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

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The secretary of state has determined that the publication of the entire text of the material which is incorporated by reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome or expensive. This material as incorporated by reference in this rule shall be maintained by the agency at its headquarters and shall be made available to the public for inspection and copying at no more than the actual cost of reproduction. This note applies only to the reference material. The entire text of the rule is printed here.

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-nine dollars ($29) multiplied by years of creditable service, up to a maximum of twenty-nine (29) years; or
   2. (B) An amount determined according to the following formula:

   [((TRR × AFC) – PSSA) × (CS/25)] + (.01 × AFC × CSE) 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; CS is the participant’s creditable service (up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) years); and CSE is the participant’s creditable service in excess of twenty-five (25) years (up to a maximum of twenty-nine (29) years).

3. (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).
4. (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.
5. (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.
6. (6) Maximum Benefit. Anything to the contrary notwithstanding, an annuity computed under the plan and under any other defined benefit plan to which an employer or the board has contributed shall be reduced proportionately with respect to the benefits under each such defined benefit plan so that the aggregate of all projected annual benefits in any limitation year does not exceed the limits set forth in Code section 415. For purposes of this section, projected annual benefit means a participant’s annual benefit (adjusted to the actuarial equivalent of a straight-life annuity if expressed in a form other than a straight-life or qualified joint and survivor annuity) under a defined benefit plan. If a participant’s benefit must be adjusted to an actuarially equivalent straight-life annuity, the actuarially equivalent straightlife annuity shall be determined in accordance with Treasury Regulation section 1.415(b)–1(c). For purposes of determining the maximum permissible benefit allowable under Code section 415, the definition of 16 CSR 50-2

compensation contained in Code section 415(c)(3) shall be applied. Such compensation means remuneration as defined in Treasury Regulation section 1.415(c)-2(d)(4) (i.e., amounts reported in Box 1 of Form W- 2, plus amounts that would have been received and included in gross income but for an election under Code section 125(a), 132(f)(4), 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 402(k), or 457(b)), but not in excess of two hundred thirty thousand dollars ($230,000) (as adjusted in accordance with Code section 401(a)(17)(B)) for any limitation year. Such remuneration shall not include any severance pay, whether paid before or after an employee’s termination of employment. In addition, such amount shall not include other compensation paid after an individual’s termination of employment; provided that, to the extent that the following amounts are otherwise included in the definition of remuneration and are paid no later than the later of the date which is two and one-half (2 1/2) months after termination of employment or the end of the limitation year that includes the date of termination of employment, such amounts paid after an employee’s termination of employment shall be deemed remuneration: regular pay, including compensation for services during regular working hours, overtime, shift differential, commissions, bonuses or other similar payments; and payment for unused accrued sick, vacation, or other leave, but only if the employee would have been able to use the leave if employment had continued. The exclusions provided for in this section (6) with respect to post-employment payments shall not apply to payments to an individual who does not currently perform services for an employer by reason of qualified military service to the extent such payments do not exceed the compensation such individual would have received from an employer if he or she had continued to perform services for an employer. In the event that the maximum benefit allowed under Code section 415 increases in the future, such increases shall apply only to participants who are employed by an employer on the date such increase goes into effect. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, with respect to limitation years ending after December 31, 2001, the benefit increases resulting from the increase in the limitations of Code section 415(b) under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, as amended, shall be provided to a participant who is credited with an hour of service on or after the first day of the limitation year ending after December 31, 2001. All other terms and provisions of Code section 415 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended 2008. Publisher: Thomson/RIA, 395 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 are incorporated herein by reference. This rule does not incorporate any later amendments or additions to Code section 415.

1. (7) Pension Funding Equity Act. For a distribution to which Code section 417(e)(3) applies and which has an annuity starting date occurring in plan years beginning in 2004 or 2005, except as provided in section 101(d)(3) of the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004, the actuarially equivalent straight-life annuity benefit is the greater of:

   1. (A) The annual amount of the straight-life annuity commencing at the annuity starting date that has the same actuarial present value as the particular form of benefit payable, computed using the interest rate and mortality table, or tabular factor, specified in the plan for actuarial equivalence; or
   2. (B) The annual amount of the straight-life annuity commencing at the annuity starting date that has the same actuarial present value as the particular form of benefit payable, computed using a five and one-half percent (5 1/2%) interest assumption and the applicable mortality table for the distribution under Treasury Regulation section 1.417(e)-1(d)(2).

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. Amended: Filed April 23, 2003, effective Oct. 30, 2003. Amended: Filed Sept. 17, 2007, effective March 30, 2008. Amended: Filed Dec. 22, 2008, effective July 30, 2009. *Original authority: 50.1032, RSMo 1995.