2017 Nebraska Revised Statutes
Chapter 23 - COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND OFFICERS
23-2320 Employee; reemployment; status; how treated; reinstatement; repay amount received.

23-2320. Employee; reemployment; status; how treated; reinstatement; repay amount received.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a member of the retirement system who has a five-year break in service shall upon reemployment be considered a new employee with respect to the County Employees Retirement Act and shall not receive credit for service prior to his or her reemployment date.

(2)(a) A member who ceases to be an employee before becoming eligible for retirement under section 23-2315 and again becomes a permanent full-time or permanent part-time county employee prior to having a five-year break in service shall immediately be reenrolled in the retirement system and resume making contributions. For purposes of vesting employer contributions made prior to and after the reentry into the retirement system under subsection (3) of section 23-2319, years of participation include years of participation prior to such employee's original termination. For a member who is not vested and has received a termination benefit pursuant to section 23-2319, the years of participation prior to such employee's original termination shall be limited in a ratio equal to the amount that the member repays divided by the termination benefit withdrawn pursuant to section 23-2319.

(b) The reemployed member may repay the value of, or a portion of the value of, the termination benefit withdrawn pursuant to section 23-2319. A reemployed member who elects to repay all or a portion of the value of the termination benefit withdrawn pursuant to section 23-2319 shall repay the actual earnings on such value. Repayment of the termination benefit shall commence within three years of reemployment and shall be completed within five years of reemployment or prior to termination of employment, whichever occurs first, through (i) direct payments to the retirement system, (ii) installment payments made pursuant to a binding irrevocable payroll deduction authorization made by the member, (iii) an eligible rollover distribution as provided under the Internal Revenue Code, or (iv) a direct rollover distribution made in accordance with section 401(a)(31) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(c) The value of the member's forfeited employer account or employer cash balance account, as of the date of forfeiture, shall be restored in a ratio equal to the amount of the benefit that the member has repaid divided by the termination benefit received. The employer account or employer cash balance account shall be restored first out of the current forfeiture amounts and then by additional employer contributions.

(3) For a member who retired pursuant to section 23-2315 and becomes a permanent full-time employee or permanent part-time employee with a county under the County Employees Retirement Act more than one hundred twenty days after his or her retirement date, the member shall continue receiving retirement benefits. Such a retired member or a retired member who received a lump-sum distribution of his or her benefit shall be considered a new employee as of the date of reemployment and shall not receive credit for any service prior to the member's retirement for purposes of the act.

(4) A member who is reinstated as an employee pursuant to a grievance or appeal of his or her termination by the county shall be a member upon reemployment and shall not be considered to have a break in service for such period of time that the grievance or appeal was pending. Following reinstatement, the member shall repay the value of the amount received from his or her employee account or member cash balance account under subdivision (2)(b) of section 23-2319.01.

Source

• Laws 1965, c. 94, § 20, p. 409;
• Laws 1985, LB 347, § 9;
• Laws 1991, LB 549, § 12;
• Laws 1993, LB 417, § 5;
• Laws 1997, LB 624, § 6;
• Laws 1999, LB 703, § 3;
• Laws 2002, LB 407, § 6;
• Laws 2002, LB 687, § 15;
• Laws 2003, LB 451, § 11;
• Laws 2004, LB 1097, § 5;
• Laws 2007, LB328, § 6;
• Laws 2008, LB1147, § 4;
• Laws 2011, LB509, § 8.