Requirements for Membership

PURPOSE: This rule sets forth procedures for complying with sections 169.010–169.050, RSMo, relating to membership in the retirement system. (1) Membership in the retirement system is required by law, and each employer shall submit to the board of trustees, via Online Automated System Integrated Solution (OASIS), an enrollment record for every employee. It shall be an obligation of the employer to certify the accuracy of the enrollment record and to see that the record is properly filed with the board of trustees. (2) Employers will remit twice the amount of contributions withheld from all persons employed by them who meet the requirements for membership, as provided by sections 169.010(17), 169.130, 169.135, and 169.140, RSMo. Errors by employers in reporting of eligibility for membership, assigning of employees, and in remitting of contributions will be corrected retroactively, provided the employer certifies that an error was made, provides evidence adequate to support the correction, and remits any balance due from the employer and employee. If the employer has overremitted, the amount of the employer’s portion of such overpayments will be credited to the employer to be applied against future contributions. The amount withheld by the employer from the employee shall be refunded to the employee in a manner consistent with the Internal Revenue Code. (3) Any refund of contributions remitted in error for a member or an employee shall include the total interest, if any, which was credited to those contributions by the retirement system. Any credit provided to the employer for matching employer contributions required in such an instance shall be equal to the total amount paid to the member or employee, including interest. Any correcting remittance of contributions for a member shall include the total interest, if any, which would have been credited to those contributions by the retirement system had the contributions been remitted on a correct and timely basis. Any matching employer contribution remitted in such an instance shall be equal to the total amount remitted for the member, including interest. (4) Effective July 1, 2004, employment on a full-time basis is defined as employment in a position that normally requires at least six hundred (600) hours during the school term and either: a) normally requires the employee to work the full school day; or b) normally requires the employee to work at least the same number of hours per week as required for a position identified in a) of this section. A person who meets the requirements above, but who does not complete six hundred (600) hours of employment prior to termination of employment shall be considered to be employed on a full-time basis. (5) Proof of date of birth shall be established by submission of birth certificate or a certified copy thereof, issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the state in which the member was born. A certified copy of the action of a court of record will be accepted in lieu of a birth certificate. If it is impossible for the member to secure a birth certificate, documentary evidence to be evaluated by the board of trustees may be submitted in lieu of the birth certificate. (6) Special Requirements—Certificates for Colleges, Universities, and Agencies. (A) In determining credit for prior service, employment on a full-time basis for which public monies have been paid by employing agencies will be accepted as prima facie evidence that the person so employed met the requirement of being duly certificated under the laws governing the certification of teachers. (B) In determining eligibility for membership and member ship credit, the board will satisfy itself—1) as to employment being on an eligible basis; and 2) as to the member being duly certificated under the laws governing the certification of teachers. (C) It is not the function of the board of trustees to pass on the legality of employment or the conditions under which certificates have been issued. If a person who is teaching in the schools designated in the Retirement Act meets the eligibility requirements, the person is a member. (7) Members of State-Wide Educational Agencies—The em ployer of any person eligible for membership in the retirement system under the provisions of subsection 2 of section 169.130, RSMo, shall furnish to the board of trustees a certified copy of a resolution adopted by the governing body responsible for the administration of the organization before any such person shall be considered eligible for membership. This resolution shall request the board of trustees to grant membership to the certificated employees of the organization who are now or may become eligible for membership and shall indicate that the governing body will assume full responsibility for the with holding of contributions from the salaries paid to such persons and for the remittance of contributions to the retirement sys tem. This section of this rule applies only to the teacher system. (8) The possession of a valid Department of Elementary and Secondary Education- (DESE-) issued certificate is one (1) of the requirements for Public School Retirement System (PSRS) membership. An inactive certificate is valid for PSRS membership eligibility. A certificate that expired on or after August 28, 2003, is valid for PSRS membership eligibility except for Provisional (two- (2-) year, non-renewable); Temporary Authorization (one- (1-) year, renewable); Career Education Temporary (one- (1-) year, renewable); Voc I, Voc II and Voc III (two- (2-) year, five- (5-) year and ten- (10-) year certificates); and Visiting Scholar (one- (1-) year, renewable). AUTHORITY: section 169.020, RSMo Supp. 2025.* Original rule filed June 23, 1998, effective Jan. 30, 1999. Amended: Filed Aug. 29, 2003, effective Feb. 29, 2004. Amended: Filed Sept. 1, 2005, effective Feb. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed June 24, 2013, effective Jan. 30, 2014. Amended: Filed Feb. 2, 2026, effective Aug. 30, 2026. *Original authority: 169.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1951, 1953, 1967, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2020.