(a) By rule, the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System shall fix and determine the number of years, and fraction thereof, of service to be credited each member for his or her employment as an employee.
(b) (1) A member shall be employed by an employer covered by the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System for a minimum of one hundred sixty (160) days per fiscal year to earn one (1) year of credited service.
(2) Fractional years of service may be granted beginning July 1, 1971, as prescribed by the board.
(3) A member shall not receive more than one (1) year of service in any one (1) fiscal year.
(4) (A) Beginning July 1, 2011, a contributory member who accrues less than one-fourth (1/4) year of service credit in a fiscal year may accumulate and carry forward days of service until the first fiscal year in which the contributory member accrues the minimum days of service required to credit one-fourth (1/4) year of service credit.
(B) Upon the contributing member's accruing of a minimum of one-fourth (1/4) year of service credit, the:
(i) Service credit shall be applied to the latest fiscal year; and
(ii) Carry-forward days shall be reset to zero (0).
(c) (1) Days of absence from service because of sickness shall be considered as service if the days are paid sick leave.
(2) Days of paid sick leave shall not be considered service if the payment is for unused sick leave.
(d) No credited service may be granted by the board for service rendered before July 1, 1937.
(e) (1) The system is a reciprocal system under the provisions of ยงยง 24-2-401 -- 24-2-405.
(2) In establishing eligibility for a benefit from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the credited service under all reciprocal systems shall be totaled and the total credited service shall be used in determining eligibility for a system benefit.
(3) In determining the amount of a benefit from this system, there shall be used only the actual service under this system and the benefit formula of this system.
(4) The final average compensation used shall be that of the reciprocal system that furnishes the highest final salary at the time of retirement.
(5) Beginning July 1, 2014, if the reciprocal system in which a member has service credit has less than the number of years of service credit required in the system's formula for the calculation of final average salary for a member, then this system shall obtain the salary and service credit information from the reciprocal system and use the combined salary and service credit information to calculate the member's final average salary as if the salary and service credit has all been earned in this system.
(6) Wherever this system provides a benefit amount that is not dependent on length of credited service, the benefit amount shall be reduced to the proportion that actual system service bears to total reciprocal system-credited service.
(f) In any case of question as to the service credit of any person, the board shall have the final power to decide the question.
(g) (1) (A) Beginning July 1, 2013, the system shall allow a member who earns concurrent service in both this system and a reciprocal system to receive full service credit in this system without reduction of service credit due to the concurrent service.
(B) Credited service in an alternate retirement plan or the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System is not allowed under subdivision (g)(1)(A) of this section.
(2) The system shall not recognize any concurrent service added to the member's credited service in the system that credits a member with more than one (1) year of credited service for a fiscal year or combines salary earned in both systems in a fiscal year for the purpose of:
(A) Vesting;
(B) Retirement eligibility; and
(C) Calculating final average salary.
Section: 24-7-602 24-7-603 24-7-604 24-7-605 24-7-606 24-7-607 24-7-608 24-7-610 24-7-611 24-7-612 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016