Effective: March 23, 2015
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 42 - 130th General Assembly
This section does not apply to a disability recipient who, at the time contributing service terminated, was a PERS law enforcement officer.
(A) A recipient of a disability benefit granted under this chapter whose application for such benefit is received by the public employees retirement system on or after January 7, 2013, shall, regardless of when the disability occurred, apply for social security disability insurance benefit payments under 42 U.S.C. 423 if the recipient meets the requirements of divisions (a)(1)(A),(B), and (C) of that section. The application for a social security disability insurance benefit shall be made before the later of the ninety-first day after the recipient is granted a disability benefit under this chapter or the ninety-first day after the recipient attains eligibility to apply for a social security disability insurance benefit, unless the public employees retirement board's medical consultant determines from the member's medical records that the member is physically or mentally unable to make the application. The recipient shall file with the system a copy of the completed application or other evidence of application satisfactory to the board and the system shall accept the copy or other evidence as evidence of the member's application. If a recipient fails without just cause to apply for social security disability insurance benefit payments or to file a copy or other evidence of the application with the system, the disability benefit under this chapter shall be suspended until application is made and a copy or other evidence of the application filed with the system. If the recipient's failure to file a copy or other evidence of the application continues for one year, the disability benefit shall be terminated as of the effective date of the original suspension.
(B) Regardless of whether the recipient's disability is ongoing, a recipient of a disability benefit under this chapter who also receives social security disability insurance benefit payments shall file an annual statement of earnings under section 145.362 of the Revised Code and include a copy of the social security disability insurance benefit annual reward letter that specifies the amount of the social security disability insurance program benefit.
(C) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, if any year the total of a disability benefit recipient's benefit under this chapter and social security disability insurance benefit payments exceeds the recipient's adjusted final average salary, the annual benefit under this chapter shall be reduced so that the annual total equals the recipient's adjusted final average salary.
The recipient's adjusted final average salary shall be determined by annually increasing the recipient's final average salary by the percentage increase in the consumer price index, not exceeding three per cent, as determined by the United States bureau of labor statistics (U.S. city average for urban wage earners and clerical workers: "all items 1982-84=100") for the twelve-month period ending on the thirtieth day of June of the immediately preceding calendar year. If the consumer price index for that period did not increase, no increase shall be made to the recipient's adjusted final average salary for that period. No adjustment to a benefit shall exceed the limit established by section 415 of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C. 415, as amended.
If a disability benefit recipient receives retroactive payments of social security disability insurance benefits, the system may reduce future disability benefit payments under this chapter to recoup any overpayments.
(D) The reductions required by division (C) of this section do not apply to a recipient of a disability benefit under this chapter who has not less than five years of service credit for periods during which the recipient had earnings from other employment that was subject to the tax imposed by the "Federal Insurance Contributions Act," 26 U.S.C. 3101.