer or system sponsored group life or health 1430
insurance. The deductions authorized under this subsection shall 1431
be subject to rules and regulations adopted by the board. 1432
SECTION 13. Section 25-13-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1433
amended as follows: 1434
25-13-3. (1) As used in this chapter, unless the context 1435
clearly indicates otherwise, the term "Highway Patrol or Highway 1436
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Safety Patrol" for the purpose of establishing membership in this 1437
system for persons presently employed by the Highway Safety Patrol 1438
shall mean and include all the officers of the Mississippi Highway 1439
Safety Patrol who have completed a course of instruction in an 1440
authorized highway patrol training school on general law 1441
enforcement, and who have served for a period of at least five (5) 1442
years prior to July 1, 1958, as a uniformed officer of the Highway 1443
Safety Patrol in the enforcement of the traffic laws of the State 1444
of Mississippi, or in the driver's license division, or who are 1445
now engaged in such service. New members shall include all the 1446
officers of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol who have 1447
completed a course of instruction in an authorized highway patrol 1448
training school on general law enforcement, and who serve as sworn 1449
officers of the Highway Patrol in the enforcement of the laws of 1450
the State of Mississippi. 1451
(2) Any former sworn officer of the Highway Safety Patrol 1452
who returns to service with the Highway Safety Patrol in any 1453
capacity, and who has had not less than two (2) years of prior 1454
service as a sworn officer of the Highway Safety Patrol, and who 1455
was disabled by wounds or accident in line of duty, may become a 1456
member of the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System even though 1457
his or her present duties would not otherwise qualify him or her 1458
for membership, and he or she may continue membership so long as 1459
he or she remains in the employ of the Highway Safety Patrol. 1460
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(3) Membership in the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement 1461
System shall be retroactive to the date of such patrolman's return 1462
to employment with the Highway Safety Patrol, and any funds 1463
contributed by him or her, previous to July 1, 1958, to the Public 1464
Employees' Retirement System shall be transferred to his or her 1465
credit in the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System, and the 1466
employer's contributions made to the Public Employees' Retirement 1467
System for the patrolman shall also be transferred to the 1468
employee's credit in the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System; 1469
and the difference between the contributions for both the employer 1470
and the employee made to the Public Employees' Retirement System, 1471
and those which should have been made to the Highway Safety Patrol 1472
Retirement System by both employer and employee for the patrolman 1473
since the date of his or her return to the Highway Safety Patrol 1474
shall be paid into the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System. 1475
(4) In order to be eligible for service retirement benefits 1476
under this retirement system, any member must have served at least 1477
five (5) years as a sworn officer of the Highway Patrol engaged in 1478
the enforcement of the laws of the State of Mississippi, or at 1479
least five (5) years as a sworn agent of the Mississippi Bureau of 1480
Narcotics, or a combination of at least five (5) years as a sworn 1481
agent of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and as a sworn 1482
officer of the Highway Patrol. If the officer is transferred from 1483
duty making him or her eligible for membership in this retirement 1484
system to other duties for which credit is not allowed by this 1485
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system, and he or she has not been credited with a minimum of five 1486
(5) years in this system as a sworn officer of the Highway Patrol 1487
engaged in the enforcement of the laws of this state, then an 1488
amount as determined by the Public Employees' Retirement System 1489
shall be transferred from this system to his or her account in the 1490
Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi to make him or 1491
her a member of that system with full credit for his or her years 1492
of service with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, and he or 1493
she shall become a member of the Public Employees' Retirement 1494
System of Mississippi with prior service credits. The amount that 1495
is determined to be necessary to be transferred shall be paid 1496
first from the member's total contributions in the Highway Safety 1497
Patrol System, plus interest, so that all of those funds are 1498
transferred, and any remainder shall be paid from the employer's 1499
accumulation account. 1500
(5) Membership in the system shall cease after a member is 1501
terminated from the membership in the system under Section 1502
25-13-37. 1503
SECTION 14. Section 25-13-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1504
amended as follows: 1505
25-13-11. (1) Any member upon withdrawal from service, upon 1506
or after attainment of the age of fifty-five (55) years, who has 1507
completed at least five (5) years of creditable service, or any 1508
member upon withdrawal from service upon or after attainment of 1509
the age of forty-five (45) years, who has completed at least 1510
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twenty (20) years of creditable service, or any member upon 1511
withdrawal from service, regardless of age, who has completed at 1512
least twenty-five (25) years of creditable service, shall be 1513
entitled to receive a retirement allowance, which shall be payable 1514
the first of the month following receipt of the member's 1515
application in the Office of the Executive Director of the Public 1516
Employees' Retirement System, but in no event before withdrawal 1517
from service. 1518
Any member whose withdrawal from service occurs before 1519
attaining the age of fifty-five (55) years, who has completed more 1520
than five (5) years of creditable service and has not received a 1521
refund of the member's accumulated contributions, shall be 1522
entitled to receive a retirement allowance beginning upon his or 1523
her attaining the age of fifty-five (55) years of the amount 1524
earned and accrued at the date of withdrawal from service. 1525
The annual amount of the retirement allowance shall consist 1526
of: 1527
(a) A member's annuity, which shall be the actuarial 1528
equivalent of the accumulated contributions of the member at the 1529
time of retirement, computed according to the actuarial table in 1530
use by the system. 1531
(b) An employer's annuity which, together with the 1532
member's annuity provided above, shall be equal to two and 1533
one-half percent (2-1/2%) of the average compensation, based on 1534
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the four (4) highest consecutive years, for each year of 1535
membership service. 1536
(c) A prior service annuity equal to two and one-half 1537
percent (2-1/2%) of the average compensation, based on the four 1538
(4) highest consecutive years, for each year of prior service for 1539
which the member is allowed credit. 1540
(d) In the case of retirement of any member prior to 1541
attaining the age of fifty-five (55) years, the retirement 1542
allowance shall be computed in accordance with the formula 1543
hereinabove set forth in this section, except that the employer's 1544
annuity and prior service annuity above described shall be reduced 1545
by an actuarially determined percentage factor for each year of 1546
age below fifty-five (55) years, or for each year of service below 1547
twenty-five (25) years of creditable service, whichever is lesser. 1548
(e) Upon retiring from service, a member shall be 1549
eligible to obtain retirement benefits, as computed above, for 1550
life, except that the aggregate amount of the employer's annuity 1551
and prior service annuity above described shall not exceed more 1552
than one hundred percent (100%) of the average compensation 1553
regardless of the years of service. 1554
(f) Any member in the service who has attained the age 1555
of sixty-three (63) years shall be retired immediately. However, 1556
any member who has attained age sixty-three (63) may ask the 1557
Commissioner of Public Safety to allow him or her to continue in 1558
service with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol beyond age 1559
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sixty-three (63). If the commissioner determines that the 1560
member's continuance in service would be advantageous to the 1561
Highway Safety Patrol because of his or her expert knowledge, 1562
experience or qualifications, the member shall be allowed to 1563
continue in service beyond age sixty-three (63) for a period of 1564
one (1) year. After the initial one-year continuance, the 1565
commissioner may authorize the member to continue in service for 1566
another period of one (1) year until the member attains age 1567
sixty-five (65), at which time retirement shall be mandatory. 1568
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter 1569
pertaining to the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement 1570
System, no payments may be made for a retirement allowance on a 1571
monthly basis for a period of time in excess of that allowed by 1572
any applicable federal law. 1573
(h) In no case shall any retired member who has 1574
completed at least fifteen (15) years of creditable service 1575
receive less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per month; in no 1576
case shall any retired member who has completed ten (10) or more 1577
years of creditable service, but less than fifteen (15) years of 1578
creditable service, receive less than Three Hundred Dollars 1579
($300.00) per month; and in no case shall any retired member who 1580
has completed less than ten (10) years of creditable service 1581
receive less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) per month. 1582
In no case shall a beneficiary who is receiving a retirement 1583
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allowance receive less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) 1584
per month or Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) per year. 1585
(i) Any retired member who is receiving a retirement 1586
allowance on July 1, 1999, shall receive an ad hoc increase in the 1587
annual retirement allowance equal to Three Dollars and Fifty Cents 1588
($3.50) per month for each full fiscal year through June 30, 1999, 1589
that the member has actually drawn retirement payments from the 1590
date of retirement, or the date of last retirement if there is 1591
more than one (1) retirement date, plus an amount equal to One 1592
Dollar ($1.00) per month for each full year of creditable service 1593
and proportionately for each quarter year of creditable service, 1594
as documented by the system and on which benefits are being paid. 1595
If there are multiple beneficiaries receiving a retirement 1596
allowance from a deceased member's account, the ad hoc increase 1597
shall be divided proportionately. 1598
(2) (a) A retiree or beneficiary may, on a form prescribed 1599
by and filed with the Executive Director of the Public Employees' 1600
Retirement System, irrevocably waive all or a portion of any 1601
benefits from the plan to which the retiree or beneficiary is 1602
entitled. The waiver shall be binding on the heirs and assigns of 1603
any retiree or beneficiary and the same must agree to forever hold 1604
harmless the Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System and the 1605
Public Employees' Retirement System from any claim to the waived 1606
retirement benefits. 1607
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(b) Any waiver under this subsection shall apply only 1608
to the person executing the waiver. A beneficiary shall be 1609
entitled to benefits according to the option selected by the 1610
member at the time of retirement; however, a beneficiary may 1611
execute a waiver of benefits under this subsection. 1612
(c) The Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System shall 1613
retain all amounts that are not used to pay benefits because of a 1614
waiver executed under this subsection. 1615
(d) The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' 1616
Retirement System may provide rules and regulations for the 1617
administration of waivers under this subsection. 1618
(3) A member who is terminated from membership in the system 1619
under Section 25-13-37 shall not be eligible to receive a 1620
retirement allowance under this section. 1621
SECTION 15. Section 25-13-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1622
amended as follows: 1623
25-13-21. (1) * * * If a highway patrolman ceases to work 1624
for the Highway Safety Patrol for any reason other than 1625
occupational disease contracted or for any accident sustained by 1626
the patrolman by reason of his or her service or discharge of his 1627
or her duty in the Highway Patrol, and if the highway patrolman is 1628
not eligible for retirement either for service or disability, he 1629
or she shall be refunded the amount of his or her total 1630
contribution under the provisions of this chapter, including any 1631
credit transferred to his or her account in this system from any 1632
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other system, at his or her request; and * * * if he or she dies 1633
before retirement, his or her total contribution is to be refunded 1634
to any beneficiary that he or she may name. If there is no 1635
surviving designated beneficiary, the contributions to the credit 1636
of the deceased member shall be refunded * * * under Section 1637
25-13-21.1(1). The full amount of the accumulated contributions 1638
of any member who is terminated from membership in the system 1639
under Section 25-13-37 before receiving a retirement allowance, or 1640
the amount of the member's accumulated contributions that the 1641
member has not received from a retirement allowance if the member 1642
is terminated from membership in the system under Section 25-13-37 1643
after receiving a retirement allowance, shall be refunded to the 1644
member, without any interest, within ninety (90) days after the 1645
member has been terminated from membership in the system. 1646
(2) Pursuant to the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1647
1992 (Public Law 102-318 (UCA)), a member or the spouse of a 1648
member who is an eligible beneficiary entitled to a refund under 1649
this section may elect, on a form prescribed by the board under 1650
rules and regulations established by the board, to have an 1651
eligible rollover distribution of accumulated contributions 1652
payable under this section paid directly to an eligible retirement 1653
plan, as defined under applicable federal law, or an individual 1654
retirement account. If the member or the spouse of a member who 1655
is an eligible beneficiary makes that election and specifies the 1656
eligible retirement plan or individual retirement account to which 1657
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the distribution is to be paid, the distribution will be made in 1658
the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to the specified 1659
eligible retirement plan. A nonspouse beneficiary may elect to 1660
have an eligible rollover distribution paid in the form of a 1661
direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an individual retirement 1662
account established to receive the distribution on behalf of the 1663
nonspouse beneficiary. Flexible rollovers under this subsection 1664
shall not be considered assignments under Section 25-13-31. 1665
(3) (a) If any highway patrolman who receives a refund 1666
reenters the service of the Highway Safety Patrol and again 1667
becomes a member of the system, he or she may repay all amounts 1668
previously received by him or her as a refund, together with 1669
regular interest covering the period from the date of refund to 1670
the date of repayment; however, the amounts that are repaid by the 1671
member and the creditable service related thereto shall not be 1672
used in any benefit calculation or determination until the member 1673
has remained a contributor to the system for a period of at least 1674
five (5) years after the member's reentry into state service. 1675
Repayment for such time shall be made beginning with the most 1676
recent service for which refund has been made. Upon the repayment 1677
of all or part of the refund and interest, the highway patrolman 1678
shall again receive credit for the period of creditable service 1679
for which full repayment has been made to the system. 1680
(b) A member who has been terminated from membership in 1681
the system under Section 25-13-37 and received a refund of his or 1682
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her accumulated contributions under this section is not authorized 1683
to repay any of the amount received as a refund in order to 1684
receive creditable service for the period of service for which the 1685
contributions were made to the system. 1686
SECTION 16. Section 25-13-28, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1687
amended as follows: 1688
25-13-28. Regular interest shall be credited annually to the 1689
mean amount of the employee reserve account for the preceding 1690
year. This credit shall be made annually from interest and other 1691
earnings on the invested assets of this system. Any additional 1692
amount required to meet the regular interest on the funds of this 1693
system shall be charged to the employer's accumulation account, 1694
and any excess of earnings over such regular interest required 1695
shall be credited to the employer's accumulation account. Regular 1696
interest shall mean the percentage rate of interest compounded 1697
annually as determined by the Board of Trustees of the Public 1698
Employees' Retirement System. 1699
Once interest is credited, it shall be added to the sum of 1700
all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and shall 1701
be included in determining his or her total contributions. 1702
However, interest shall not be included in determining a member's 1703
contributions when refunding the contributions of a member who is 1704
terminated from membership in the system under Section 25-13-37. 1705
SECTION 17. Section 25-13-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1706
amended as follows: 1707
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25-13-31. (1) The right of a person to an annuity, a 1708
retirement allowance or benefit, or to the return of 1709
contributions, or to any optional benefits or any other right 1710
accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions of the 1711
Highway Patrol Retirement Law, the system and the monies in the 1712
system created by * * * that law, are * * * exempt from any state, 1713
county or municipal ad valorem taxes, income taxes, premium taxes, 1714
privilege taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes or other 1715
taxes not so named, notwithstanding any other provision of law to 1716
the contrary, and exempt from levy and sale, garnishment, 1717
attachment, or any other process whatsoever, and shall be 1718
unassignable except as specifically otherwise provided in this 1719
article. The forfeiture of a member's retirement benefits from 1720
the system under Section 25-13-37 is not an attachment or 1721
assignment of the member's retirement benefits for the purposes of 1722
this section. 1723
(2) Any retired member or beneficiary receiving a retirement 1724
allowance or benefit under this article may authorize the Public 1725
Employees' Retirement System to make deductions from the 1726
retirement allowance or benefit for the payment of employer or 1727
system sponsored group life or health insurance. The deductions 1728
authorized under this subsection shall be subject to rules and 1729
regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Public 1730
Employees' Retirement System. 1731
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ST: Retirement; persons convicted of certain
felonies shall forfeit benefits from PERS, SLRP
and MHSPRS.
SECTION 18. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1732
and after July 1, 2026. 1733