16.505 Definitions for KRS 16.505 to 16.652. - Kentucky Statutes

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16.505 Definitions for KRS 16.505 to 16.652. As used in KRS 16.505 to 16.652, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "System" means the State Police Retirement System created by KRS 16.505 to 16.652; (2) "Board" means the board of trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems;
(3) "Employer" or "State Police" means the Department of Kentucky State Police, or its successor; (4) "Current service" means the number of years and completed months of employment as an employee subsequent to July 1, 1958, for which creditable compensation was
paid by the employer and employee contributions deducted except as otherwise
provided; (5) "Prior service" means the number of years and completed months of employment as an employee prior to July 1, 1958, for which creditable compensation was paid to
the employee by the Commonwealth. Twelve (12) months of current service in the
system are required to validate prior service; (6) "Service" means the total of current service and prior service;
(7) "Accumulated contributions" at any time means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the
member's contribution account, including employee contributions picked up after
August 1, 1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4), together with interest credited on such
amounts as provided in KRS 16.505 to 16.652, and any other amounts the member
shall have contributed, including interest credited. For members who begin
participating on or after September 1, 2008, "accumulated contributions" shall not
include employee contributions that are deposited into accounts established
pursuant to 26 U.S.C. sec. 401(h) within the funds established in KRS 16.510,
61.515, and 78.520, as prescribed by KRS 61.702(2)(b); (8) "Creditable compensation" means all salary and wages, including payments for compensatory time, paid to the employee as a result of services performed for the
employer or for time during which the member is on paid leave, which are
includable on the member's federal form W-2 wage and tax statement under the
heading "wages, tips, other compensation," including employee contributions
picked up after August 1, 1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4). A lump-sum bonus,
severance pay, or employer-provided payment for purchase of service credit shall be
included as creditable compensation but shall be averaged over the employee's total
service with the system in which it is recorded if it is equal to or greater than one
thousand dollars ($1,000). Living allowances, expense reimbursements, lump-sum
payments for accrued vacation leave, and other items determined by the board shall
be excluded. Creditable compensation shall also include amounts which are not
includable in the member's gross income by virtue of the member having taken a
voluntary salary reduction provided for under applicable provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code. Creditable compensation shall also include elective amounts for
qualified transportation fringes paid or made available on or after January 1, 2001,
for calendar years on or after January 1, 2001, that are not includable in the gross income of the employee by reason of 26 U.S.C. sec. 132(f)(4). For employees who
begin participating on or after September 1, 2008, creditable compensation shall not
include payments for compensatory time; (9) "Final compensation" means: (a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the creditable compensation of a member during the three (3) fiscal years he was
paid at the highest average monthly rate divided by the number of months of
service credit during the three (3) year period, multiplied by twelve (12); the
three (3) years may be fractional and need not be consecutive. If the number of
months of service credit during the three (3) year period is less than twenty-
four (24), one (1) or more additional fiscal years shall be used; or (b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, the creditable compensation of the member during the three (3) complete fiscal
years he or she was paid at the highest average monthly rate divided by three
(3). Each fiscal year used to determine final compensation must contain
twelve (12) months of service credit; (10) "Final rate of pay" means the actual rate upon which earnings of a member were calculated during the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the
member's effective retirement date, including employee contributions picked up
after August 1, 1982, pursuant to KRS 16.545(4). The rate shall be certified to the
system by the employer and the following equivalents shall be used to convert the
rate to an annual rate: two thousand eighty (2,080) hours for eight (8) hour
workdays, one thousand nine hundred fifty (1,950) hours for seven and one-half (7-
1/2) hour workdays, two hundred sixty (260) days, fifty-two (52) weeks, twelve (12)
months, or one (1) year; (11) "Retired member" means any former member receiving a retirement allowance or any former member who has filed the necessary documents for retirement benefits
and is no longer contributing to the retirement system; (12) "Retirement allowance" means the retirement payments to which a retired member is entitled; (13) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of actuarial tables adopted by the board. In cases of disability retirement, the
options authorized by KRS 61.635 shall be computed by adding ten (10) years to
the age of the member, unless the member has chosen the Social Security
adjustment option as provided for in KRS 61.635(8), in which case the member's
actual age shall be used. No disability retirement option shall be less than the same
option computed under early retirement; (14) "Authorized leave of absence" means any time during which a person is absent from employment but retained in the status of an employee in accordance with the
personnel policy of the Department of Kentucky State Police; (15) "Normal retirement date" means: (a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the first day of the month following a member's fifty-fifth birthday, except that for members over age fifty-five (55) on July 1, 1958, it shall mean January 1,
1959; or (b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, the first day of the month following a member's sixtieth birthday; (16) "Disability retirement date" means the first day of the month following the last day of paid employment; (17) "Dependent child" means a child in the womb and a natural or legally adopted child of the member who has neither attained age eighteen (18) nor married or who is an
unmarried full-time student who has not attained age twenty-two (22); (18) "Optional allowance" means an actuarially equivalent benefit elected by the member in lieu of all other benefits provided by KRS 16.505 to 16.652; (19) "Act in line of duty" means an act occurring or a thing done, which, as determined by the board, was required in the performance of the duties specified in KRS
16.060. For employees in hazardous positions under KRS 61.592, an "act in line of
duty" shall mean an act occurring which was required in the performance of the
principal duties of the position as defined by the job description; (20) "Early retirement date" means: (a) For a member who begins participating before September 1, 2008, the retirement date declared by a member who is not less than fifty (50) years of
age and has fifteen (15) years of service; or (b) For a member who begins participating on or after September 1, 2008, the retirement date declared by a member who is not less than fifty (50) years of
age and has fifteen (15) years of service credited under KRS 16.543(1),
61.543(1), or 78.615(1) or another state-administered retirement system; (21) "Member" means any officer included in the membership of the system as provided under KRS 16.520 whose membership has not been terminated under KRS 61.535; (22) "Regular full-time officers" means the occupants of positions as set forth in KRS 16.010; (23) "Hazardous disability" as used in KRS 16.505 to 16.652 means a disability which results in an employee's total incapacity to continue as an employee in a hazardous
position, but the employee is not necessarily deemed to be totally and permanently
disabled to engage in other occupations for remuneration or profit; (24) "Current rate of pay" means the member's actual hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or yearly rate of pay converted to an annual rate as defined in final rate of
pay. The rate shall be certified by the employer; (25) "Beneficiary" means the person, persons, estate, trust, or trustee designated by the member in accordance with KRS 61.542 or 61.705 to receive any available benefits
in the event of the member's death. As used in KRS 61.702, "beneficiary" does not
mean an estate, trust, or trustee; (26) "Recipient" means the retired member, the person or persons designated as beneficiary by the member and drawing a retirement allowance as a result of the
member's death, or a dependent child drawing a retirement allowance. An alternate payee of a qualified domestic relations order shall not be considered a recipient,
except for purposes of KRS 61.623; (27) "Person" means a natural person;
(28) "Retirement office" means the Kentucky Retirement Systems office building in Frankfort; (29) "Delayed contribution payment" means an amount paid by an employee for purchase of current service. The amount shall be determined using the same formula
in KRS 61.5525, and the payment shall not be picked up by the employer. A
delayed contribution payment shall be deposited to the member's contribution
account and considered as accumulated contributions of the individual member; (30) "Last day of paid employment" means the last date employer and employee contributions are required to be reported in accordance with KRS 16.543, 61.543, or
78.615 to the retirement office in order for the employee to receive current service
credit for the month. Last day of paid employment does not mean a date the
employee receives payment for accrued leave, whether by lump sum or otherwise, if
that date occurs twenty-four (24) or more months after previous contributions; (31) "Objective medical evidence" means reports of examinations or treatments; medical signs which are anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities that can
be observed; psychiatric signs which are medically demonstrable phenomena
indicating specific abnormalities of behavior, affect, thought, memory, orientation,
or contact with reality; or laboratory findings which are anatomical, physiological,
or psychological phenomena that can be shown by medically acceptable laboratory
diagnostic techniques, including but not limited to chemical tests,
electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, X-rays, and psychological tests; (32) "Fiscal year" of the system means the twelve (12) months from July 1 through the following June 30, which shall also be the plan year. The "fiscal year" shall be the
limitation year used to determine contribution and benefit limits established by 26
U.S.C. sec. 415; (33) "Participating" means an employee is currently earning service credit in the system as provided in KRS 16.543; (34) "Month" means a calendar month;
(35) "Membership date" means the date upon which the member began participating in the system as provided by KRS 16.543; (36) "Participant" means a member, as defined by subsection (21) of this section, or a retired member, as defined by subsection (11) of this section; (37) "Qualified domestic relations order" means any judgment, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement, that:
(a) Is issued by a court or administrative agency; and
(b) Relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to an alternate payee; and (38) "Alternate payee" means a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant, who is designated to be paid retirement benefits in a qualified domestic
relations order. Effective: July 15, 2010
History: Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 148, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 77, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2009. -- Amended 2008 (1st Extra.
Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 6, effective June 27, 2008. -- Amended 2007 Ky. Acts
ch. 85, sec. 72, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 36, sec. 1,
effective July 13, 2004. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 1, effective March
31, 2003. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 52, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002. --
Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 210, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000; and ch. 385, sec. 1,
effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 105, sec. 1, effective July 15,
1998; and ch. 300, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts
ch. 167, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 485, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 1994.