16 CSR 10-6.070 - Disability Retirement
(1) A member
claiming disability retirement must file an application for retirement with the
board of trustees on a form provided by the board.
(2) The board of trustees shall designate one
(1) or more medical advisers whose duties shall be to review and determine
eligibility for all disability retirement applicants, including assigning
physicians and/or vocational specialists for examinations and reports, when
necessary. The board of trustees shall pay the fees of the assigned examining
physicians and/or vocational specialists and shall pay the medical advisers a
fee for each application. The medical advisers shall report on their findings
and the findings of the examining physicians and/or vocational specialists, if
applicable, and the board of trustees or designated staff shall act on these
findings.
(3) Disability, as a
basis for retirement, shall consist of a physical and/or mental incapacity that
renders the member incapable of earning a livelihood in any occupation and
shall be of such a nature to warrant an assumption that it will be
permanent.
(4) As a basis for
making an initial disability determination, earning a livelihood in any
occupation shall mean that the member must be able to engage in a gainful
occupation for which the member is reasonably qualified by education, training,
and experience. A gainful occupation is one that replaces not less than
seventy-five percent (75%) of the average of the member's last three (3) years
of salary and is reasonably found in the member's Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) or Balance of State (BOS) area as established by the United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
(5) In order
to warrant an assumption that the disability is permanent, the medical advisers
and/or the examining physicians must determine that the disabling condition is
likely to persist for at least twelve (12) months. The medical advisers and/or
the examining physicians shall require that the member's disability be reviewed
on a regular basis unless and until a determination can be made that the
member's disabling condition will continue until the member reaches age sixty
(60). Such review may consist of submission of regular Certification of
Disability Status forms as completed by the member's physician or the member
may be required to obtain periodic examinations by physicians selected and paid
by the board, provided there shall not be more than two (2) examinations in any
year.
(6) The earliest date on
which disability retirement may become effective is the first day of the
calendar month following the calendar month in which the services of the member
are terminated, or the first day of the month following the month in which the
claim is approved, whichever is later; except that the earliest date on which
disability retirement may become effective for a member retiring after
receiving credit for a year of membership service shall be July 1, the first
day of the school year following the termination of services. Termination from
employment covered by the retirement system prior to the effective date of
disability retirement is required to be eligible for a disability retirement
benefit.
(7) The first payment
after approval shall include any benefits which have accrued between the date
of disability and the date of the first payment, provided, however, that
benefits shall not accrue for more than sixty (60) days prior to the date of
filing the application.
(8) Any
member who is receiving a disability retirement allowance from the retirement
system and who has attained age sixty (60) may be employed in any capacity for,
and receive income of any amount from, any employer except a school district
included in the retirement system. Any such member may be employed in a
district included in the retirement system without a discontinuance of the
retirement allowance if such employment does not exceed the limitations set
forth in section 169.660, RSMo, and
16 CSR
10-6.060(4).
(9) Any member who is receiving a disability
retirement allowance from the retirement system and who has not attained age
sixty (60) may not be employed for any employer the compensation for which
employment would constitute a livelihood, and continue to receive the
disability retirement allowance. The board of trustees will determine that a
member who has been approved for disability retirement and is receiving a
disability retirement allowance is earning a livelihood for any given year
when, not including the member's disability retirement allowance, the member
earns more than twelve (12) times the Substantial Gainful Activity monthly
limit for non-blind Social Security Disability Insurance recipients for that
year. Income is earned for purposes of this section when it is received as a
result of wages including bonuses, commissions, severance pay, or is net
earnings from self-employment. Investment income, pensions, capital gains,
legal settlements or judgments, rental income that is not a part of
self-employment (e.g., someone who is in the business of renting property),
support or alimony payments, and inheritances are some examples of unearned
income which would not count toward the earnings limit. The recipient of
disability retirement benefits who has not attained age sixty (60) shall be
required to submit an annual verification of income and may be required to
submit tax returns, W-2 forms, paystubs, and other forms of documentation as
evidence of continued eligibility for disability retirement.
(10) If the member fails to provide the board
of trustees with the completed Certification of Disability Status form or
obtain a periodic examination as required by section (5), fails to provide the
income verification as required by section (9), or earns a livelihood in excess
of the limits set forth in section (9), the member's disability benefit shall
be suspended until such certification of the member's continued disability can
be made or until the member reaches age sixty (60).
(11) A recipient of disability benefits may
make a written request to the board of trustees to return to full-time or
part-time employment on a trial basis. The written request shall include the
proposed employer and the proposed start date of employment. The written
request shall then either be approved or denied by the board of trustees. If
the request is approved, the recipient's disability benefit shall be placed on
hold by the board of trustees for the duration of the trial period, which is
not to exceed twelve (12) calendar months. If the recipient is unable to
complete his or her trial basis employment period, the recipient must provide
written documentation to the board of trustees stating that he or she is not
able to complete the trial period. The board of trustees may require the
recipient to again submit to a periodic examination by physicians selected by
the board of trustees, to determine if the recipient remains incapable of
earning a livelihood in any occupation. If determined to still be incapable of
earning a livelihood in any occupation, the recipient shall again be considered
a disability retiree and receive a disability retirement benefit without
resubmitting an Application for Disability Retirement; any contributions paid
to the retirement system by the recipient and his or her employer during the
incomplete trial basis employment period will be refunded to the employer,
which shall then refund its employee for any employee-paid contributions. The
recipient shall receive no additional service credit for the incomplete trial
basis employment period. If the recipient does successfully complete his or her
trial basis employment, his or her disability retirement will be terminated and
his or her membership status as of the date of the member's disability
retirement shall be restored; any contributions paid by the recipient and his
or her employer to the retirement system during the trial basis employment
period will be retained by the retirement system and applied to the member
account as payment toward any disability benefits paid during the member's
retirement. The recipient will be granted service credit for the trial basis
employment period. In no event shall the recipient receive a benefit payment in
the same calendar month in which the recipient either works for his or her
trial basis employer or receives service credit.
(12) Upon the death of a disability retiree,
his or her beneficiary is entitled to the same benefits as the beneficiary of a
member who dies while employed in a district included in the retirement system
as outlined under section
169.670, RSMo.
Notes
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