Definitions.

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As used in this article:

1. "System" means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System and all predecessor municipal Police Pension and Retirement Systems;

2. "Article" means Article 50 of this title;

3. "State Board" means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board;

4. "Fund" means the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Fund;

5. "Officer" means any duly appointed and sworn full-time officer of the regular police department of a municipality whose duties are to preserve the public peace, protect life and property, prevent crime, serve warrants, enforce all laws and municipal ordinances of this state, and any political subdivision thereof, and who is authorized to bear arms in the execution of such duties;

6. "Member" means all eligible officers of a participating municipality and any person hired by a participating municipality who is undergoing police training to become a permanent police officer of the municipality. Effective July 1, 1987, a member does not include a "leased employee" as defined under Section 414(n)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the participating municipality that the individual's services are to be performed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall not be a member regardless of any classification as a common law employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental agency, or any court of competent jurisdiction. A member shall include eligible commissioned officers of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission who elect to participate in the System pursuant to Section 50-111.5 of this title;

7. "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the member is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's accrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day of the month coinciding with or following the date the member completes twenty (20) years of credited service. If the member's employment continues past the normal retirement date of the member, the actual retirement date of the member shall be the first day of the month after the member terminates employment with more than twenty (20) years of credited service;

8. "Credited service" means the period of service used to determine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to a member. Credited service shall consist of the period during which the member participated in the System or the predecessor municipal systems as an active employee in an eligible membership classification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the predecessor municipal systems which was credited under the predecessor municipal systems or credited service granted by the State Board;

9. "Participating municipality" means a municipality which is making contributions to the System on behalf of its officers. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission shall be treated in the same manner as a participating municipality only regarding those members who elect to participate in the System pursuant to Section 50-111.5 of this title;

10. "Permanent total disability" means incapacity due to accidental injury or occupational disease, to earn any wages in the employment for which the member is physically suited and reasonably fitted through education, training or experience. Further, the member must be declared one hundred percent (100%) impaired as defined by the "American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" on the basis of a physical medical examination by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, as selected by the State Board;

11. "Permanent partial disability" means permanent disability which is less than permanent total disability as defined in this section. The member must be declared no greater than ninety-nine percent (99%) impaired as defined by the "American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment" on the basis of a physical medical examination by a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state, as selected by the State Board;

12. "Permanent in-line disability" means incapacity to earn any wages as a certified, commissioned police officer due to accidental injury or occupational disease, incurred while in, and in consequence of, the performance of duty as an officer;

13. "Beneficiary" means a member's surviving spouse or any surviving children, including biological and adopted children, at the time of the member's death. The surviving spouse must have been married to the member for the thirty (30) continuous months immediately preceding the member's death, provided a surviving spouse of a member who died while in, and as a consequence of, the performance of the member's duty for a participating municipality, shall not be subject to the thirty-month marriage requirement for survivor benefits. A surviving child of a member shall be a beneficiary until reaching eighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the child is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or private school or any institution of higher education. Any child adopted by a member after the member's retirement shall be a beneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the thirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any child who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and such member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance of the member's duty as a police officer shall not be subject to the thirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary shall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this article;

14. "Executive Director" means the managing officer of the System employed by the State Board;

15. "Eligible employer" means any municipality with a municipal police department;

16. "Entry date" means the date as of which an eligible employer joins the System. The first entry date pursuant to this article shall be January 1, 1981;

17. "Final average salary" means the average paid base salary of the member for normally scheduled hours over the highest salaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60) months of credited service. Effective July 1, 2016, the following shall apply in computing final average salary:

  • a.only paid base salary on which required contributions have been made shall be used in computing a member's final average salary,
  • b.for purposes of determining the normal disability benefit only, final average salary shall be based on the member's total service if less than thirty (30) months,
  • c.in addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, the annual compensation of each "Noneligible Member" taken into account under the System shall not exceed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) annual compensation limit. The EGTRRA annual compensation limit is Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for increases in the cost of living in accordance with Section 401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The annual compensation limit in effect for a calendar year applies to any period, not exceeding twelve (12) months, over which compensation is determined ("determination period") beginning in such calendar year. If a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months, the EGTRRA annual compensation limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months in the determination period, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes of this section, a "Noneligible Member" is any member who first became a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1, 1996,
  • d.for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference in the System to the annual compensation limit under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA annual compensation limit set forth in this provision, and
  • e.effective January 1, 2008, back pay, within the meaning of Section 1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as paid base salary for the limitation year to which the back pay relates to the extent the back pay represents wages and compensation that would otherwise be included in this definition;

18. "Accrued retirement benefit" means two and one-half percent (2 1/2%) of the member's final average salary multiplied by the member's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years;

19. "Normal disability benefit" means two and one-half percent (2 1/2%) of the member's final average salary multiplied by twenty (20) years;

20. "Limitation year" means the year used in applying the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which year shall be the calendar year;

21. "Paid base salary" means, effective July 1, 2016, any compensation described in subparagraph a of this paragraph that is not described in subparagraph b of this paragraph.

  • a.Paid base salary shall include only:
    • (1)normal compensation paid on a regularly scheduled pay period, including, but not limited to, regular pay for holidays, paid time off, vacation or annual leave, sick leave or compensatory time in lieu of overtime, any lump sum payment paid in lieu of a normal wage increase, provided such lump sum payment is retroactively applied over the prior twelve-month period ending with the payment date, compensation for bomb squad pay, education pay, incentive pay, K-9 pay, negotiation pay, shift differential, sniper pay, SWAT team pay, emergency response team pay, any other special unit pay, and any incremental increase in compensation which is not included by the employer in a member's regular base pay for salary increase purposes but is paid by the employer to the member for group health benefits based on an arrangement with a participating municipality that was in place on December 31, 2015, so long as the arrangement continues uninterrupted for a member employed by a participating municipality on June 30, 2016, who has not since terminated employment and been rehired by such participating municipality,
    • (2)any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that would have been treated as paid base salary but for the salary deferral reduction agreement,
    • (3)any amount of elective salary reduction not includable in the gross income of the member under Section 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that would have been treated as paid base salary but for the salary deferral reduction agreement,
    • (4)any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that would have been treated as paid base salary but for the salary deferral reduction agreement,
    • (5)any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that would have been treated as paid base salary but for the salary deferral reduction agreement,
    • (6)any amount of nonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
    • (7)educational allowances paid to obtain training certification or pursue an advanced degree,
    • (8)longevity payments made to members based upon a standardized plan which recognizes length of service to the participating municipality,
    • (9)paid base salary shall also include base salary, as described in divisions (1) through (8) of this subparagraph, for services, but paid by the later of two and one-half (2 1/2) months after a member's severance from employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date the member terminated employment, if it is a payment that, absent a severance from employment, would have been paid to the member while the member continued in employment with the participating municipality,
    • (10)any payments not described in divisions (1) through (9) of this subparagraph shall not be considered paid base salary if paid after severance from employment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one-half (2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date of severance from employment, except payments to an individual who does not currently perform services for the participating municipality by reason of qualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent these payments do not exceed the amounts the individual would have received if the individual had continued to perform services for the participating municipality rather than entering qualified military service,
    • (11)back pay, within the meaning of Section 1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as paid base salary for the limitation year to which the back pay relates to the extent the back pay represents wages and compensation that would otherwise be included in this definition, and
    • (12)paid base salary shall also include differential wage payments under Section 414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
  • b.Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, paid base salary shall not include any:
    • (1)fringe benefits, reimbursements, or increases in compensation due to reimbursements to the extent not specifically included above in subparagraph a of this paragraph,
    • (2)incremental increase in compensation which is not included by the employer in a member's regular base pay for salary increase purposes but is paid by the employer to the member for group health benefits not otherwise included above in division (1) of subparagraph a of this paragraph,
    • (3)insurance benefits, including any reimbursements thereof, or insurance proceeds of any type not otherwise included above in division (1) of subparagraph a of this paragraph,
    • (4)bonuses, including signing bonuses, lump-sum payments or stipends made to the member not otherwise included above in division (1) of subparagraph a of this paragraph,
    • (5)overtime compensation,
    • (6)payments whether prior to or upon termination of employment for accumulated unused vacation or unused annual leave, accumulated unused sick leave, or accumulated unused paid time off or other unused leave,
    • (7)payments made in error to a member,
    • (8)payments made by the participating municipality for services rendered by the member, which services are not part of the member's job duties and responsibilities of his or her job position with the participating municipality,
    • (9)severance pay,
    • (10)unemployment payments, and
    • (11)uniform and equipment allowances; and

22. "Actuarial equivalent" means equality in value of the aggregate amounts expected to be received based on interest rate and mortality assumptions set by the State Board, in a manner that precludes employer discretion, and based upon recommendations from independent professional advisors, and which shall be published annually in the actuarial report.

Added by Laws 1977, c. 256, § 50-101, eff. July 1, 1978. Amended by Laws 1980, c. 356, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Laws 1985, c. 221, § 1, emerg. eff. July 8, 1985; Laws 1987, c. 236, § 150, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 267, § 6, operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1990, c. 143, § 3, emerg. eff. May 1, 1990; Laws 1993, c. 126, § 5, emerg. eff. May 3, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 84, § 3, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 173, § 1, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 208, § 2, emerg. eff. May 21, 1996; Laws 1996, c. 288, § 1, emerg. eff. June 5, 1996; Laws 1999, c. 257, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 307, § 1, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 5, § 3, emerg. eff. March 21, 2001; Laws 2001, c. 183, § 1, emerg. eff. May 2, 2001; Laws 2001, c. 414, § 2, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 340, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 137, § 1, emerg. eff. April 25, 2003; Laws 2009, c. 169, § 1, emerg. eff. May 11, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 437, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010; Laws 2016, c. 346, § 1, eff. July 1, 2016.

NOTE: Laws 1996, c. 141, § 1 repealed by Laws 1996, c. 288, § 9, eff. Nov. 1, 1996. Laws 2000, c. 287, § 1 repealed by Laws 2001, c. 5, § 4, emerg. eff. March 21, 2001. Laws 2001, c. 199, § 1 repealed by Laws 2001, c. 414, § 14, eff. July 1, 2001.


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