2005 Vermont Code - § 455. — Definitions

§ 455. Definitions

(a) Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as used in this subchapter shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Accumulated contributions" shall mean the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member together with any amount transferred to the account of the member established pursuant to this system from the respective account of said member under one or both of the predecessor systems, with interest thereon, as provided in section 473 of this title.

(2) "Actuarial equivalent" shall mean a benefit of equal value when computed at regular interest upon the basis of the mortality tables last adopted by the retirement board.

(3) "Annuity" shall mean annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member.

(4) "Average final compensation" shall mean, with respect to a group A and a group F member, the average annual earnable compensation of such a member during the three consecutive years of his or her creditable service affording the highest such average, or during all of the years in his or her creditable service if less than three years; and, with respect to a group C member, shall mean such compensation during the two such consecutive years, or during all of his or her creditable service if less than two years. For purposes of determining average final compensation for group A, group C and group D members, a member who has accumulated unused sick leave at retirement shall be deemed to have worked the full normal working time for his or her position for 50 percent of such leave, at his or her full rate of compensation in effect at the date of his or her retirement. For purposes of determining average final compensation for group F members, unused annual or sick leave, termination bonuses and any other compensation for service not actually performed shall be excluded.

(5) "Beneficiary" shall mean any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance, or other benefit as provided by this subchapter.

(6) "Creditable service" shall mean service for which credit is allowed under section 458 of this title.

(7) "Department" shall mean any department, institution or agency of this state government.

(8) "Earnable compensation" shall mean the full rate of compensation that would be payable to an employee if the employee worked the full normal working time for the employee's position. In cases where compensation includes maintenance, the retirement board shall fix the value of that part of the compensation not paid in money.

(9) "Employee" shall mean:

(A) any regular officer or employee of the Vermont historical society or in a department other than a person included under (B) of this subdivision, who is employed for not less than 40 calendar weeks in a year; and

(B) any regular officer or employee of the department of public safety assigned to police and law enforcement duties, including the commissioner of public safety appointed before July 1, 2001; but, irrespective of the member's classification, shall not include any member of the general assembly as such, any person who is covered by the Vermont teachers' retirement system, any person engaged under retainer or special agreement or C beneficiary employed by the department of public safety for not more than 208 hours per year, or any person whose principal source of income is other than state employment. In all cases of doubt, the retirement board shall determine whether any person is an employee as defined in this subchapter. Also included under this subdivision are employees of the department of liquor control who exercise law enforcement powers, employees of the department of fish and wildlife assigned to law enforcement duties, motor vehicle inspectors, full-time deputy sheriffs employed by the state of Vermont, investigators employed by the criminal division of the office of the attorney general, department of state's attorneys, department of health or office of the secretary of state, who have attained full-time certification from the Vermont criminal justice training council, who are required to perform law enforcement duties as the primary function of their employment, and who may be subject to mandatory retirement permissible under 29 U.S.C. section 623(j), who are first included in membership of the system on or after July 1, 2000. Also included under this subdivision are full-time firefighters employed by the state of Vermont.

(10) "Medical board" shall mean the board of physicians provided for in section 471 of this title.

(11) "Member" shall mean any employee included in the membership of the retirement system under section 457 of this title.

(A) "Group A members" shall mean employees classified under (A) of subdivision (9) of this subsection.

(B) [Deleted.]

(C) "Group C members" shall mean employees classified under (B) of subdivision (9) of this subsection who become members as of the date of establishment, any person who is first included in the membership of the system on or after July 1, 1998, any person who was a group B member on June 30, 1998 who was in service on that date, and any person who was a group B member on June 30, 1998 who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after July 1, 1998.

(D) "Group D members" shall mean justices of the supreme court, superior judges, district judges, environmental judges, and probate judges.

(E) "Group F member" shall mean any person who is first included in the membership of the system on or after January 1, 1991, any person who was a group E member on December 31, 1990 who was in service on that date, and any person who was a group E member on December 31, 1990 who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after January 1, 1991.

(12) "Membership service" shall mean service rendered while a member of the retirement system.

(13) "Normal retirement date" shall mean:with respect to a group C member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 55, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004 or completion of 30 years of service, whichever is earlier; (C) with respect to a group D member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 62 and completion of five years of creditable service; and (D) with respect to a group F member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 62, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004, or completion of 30 years of creditable service, whichever is earlier.

(A) with respect to a group A member, the first day of the calendar month next following (i) attainment of age 65, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004 or (ii) attainment of age 62 and completion of 20 years of creditable service, whichever is earlier;

(B) with respect to a group C member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 55, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004 or completion of 30 years of service, whichever is earlier;

(C) with respect to a group D member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 62 and completion of five years of creditable service; and

(D) with respect to a group F member, the first day of the calendar month next following attainment of age 62, and following completion of five years of creditable service for those members hired on or after July 1, 2004, or completion of 30 years of creditable service, whichever is earlier.

(14) "Pension" shall mean annual payments for life derived from contributions by the state.

(15) "Predecessor system" shall mean, where applicable, the Vermont employees' retirement system and the Vermont state police and motor vehicle inspectors' retirement system, either one of them, or a combination thereof.

(16) "Prior service" shall mean service rendered prior to the date of membership in the retirement system for which credit was given under the terms of one or both of the predecessor systems as set forth in section 458 of this title.

(17) "Regular interest" shall mean interest at such rate or rates as may be set from time to time by the retirement board in accordance with section 472(b) of this title.

(18) "Retirement allowance" shall mean the sum of the annuity and the pension. All retirement allowances shall be payable in equal monthly installments except that when the retirement allowance is less than $20.00 per month it shall be payable on such basis as the board may direct.

(19) "Retirement board" or "board" shall mean the board provided for in section 471 of this title to administer the retirement system.

(20) "Retirement system" shall mean the Vermont state retirement system as defined in section 456 of this title.

(21) "Service" shall mean service as an employee for which compensation is paid by the state.

(22) "Social Security benefit" shall mean the amount of the member's primary insurance benefit or disability insurance benefit under Title II of the Social Security Act and such other benefit or benefits as may be payable on the member's account under said title, computed on the basis of such act as in effect at the time of retirement and limited to the portion of such benefit or benefits which is attributable to service for which the member receives credit under section 458 of this title, to which a member or other person on his or her account is or would upon proper application be entitled, irrespective of earnings the member or members may be receiving in excess of any limit on earnings for full entitlement to such benefit or benefits.

(23) "Survivor's insurance benefit" shall mean the amount paid or payable under Title II of the Social Security Act, computed on the basis of such act as in effect at the time of the member's death and limited to the portion of such amount which is attributable to service for which he receives credit under section 458 of this title, to any person or persons on account of the death of a member, even though such amount or any part thereof is not actually received by such person because of his or her failure to make proper application therefor, or because of his or her receipt of earnings which would make him ineligible for such benefit.

(24) "Committee" shall mean the Vermont pension investment committee.

(b) The masculine pronoun, wherever used, shall include the feminine pronoun, and the feminine the masculine. (Added 1971, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1973, No. 37, § 1; 1977, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; No. 222 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 2, 1978; 1981, No. 41, §§ 1-3; 1987, No. 121, § 14; 1989, No. 78, §§ 1, 3, 10; 1989, No. 277 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 17d-17f, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 1997, No. 68 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 1, 1998; No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 22; 2001, No. 57, § 1; 2001, No. 116 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. May 28, 2002; 2003, No. 66, § 302a, eff. July 1, 2004; 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 297; 2005, No. 50, § 3; 2005, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)