RELATES TO:
KRS
161.520
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
161.310 requires the Board of Trustees of the
Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) to promulgate administrative
regulations for the administration of funds of the retirement system and for
the transaction of business.
KRS
161.520(8) requires the
board to promulgate administrative regulations for the administration of
survivor's benefits for a deceased member's child.
KRS
161.520(7) provides that the
Board of Trustees of TRS may require application for survivor's benefits. This
administrative regulation defines "recognized educational program," and
establishes specific guidelines for administering survivor's benefits and this
authorized extension of the benefit period.
Section
1. Definitions.
(1) "Full-time
student" means a student who is in full-time attendance in a recognized
educational program and is carrying a subject load that is considered full time
for day students under the standards and practices of the educational
institution.
(2) "Recognized
educational program" means an educational program beyond the high school level
that has been approved by a state, or accredited by a state or
nationally-recognized accrediting agency.
Section 2.
(1) An application for survivor's benefits
for a minor child shall be filed on the Application for Survivor Benefits form
and shall include a photocopy of:
(a) The
child's Social Security card; and
(b) The child's certified birth
certificate.
(2) If the
application is approved, the minor child's monthly payment shall continue until
one (1) of the conditions for termination of benefits in
KRS
161.520(6) is met.
Section 3.
(1) If a child meets the requirements set
forth in
KRS
161.520(3)(a), an
Application for Adult Disabled Child Benefit form may be filed and shall
include:
(a) A photocopy of the child's Social
Security card;
(b) A photocopy of
the child's certified birth certificate;
(c) A copy of the most recent Federal Income
Tax Return listing the child as a dependent;
(d) Report of Physician for
Applicant/Disabled Child Benefit form; and
(e) Authorization for Direct Deposit of $200
Adult Disabled Child Benefit form.
(2) If the application is approved, the adult
child's monthly payment shall continue until one (1) of the conditions for
termination of benefits in
KRS
161.520(3)(a) is
met.
Section 4. A minor
child receiving payment of survivor's benefits shall be paid in full for any
month in which some payment is due. If the child is, or plans to be, a
full-time student in a recognized educational program, he may apply for
continuation or restoration of his monthly benefit. If the child's application
is approved, his monthly payment shall continue until one (1) of the conditions
for termination of benefits in
KRS
161.520(6) is met.
Section 5. If the child is a full-time
student in a recognized educational program when he reaches age eighteen (18),
he shall make application for continuation of his benefit at least thirty (30)
days prior to his 18th birthday. A child who is accepted as a full-time student
in a recognized educational program after he attains age eighteen (18) shall
make application for restoration of his monthly benefit at least thirty (30)
days prior to his registration as a student.
Section 6. Benefit payments for a properly
qualified student shall begin with the first month in which he is in full-time
attendance at a recognized educational program. The student shall be eligible
for a full monthly benefit for his first month of attendance.
Section 7. Proof of full-time school
attendance shall be required if a child has reached age eighteen (18) but not
age twenty-three (23). If the child is eighteen (18) and in high school, within
ten (10) days of receipt, the child shall complete and file the Student's
Statement Regarding School Attendance form. If the child is a student in a
recognized educational program, the child shall provide proof of continuing
full-time school attendance by completing and filing the Student's Information
Update Form after he has attended his first day of class. The information
supplied by the child shall be corroborated by either a Verification of
Full-Time High School Attendance form or a Verification of Full-Time College
Attendance form completed and filed by the appropriate high school or
recognized educational program.
Section
8. Benefit payments may continue through the normal school
vacation periods if the child was a full-time student immediately prior to the
vacation period and he intends to continue full-time or actually does attend
full-time after the end of the vacation period. Benefit payments shall not be
made for more than four (4) months of vacation time during a school year.
Benefit payments shall not be made during the summer vacation periods or the
following school semesters until the Student's Statement Regarding School
Attendance form is received by the retirement system.
Section 9. If TRS verifies that a child has
received survivor's benefits for a period in which the child was either no
longer dependent or not enrolled as a full-time student in a recognized
educational program, TRS shall seek reimbursement of the benefits paid for that
period.
Section 10. A child
eighteen (18) and younger may be entitled to benefits retroactively to the date
of the member's death. A full-time student in a recognized educational program
may be entitled to benefits retroactively for as many as six (6) months,
beginning with the first month in the six (6) month retroactive period in which
he met all the requirements to be entitled to benefits except for the filing of
an application.
Section 11. When a
child attains age eighteen (18) and continues to be entitled to benefits as a
full-time student, the person who has been receiving the benefit payments shall
continue to receive the payments unless it is deemed advisable to make payment
directly to the child or in some other manner.
Section 12. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by
reference:
(a) "Application for Survivor
Benefits" form (Form 15), 2016;
(b)
"Student's Statement Regarding School Attendance" form (SUR-1), 2016;
(c) "Student Information Update Form"
(SUR-2), 2016;
(d) "Verification of
Full-Time College Attendance" form (SUR-3), 2016;
(e) "Verification of Full-Time High School
Attendance" form (SUR-4), 2016;
(f)
"Application for Adult Disabled Child Benefit" form (Form 19), 2016;
(g) "Report of Physician for
Applicant/Disabled Child Benefit" form, 2016; and
(h) "Authorization for Direct Deposit of $200
Adult Disabled Child Benefit" form, 2016.
(2) This material may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the Teachers' Retirement
System, 479 Versailles Road, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-3800, Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.