ARKANSAS JUDICIAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM BOARD
RULES
RULE 1 -
June 29, 1983- AMORTIZATION PERIOD FOR UAAL - Adopted amortization
period for actuarial purposes (unfunded liabilities) of 30 years.
RULE 2 - June 29, 1983 - PRO-RATA
BENEFIT- Authorized pro-rata benefit payments when eligibility begins on
some date other than the first of the month.
RULE 3 - September 9, 1983 - NUMBER OF
TRUSTEES REQUIRED TO MAKE INVESTMENT DECISION - Repealed February 5,
1998.
RULE 4 - April 12, 1984 -
RECIPIENT BENEFIT - In the event that a retiree or a survivor of a
retiree dies, the recipient shall be entitled to benefits for the entire month
in which death occurs.
RULE 5 -
August 17, 1984 - APPOINTED JUDGES OPTIONAL PARTICIPATION
(Repealed 1985)
RULE 6 -
October 25, 1984 - BOARD MEETING DATES (Amended February 5, 1998)
- The Board shall meet on the first Thursday of the second month of each
quarter and at such other times as called by chair.
RULE 7 - January 16, 1986 -
INSTALLMENT
PAYMENT (as amended April 21, 1988) The Board adopted an installment
payment plan as follows.
1. A member may enter
in an agreement with the Judicial Retirement System to pay the total amount due
in 24 equal monthly installments.
2. The service will not be credited to the
member's retirement account until full payment is received by the
System.
3. Full payment must be
made before a member makes application for monthly benefits.
4. The System will refund to a member the
amount paid if the member does not pay in one lump-sum the balance due within
six months after termination of covered employment.
5. The System will refund, to the survivor
eligible for the refund, the amount paid if a member dies before completing
payment.
RULE 8 - July
23, 1990 - DIRECT DEPOSIT - Authorized direct deposit of annuity
payments to retirees and beneficiaries who elected to receive payments in such
a manner.
RULE 9 - October 11, 1990
-
REFUND REPAYMENT - Board approved Repayment of Refund Policy as
follows:
An active judge may receive credit for a previous period of
service by repaying the contributions refunded to him, plus 6% interest
compounded annually from the date he received the refund to the date of
repayment to the Judicial Retirement System; and the Staff will notify the
judge of this policy at the time he requests a refund.
RULE 10 - January 19, 1995 - INVESTMENT
ALLOCATION RATIO - Replaced by Investment Policy adopted February 5,
1998.
RULE 11 - January 18, 1996 -
INTEREST RATE FOR PRIOR SERVICE
24-8-207
Board adopted 7.5% as the interest rate to charge on prior service
purchases under A.C.A.
24-8-207.
RULE 12 - April 18, 1996 - APPROVAL OF
REQUESTS FOR RETIREMENT BENEFITS - The Board adopted a resolution
authorizing the Executive Director of the Judicial Retirement System to approve
all applications for retirement benefits, including requests for purchasing
service, transferring service, and obtaining free service. A member may appeal
a decision by the Executive Director in writing within 30 days of the decision.
The notice should include references to specific Sections of the Arkansas Code
supporting the appeal. The appeal will be placed on the agenda for the next
regular Board meeting.
RULE 13 -
July 18, 1996 - PURCHASE OF PREVIOUS SERVICE BY A JUDGE - A judge
may purchase previous service for time served as a Circuit judge, Chancery
judge, Court of Appeals judge, or Supreme Court justice, and the judge will
then be considered a member of the Judicial Retirement System as of the
beginning date of the purchased service.
RULE
14 - May 7, 1998 - QUORUM REQUIREMENT, CONCURRING VOTES, AND
PROXY VOTING - Three (3) trustees shall constitute a quorum at any
meeting of the Board, and at least three (3) concurring votes shall be
necessary for a decision by the Board at any of its meetings. The chairperson
shall be a voting member. Members of the Board may vote on specific issues by
written proxy provided to the Chairman in advance of any meeting of the Board.
A proxy vote shall not be counted to meet the quorum requirement, but can be
counted as one of the three (3) concurring votes required for a
decision.
RULE 15 - November 1,
2001 - CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MILITARY SERVICE CREDIT - In those
instances where federal law requires that a member receive credit in the
Retirement System for service and earnings that the member would have received
had the member not been called to active military duty, the employer shall be
required to pay the employer contributions that would have been due for the
earnings to be credited.
RULE 16
- August 14, 2003 - MANDATORY DIRECT DEPOSIT -
Persons first receiving monthly benefits from the Arkansas Judicial Retirement
System on or after September 1, 2003 shall be required to participate in the
electronic direct deposit program. Persons receiving monthly benefits before
September 1, 2003 shall enroll in the electronic direct deposit program on or
before December 1, 2003. Waivers may be granted to those persons who certify in
writing that they do not have a savings or checking account.
RULE 17
- August 14, 2003 -
AJRS RECIPROCAL MEMBERS NUMERATOR (Effective May 8, 2003) - In
accordance with A.C.A.
24-2-402(7)(a)(i),
when calculating an AJRS benefit for a reciprocal member, only actual service
as a judge will be used in the numerator. Other service (i.e. purchased,
military [free and purchased], etc.) will not be included in the
numerator.
RULE 18 - May 6, 2004 -
QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS (QDRO's) - In accordance with
Act 1143 of 1993, the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS) will comply
with Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO's) issued by Circuit Courts in
the State of Arkansas that meet the following conditions:
1. The QDRO is issued in accordance with all
provisions of the model QDRO adopted by the AJRS Board of Trustees.
2. The QDRO, as specified in Section 1.
(3)(c) of Act 1143, does not require AJRS to provide any type or form of
benefit, or pay options not otherwise available under the Plan, does not
require the Plan to provide increased benefits, and does not require the
payment of benefits to an alternate payee which are required to be paid to
another alternate payee under another Order previously determined to be a
Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
3. The QDRO is issued on or after the
effective date of Act 1143 of 1993.
4. The System will review QDRO's for
compliance with this rule and notify appropriate parties of its
findings.
5. Payments to the
alternate payee shall commence on the earlier event:
(1) participating member ceases employment in
a covered position and requests a refund of contributions; or,
(2) when the participating member
retires.
6. The
alternate payee's benefit will be based on the service covered for the duration
of the marriage, member's salary at the time of divorce, and the retirement
laws in effect at the time of the member's retirement.
In those instances where the alternate payee selects alternative
B. under Section III. (Duration of Payments to Alternate Payee) of the model
QDRO, the actuary will use the following guidelines in computing an equivalent
benefit to be paid for the alternate payee's lifetime:
1. The interest rate will be the valuation
rate.
2. The Mortality Table will
be the "50/50 Table".
3. The age
used in the computation shall be the attained age at the last birth date prior
to the effective date of the QDRO.
RULE 19 - August 7, 2008 -
REASSESSMENT
OF DISABILITY DETERMINATION & TERMINATION OF DISABILITY BENEFITS
1. In the event any disability retiree under
A.C.A.
24-8-217
(or any successor statute) determines that he or she is eligible to return to
covered employment in a regular judicial position or in the event the Board
receives credible information that a disability retiree is no long disabled,
the retirant will be required to provide to the Board of Trustees current
medical information from two (2) or more physicians certifying that the
incapacitating disability no longer exists.
2. In the event that a retired member who is
receiving disability retirement benefits fails or refuses to supply the current
medical information to the Board when requested to do so, the Board may require
said member to be examined by two (2) or more physicians of the Board's
choosing to determine whether the incapacitating disability still exists.
Refusal or failure by said member to submit to a Board-requested medical
examination by a date established by the Board may be considered as an
admission that said member's incapacitating disability no longer exists. The
Board may, for good cause shown, extend the time in which said member shall
submit to the Board-requested examination.
3. In the event that a retired member who is
receiving disability retirement benefits no longer suffers from an
incapacitating disability, the Board of Trustees shall terminate the disability
benefits being paid to said member effective the end of the calendar month in
which said determination is made. Nothing in this rule shall be interpreted to
deny any member whose disability benefits are terminated pursuant to this rule
eligibility for normal retirement benefits if said member otherwise qualifies
for retirement benefits under A.C.A.
24-8-215,
216 (or any successor statutes).
RULE 20 - May 7, 2009 -
IMPLEMENTATION
OF ACT 744, RETIREMENT INCENTIVE BENEFITS
1. The retirement incentive benefits
contemplated by Act 744 of 2009 shall apply only to actual judicial service
that is rendered after the effective date of Act 744 of 2009 and shall not
include any reciprocal or military service credits acquired by a member,
regardless of when acquired, or any credit for purchased service as a district
judge, juvenile judge or prosecuting attorney.
2. A member may receive a partial year's
service credit for the retirement incentive benefits contemplated by Act 744 of
2009 for any year that he or she renders less than a full year of actual
judicial service.
RULE
21 - February 4, 2010 -
SUSPENSION OF JUDICIAL RETIREMENT
BENEFITS DURING RESUMPTION OF FULL-TIME JUDICIAL SERVICE
Any judge or justice who is receiving judicial retirement
benefits and who resumes fulltime judicial service pursuant to an appointment
under Amendment 29 of the Arkansas Constitution shall have his or her judicial
retirement benefit payments, including payments to alternate payees, if any,
curtailed during the period of such full-time judicial service. Retirement
benefits may be pro-rated for the month during which the appointment becomes
effective.
The judicial retirement benefit payments, including those made to
alternate payees, shall resume beginning the first full month following AJRS's
receipt of written notice that the appointed term has been completed or that
the judge or justice has resigned from the fulltime appointment.
RULE 22 - August 3, 2017 -
DECLARATORY ORDERS
A. Purpose and
Use of Declaratory Orders
To the extent any retirant or member of the Arkansas Judicial
Retirement System ("AJRS") has questions concerning the applicability of any
rule, statute, or other order of the AJRS Board of Directors ("the Board"), the
retiree or member submit a written petition for a declaratory order to the
Executive Director of AJRS.
A declaratory order is a means of resolving a controversy or
answering questions concerning the applicability of statutory provisions,
rules, or orders over which the agency has authority. A petition for
declaratory order may be used only to resolve questions as to how the statutes,
rules, or orders may apply to the petitioner's particular circumstances. A
declaratory order is not the appropriate means for determining the conduct of
another person or for obtaining a policy statement of general applicability
from the Board. A petition or declaratory order must describe the potential
impact of statutes, rules, or orders upon the petitioner's interests.
B. The Petition
The process to obtain a declaratory order is begun by filing with
the Executive Director of AJRS a petition that provides the following
information:
1. The caption shall
read: Petition for Declaratory Order Before the Arkansas Judicial Retirement
System Board of Trustees.
2. The
name, address, telephone number, and facsimile number of the
petitioner.
3. The name, address,
telephone number, and facsimile number of the attorney of the
petitioner.
4. The statutory
provision(s), the Board rule(s), or the Board order(s) on which the declaratory
order is sought.
5. A description
of how the statutes, rules, or orders may substantially affect the petitioner
and the petitioner's particular set of circumstances, and the question or issue
or which petitioner seeks a declaratory order.
6. The signature of the petitioner or
petitioner's attorney.
7. The
date.
8. Request for hearing, if
desired.
C. Board
Disposition
1. If the facts or circumstances
provided in the petition are insufficient in detail to enable the Board to
render a declaratory order, the Board has the authority to request supplemental
information from the petitioner. If the supplemental information is
insufficient or is not provided, the Board may so state and is authorized to
not render a declaratory order based upon what the Board considers insufficient
detail. The timeframes outlined in this rule shall reset on the date the
Executive Director receives the supplemental information.
2. The Board may hold a hearing to consider a
petition for declaratory statement. If a hearing is held, it shall be conducted
in accordance with A.C.A. §
25-15-208,
§
25-15-213 and
the Board's rules for adjudicatory hearings.
3. The Board may rely on the statements of
fact set out in the petition without taking any position with regard to the
validity of the facts. Within ninety (90) days of the filing of the petition,
the Board will render a final order denying the petition or issuing a
declaratory order.
4. The Board may
reconsider, withdraw, or amend a prior order upon its own motion. Written
notice of the motion shall be mailed to the original petitioner at the last
known address of the petitioner.
