Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 49 > Chapter 12 > Part 4 - Defined Benefit

• Agency: means :

  (i)	a department, division, agency, office, authority, commission, board, institution, or hospital of the state;

  (ii)	a county, municipality, school district, special district, or special service district;

  (iii)

  a state college or university; or

  (iv)

  any other participating employer. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Alternate payee: means a member's former spouse or family member eligible to receive payments under a Domestic Relations Order in compliance with Section 49-11-612. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Annuity: means monthly payments derived from member contributions. See Utah Code 49-11-102 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. Beneficiary: means any person entitled to receive a payment under this title through a relationship with or designated by a member, participant, covered individual, or alternate payee of a defined contribution plan. See Utah Code 49-11-102 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 Benefits normally provided: means a benefit offered by an employer, including: (i)  a leave benefit of any kind; (ii)  insurance coverage of any kind if the employer pays some or all of the premium for the coverage; (iii)  employer contributions to a health savings account, health reimbursement account, health reimbursement arrangement, or medical expense reimbursement plan; and (iv)  a retirement benefit of any kind if the employer pays some or all of the cost of the benefit. See Utah Code 49-12-102 Board: means the Utah State Retirement Board established under Section 49-11-202. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Board member: means a person serving on the Utah State Retirement Board as established under Section 49-11-202. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Compensation: means the total amount of payments made by a participating employer to a member of this system for services rendered to the participating employer, including: (i)  bonuses; (ii)  cost-of-living adjustments; (iii)  other payments currently includable in gross income and that are subject to social security deductions, including any payments in excess of the maximum amount subject to deduction under social security law; (iv)  amounts that the member authorizes to be deducted or reduced for salary deferral or other benefits authorized by federal law; and (v)  member contributions. See Utah Code 49-12-102 Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed. Contributions: means the total amount paid by the participating employer and the member into a system or to the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Educational institution: means a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state or a combination thereof primarily engaged in educational activities or the administration or servicing of educational activities, including: (a)  the State Board of Education and its instrumentalities; (b)  any institution of higher education and its branches; (c)  any school district and its instrumentalities; (d)  any vocational and technical school; and (e)  any entity arising out of a consolidation agreement between entities described under this Subsection (22). See Utah Code 49-11-102 Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other. Final average monthly salary: means the amount computed by dividing the compensation received during the final average salary period under each system by the number of months in the final average salary period. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Final average salary: means the amount calculated by averaging the highest five years of annual compensation preceding retirement subject to Subsections (3)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f). See Utah Code 49-12-102 Member: means a person, except a retiree, with contributions on deposit with a system, the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, or with a terminated system. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Member contributions: means the sum of the contributions paid to a system or the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan, including refund interest if allowed by a system, and which are made by: (a)  the member; and (b)  the participating employer on the member's behalf under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5 Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Participating employer: means an employer that meets the participation requirements of Sections 49-12-201 and 49-12-202. See Utah Code 49-12-102 Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant. Retiree: means an individual who has qualified for an allowance under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Retirement: means the status of an individual who has become eligible, applies for, and is entitled to receive an allowance under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102 retirement allowance: means the pension plus the annuity, including any cost of living or other authorized adjustments to the pension and annuity. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Retirement date: means the date selected by the member on which the member's retirement becomes effective with the office. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Service credit: means : (a)  the period during which an employee is employed and compensated by a participating employer and meets the eligibility requirements for membership in a system or the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan, provided that any required contributions are paid to the office; and (b)  periods of time otherwise purchasable under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims. Surviving spouse: means : (a)  the lawful spouse who has been married to a member for at least six months immediately before the death date of the member; or (b)  a former lawful spouse of a member with a valid domestic relations order benefits on file with the office before the member's death date in accordance with Section 49-11-612. See Utah Code 49-11-102 System: means the Public Employees' Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-12-102 United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5 Utah Board of Higher Education: means the Utah Board of Higher Education described in Section 53B-1-402. See Utah Code 49-11-102 Writing: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5 Years of service credit: means : (a)  a period consisting of 12 full months as determined by the board; (b)  a period determined by the board, whether consecutive or not, during which a regular full-time employee performed services for a participating employer, including any time the regular full-time employee was absent on a paid leave of absence granted by a participating employer or was absent in the service of the United States government on military duty as provided by this chapter; or (c)  the regular school year consisting of not less than eight months of full-time service for a regular full-time employee of an educational institution. See Utah Code 49-12-102