(a) If a retiree restored to employment reenrolls as an active member of the retirement system, the excess, if any, of the retired member’s accumulated contributions at retirement over the sum of the retirement allowance payments received by the retired member shall be credited to the retiree as accumulated contributions.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 8-36-802
Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member, together with any amount transferred to the account of the member established pursuant to chapters 34-37 of this title from the respective account of the member under one (1) or more of the superseded systems, with interest thereon, as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Creditable service: means prior service plus membership service, as provided in part 6 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system, as provided in chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement allowance: means the sum of the member annuity and the state annuity. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Retirement system: means the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(b) Any creditable service to which the retiree was entitled when the retiree retired shall be restored to the retiree, and upon subsequent retirement, the retiree’s retirement allowance shall be based on the retiree’s compensation and creditable service before and after the period of prior retirement.(c)(1) If the retiree does not complete three (3) years of creditable service after restoration to service, the part of the retiree’s retirement allowance upon subsequent retirement payable with respect to creditable service rendered before the period of the retiree’s previous retirement, or included in the computation of the retiree’s previous retirement allowance, shall be equal to the retiree’s previous retirement allowance with all of the provisions of the retirement payment plan elected by the retiree, with respect to such part of the retiree’s retirement allowance.(2) If the retiree completes three (3) years or more of creditable service after restoration to service, the retirement payment plan elected by the retiree shall be void. Upon subsequent retirement, the retiree shall again elect the payment plan under which the retiree’s retirement benefits shall be paid. The benefits shall be recomputed under such plan based on the total service and salary credit accrued by the retiree both before and after the retiree’s previous retirement, unless such recomputation results in the retiree receiving a lower retirement allowance than the retiree would have received under that plan prior to restoration to service. If the recomputation results in a lower allowance, then the retiree’s retirement allowance under the payment plan elected upon subsequent retirement shall be computed pursuant to subdivision (c)(1). Notwithstanding this subsection (c) or any other law to the contrary, the retirement benefits of any retiree who previously elected the social security leveling retirement payment plan pursuant to § 8-36-601(c) shall not be recomputed pursuant to this subdivision (c)(2) unless the retiree pays to the retirement system the difference in benefits received under the social security leveling plan during the retiree’s previous retirement and the regular retirement payment plan. Any such retiree who fails to make such payment shall have such retiree’s benefits computed pursuant to subdivision (c)(1).
