1. (a)

   1. (1) A plan participant shall elect an annuity option provided in Arkansas Code § 24-7-706 at the time the plan participant separates from service and either:

      1. (A) Applies for retirement upon reaching the normal retirement age; or
      2. (B) Is granted a monthly retirement benefit.
   2. (2) Upon electing to retire, if a plan participant elects to cash out or annuitize his or her T-DROP account balance, the plan participant shall not be permitted to reenroll in T-DROP after his or her T-DROP account is distributed unless the plan participant cancels his or her election under Arkansas Code § 24-7-1302.

2. (b)

   1. (1) A cost-of-living increase under Arkansas Code § 24-7-713 or Arkansas Code § 24-7-727 shall be applied to the T-DROP benefit that is used to calculate the plan deposit.
   2. (2) A T-DROP benefit and the cost-of-living increase may be modified as provided by this section and the law applicable to the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.

3. (c) A plan participant’s T-DROP benefit shall:

   1. (1) Be the monthly straight life annuity benefit that the plan participant would have received if he or she voluntarily retired; and
   2. (2) Not include a monthly benefit stipend otherwise provided under Arkansas Code § 24-7-713.

Codification Notes: “T-DROP” means Teacher Deferred Retirement Option Plan.