2015 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 11 - Consolidated Public Retirement
RS 11:1307 - Persons eligible to retire on basis of service and age; retirement benefits

§1307. Persons eligible to retire on basis of service and age; retirement benefits

            A. Upon application to the board as provided in R.S. 11:1306, members of this system shall be retired by the board at benefits fixed as follows:

            (1) Any member of the system, whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010, and who has attained age fifty and who has credit for at least ten years of service shall be paid a monthly benefit equal to the sum of three and one-third percent multiplied by the member's monthly average salary, and further multiplied by the number of years of service credited to the member's account, but the total annual benefit shall not exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average annual salary.

            (2)(a) Any member of the system whose initial date of employment was prior to September 8, 1978, regardless of age, who has credit for at least twenty years of service shall be paid a monthly benefit equal to the sum of three and one-third percent multiplied by the member's monthly average salary, and further multiplied by the number of years of service credited to the member's account, but the total annual benefit shall not exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average annual salary.

            (b) Any member of the system whose initial date of employment occurred on or after September 8, 1978, and whose first employment making him eligible for membership in one of the state systems occurred on or before December 31, 2010, who has credit for at least twenty-five years of service, regardless of age, shall be paid a monthly benefit equal to the sum of three and one-third percent multiplied by the member's monthly average salary, and further multiplied by the number of years of service credited to the member's account, but the total annual benefit shall not exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average annual salary.

            (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any member of the system who participated in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan on or before June 30, 2003, and who continued in employment after participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan without a break in service and who remained in such continuous employment on July 1, 2003, shall be paid a monthly salary equal to the greater of the monthly benefit computed under R.S. 11:1307.1 or the sum of the member's original benefit plus twenty percent of the member's original average monthly salary, but the total annual benefit, including any additional benefit accrued after termination of participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, shall not exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average annual salary.

            B. Any member of the system who is a commissioned member of the office of state police who has at least twenty years of active service and who retires under the provisions of this Section shall be entitled to purchase his firearm at fair market value, upon retirement, subject to the approval of the deputy secretary of public safety services of the department.

            C. Repealed by Acts 2009, No. 480, §2, eff. Oct. 1, 2009.

            D.(1) Regardless of the compensation actually paid to a member, retirement benefits from the Louisiana State Police Retirement System shall be as provided in this Chapter, except that his retirement benefits shall not exceed the amount he would receive, assuming for computation purposes his earnings were equal to the highest step of the pay range for the highest classified position in the office of state police. The member's contributions shall be based upon the above salary assumed for computation purposes.

            (2) The provisions of this Chapter which limit retirement benefits shall be inapplicable to those persons serving as secretary and deputy secretary of the Department of Public Safety on April 18, 1977.

            E. In lieu of receiving the regular retirement salary computed pursuant to Subsection A of this Section, a member of the system who does not participate in the Back-Deferred Retirement Option Program provided by the provisions of this Chapter and who is eligible for a regular retirement salary computed pursuant to Subsection A of this Section may elect to receive a reduced retirement salary plus an initial benefit, provided the initial benefit, together with the reduced retirement salary, shall be certified by the actuary to be actuarially equivalent to the member's regular retirement salary computed pursuant to Subsection A of this Section. The amount of the initial benefit, as determined by the member, shall not exceed an amount equal to the member's maximum monthly retirement salary multiplied by thirty-six. The initial benefit shall, at the option of the member, be paid as a lump sum or placed in an interest-earning account in accordance with R.S. 11:1312.1(D)(4). Cost-of-living adjustments granted by the board of trustees to retirees who elect to receive a reduced retirement salary and an initial benefit shall be based only on the reduced retirement salary and shall not be based on the initial benefit.

            Amended by Acts 1951; 1st Ex.Sess., No. 32, §1; Acts 1952, No. 385, §1; Acts 1958, No. 19, §1; Acts 1960, No. 129, §1; Acts 1973, No. 137, §1; Acts 1977, No. 475, §1, eff. July 13, 1977; Acts 1978, No. 532, §1; Acts 1989, No. 506, §1; Acts 1989, No. 507, §2; Redesignated from R.S. 40:1426 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 1110, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 277, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 911, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1160, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 748, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2009, No. 480, §§1, 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 992, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 227, §1.

NOTE: See Acts 2001, No. 1160, §3, which enacts R.S. 11:1307.1, which provides that R.S. 11:1307(A) as set forth in the Act shall not apply to persons who retired or became system beneficiaries on or before June 30, 2001, and that "the provisions of R.S. 11:1307(A) shall apply to any such person as R.S. 11:1307(A) was in effect at the time of such person's retirement." See LSA notes at R.S. 11:1307.