Definitions

PURPOSE: This rule provides the definitions needed to describe the terms of the 457 Plan authorized by section 50.1300, RSMo. (1) Whenever used in this Chapter 20, the following terms shall have the meanings as set forth in this rule 16 CSR 50-20.020 unless a different meaning is clearly required by the context: (A) Account means the individual bookkeeping account maintained for each Participant that represents his or her total proportionate interest in the Trust Fund. A Participant is fully vested in his or her Account at all times. (B) Beneficiary means the person, persons, or legal entity entitled to receive benefits under this Plan which become payable in the event of the Participant’s death. (C) Board means the Board of Directors of the County Employees’ Retirement Fund. (D) Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and includes any regulations thereunder. (E) Intentionally omitted. (F) Deferral means the amount of Compensation that a Participant elects to defer pursuant to a properly executed Deferral Agreement. (G) Deferral Agreement means the agreement between a Participant and an Employer to defer receipt of Compensation not yet earned. (H) Employee means any person, an elective or appointive county official or employee regularly employed by a county who is under the direct control and supervision of a county or an elected or appointed county official and who is subject to continued employment, promotion, salary review, or termination by a county or an elected or appointed county official and who is compensated directly from county funds and whose position requires the actual performance of duties during not less than one thousand (1,000) hours per calendar year, except county prosecuting attorneys covered under sections 56.800–56.840, RSMo, circuit clerks and deputy circuit clerks covered under the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System, and county sheriffs covered under sections 57.949– 57.997, RSMo, and employees who received some compensation from the county but who are subject to hiring, supervision, promotion, or termination by an entity other than the county such as an extension council or the circuit court. (I) Employer means each county in the state, except any city not within a county and counties of the first classification having a charter form of government before January 1, 2008. (J) Investment option means one of the options established by the Board, in which amounts contributed to a Participant’s Account may be invested at the Participant’s discretion. There is no limit on the type of investment that the Board may designate as an option. (K) Participant means an Employee or former Employee who has been enrolled in this Plan and who retains his or her Account under the Plan. (L) Plan means the County Employees’ Deferred Compensation Plan as set forth in this Chapter 16 CSR 50-20 and as it may be amended from time to time. (M) Plan Year means the calendar year. (N) Prior Plan means any deferred compensation plan that is an eligible deferred compensation plan (as defined in section 457 of the Code), which has been consolidated with this Plan as permitted by section 50.1300, RSMo. (O) Separation from Service means the severance of a Participant’s employment with an Employer for any reason, including retirement or disability. (P) Transfer Amounts means amounts transferred to a Participant’s Account in accordance with 16 CSR 50-20.030(6) or 16 CSR 50-20.100. (Q) Trust Agreement means an agreement entered into by the Board and one or more Trustees to govern the Trust Fund. The Trust Agreement shall be established pursuant to a written agreement that constitutes a valid trust under the law of the state of Missouri. (R) Trust Fund means the sum of the contributions made to the Plan and held by the Trustee or Trustees in a trust, increased by any profits or income thereon and decreased by any losses or expenses incurred in the administration of the Trust Fund and any payments made therefrom. (S) Trustee means the entity, or individual, or committee that is responsible for holding and managing the Trust Fund. (T) Unforeseeable Emergency means a severe financial hardship to the Participant resulting from a sudden and unexpected illness or accident of the Participant or of a dependent of the Participant, loss of the Participant’s property due to casualty, or other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of the Participant. The need to send a Participant’s child to college or the desire to purchase a home shall not be an Unforeseeable Emergency. Payment may not be made in the event that such hardship is or may be relieved— 1. Through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise; 2. By liquidation of the Participant’s assets, to the extent the liquidation of such assets would not itself cause severe RETIREMENT FUND financial hardship; or 3. By cessation of Deferrals under the Plan. AUTHORITY: section 50.1300, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed May 9, 2000, effective Jan. 30, 2001. Amended: Filed Dec. 22, 2008, effective July 30, 2009. Amended: Filed Oct. 15, 2025, effective April 30, 2026. *Original authority: 50.1300, RSMo 1999.