40.19 Rights preserved.
(1) Rights exercised and benefits accrued to an employee under this chapter for service rendered shall be due as a contractual right and shall not be abrogated by any subsequent legislative act. The right of the state to amend or repeal, by enactment of statutory changes, all or any part of this chapter at any time, however, is reserved by the state and there shall be no right to further accrual of benefits nor to future exercise of rights for service rendered after the effective date of any amendment or repeal deleting the statutory authorization for the benefits or rights. This section shall not be interpreted as preventing the state from requiring forfeiture of specific rights and benefits as a condition for receiving subsequently enacted rights and benefits of equal or greater value to the participant.
(2) Any person, or if the person dies prior to applying for a benefit then any beneficiary of that person, who is a participant in the Wisconsin retirement fund or a member of either the state teachers retirement system or the Milwaukee teachers retirement fund on the day prior to January 1, 1982, and who becomes a participating employee in the Wisconsin retirement system may request, prior to application for any benefit from the system, that the amount of and eligibility for benefits from the Wisconsin retirement system be determined in accord with the laws in effect on that date but the election shall be totally in lieu of any benefit amount or eligibility provided by this act or any subsequent act.
(2m) Any person who is a participant in the Wisconsin retirement system before March 9, 1984, and who is not subsequently a participating employee in the Wisconsin retirement system shall continue to have the amount of, and eligibility for, the person's benefits determined in accordance with the statutes in effect on the date the person terminated as a participating employee in the Wisconsin retirement system, but the form of payment, processing procedures and accounting controls shall be determined in accordance with this chapter.
(3) Any person who is a participant in the Wisconsin retirement fund or a member of either the state teachers retirement system or the Milwaukee teachers retirement fund prior to January 1, 1982, and who does not subsequently become a participating employee in the Wisconsin retirement system, shall continue, except as provided in s. 40.08 (8), to have the amount of and eligibility for the person's benefits determined in accord with the statutes in effect on the date the person terminated as a participating employee in the Wisconsin retirement fund or as an active member of the state teachers retirement system or Milwaukee teachers retirement fund, but the form of payment, processing procedures and accounting controls shall be determined in accord with this chapter.
(4)
(a) The department shall assume, and be responsible for, all authority previously exercised by village or city officials relative to pension funds and benefits provided under s. 61.65, 1975 stats., and s. 62.13 (9), (9a) and (10), 1975 stats., except the governing body of the employer shall exercise the authority provided under the first sentence of s. 62.13 (9) (c) 3., 1975 stats.
(b) The liabilities of each pension fund terminated by chapter 182, laws of 1977, shall be accounted for and paid by the Wisconsin retirement system in accord with procedures set forth in this subsection.
(c) Each employee subject to par. (g) shall make contributions to the Wisconsin retirement system in an amount equal to 4 percent of salary.
(d) Each employer affected by this subsection shall reimburse the Wisconsin retirement system for all payments made under par. (f) or (g) as a result of employment with that employer. Payments made under s. 40.27 are not included as payments for which the Wisconsin retirement system is to be reimbursed. The reimbursements due from the employer under this paragraph shall be offset by application of contributions made under par. (c), applied by the department at times determined by it, and by any contributions made under s. 41.60 (2) (a) 1. and 2., 1977 stats., which have not been applied prior to January 1, 1982.
(e) All amounts due under this subsection shall be paid in accordance with procedures established by the department.
(f) Each benefit being paid under s. 61.65, 1975 stats., or s. 62.13 (9), (9a) or (10), 1975 stats., on March 30, 1978, shall be continued in full force and effect, on the terms and conditions under which the benefit was originally granted, regardless of whether the granting was in accordance with the law then in effect, but after January 1, 1982 each benefit shall be paid by the Wisconsin retirement system and if all or a portion of the benefit was in accord with the law then in effect, that portion of the benefit shall be subject to s. 40.27 (1). No supplemental benefit shall be paid under s. 40.27 (1) with respect to any portion of a benefit which was not granted in accordance with the law then in effect.
(g) After January 1, 1982, each member of a pension fund created under s. 61.65, 1975 stats., or s. 62.13 (9), (9a) or (10), 1975 stats., who was an actively employed member of that fund on March 30, 1978, shall continue to have benefits and obligations determined in accordance with the applicable provisions of s. 61.65, 1975 stats., or s. 62.13 (9), (9a) or (10), 1975 stats., but paid by the Wisconsin retirement system, except that for any member whose employment terminates after March 9, 1984, the monthly pension shall equal 55 percent of the member's monthly compensation. The provisions of s. 40.23 (1) (f) relating to compulsory retirement shall not apply to those actively employed members.
(h) This subsection does not apply to any pension fund operated by a 1st class city in accordance with s. 62.13 (10) (h), 1975 stats.
(5) For the purpose of complying with section 401 (a) (7) of the Internal Revenue Code, a participant shall be 100 percent vested in, and have a nonforfeitable right to, his or her retirement benefits upon attaining eligibility for the retirement benefits. A participant shall also be 100 percent vested in, and have a nonforfeitable right to, his or her accumulated employee contributions at all times. In the event of a termination of, or a complete discontinuance of employer contributions to the Wisconsin retirement system, a participant shall be 100 percent vested in, and have a nonforfeitable right to, his or her accrued retirement benefits. All such benefits are nonforfeitable to the extent funded. For the purpose of complying with section 401 (a) (8) of the Internal Revenue Code, any forfeitures of benefits by participants or former participants of the Wisconsin retirement system may not be used to pay benefit increases.
History: 1981 c. 96; 1983 a. 141; 1987 a. 403 s. 256; 1989 a. 56, 359; 1997 a. 26; 2013 a. 20.
All participants who have benefits accrued are protected by sub. (1) from the abrogation of those benefits unless the benefits are replaced by benefits of equal or greater value. Statutory changes to ch. 40 may be made as long as accrued benefits are not abrogated. Nonstatutory distributions made by 1999 Wis. Act 11 did not abrogate accrued benefits nor did they violate the constitutional protections against the taking of property or impairment of contract. Wisconsin Professional Police Association, Inc. v. Lightbourn, 2001 WI 59, 243 Wis. 2d 512, 627 N.W.2d 80, 99-3297.