(a) Any member who becomes totally and permanently incapacitated for service as the proximate result of bodily injuries sustained or a hazard undergone while in the performance and within the scope of his duties, if such injuries or hazard were not the consequences of the wilful negligence of the member, shall receive a retirement duty disability annuity if:
(1) Application is made not more than six months after being advised by a physician not selected or designated by the System that the member is permanently and totally incapacitated for service, if an accidental disability, or six months after the occurrence of disablement, if an occupational disease and proper proof is received from one or more physicians designated by the Board that such member is mentally or physically incapacitated;
(2) Notice of the accident has been filed with the System within 30 days next following the date of the accident;
(3) In the case of members found pursuant to section 584a, subsection (d) of this title to be permanently disabled and unfit to perform their duties, application must be made not more than three months after such determination is made pursuant to section 584a, subsection (d) of this title, and no prior notice of the accident to the office of the Board is required;
(4) The decision of the Board must be based on the opinion of the physician selected by the Board and not by the opinion of the physicians selected by the member or any other entity, including, but not limited to the Workers Compensation Administration.”
(b) The duty disability annuity shall be payable during disability and shall be equal to 75 percent of the member's rate of compensation at date of disability in an amount not to exceed $65,000 per annum. The annuity shall be offset by any amounts received by the member as workers' compensation administration from the employer.
(c) For the purpose of this section:
(1) A member is totally disabled only if the member’s physical or mental impairment or impairments are so severe that the member is unable to perform his previous work and cannot engage in any other kind of gainful employment that exists in the territory.
(2) Substantial gainful employment” means any work that is generally done for pay or profit which the member is able to perform with sufficient regularity and duration to provide a reliable source of income which provides an annual income that exceeds the poverty threshold for one person as determined by the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services, irrespective of the number of hours or days that the member actually works.
(d) The System may request earnings information from recipients of disability annuities to verify disability claims. The recipient shall provide the earnings information to the Board of Trustees within 30 days of the date of the request. If the recipient fails to provide the requested information within the prescribed time, the duty disability annuity must be discontinued until the requested information is provided. When the requested information is provided, the duty disability retirement annuity must resume.