If a member has one month or more of eligible reciprocal service credit under each of two or more state systems, the following provisions shall apply, together with the applicable provisions of the Public Employees Retirement Reciprocity Act, the Educational Retirement Act [Chapter 22, Article 11 NMSA 1978], the Public Employees Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978], the Judicial Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 12B NMSA 1978], the Magistrate Retirement Act [Chapter 10, Article 12C NMSA 1978] and the rules and regulations for those acts promulgated by the board:
A. a member's total eligible reciprocal service credit under all state systems shall be used in satisfying the service credit requirements for normal retirement under the state system from which the member retires;
B. when a member with eligible reciprocal service credit retires, the member shall receive a pension that is equal to the sum of the pensions attributable to the service credit the member has accrued under each state system, subject to the following restrictions:
(1) the salary used in calculating each component of the pension shall be the salary, average annual salary or final average salary, as those terms are defined under the applicable act, earned while the member was covered under the state system calculating that component as follows:
(a) the member's entire salary history under the public employees retirement system and the educational retirement system shall be used to determine the final average salary and annual average salary under each state system if the member has eligible reciprocal service credit under both state systems;
(b) the member's entire salary history under the educational retirement system and the judicial retirement system or the magistrate retirement system, or both, shall be used to determine the average annual salary under the Educational Retirement Act if the member has eligible reciprocal service credit under those state systems but has less than five years of service credit under the educational retirement system;
(c) the member's salary history under the educational retirement system shall be used to determine the average annual salary under that system if the member has eligible reciprocal service credit under the Educational Retirement Act and the Judicial Retirement Act or the Magistrate Retirement Act, or both, and has five or more years of service credit under the educational retirement system; or
(d) if a member has less than twelve months of credited service under the judicial retirement system or the magistrate retirement system, the final year's salary shall be the aggregate amount of salary paid to the member for the period of credited service divided by the member's credited service times twelve;
(2) the member shall meet the age and service credit requirements for retirement under each applicable state system before the component of the pension attributable to service credit accrued under that state system may be paid; provided that the member's total eligible reciprocal service credit under all state systems shall be used in satisfying the service credit requirement for normal retirement under each state system;
(3) the member shall terminate employment under all state systems before the member may receive a pension from any state system; and
(4) the member shall file an application for retirement under the state system under which the member was last employed, in accordance with the requirements of that state system;
C. subject to the restrictions contained in this section, the component of the pension attributable to each state system shall be calculated based upon:
(1) the member's eligible reciprocal service credit acquired as a member of that state system; and
(2) the pension calculation formula applicable to the member under that state system;
D. the following limitations shall apply to pensions calculated under the Public Employees Retirement Reciprocity Act:
(1) in no case shall the total amount of the pension, calculated under the Public Employees Retirement Reciprocity Act and received by a member attributable to all state systems, exceed the amount allowable under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code; and
(2) where the member has less than five years of service credit in one state system, the pension from that state system shall not exceed six hundred twenty-five thousandths percent per month of service under that state system multiplied by the following amount applicable under that state system:
(a) one-twelfth of the member's magistrate salary received during the last year in office;
(b) one-twelfth of the member's judicial salary received during the last year in office; or
(c) the member's final average salary as defined pursuant to the Public Employees Retirement Act;
E. for members who retire prior to July 1, 2017, the state system from which a member with earned eligible reciprocal service credit retires shall be the payor fund for the pension; provided that:
(1) each state system shall reimburse the payor fund the amount of the component of the pension attributable to service credit accrued under that state system; and
(2) reimbursements shall be made in the manner and frequency determined by the boards;
F. for members who retire on or after July 1, 2017, each state system from which a member earned eligible reciprocal service credit shall pay the amount of the component of the pension attributable to service credit accrued under that state system;
G. in no case shall any member retire from more than one state system; and
H. if a member retires from any state system with eligible reciprocal service credit and is subsequently employed by any employer covered by a state system, the retired member's eligibility to continue to receive pension payments shall be governed by the retirement act governing the state system from which the member retired. Subsequent membership in the retirement program under which the subsequent employee is covered shall be governed by that retirement act.
History: 1978 Comp., § 10-13A-4, enacted by Laws 1992, ch. 116, § 16; 1993, ch. 279, § 3; 2017, ch. 25, § 1.
ANNOTATIONSCross references. — For Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. § 415.
The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, required that each state retirement system from which a member has earned eligible reciprocal service credit pay its portion of a retirement benefit for members who retire on or after July 1, 2017; in Paragraph B(2), after "provided", added "that"; in Subsection E, added "for members who retire prior to July 1, 2017", and after "a member with", added "earned"; and added a new Subsection F and redesignated the succeeding subsections accordingly.
The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, substituted "month" for "year" and inserted "the Educational Retirement Act" in the introductory language; substituted "for" for "from" in Subsection A; inserted "average annual salary" in the introductory language of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B; added the language beginning "as follows", including Subparagraphs (a) through (d), to the end of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B; rewrote Paragraph (1) of Subsection D; substituted "six hundred twenty-five one thousandths percent per month" for "seven and one-half percent per year" in Paragraph (2) of Subsection D; substituted "boards" for "board" in Paragraph (2) of Subsection E; and rewrote Subsection G.