Case Information
*1 E OKNEY GENERAL OFTEXA~
August 6, 1948 B, Sapp, Director opinion No. Yr654 Mrs, B.
Teacher Retirement System Re: The legality of refund-
Austin, Texas
ing the balance of a teacherIs annuity when he has chosen to return from retiremsnt to ac- tive teaching.
Dear &a. Sapp:
We refer to your letter request which states in substance that teacher accepted re ular service re- tirement benefits from this department f ugust 31, 1946. He drew regular monthly annuity until Octobe;htz,ii947, when he returned to the teaching profession, compliance with Section 5, Subsection (1) of Article 2922-1, v. C, SO, the Teacher Retirement Law, further annuity was discontinued,
When retirement became effective, the amount of money standing to the credit of the teacher was $45gQ-
Your records show that he drew in an annuity $219.- zi'leaving a balance of $240,&L
You stated that this is the first case that you have had of a retired teacher returni to the teach- "& ing profession subsequent to August 32, 19 2, The teacher has asked for the refund of his interpretation and instruction money and you request OUP in this matter.
Subsection (1) of Section 5 of Article 2922-1, v, c. so, as amended by Section 3 of IL B, 602, 48th Leg- Acts 1943, and Section 6 of S, Da 282, 50th Leg- islature, islature, Acts 1947, reads in part:
,t ;Any member who has accepted service r%rement shall be ineligible and disqual- ified to resume and/or continue teaching in the public schools of Texas, and also shall be ineligible and disqualified to be other- *2 k-s. Be B. Sapp, page 2 (V-654)
vise eml.oyed as, a teacher uador this Act; pro*ided, hovever, that duriw the present world conflict, oomonlg called 'World War II*, and for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, a retired.nember who retired August 31, 1942, and prior thereto, ma on- ly such retired metier shall hot be lneli- gible aad disqualified as above stated but may be emplsyed as a teacher under the terms of this Act; (1 e e provided fbther, that mj retired meaber who l ccepts'e+logremt as a teacher, except In the pesont world cariliot and for twelve (12) months there- rfteP, as above specified, shall forfeit all rights a.8 a retlrod teacher and any and all claims to ray retirement benefits under thla Act; provided further, that every retired member is chapsea with the knowledge of all these provisions and by retuming to teaching sQal1 be deemed to have accepted the same.
Prior to the amendment of Subsection (1) of .~ Section 5, k+ticle 2922-l'by H. B. 602, supra, XII 1943, the Teacher Retirement Law did not contain the prod.- sions above quoted, or provisiona of like substance OP
The effective date of H. B, 602 was l&y 28, -tort* 19 3.
This office In Opinion go. o-5097, approved Febumzy 15, 1943, thus prior to the enactmeat of the above quoted, advised that under the Teacher rodsions Ii etiz!ement Law as it thea existed, the Legislature id- tended that a person retired for semice under said law shall'not be reemployed as teacher in the public schools of Texas, or as a teacher defined under the-Act. That opinion also pointed out that It is settled,, under auth- theein cited, that the State of Texas may pm- o~itles scribe the qualifications of teachers and name the con- ditions under which the privilege of teaching may be exeF- oisea, The Legislature has since announced that intention in clear and unequivocal language by the addition to the Teacher petlrerent Law of aubse uent amendments above quoted in H. B. 602 and S. Be 2 % 2, suppa, and has in addi- tion thereto provided that "any retired member who accepts employment a8 a teacher (excepting certain teachers de- signated therein) shall forfeit all rights as retired teacher and l nx,and all claim to any retirement benefits under the Act.
Mrs. B, B, Sapp, page 3 (V-654)
The Legislature in Section 13 of Article 2922- 1, in the 1937 Act creating the Teacher Retirement Sys- tem, reserved the right of ameadment, But even without this reservation, the rule is that the right of a pen- sioner to receive monthly payments from the pension fund after retirement from service, or after his right to par- ticipate in the fund has accrued, is predicated upon the anticipated continuance of existing laws, and is subor- dinate to the right of the Legislature to abolish the pension system, or diminiflh the accrued benefits of pen- sioners thereunder 0 0 City of Dallas v0 Trammel, 129 Tex, 150, 101 S,W,($d) 1009 at 1013.
Furthermore, we are advised that the teacher in question,when he made application to be retired un- der the Teacher Retirement Act, executed the required of- ficial form therefor which contains this provision:
"I am making application for retire- ment benefits fully aware that 'InAny member who has accepted ser- vice retirement shall be ineligible and disqualified to resume and/or continue teaching in the Public Schools of Texas and also shall be ineligible and dis- qualified to be otherwise $mployed as a teacher under this Act.D Subsection (1) of Section 5, as amended, itself provides that 'every retired member Is charged with the knowledge of all these provisions and by retur#ing to teaching shall be deemed to have accepted the same.
We are advised that the teacher in question was retired for service on August 31 1946. Those pro- visions, therefore, in Subsection (3j of Section 5 re- lative to teachers retired on August 31, 1942, and prior thereto, would have no application to this teacher and require no further consideration herein.
Under the facts and expressed law stated here- in, the retired teacher in question by his acceptance of employment as a teacher In the public schools of Texas subsequent to retirement for service has forfeited all his rights to any and all claims to any retirement bene- fits under the Teacher Retirement Act,
It is well settled that the mere circumstance *4 Mrs. B. B, Sapp, page 4 (V-654)
that a part of the penalon fund la made up by deductions from the a reed componsatioxi of employees does not in it- self give & he pensioner vested right in the fund, and does not make It any’less public fund subject to the control of the Legislature. City of Dallas v. Trammel, suprs . The Legislature not having provided that the con- tributions by way of deductions made from the compensa- tion of a teacher and paid Into the Teacher Retirement Fund should be refunded to a teacher retired for service where that teacher after service retirenent resumes teach- .ing in the public schools of Texas, in violation of the provisions of Subsection'(3), Section 5, Article 2922-1, as amended, no authority rests in the Teacher Retirement System to award such refunds.
SUMMARY Where a teacher retired for service subsequent to August 31, 1942, the retfr- ed teacher by hie acceptance of employment as a teacher in the public schools of Te,ms subsequent to retirement for service for- felts all rights to any and all claims to any retirement bensflts under the Teacher Retirement Act. sec. (3), v. c. sEt. 2922-1, Sec. 5, Sub- a8 amended; City of Dallas v. Trammell, 129 Tex. 150, 101 S.W. Eo authority rests In the Teach- (26) 1009. er Retirement System to thereafter make any annuity or refund payments to such teacher. Yours very truly, ATTORREY QERERAL OF TBXAS C%O:~erc:mw Chaster E. Olllson .&Cl. Assistant
APPROVE& ERYQERERAL