Arizona Laws 38-844. Requirements for retirement benefits and disability pensions
A. A member shall be eligible for a normal pension on retirement on or after the member’s normal retirement date. Payment of a normal pension shall commence as of the first day of the month following the date of retirement, and the last payment shall be made as of the last day of the month in which the death of the retired member occurs.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 38-844
- Accidental disability: means a physical or mental condition that the local board finds totally and permanently prevents an employee from performing a reasonable range of duties within the employee's job classification and that was incurred in the performance of the employee's duty. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Board: means the board of trustees of the system, who are the persons appointed to invest and operate the fund. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Catastrophic disability: means a physical and not a psychological condition that the local board determines prevents the employee from totally and permanently engaging in any gainful employment and that results from a physical injury incurred in the performance of the employee's duty. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Compensation: means , for the purpose of computing retirement benefits, base salary, overtime pay, shift differential pay, military differential wage pay, compensatory time used by an employee in lieu of overtime not otherwise paid by an employer and holiday pay paid to an employee by the employer for the employee's performance of services in an eligible group on a regular monthly, semimonthly or biweekly payroll basis and longevity pay paid to an employee at least every six months for which contributions are made to the system pursuant to section 38-843, subsection D. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Employee: means any person who is employed by a participating employer and who is a member of an eligible group but does not include any persons compensated on a contractual or fee basis. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Local board: means the retirement board of the employer, who are the persons appointed to administer the system as it applies to their members in the system. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Normal retirement date: means :
(a) For an employee who becomes a member of the system before January 1, 2012, the first day of the calendar month immediately following the employee's completion of twenty years of service or the employee's sixty-second birthday and the employee's completion of fifteen years of service. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Ordinary disability: means a physical condition that the local board determines will prevent an employee totally and permanently from performing a reasonable range of duties within the employee's department or a mental condition that the local board determines will prevent an employee totally and permanently from engaging in any substantial gainful activity. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Pension: means a series of monthly amounts that are payable to a person who is entitled to receive benefits under the plan but does not include an annuity that is payable pursuant to Section 38-846. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Physician: means a physician who is licensed pursuant to Title 32, Chapter 13 or 17. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- retired: means termination of employment after a member has fulfilled all requirements for a pension, for an employee who becomes a member of the system on or after January 1, 2012 and before July 1, 2017, attains the age and service requirements for a normal retirement date or for an employee who becomes a member of the system on or after July 1, 2017 attains the age and credited service requirements for a normal retirement date. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Service: means the last period of continuous employment of an employee by the employers before the employee's retirement, except that if such period includes employment during which the employee would not have qualified as a member had the system then been effective, such as employment as a volunteer firefighter, then only twenty-five percent of such noncovered employment shall be considered as service. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- System: means the public safety personnel retirement system established by this article. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- Temporary disability: means a physical or mental condition that the local board finds totally and temporarily prevents an employee from performing a reasonable range of duties within the employee's department and that was incurred in the performance of the employee's duty. See Arizona Laws 38-842
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. A member is eligible for an accidental disability pension if the member’s employment is terminated by reason of accidental disability. A member is eligible for an ordinary disability pension if the member’s employment is terminated before the member’s normal retirement date by reason of ordinary disability. A member shall file an application for a disability pension after the disabling incident or within one year after the date the member ceases to be an employee. Timely application for an accidental, catastrophic or ordinary disability pension is a prerequisite to receipt of the pension. Payment of an accidental, catastrophic or ordinary disability pension shall commence as of the first day of the month following the date of retirement or the expiration of a period during which the member is receiving sick leave payments or a temporary disability pension, whichever is later, but not earlier than Section 38-845.02 allows for retroactive payments. The last payment shall be made as of the last day of the month in which the death of the retired member occurs, or if disability ceases before the member’s normal retirement date, the first day of the month in which disability ceases.
C. A member is eligible for a catastrophic disability pension if the member’s employment is terminated by reason of catastrophic disability. If more than the allowable catastrophic disability pensions are approved by the local boards in a calendar year, from and after December 31 of the following calendar year a member of the system is not eligible to apply for a catastrophic disability pension. On or before January 31, the board of trustees shall report to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives the number of catastrophic disability pensions that were approved by the local boards in the preceding calendar year. For the purposes of this subsection, "allowable catastrophic disability pensions" means for calendar year 2004, ten, and for subsequent calendar years the number of allowable catastrophic disability pensions allowed in the prior calendar year minus the number of catastrophic disability pensions approved by the local boards in the prior calendar year plus four.
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no member shall qualify for an accidental, catastrophic or ordinary disability pension if the local board determines that the member’s disability results from the following:
1. An injury suffered while engaged in a felonious criminal act or enterprise.
2. Service in the armed forces of the United States that entitles the member to a veteran’s disability pension.
3. A physical or mental condition or injury that existed or occurred before the member’s date of membership in the system.
E. Accidental or ordinary disability shall be considered to have ceased and an accidental or ordinary disability pension terminates if the member:
1. Has sufficiently recovered, in the opinion of the local board, based on a medical examination by a designated physician or a physician working in a clinic that is appointed by the local board, to be able to engage in a reasonable range of duties within the member’s department and the member refuses an offer of employment by an employer in the system.
2. Refuses to undergo any medical examination requested by the local board, provided that a medical examination shall not be required more frequently than once in any calendar year.
F. Sixty months after the award of a catastrophic disability pension, the local board shall reevaluate the member. If the member still qualifies for the catastrophic disability pension, the member is entitled to continue to receive the pension at the reduced amount prescribed in section 38-845, subsection E. A catastrophic disability shall be considered to have ceased and a catastrophic disability pension terminates if the local board determines that the member has sufficiently recovered and is able to engage in gainful employment based on a medical examination by a designated physician or a physician working in a clinic that is appointed by the local board. After the sixty-month review, the catastrophic disability shall be considered to have ceased and a catastrophic disability pension terminates if the local board determines that the member has sufficiently recovered and is able to engage in gainful employment based on a medical examination by a designated physician or a physician working in a clinic that is appointed by the local board, except that the medical examination shall not be required more frequently than once in a calendar year. The medical review after the sixty-month period does not apply after the date the catastrophic disability pensioner would have attained twenty-five years of service assuming the pensioner remained a member of the system. The local board shall also terminate a catastrophic disability pension if the member refuses to undergo any medical examination requested by the local board. A member whose catastrophic disability pension is terminated may apply for and if eligible is entitled to receive an accidental disability pension as provided in this section.
G. Subsection E of this section does not apply after a disability pensioner’s normal retirement date. The amount of a disability pension shall not be recomputed at a disability pensioner’s normal retirement date.
H. If accidental or ordinary disability ceases before a retired member attains the member’s normal retirement date and the member is reemployed by an employer, the member shall be treated as if the member has been on an uncompensated leave of absence during the period of the member’s disability retirement and shall be a contributing member of the system. The pension payable on the member’s subsequent retirement shall be determined as provided in section 38-845.
I. A member shall be eligible for a temporary disability pension if the member’s employment is terminated before the member’s normal retirement date by reason of temporary disability. Payment of a temporary disability pension shall commence as of the first day of the month following the date of disability or the expiration of a period during which the member is receiving compensation and sick leave payments, whichever is later. The last payment shall be made as of the first day of the month in which either the death of the member occurs or the local board deems the member is no longer under temporary disability, whichever first occurs, provided that not more than twelve monthly temporary disability payments shall be made in total to the member.
J. If on the expiration of a temporary disability pension the local board finds on application that the member has an accidental or ordinary disability, the member shall be eligible for an accidental or ordinary disability pension, as provided in this section.
K. The system shall make payments pursuant to section 401(a)(9) of the internal revenue code and the regulations that are issued under that section. Notwithstanding any other provision of the system, beginning January 1, 1987 payment of benefits to a member shall commence not later than April 1 of the calendar year following the later of:
1. The calendar year in which the member attains seventy-two years of age.
2. The date the member terminates employment.