(1) The executive director of the public employee retirement system or his designee upon receipt of a copy of a domestic retirement order, shall determine whether the order is an approved domestic retirement order and shall notify the member and the alternate payee of the determination within ninety (90) days. Orders shall be applied prospectively only from the first day of the month following the order being determined to be an approved domestic retirement order. The retirement system shall then pay benefits or establish a segregated account in accordance with the order. When established, the segregated account will consist of accumulated contributions identified in the approved domestic retirement order together with accrued interest on that amount from the effective date to the date of segregation.
(2)  If the order is determined not to be an approved domestic retirement order, or if no determination is issued within ninety (90) days, the member or the alternate payee named in the order may move the court which issued the order to amend the order so that it will be approved. The court that issued the order or which would otherwise have jurisdiction over the matter has jurisdiction to amend the order so that it will be qualified even though all other matters incident to the action or proceeding have been fully and finally adjudicated.

Terms Used In Idaho Code 59-1320

  • Accumulated contributions: means the sum of amounts contributed by a member of the system, together with regular interest credit thereon. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Alternate payee: means a spouse or former spouse of a member who is recognized by an approved domestic retirement order as having a right to all or a portion of the accrued benefits in the retirement system with respect to such member. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Approved domestic retirement order: means a domestic retirement order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee’s right or assigns to an alternate payee the right to all or a portion of the accrued benefits of a member under the retirement system, that directs the system to establish a segregated account or disburse benefits to an alternate payee, and that the executive director of the retirement system has determined meets the requirements of sections 59-1319 and 59-1320, Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Average monthly salary: means the member’s average salary during the base period as calculated pursuant to rules adopted by the retirement board. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Base period: means the period of fifty-four (54) consecutive calendar months during which the member earned:
Idaho Code 59-1302
  • board: means the board provided for in sections 59-1304 and 59-1305, Idaho Code, to administer the retirement system. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Contingent annuitant: means the person designated by a member under certain retirement options to receive benefit payments upon the death of the member. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Credited service: means the aggregate of membership service, prior service and disabled service. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Death benefit: means the amount, if any, payable upon the death of a member. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Domestic retirement order: means any judgment, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement that relates to the provision of marital property rights to a spouse or former spouse of a member, and is made pursuant to a domestic relations law, including the community property law of the state of Idaho or of another state. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Employee: means :
    • Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Inactive member: means a former active member who is not an employee and is not receiving any form of retirement allowance, who has not requested a separation benefit, or for whom a separation benefit has not become payable. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lifetime annuity: means periodic monthly payments of income by the retirement system to an alternate payee. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Member: means an active member, inactive member or a retired member. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Membership service: means military service that occurs after the commencement of contributions payable under sections 59-1331 through 59-1334, Idaho Code, and service with respect to which contributions are payable under sections 59-1331 through 59-1334, Idaho Code, which, except for benefit calculations described in sections 59-1342 and 59-1353, Idaho Code, includes service transferred to a segregated account under an approved domestic retirement order. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Idaho Code 73-114
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person;
    • Idaho Code 73-114
  • Retirement: means the acceptance of a retirement allowance under this chapter upon termination of employment and, unless otherwise provided by law, requires a termination of employment from an employer participating in PERSI, the judges retirement fund, the firefighters retirement fund or the optional retirement plan. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Segregated account: means the account established by the retirement system for the alternate payee of a member who is not a retired member. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • Service: means being shown on an employer’s payroll as an employee receiving a salary. See Idaho Code 59-1302
  • system: means the public employee retirement system of Idaho. See Idaho Code 59-1302
    • (3)  The executive director of the retirement system to which a domestic retirement order is submitted or his designee has exclusive authority to determine whether a domestic retirement order is an approved domestic retirement order. If it is determined that a domestic retirement order does not meet the requirements for an approved domestic retirement order, both the issuing court and the parties to the order shall be notified so action may be taken to amend the order.
    (4)  Because an approved domestic retirement order cannot cause the retirement system to pay any benefit or any amount of benefit greater than would have been paid had the member’s account not been segregated, disputes related to benefits paid under an approved domestic retirement order shall be resolved between the parties to the order by the court issuing that order. The retirement system shall not be made a party to the action. Any cost, including attorney’s fees, incurred by the retirement system as a result of such actions shall be distributed by the court among the parties and included in any amended order issued.
    (5)  Unless the approved domestic retirement order specifies differently, if the member has a right to a vested benefit as of the effective date of the order, then both the member and the alternate payee shall have a right to a vested benefit after the transfer of months of service even if the member or the alternate payee has less than sixty (60) months of membership service.
    (6)  For benefits under chapter 13, title 59, Idaho Code, for members other than retired members, if the domestic retirement order awards to the alternate payee a portion of the member’s accumulated contributions the alternate payee shall be entitled to all the same benefits and rights an inactive member has under chapter 13, title 59, Idaho Code. The alternate payee’s benefit calculation for a lifetime annuity shall use the member’s average monthly salary and base period as of the effective date of the order and the months of credited service transferred to the alternate payee’s segregated account. The benefit calculation shall use the alternate payee’s age with the appropriate reduction factors based on the alternate payee’s age at the time of payment of the lifetime annuity. For the purpose of the lifetime annuity, the bridging factor, as specified in section 59-1355, Idaho Code, shall be the bridging factor between the effective date of the order or the last day of contributions by the member prior to the effective date of the order, whichever is earliest, and the date of the first lifetime annuity payment to the alternate payee. The alternate payee shall have the right to select any of the optional retirement allowances provided in section 59-1351, Idaho Code. The alternate payee shall have the right to name a beneficiary.
    (7)  For benefits defined under chapter 13, title 59, Idaho Code, for retired members, and for benefits under chapter 14, title 72, Idaho Code, the retirement system shall include in the alternate payee’s amount or percentage of the benefit, on a proportional basis, all future adjustments, including postretirement increases that are granted by the retirement system, and any death benefit.
    (8)  For benefits under chapter 13, title 59, Idaho Code, for retired members, the form of payment previously elected by the member under section 59-1351, Idaho Code, cannot be changed by a domestic retirement order, except that a member’s benefit may be adjusted as provided in section 59-1351(2), Idaho Code, if an alternate payee waives all survivor benefits otherwise payable as a contingent annuitant as provided in section 59-1319(1)(e), Idaho Code. Furthermore, no segregated account will be established by the retirement system for the alternate payee. Upon the death of the alternate payee, his/her percentage of the benefit will revert to the person or persons, including the member, who are entitled to the benefit under the system at the time of the alternate payee’s death.
    (9)  For benefits defined under chapter 14, title 72, Idaho Code, the benefit transferred to the alternate payee shall start when the retirement system begins paying benefits to the member, surviving spouse, or surviving children of the member. The transferred benefit shall be payable only for the lifetime of the alternate payee and it shall not revert to the member, surviving spouse or surviving children of the member.
    (10) The retirement system shall be authorized to issue any and all appropriate tax forms or reports for any payments made to the alternate payee.
    (11) The retirement system, the retirement board, and officers and employees of the retirement system shall not be liable to any person for making payments of any benefits in accordance with an approved domestic retirement order.