TITLE 2 PUBLIC FINANCE
CHAPTER 84 MAGISTRATE
RETIREMENT
PART 700 RETIREMENT
2.84.700.1 ISSUING AGENCY:
Public Employees Retirement Association, P. O. Box 2123, Santa Fe, New
Mexico 87504-2123
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.1 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.1,
12-28-00]
2.84.700.2 SCOPE: This rule affects the members, former members,
retirees, beneficiaries, public employers, the retirement board and the
association under the Magistrate Retirement Act.
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.2 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.2,
12-28-00; A, 9-30-03]
2.84.700.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
This rule is authorized by NMSA 1978, Sections 10-12C-3, 10-12C-8, and
10-12C-9, as amended.
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.3 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.3,
12-28-00]
2.84.700.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.4 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.4,
12-28-00]
2.84.700.5 EFFECTIVE DATE:
November 1, 1994 unless a different date is cited as the end of a section.
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.5 NMAC - Rn & A, 2 NMAC
84.700.5, 12-28-00]
2.84.700.6 OBJECTIVE: The objective of this rule is to establish
standards and procedures for the payment, of pensions of retired members.
[10-15-97; 2.84.700.6 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.6,
12-28-00]
2.84.700.7 DEFINITIONS:
[Reserved]
[2.84.700.7 NMAC - Rn, 2 NMAC 84.700.7, 12-28-00]
2.84.700.8-9 [Reserved]
2.84.700.10 PROCEDURE FOR RETIREMENT:
A. Application.
(1) The
member shall request an application for retirement from PERA. To insure that the member may retire on the
date the member has chosen, the completed application should be returned to
PERA, with the required documents described in subsection B below, at least 60
days prior to the selected date of retirement.
The completed application and all supporting documentation must be filed
with PERA no later than the close of business on the last working day of the
month prior to the selected date of retirement.
(2) PERA
shall furnish the member an estimate of retirement pension payable within a
reasonable time of receipt of the properly completed application and required
documents.
(3) When
the application is filed, PERA shall furnish the member's last judicial agency
with an employer's certification of earnings form to be completed and returned
to PERA. The final calculation of
pension cannot be processed until PERA receives the properly completed
employer's certification form.
(4) PERA
will furnish the member a final calculation of retirement pension based on the
information provided by the judicial agency.
(5) The
completed application form must either include or be accompanied by a signed
notarized statement of consent by the member’s spouse to the survivor
beneficiary elected by the member or an affidavit that the member is not
married. An affidavit naming all former
spouses must also accompany the final application form.
(6) Retirement
will be effective on the first day of the month following: a) the filing with PERA of the completed,
signed application with all required documentation; b) the member's qualifying
for retirement based on service credit and age; and c) the member's leaving
office. An application will be deemed to
be "filed" when received by PERA as evidenced by a
writing on the application indicating the date of receipt by PERA.
(7) The
retirement of the member shall be submitted to the board for ratification at
the next regular meeting following the effective date of retirement.
B. Documentation: The retiring member shall furnish the
following documents to PERA:
(1) Proof
of age of the member and any designated beneficiary or beneficiaries. Acceptable documents are a birth certificate,
a baptismal certificate, or religious record of birth established before age 5
years, or any two of the following documents showing the date of birth of the
member or designated beneficiary or beneficiaries:
(a) copy of a life insurance policy;
(b) certified copy of voter registration issued over ten years
prior;
(c) tribal census record;
(d) childhood immunization record made prior to age eighteen
(18) years;
(e) military record;
(f) birth certificate of child showing age of parent;
(g) physician’s or midwife’s record of birth;
(h) passport;
(i) immigration
record;
(j) naturalization record.
(2) A
copy of a marriage certificate or other proof of marital status acceptable in a
court of law for any designated survivor beneficiary to be identified as a
spouse.
(3) Complete
endorsed copies of all court documents the association deems necessary to
ascertain the current marital status of the member and whether any ex-spouse of
the member is entitled to any portion of the member’s benefits. Such documents shall include the final
decrees and marital property settlements for all marriages during the member’s
employment as a magistrate. If the
member’s only divorce was prior to becoming a member, then the final decree is
required, but no marital property settlement is required. If the member was divorced more than once
prior to becoming a member, then only the most recent final decree is required.
(4) Any
member with an effective retirement date on or after January 1, 2014 shall
provide authorization to the association for the electronic transfer of pension
payments to the retiree’s banking institution.
Such authorization shall be executed, in writing, in the form prescribed
by the association.
C. No
adjustments to the pension based on failure to claim free service credit may be
made after the first pension payment.
D. In addition to any
other vesting provided by state law, a magistrate’s normal retirement benefit
is non-forfeitable when the magistrate reaches normal retirement age, which is
age sixty-five (65), with five (5) or more years of credited service, whichever
is later for an individual who was a member on June 30, 2014 and age sixty-five
(65) with eight (8) or more years of credited service, whichever is later for
an individual who initially became a member on or after July 1, 2014. A magistrate is also vested in his or her
accrued benefits when the magistrate reaches such lesser age and specified
years of credited service as provided under the plan. If there is a termination of the magistrate
retirement system, or if employer contributions to the magistrate retirement
plan are completely discontinued, the rights of each affected member to the
benefits accrued at the date of termination or discontinuance, to the extent
then funded, are non-forfeitable.
[10-15-97; 11-15-97; 2.84.700.10 NMAC - Rn & A, 2
NMAC 84.700.10, 12-28-00; A, 12-28-01; A, 12-30-13; A, 07-01-15]
2.84.700.11 DISABILITY
RETIREMENT: A magistrate who becomes disabled prior to
retirement can make application for benefits in accordance with 2.80.1000 NMAC.
[2.84.700.11 NMAC - N, 12-28-01]
2.84.700.12-19 [Reserved]
2.84.700.20 BENEFIT PAYMENT: The
maximum annual benefit limits contained in Internal Revenue Code Section
415(b), as amended and adjusted, are incorporated herein by reference. Notwithstanding any other provision of the
Magistrate Retirement Act and regulations, all benefits paid from the
magistrate retirement trust fund shall be distributed in accordance with the
requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 401(a)(9) and the regulations
under that section. In order to meet
these requirements, the trust fund must be administered in accordance with the
following provisions:
A. The
entire interest of the magistrate shall:
(1) be
completely distributed to the magistrate not later than the required beginning
date as defined in Subsection (B) below, or
(2) shall
be distributed, beginning not later than the required beginning date, in
accordance with internal revenue service regulations, over a period not
extending beyond the life expectancy of such magistrate or the life expectancy
of such magistrate and a designated beneficiary.
B. Distribution of
a magistrate’s benefit must begin by the “required beginning date,” which is
defined as the later of the:
(1) April
1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the magistrate
attains the age of seventy and one-half (70½),
or
(2) April
1 of the calendar year after the calendar year in which the magistrate retires.
C. The life
expectancy of the magistrate or the magistrate’s spouse may not be recalculated
after the benefits commence.
D. If a magistrate
dies before the distribution of the magistrate’s benefits has begun,
distribution to beneficiaries must begin no later than December 31 of the
calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the magistrate
died.
E. The amounts
payable to a magistrate’s beneficiary may not exceed the maximum determined
under the incidental death benefit requirements of the Internal Revenue Code
Section 401(a)(9)(G) and regulations thereunder. PERA shall adjust the percentage of the
magistrate’s pension payable to a non-spouse survivor beneficiary who is more
than ten (10) years younger than the magistrate at the time of the magistrate’s
retirement as required by 26 C.F.R. Section 1.401(a)(9)-6.
[10-15-97; 11-15-97; 2.84.700.20 NMAC - N, 12-28-00;
A, 12-28-01; A, 12-30-13]
2.84.700.21-29 [Reserved]
2.84.700.30 ANNUAL COMPENSATION:
Notwithstanding any provision of the of the Magistrate Retirement Act
and regulations, the annual compensation of each magistrate that is taken into
account under the plan, including for benefit calculation purposes, for any
year does not exceed the limit specified in Internal Revenue Code Section
401(a)(17).
[2.84.700.30 NMAC -
N, 12-28-00]
HISTORY of 2.84.700 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History: The material in this part was derived from
that previously filed with the State Records Center and Archives under:
MRA Rule 400.00, Normal and Deferred Retirement, filed
on 12-29-89;
MRA Rule 700, Retirement, filed on 7-1-92;
MRA Rule 700, Retirement, filed on 11-1-94.
History of Repealed
Materials:
2 NMAC 84.700, Paragraph 10.1.5 - Repealed 11-15-97.
2 NMAC 84.700.20 - Repealed, 11-15-97.