Any member who terminates employment in the public schools
of Oklahoma may voluntarily withdraw from membership in TRS under the following
conditions:
(1) 70 O.S. §17-105
provides that members who leave Oklahoma public education employment are
eligible to withdraw the contributions made to their TRS account four (4)
months after termination. A former employee may submit application for the
proceeds of the account after the last day physically worked. There are no
exceptions to this waiting period.
(2) Written verification from the school's
payroll department of a member's termination of employment and/or
non-resumption of teaching contract must be on file before processing the
Application for Withdrawal.
(3) The
years of membership shall be calculated as follows:
(A) For withdrawal purposes - from the date
of the first contribution of the current membership to the date of withdrawal,
except that member accounts closed in compliance with OAC
715:10-7-3
will be from the date of the first contribution to the date the account is
closed.
(B) For payment of interest
purposes - from the date of the first contribution of the current membership to
the date of withdrawal, except that member accounts closed in compliance with
OAC
715:10-7-3
will be from the date of the first contribution to the date the account is
closed.
(4) Interest on
withdrawals shall bear a rate equivalent to that of the actuarially assumed
rate of return for the System as determined by the Board of Trustees from time
to time, calculated according to the following schedule :
(A) July 1, 1968 through June 30, 1977 - four
and one-half percent (4 1/2%), compounded annually.
(B) July 1, 1977 through June 30, 1981 -
seven percent (7%), compounded annually.
(C) July 1, 1981, through June 30, 2019 -
eight percent (8%), compounded annually.
(D) July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020 - seven
and one-half percent (7 1/2%), compounded annually.
(E) July 1, 2020 to present (until changed by
the Board of Trustees), seven percent (7%), compounded annually.
(5) Interest payment on
withdrawals shall be paid as follows:
(A) If
termination occurs within sixteen (16) years from the date membership began,
fifty percent (50%) of the total accrued interest shall be paid.
(B) For members with at least sixteen (16)
years but less than twenty-one (21) years of membership, sixty percent (60%) of
the total accrued interest shall be paid.
(C) For members with at least twenty-one (21)
years but less than twenty-six (26) years of membership, seventy-five percent
(75%) of the total accrued interest shall be paid.
(D) For members with at least twenty-six (26)
years of membership, ninety percent (90%) of the total accrued interest shall
be paid.
(6) A person
whose membership has not terminated due to five (5) years of absence from
Oklahoma public education employment, but who has applied to withdraw all
accumulated contributions, shall not have membership terminated until the
withdrawal payment has been processed.
(7) Effective July 1, 1990, no member is
eligible to withdraw contributions made on a pre-tax basis, unless the employee
has terminated employment in the public schools for a period of four
months.
Notes
Okla. Admin. Code §
715:10-11-1
Amended at 13 Ok Reg
3899, eff 8-5-96 through 7-14-97 (emergency)1;
Amended at 14 Ok Reg 3216, eff 7-25-97; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2729, eff 7-11-02;
Amended at 21 Ok Reg 3091, eff 8-21-03 through 7-14-04
(emergency)2; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 3099, eff
8-12-04; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 854, eff 8-1-12
Amended by
Oklahoma
Register, Volume 36, Issue 22, August 1, 2019, eff.
8/11/2019
Amended by
Oklahoma
Register, Volume 38, Issue 05, November 16, 2020, eff.
10/15/2020
Amended by
Oklahoma
Register, Volume 38, Issue 23, August 16, 2021, eff.
8/26/2021
1This emergency action expired before being superseded by a
permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last
prior permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-97 (after the 7-14-97
expiration of the emergency action), the text of section 715:10-11-1 reverted
back to the permanent text that was effective prior to enactment of the
emergency action on 8-5-96, as last published in the 1996 Edition of the OAC,
and remained as such until amended by permanent action on 7-25-97.
2This emergency action expired before being superseded by a
permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last
prior permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-04 (after the 7-14-04
expiration of the emergency action), the text of section 715:10-11-1 reverted
back to the permanent text that became effective 7-11-02, as was last published
in the 2003 OAC Supplement, and remained as such until amended by permanent
action on 8-12-04.
