§ 24-7-205 - Collection of overpayments and underpayments by the system. - Arkansas Statutes

24-7-205. Collection of overpayments and underpayments by the system.

(a) Should any change or error in the records result in a member, a retirant, an annuitant, a beneficiary, or an alternate payee receiving benefits or other distributions from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System more or less than he or she would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the system or its designee shall correct the error and, as far as practicable, shall adjust the benefit, annuity, or refund payable to the person, his or her beneficiary, or his or her estate in the manner that the actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which the person was correctly entitled shall be paid.

(b) (1) If a person who is a member, a retirant, an annuitant, a beneficiary, or an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order under 9-18-101 et seq. is paid any benefit or other distribution by the system to which the person is not entitled, the system or its designee, under rules adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, may:

(A) Withhold the amount due from any benefit or payment due the person, his or her beneficiary, or his or her estate; or

(B) Collect the amount in any other manner provided by law.

(2) Withheld amounts shall be used to effect repayment until the total amount withheld equals all amounts payable by the person to the system.

(3) (A) Before making an adjustment of benefits or pursuing any other collection action under this section, the system or its designee shall provide notice to the person who will receive the adjustment.

(B) The notice shall describe the process for disputing an adjustment of benefits.

(4) The board or its designee may waive adjustment or repayment if:

(A) The overpayment was not the result of the retirant's or the beneficiary's nondisclosure, fraud, misrepresentation, or other fault; and

(B) The board or its designee finds in his or her or its sole discretion that recovery of the overpayment could be a manifest injustice.

(c) (1) If the system calculates an amount to be owed to the system by a member and, after notification to the member of the amount owed, determines that the amount calculated is an error that would cause the member to owe a greater amount than the original amount calculated by the system, the system may waive all or part of the interest calculation amount in error under rules adopted by the board.

(2) In adopting rules under subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the board shall only allow a waiver if:

(A) The error is not the result of the member's nondisclosure, fraud, misrepresentation, or other fault; and

(B) Recovery of the amount owed to the system will result in a manifest injustice to the member.