It is hereby expressly declared that the intent of the general assembly is to collect amounts that have been overpaid in error to members or beneficiaries, except that:

(1) Repayment may be waived at the discretion of the board of trustees where overpayments in retirement benefits have been made through an error committed by the retirement division if it is determined that the member or beneficiary:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 8-36-116

  • 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
  • Beneficiary: means any person, persons or institution receiving a retirement allowance or other benefit as provided in chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • board: means the board provided for in part 3 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • Employer: means :
    (A) The state or any department, commission, institution, board or agency of the state government by which a member is paid, with respect to members in its employ. 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
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. 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
  • State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
(A) Was without fault or knowledge;
(B) Did not participate or induce the additional payment; and
(C) There was no way under the circumstance that the member or beneficiary knew or could have known that an overpayment had been made;
(2) It is further provided that waivers shall only be granted in cases where it can be shown to the board’s satisfaction that repayment would deprive the person of income required for ordinary and necessary living expenses;
(3) The board’s authority to grant a waiver shall be based upon a recommendation by a preliminary review committee composed of one (1) representative from each of the following state agencies or departments:

(A) Treasury department;
(B) Office of the comptroller of the treasury; and
(C) The department of finance and administration;
(4) Waivers, where granted, shall only be valid during the lifetime of the member or beneficiary and shall not defeat the right of the state to proceed against the estate upon death; nor shall the granting of a waiver prohibit the retirement system from requiring security to assure repayment upon death;
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, overpayments of one hundred dollars ($100) or less where the error was committed by the retirement division and without fault, knowledge, or participation on the part of the person overpaid shall be reviewed by the herein designated committee and repayment may be waived; and
(6) In the event that a retired member receives an overpayment in retirement benefits from the retirement system and that member returns to service, the retirement system may initiate an automatic payroll deduction to recoup the overpaid amount. The employer shall comply with the retirement system’s request for an automatic payroll deduction.
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