(1) (a) Any employer may withdraw from the statewide defined benefit plan, and any employer may subsequently reenter the statewide defined benefit plan, by filing with the board a resolution adopted by the employer pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1), no less than twelve months prior to the effective date of withdrawal or reentry unless a shorter waiting period is approved by the board. The effective date of withdrawal or reentry shall be January 1 of the year following the waiting period, but no withdrawal or reentry may become effective after January 1, 1985, except a withdrawal to establish a money purchase plan. No withdrawal to establish a money purchase plan may become effective after January 1, 1988, except as provided pursuant to section 31-31-501.
(b) An employer that withdraws from the statewide defined benefit plan prior to January 2, 1988, as provided in this subsection (1) shall establish and maintain a locally administered and financed alternative pension plan subject to the following:
If the plan is a defined benefit plan, in whole or part, such plan shall be financed bycontributions determined by the board on the basis of the entry age-normal cost method and shall include the payment required to amortize the unfunded accrued liability over forty years from January 1, 1979; and
The members of such plan hired before, on, or after April 7, 1978, shall be coveredby the provisions of sections 31-31-803, 31-31-807, and 31-31-807.5 in lieu of any other defined disability and preretirement death benefits.
Any reentry of both the withdrawal and the alternative pension plan, together withany amendments thereto, shall be approved by at least sixty-five percent of all active members who vote in the election proposing the reentry, withdrawal, or amendment. No amendment of an alternative pension plan may be adopted that would adversely affect the pension benefits of retired members. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (1), however, an alternative pension plan, with the approval of the employer and sixty-five percent of the active members of the plan who vote in the election proposing the amendment, may be amended so as to change the nature of the plan from a defined benefit plan to a money purchase plan or from a money purchase plan to a defined benefit plan.
This subsection (1) shall not apply to any employer first established after January 1,1980.
(2) (a) Within six months from the effective date of withdrawal, the association shall refund to the employer all employer and member contributions in its custody, together with the net earnings of such funds. For the purposes of this subsection (2), "net earnings" means actual earnings, less actual administrative expenses and expenses connected with the withdrawal. The determination of net earnings shall be made by the board.
The refunded moneys shall be used only as contributions to the alternative pensionplan.
Upon the effective date of withdrawal, the employer is liable for the payment of allbenefits then vested under the provisions of section 31-31-403.
The provisions of this subsection (2) apply to all employers whose withdrawals areeffective on or after January 1, 1981.
Source: L. 96: Entire article added with relocations, p. 920, § 1, effective May 23. L. 98: (1)(b)(II) amended, p. 62, § 3, effective February 8, 1999. L. 2017: (1)(c) amended, (SB 17020), ch. 23, p. 70, § 3, effective March 8.
Editor's note: This section was formerly numbered as § 31-30-1003 (2)(b).