Wyo. Code R. 072-0003-7
Effective Date: 05/23/2017 to 09/28/2017
Rule Type: Expired Emergency Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 072.0003.7.05232017
MILITARY SERVICE CREDIT
Emergency rules are in effect no longer than 120 days after filing with the Registrar of Rules.
Section 1. Authority. Pursuant to Wyoming Statute § 9-3-409(a), the Wyoming Retirement Board is authorized to adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the Wyoming Retirement System. Further, pursuant to W.S. § 9-3-417(c), the Board is authorized to adopt rules and regulations to allow credit in the retirement system for any period of time which a participating member spends in active military or other emergency service of the United States pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., and the Wyoming Military Service Relief Act (WMSRA), W.S. §§ 19-11-101 through 19-11-124.
Section 2. Qualified Military Service. Performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent authority including active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training, full-time national guard duty, a period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the person to perform any such duty and active state service by members of the national guard who are activated pursuant to a call of the governor as provided by law.
Section 3. Eligibility. A member may be eligible to receive qualified military service credit in the retirement system upon satisfying the following requirements of the USERRA and the WMSRA:
(a) A member who notifies an employer in writing in advance of a period of Qualified Military Service may elect to pay the required member contributions to the retirement system during such period of service and timely furnish to the employer an amount equal to that which would have been deducted from the member's compensation had the member not taken a military leave of absence.
(b) Upon reemployment in accordance with Section 3 of this Chapter, a member who did not elect to make contributions to the retirement system during a period of Qualified Military Service shall be entitled to make payment to the retirement system in an amount equal to the member contributions that would have been paid had the member continued in employment and not taken a military leave of absence, together with any applicable interest.
(i) All member contributions and any applicable interest made in payment for Qualified Military Service must be received by the retirement system within five (5) years of the member's reemployment.
(a) For a member who notifies an employer in writing in advance of a period of Qualified Military Service of the member's intent to pay the required contributions to the retirement system during such period of service, and upon receipt of the timely submitted member contributions, the employer shall remit the member and employer contributions to the retirement system that would have been contributed on behalf of the member.
(b) For a member who did not elect to pay the required contributions to the retirement system during a period of Qualified Military Service, and upon reemployment of the member in accordance with Section 3 of this Chapter and payment to the retirement system of the member contributions plus any applicable interest, the employer shall pay to the retirement system an amount equal to the employer contributions that the employer would have paid to the retirement system had the member not taken a military leave of absence, together with any applicable interest.
(i) Any employer contributions and applicable interest due to the retirement system shall be paid within thirty (30) days of payment by the member of all applicable contributions and interest.
Section 6. HEART Act Provisions. The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (The HEART Act) is a federal law that provides tax and pension benefits to members who become disabled while on active military service for more than thirty (30) days and to their survivors if they die in active military service. The HEART Act requires that employers treat such members as having been reemployed by the employer for purposes of entitlement to benefits under the retirement system. The benefits of the HEART Act depend on the specific benefits available to members of the retirement system. The following provisions codify particular HEART Act amendments in compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(37):
(a) Effective with respect to deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2007, while a member is performing Qualified Military Service (as defined in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code), to the extent required by section 401(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue Code, survivors of a member of the retirement system, are entitled to any additional benefits that the system would provide if the member had resumed employment and then died, such as vesting or survivor benefits that are contingent on the member's death while employed. In any event, a deceased member's period of Qualified Military Service must be counted for vesting purposes.
(b) Effective with respect to deaths and/or disabilities occurring on or after January 1, 2007, while a member is performing Qualified Military Service (as defined in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code), to the extent permitted by section 414(u)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, for benefit accrual purposes and in the case of death, for vesting purposes, the member shall be treated as having earned service credit for the period of Qualified Military Service, having returned to employment on the day before the death and/or disability, and then having terminated on the date of death or disability. This provision shall be applied to all similarly situated individuals in a reasonably equivalent manner.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2009, to the extent required by section 414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code, a member receiving differential wage payments (as defined under section 3401(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code) from a participating employer shall be treated as employed by that employer, and the differential wage payment shall be treated as compensation for purposes of applying the limits on annual additions under section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This provision shall be applied to all similarly situated individuals in a reasonably equivalent manner.