RELATING TO EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT; PROVIDING FOR RETURN TO EMPLOYMENT; CONTINUING RETIREMENT BENEFITS; AMENDING THE EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 22-11-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 126, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-11-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Educational Retirement Act:
A. "member" means an employee, except for a participant or a retired member, coming within the provisions of the Educational Retirement Act;
B. "regular member" means:
(1) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a state educational institution, except for:
(a) a participant; or
(b) all employees of a general hospital or outpatient clinics thereof operated by a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico;
(2) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a junior college or community college created pursuant to Chapter 21, Article 13 NMSA 1978, except for a participant;
(3) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of a technical and vocational institute created pursuant to the Technical and Vocational Institute Act, except for a participant;
(4) a person regularly employed as a teaching, nursing or administrative employee of the New Mexico boys' school, the New Mexico girls' school, the Los Lunas medical center or a school district or as a certified school instructor of a state institution or agency providing an educational program and holding a standard or substandard certificate issued by the state board, except for a participant;
(5) a person regularly employed by the department of education or the board holding a standard or substandard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment;
(6) a member classified as a regular member in accordance with the rules of the board;
(7) a person regularly employed by the New Mexico activities association holding a standard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment; or
(8) a person regularly employed by a regional education cooperative holding a standard certificate issued by the state board at the time of commencement of such employment;
C. "provisional member" means a person not eligible to be a regular member but who is employed by a local administrative unit designated in Subsection B of this section; provided, however, that employees of a general hospital or outpatient clinics thereof operated by a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico are not provisional members;
D. "local administrative unit" means an employing agency however constituted that is directly responsible for the payment of compensation for the employment of members or participants;
E. "beneficiary" means a person having an insurable interest in the life of a member or a participant designated by written instrument duly executed by the member or participant and filed with the director to receive a benefit pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act that may be received by someone other than the member or participant;
F. "employment" means employment by a local administrative unit that qualifies a person to be a member or participant;
G. "service employment" means employment that qualifies a person to be a regular member;
H. "provisional service employment" means employment that qualifies a person to be a provisional member;
I. "prior employment" means employment performed prior to the effective date of the Educational Retirement Act that would be service employment or provisional service employment if performed thereafter;
J. "service credit" means that period of time with which a member is accredited for the purpose of determining his eligibility for and computation of retirement or disability benefits;
K. "earned service credit" means that period of time during which a member was engaged in employment or prior employment with which he is accredited for the purpose of determining his eligibility for retirement or disability benefits;
L. "allowed service credit" means that period of time during which a member has performed certain nonservice employment with which he may be accredited, as provided in the Educational Retirement Act, for the purpose of computing retirement or disability benefits;
M. "retirement benefit" means an annuity paid monthly to members whose employment has been terminated by reason of their age;
N. "disability benefit" means an annuity paid monthly to members whose employment has been terminated by reason of a disability;
O. "board" means the educational retirement board;
P. "fund" means the educational retirement fund;
Q. "director" means the educational retirement director;
R. "medical authority" means a medical doctor within the state or as provided in Subsection D of
Section 22-11-36 NMSA 1978 either designated or employed by the board to examine and report on the physical condition of applicants for or recipients of disability benefits;
S. "actuary" means a person trained and regularly engaged in the occupation of calculating present and projected monetary assets and liabilities under annuity or insurance programs;
T. "actuarial equivalent" means a sum paid as a current or deferred benefit that is equal in value to a regular benefit, computed upon the basis of interest rates and mortality tables;
U. "contributory employment" means employment for which contributions have been made by both a member and a local administrative unit pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act;
V. "qualifying state educational institution" means the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, New Mexico institute of mining and technology, New Mexico highlands university, eastern New Mexico university, western New Mexico university, Albuquerque technical-vocational institute, Clovis community college, Luna vocational-technical institute, Mesa technical college, New Mexico junior college, northern New Mexico state school, San Juan college and Santa Fe community college;
W. "participant" means:
(1) a person regularly employed as a faculty or professional employee of the university of New Mexico, New Mexico state university, New Mexico institute of mining and technology, New Mexico highlands university, eastern New Mexico university or western New Mexico university who first becomes employed with such an educational institution on or after July 1, 1991, or a person regularly employed as a faculty or professional employee of the Albuquerque technical-vocational institute, Clovis community college, Luna vocational-technical institute, Mesa technical college, New Mexico junior college, northern New Mexico state school, San Juan college or Santa Fe community college who is first employed by the institution on or after July 1, 1999 and who elects, pursuant to Section 22-11-47 NMSA 1978, to participate in the alternative retirement plan; and
(2) a person regularly employed who performs research or other services pursuant to a contract between a qualifying state educational institution and the United States government or any of its agencies who elects, pursuant to Section 22-11-47 NMSA 1978, to participate in the alternative retirement plan, provided that the research or other services are performed outside the state;
X. "salary" means the compensation or wages paid to a member or participant by any local administrative unit for services rendered;
Y. "alternative retirement plan" means the retirement plan provided for in Sections 22-11-47 through 22-11-52 NMSA 1978; and
Z. "retired member" means a person whose employment has been terminated by reason of age and who is receiving or is eligible to receive retirement benefits."
Section 2. A new section of the Educational Retirement Act is enacted to read:
"RETURN TO EMPLOYMENT--BENEFITS CONTINUED--ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT CONTRIBUTIONS.--
A. Beginning January 1, 2002 and continuing until January 1, 2012, a retired member may begin employment at a local administrative unit and shall not be required to suspend retirement benefits if the member has not been employed as an employee or independent contractor by a local administrative unit for at least twelve consecutive months from the date of retirement to the commencement of employment or re-employment with a local administrative unit. If the retired member returns to employment without first completing twelve consecutive months of retirement, the retired member shall remove himself from retirement.
B. A retired member who returns to employment during retirement pursuant to Subsection A of this section is entitled to continue to receive retirement benefits but is not entitled to acquire service credit or to acquire or purchase service credit in the future for the period of the retired member's re-employment with a local administrative unit.
C. A retired member who returns to employment
shall not make contributions to the fund as specified in the
Educational Retirement Act; however, the administrative
unit's contributions as specified in that act shall be paid
to the fund as if the retired member was a non-retired
employee."