North Dakota Code 54-52.1-03.2 – Retiree health benefits fund – Appropriation
1. a. The board shall establish a retiree health benefits fund account with the Bank of North Dakota for the purpose of prefunding and providing hospital benefits coverage, medical benefits coverage, and prescription drug coverage under any health insurance program and dental, vision, and long-term care benefits coverage under the uniform group insurance program for retired eligible employees or surviving spouses of retired eligible employees and their dependents as provided in this chapter.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-52.1-03.2
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
b. The state shall contribute monthly to the retiree health benefits fund an amount equal to one and fourteen hundredths percent of the monthly salaries and wages of all participating members of the highway patrol troopers’ retirement system under chapter 39-03.1, and one and fourteen hundredths percent of the monthly salaries of all supreme or district court judges who are participating members of the public employees retirement system under chapter 54-52.
c. Each governmental unit that contributes to the public employees retirement system fund under section 54-52-06 or the retirement plan under chapter 54-52.6 shall contribute monthly to the retiree health benefits fund an amount equal to one and fourteen-hundredths percent of the monthly salaries or wages of all participating members of the public employees retirement system under chapter 54-52 or chapter 54-52.6, except for:
(1) Members first enrolled after December 31, 2019, for which a governmental unit contributes to the public employees retirement system fund under section 54-52-06 or the retirement plan under chapter 54-52.6; and
(2) Nonteaching employees of the superintendent of public instruction who elect to participate in the public employees retirement system pursuant to section 54-52-02.13 and employees of the state board for career and technical education who elect to participate in the public employees retirement system pursuant to section 54-52-02.14.
d. For nonteaching employees of the superintendent of public instruction who elect to participate in the public employees retirement system pursuant to section 54-52-02.13, the superintendent of public instruction shall contribute monthly to the retiree health benefits fund an amount equal to three and twenty-four hundredths percent of the monthly salaries or wages of those nonteaching employee members, beginning on the first of the month following the transfer under section 54-52-02.13 and continuing thereafter for a period of eight years, after which time the superintendent of public instruction shall contribute one and fourteen-hundredths percent of the monthly salary or wages of those nonteaching employee members.
e. For employees of the state board for career and technical education who elect to participate in the public employees retirement system pursuant to section 54-52-02.14, the state board for career and technical education shall contribute monthly to the retiree health benefits fund an amount equal to two and ninety-nine hundredths percent of the monthly salary or wages of those employee members, beginning on the first of the month following the transfer under section 54-52-02.14 and continuing thereafter for a period of eight years, after which time the state board for career and technical education shall contribute one and fourteen-hundredths percent of the monthly salary or wages of those employee members.
f. The employer of a national guard security officer or firefighter shall contribute monthly to the retiree health benefits fund an amount equal to one and fourteen- hundredths percent of the monthly salaries or wages of all national guard security officers or firefighters participating in the public employees retirement system under chapter 54-52.
g. Job service North Dakota shall reimburse monthly the retiree health benefits fund for credit received under section 54-52.1-03.3 by members of the retirement program established by job service North Dakota under section 52-11-01.
h. The board, as trustee of the fund and in exclusive control of its administration, shall:
(1) Provide for the investment and disbursement of moneys of the retiree health benefits fund and administrative expenditures in the same manner as moneys of the public employees retirement system are invested, disbursed, or expended.
(2) Adopt rules necessary for the proper administration of the retiree health benefits fund, including enrollment procedures.
2. All moneys deposited in the fund established under subsection 1, not otherwise appropriated, are hereby appropriated to the board for the purpose of making investments for the fund and to make contributions toward hospital and medical benefits coverage and prescription drug coverage under any health insurance program and for any dental, vision, and long-term care benefits coverage under any insurance program for eligible retired employees or surviving spouses of eligible retired employees and their dependents as elected.
3. If a member terminates employment because of death, permanent and total disability, or any voluntary or involuntary reason before retirement, the member or the member’s designated beneficiary is entitled to the member’s account balance at termination. If a member’s account balance is withdrawn, the member relinquishes all rights to benefits under the retiree health benefits fund.