§ 460. Ordinary disability retirement

(a) Upon the application of a member or of the member’s department head not later than 90 days, or longer for cause shown, after the date the member may have separated from service, any Group A, Group C, Group D, Group F, or Group G member who has had five or more years of creditable service may be retired by the retirement board on an ordinary disability retirement allowance, not less than 30 nor more than 90 days after filing such application; provided the member is not eligible for accidental disability retirement; provided the member has requested application prior to death; and provided that the Medical Board, after a medical examination of such member, shall certify that the member is mentally or physically incapacitated for the further performance of duty, that such incapacity has existed since the time of the member’s separation from service and is likely to be permanent, and that he or she should be retired. The Retirement Board may consider, or may ask the Medical Board or a certified vocational rehabilitation counselor to consider whether the individual is disabled from performing other types of suitable work. However, if disability is denied because the individual is found to be suitable for other work, the member shall be advised at the time of denial of the following provisions that shall apply:

(1) the individual will retain the individual’s existing retirement accrual status;

(2) the State shall provide any necessary retraining;

(3) there shall be no loss in pay;

(4) involuntary geographical moves beyond normal commuting distance are not permitted; and

(5) before any individual who is reassigned to another position rather than retired on disability may be terminated for performance reasons, the individual must first be reconsidered for disability retirement by the Retirement Board.

(b)(1) Upon ordinary disability retirement, a Group A, Group D, Group F, or Group G member shall receive a normal retirement allowance equal to the normal retirement benefit accrued to the effective date of the disability retirement; provided, however, that such allowance shall not be less than 25 percent of the member’s average final compensation at the time of the member’s disability retirement.

(2) Employees who are not eligible for representation by the Vermont State Employees’ Association, including managerial, confidential, elected, and appointed officials, judicial, legislative, and exempt employees, who are employed on February 1, 1997, and whose application for the State’s long-term disability plan is denied solely because of a preexisting condition, shall, if they are otherwise eligible for ordinary disability retirement, be entitled to a retirement allowance that, when added to Social Security and/or other disability payments, equals 66 2/3 percent of the employee‘s final average compensation at the time of the disability retirement.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a Group C member, upon ordinary disability retirement, shall receive an additional allowance that will, when added to his or her Social Security benefit, be equal to 10 percent of his or her average final compensation for each dependent child, not in excess of three, who has not attained age 18 or, if a dependent student, has not attained age 23.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b) or (c) of this section, a member may not receive more than 50 percent of his or her average final compensation at the time of his or her disability retirement. (Added 1971, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1981, No. 41, § 10; 1989, No. 67, § 18; 1989, No. 277 (Adj. Sess.), § 17m, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 1991, No. 64, § 2, eff. June 18, 1991; 1993, No. 33, § 4; 1997, No. 2, § 75, eff. Feb. 12, 1997; 1997, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2003, No. 38, § 1; 2007, No. 13, § 3; 2021, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2022.)