Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 38-884 – Membership of retirement plan; termination; credited service; redemption; reemployment

A. Each employee of a participating employer is a member of the plan unless the employee is receiving a pension from the plan. A person employed shall undergo a medical examination performed by a designated physician or a physician working in a clinic that is appointed by the local board or, in the case of a state correctional officer who is employed by the state department of corrections, complete a physical examination pursuant to section 41-1822, subsection B. For the purposes of subsection B of this section, the designated physician or a physician working in a clinic that is appointed by the local board may be the employer's regular employee or contractor.
B. The purpose of the medical examination authorized by this section is to identify a member's physical or mental condition or injury that existed or occurred before the member's date of membership in the plan. Any employee who fails or refuses to submit to the medical examination prescribed in this section is deemed to waive all rights to disability benefits under this article. Medical examinations conducted under this article shall be conducted by a physician and shall not be conducted or used for purposes of hiring, advancing, discharging, job training or other terms, conditions and privileges of employment unrelated to receipt or qualification for pension benefits or service credits from the fund. This subsection does not affect or impair the right of an employer to prescribe medical or physical standards for employees or prospective employees.
C. If a member who becomes a member of the plan before January 1, 2012 ceases to be an employee for any reason other than death or retirement, within twenty days after filing a completed application with the board, the member is entitled to receive the following amounts, less any benefit payments the member has received and any amount the member may owe to the plan:
1. 1. If the member has less than five years of credited service with the plan, the member may withdraw the member's accumulated contributions from the plan.
2. 2. If the member has five or more years of credited service with the plan, the member may withdraw the member's accumulated contributions plus an amount equal to the amount determined as follows:
  1. (a)
  2. 5. 0 to 5.9 years of credited service, twenty-five percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
  3. (b)
  4. 6. 0 to 6.9 years of credited service, forty percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
  5. (c)
  6. 7. 0 to 7.9 years of credited service, fifty-five percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
  7. (d)
  8. 8. 0 to 8.9 years of credited service, seventy percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
  9. (e)
  10. 9. 0 to 9.9 years of credited service, eighty-five percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
  11. (f)
  12. 10. 0 or more years of credited service, one hundred percent of all member contributions deducted from the member's salary pursuant to section 38-891, subsection B.
D. If a member who becomes a member of the plan before January 1, 2012 has more than ten years of credited service with the plan, leaves the monies prescribed in subsection C of this section on account with the plan for more than thirty days after termination of employment and after that time period requests a refund of those monies, the member is entitled to receive the amount prescribed in subsection C of this section plus interest at a rate determined by the board for each year computed from and after the member's termination of employment.
E. The accumulated member contributions of a member who ceases to be an employee for a reason other than death or retirement and who becomes a member of the plan:
1. 1. On or after January 1, 2012 and before July 1, 2018 shall be paid to the member plus interest at a rate determined by the board as of the date of termination within twenty days after filing with the plan a written application for payment.
2. 2. For a member who has less than ten years of credited service with the plan, on or after July 1, 2018 shall be paid to the member plus interest at a rate determined by the board as of the date of termination within twenty days after filing with the plan a written application for payment.
F. If the refund includes monies that are an eligible rollover distribution and the member elects to have the distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan or individual retirement account or annuity and specifies the eligible retirement plan or individual retirement account or annuity to which the distribution is to be paid, the distribution shall be made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to the specified eligible retirement plan. The distribution shall be made in the form and at the time prescribed by the board.
G. For distributions occurring from and after December 31, 2007, a member or a member's beneficiary, including a nonspouse designated beneficiary to the extent allowed under subsection H of this section, may roll over an eligible rollover distribution as defined in section 402(c)(4) of the internal revenue code to a Roth individual retirement account, if, for distributions occurring before January 1, 2010, the member or the member's beneficiary satisfies the requirements for making a Roth individual retirement account contribution under section 408A(c)(3)(B) of the internal revenue code, as in effect on the date of the rollover. Any amount rolled over to a Roth individual retirement account is included in the gross income of the member or the member's beneficiary to the extent the amounts would have been included in gross income if not rolled over as required under section 408A(d)(3)(A) of the internal revenue code. For the purposes of this subsection, the administrator is not responsible for ensuring the member or the member's beneficiary is eligible to make a rollover to a Roth individual retirement account.
H. For distributions made from and after December 31, 2009, a nonspouse designated beneficiary as defined in section 401(a)(9)(E) of the internal revenue code may elect to directly roll over an eligible rollover distribution to an individual retirement account under section 408(a) of the internal revenue code or an individual retirement annuity under section 408(b) of the internal revenue code that is established on behalf of the designated beneficiary and that will be treated as an inherited individual retirement plan pursuant to section 402(c)(11) of the internal revenue code. In order to be able to roll over the distribution, the distribution otherwise must satisfy the definition of an eligible rollover distribution as defined in section 402(c)(4) of the internal revenue code. In applying this subsection, a nonspouse rollover is subject to the direct rollover requirements under section 401(a)(31) of the internal revenue code, the rollover notice requirements under section 402(f) of the internal revenue code and the mandatory withholding requirements under section 3405(c) of the internal revenue code.
I. For plan years occurring before January 1, 2007, the period for providing the rollover notice as required under section 402(f) of the internal revenue code is not less than thirty days and not more than ninety days before the date of distribution and, for plan years beginning from and after December 31, 2006, the period for providing the rollover notice as required under section 402(f) of the internal revenue code is not less than thirty days and not more than one hundred eighty days before the date of distribution.
J. Service shall be credited to a member's individual credited service account in accordance with rules the local board prescribes. In no case shall more than twelve months of credited service be credited on account of all service rendered by a member in any one year. In no case shall service be credited for any period during which the member is not employed in a designated position, except as provided by sections 38-921 and 38-922.
K. Credited service is forfeited if the amounts prescribed in subsection C, D or E of this section are paid or are transferred in accordance with this section.
L. If a former member becomes reemployed with the same employer within two years after the former member's termination date, a member may have forfeited credited service attributable to service rendered during a prior period of service as an employee restored on satisfaction of each of the following conditions:
1. 1. The member files with the plan a written application for reinstatement of forfeited credited service within ninety days after again becoming an employee.
2. 2. The retirement fund is paid the total amount previously withdrawn pursuant to subsection C, D or E of this section plus compound interest from the date of withdrawal to the dates of repayment. Interest shall be computed at the rate of nine percent for each year compounded each year from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment. Forfeited credited service shall not be restored until complete payment is received by the fund.
3. 3. The required payment is completed within one year after returning to employee status.
M. If a member who receives a severance refund on termination of employment pursuant to subsection C, D or E of this section is subsequently reemployed by an employer, the member's prior service credits are cancelled, and the board shall credit service only from the date the member's most recent reemployment period commenced. A present active member of the plan who received a refund of accumulated contributions from the plan pursuant to subsection C, D or E of this section, forfeited credited service pursuant to subsection K of this section and becomes reemployed with the same employer two years or more after the member's termination date or becomes reemployed with another employer may elect to redeem any part of that forfeited credited service by paying into the plan any amounts required pursuant to this subsection. A present active member who elects to redeem any part of forfeited credited service for which the member is deemed eligible by the board shall pay into the plan the amounts previously paid or transferred as a refund of the member's accumulated contributions plus an amount, computed by the plan's actuary that is necessary to equal the increase in the actuarial present value of projected benefits resulting from the redemption calculated using the actuarial methods and assumptions prescribed by the plan's actuary. On satisfaction of this obligation, the board shall reinstate the member's prior service credits.
N. A retired member may become employed by the employer from which the employee retired in a designated position and continue to receive a pension if the employment occurs at least six months after retirement. The retired member shall not contribute to the fund and shall not accrue credited service. If a retired member becomes employed by the employer from which the employee retired in a designated position, including in a contracted or leased position, before six months after retirement, the following apply:
1. 1. Payment of the retired member's pension shall be suspended until the retired member again ceases to be an employee. The amount of pension shall not be changed on account of service as an employee subsequent to retirement.
2. 2. The retired member shall not contribute to the fund and shall not accrue credited service.
3. 3. Any pension payments received by a retired member, who retired on or after July 1, 2009, during a period of reemployment are considered overpayments pursuant to section 38-899. If the board determines in the board's sole discretion, for a member who retired on or after July 1, 2009, that the retired member's reemployment during the six-month period and the failure of the employer or the local board to suspend the member's pension were not intentional to circumvent the requirements of this subsection, the pension payments received by the retired member during reemployment are subject to repayment up to only the amount received between the date of the member's reemployment and the expiration of the six-month period.
4. 4. If a retired member who retired on or after July 1, 2009 and who is reemployed terminates employment, the retired member may be subsequently reemployed with the employer from which the member retired in a designated position and resume receiving pension payments after a period of six months, less the period of time the retired member was not reemployed by the employer from which the member retired in a designated position after retirement, if at least sixty days of the six months are consecutive.
O. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a member who retires having met all of the qualifications for retirement and who subsequently becomes an elected official, by election or appointment, is not considered reemployed by the same employer.