PURPOSE: This rule describes when a participant is eligible for unreduced retirement benefits under the plan.

1. (1) Eligibility for Normal Retirement Benefit. To be eligible to receive a normal retirement benefit from the plan, a participant must:

   1. (A) Have attained the age of sixty-two (62);
   2. (B) Applied for retirement benefits as provided by applicable laws and regulations; and
   3. (C) Earned eight (8) or more vested years of service.

2. (2) Benefit to Non-LAGERS Participants. The normal retirement benefit of a participant who is not a member of the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System (LAGERS) shall be a monthly benefit in the normal form of benefit equal to the greater of:

   1. (A) Twenty-four dollars ($24) multiplied by years of creditable service, up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) years; or

   2. (B) An amount determined according to the following formula:

      ((TRR × AFC) – PSSA) × (CS/25)

Where: TRR is the participant’s target replacement ratio; AFC is the participant’s average final compensation; PSSA is the participant’s primary Social Security amount, on a monthly basis; and CS is the participant’s creditable service (up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) years).

1. (3) Benefit to LAGERS Participant. The normal retirement benefit of a participant who is also a member of LAGERS shall be sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the normal retirement benefit determined pursuant to section (2).
2. (4) LAGERS Participant Defined. Generally, a participant is considered a member of LAGERS with respect to a period of creditable service (including prior service) if he or she has been exempt from making the mandatory two percent (2%) contribution on account of his or her membership in LAGERS; except that, each payroll period ending after December 31, 2002, participants who are members of LAGERS and who are hired or rehired by a county on or after February 25, 2002, are subject to a monthly payroll deduction not to exceed four percent (4%), but not the additional mandatory two percent (2%) contribution that potentially subjects a participant who is not a member of LAGERS to a monthly payroll deduction not to exceed six percent (6%). Accordingly, the formula set forth in section (3) shall be used to determine a participant’s benefit for such period of creditable service. If a participant ceases to qualify for active membership or ceases to be an active member in LAGERS, the formula described in section (2) shall be used to determine the participant’s benefit for the creditable service earned during periods when the participant ceased to so qualify or ceased to be an active member in LAGERS. If a participant receives a refund of contributions from LAGERS, pursuant to section 70.690, RSMo, then the formula described in section (3) shall be used to determine the participant’s benefit, if the participant makes an additional contribution to the plan. The amount of such additional contribution shall be equal to two percent (2%) of the participant’s compensation for the period in which he or she was a LAGERS participant (plus any interest and penalties assessed by the board). The amount may be paid in one lump sum, or by payroll deduction.
3. (5) Minimum Benefit. The normal retirement benefit of a participant shall not be less than the annuity the participant had earned as of the day before January 1, 2000, under the prior plan. This minimum benefit shall be determined without regard to any exclusion of prior service mandated by the terms of the prior plan.
4. (6) Maximum Benefit. No benefit payable from the plan shall exceed the maximum benefit permitted under section 415(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). If a participant’s membership in another retirement plan results in the violation of the limits of Code section 415, the participant’s benefit in this plan shall be reduced in order to ensure compliance with such Code section.

AUTHORITY: section 50.1032, RSMo 2000.* Original rule filed Sept. 29, 2000, effective March 30, 2001. Amended: Filed Dec. 10, 2002, effective June 30, 2003. *Original authority: 50.1032, RSMo 1995.