Definitions

PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the defined terms necessary to describe the provisions of the Missouri County Employees’ Retirement Fund. (1) When used in these regulations or in sections 50.1000 to 50.1300, RSMo, the words and phrases defined hereinafter shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is clearly required by the context of the plan: (A) Accrued benefit means the amount that would be payable at normal retirement date, considering the participant’s average final compensation, primary Social Security benefit, target replacement ratio, and creditable service at the date of termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a participant’s accrued benefit under the plan shall not be less than his or her accrued benefit as of December 31, 1999, determined under the prior plan; (B) Active member or active participant means an employee who does not currently have an election in effect to opt out of the plan, who has not incurred a separation from service, and who otherwise meets the criteria necessary to participate in the plan; (C) Actuarial equivalence means equality in value of the aggregate amounts expected to be received under different forms of payment. Such equality in value shall be based on assumptions as to the occurrence of future events. The future events to be taken into account are mortality for participants, mortality for a beneficiary, and an interest discount for the time value of money. Actuarial assumptions shall be specified in writing by the board or its designee, which, for the avoidance of doubt may include an actuary, and such writing shall be considered a part of the plan or an amendment thereto; (D) Actuary means an individual who is enrolled as an actuary by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 1242, or firm of actuaries, which has on its staff such an enrolled actuary, which enrolled actuary or firm of actuaries is selected by the board to provide actuarial services for the plan; (E) Annuity means a form of payment under which monthly installments are made to a retired participant in accordance with the terms of this plan; (F) Annuity starting date means: 1. The first day of the first period for which an amount is payable as an annuity; 2. In the case of a benefit not payable in the form of an annuity, the first day on which all events have occurred which entitle the participant to such benefit; or 3. In the case of a deferred annuity, the annuity starting date is the date for which the annuity payments are to commence, not the date that the deferred annuity is elected; (G) Average final compensation means the monthly average of the two (2) highest years of compensation received by the participant; (H) 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; (I) Board means the Board of Directors of the County Employees’ Retirement Fund; (J) Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and includes any regulations thereunder; (K) Compensation means, for all periods on or after January 1, 2000, all salary and other compensation paid by an employer to an employee as shown on the employee’s Form W-2, plus amounts paid by an employer but excluded from W-2 compensation by reason of Internal Revenue Code sections 125, 402(g)(3), 414(h)(2), or 457, but not including travel and mileage reimbursement and not including compensation in excess of the limit imposed by section 401(a)(17) of the Code. Compensation received from sources other than an employer and compensation received pursuant to independent contracting relationships shall not be included in calculating the retirement benefit. In the case of a participant who left the employer to join a uniformed service (as defined in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994), and returns to the employ of an employer before his or her reemployment rights under the statute expire, compensation, with respect to the plan years in which the participant was in the uniformed service, shall mean the compensation the participant would have earned had he remained in the employ of the employer. The board has the discretionary authority to make a reasonable estimate of this amount. Effective January 1, 2009, in accordance with section 414(u)(12) of the Code, compensation shall include any differential wage payment (within the meaning of section 3401(h)(2) of the Code) made by the employer to an individual who does not currently perform services for the employer by reason of qualified military service (within the meaning of section 414(u)(5) of the Code) to the extent those payments do not exceed the amounts the individual would have received if the individual had continued to perform services for the employer. For periods before January 1, 2000, compensation shall be determined under the terms of the prior plan; (L) Employee means any county elective or appointive officer or employee who is hired and fired by an employer and whose work and responsibilities are directed and controlled by the employer 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 year, except county prosecuting attorneys covered pursuant to sections 56.800 to 56.840, RSMo, circuit clerks and deputy circuit clerks covered under the Missouri State Retirement System and county sheriffs covered pursuant to sections 57.949 to 57.997, RSMo; provided that individuals who receive some pay from a county but who are subject to the hiring, supervision, promotion, or termination by an independent administrative body (such as the circuit court) or an independent authority are not employees of the employer for purposes of the plan. For purposes of the plan, the term “independent authority” shall mean any body or authority empowered pursuant to statute to i) exercise independent control over certain public functions on an independent basis, ii) establish rules for its own guidance, and iii) appoint and remove employees and fix their companies; (M) 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; (N) The entry date of a full-time employee is the hire date unless the employee opted out of the prior plan. The entry date of a part-time or seasonal employee shall be the first semiannual entry date (January 1 or July 1) after the part-time or seasonal employee satisfies the one thousand- (1,000-) hour requirement during the calendar year; (O) Former employee means a person who ceases to be an employee but who is entitled to a benefit from this plan; RETIREMENT FUND (P) Full-time employee means an elective or appointive official or employee regularly employed by an employer who is under the direct control and supervision of the employer or an elected or appointed county official and who is subject to continued employment, promotion, salary review, or termination by an employer 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 Retirement System and county sheriffs covered under sections 57.949 to 57.997, RSMo, and employees who receive some compensation from an employer but who are subject to hiring, supervision, promotion, or termination by an entity other than the employer such as an extension council or the circuit court; (Q) Hire date means the date that an employee begins actual employment with an employer; (R) Hour of service means each hour for which an employee is paid or entitled to payment for the performance of duties for the employer; (S) LAGERS means the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System presently codified at sections 70.600 to 70.755, RSMo; (T) Normal form of benefit means an annuity paid in equal monthly installments on the first day of each calendar month in which the participant shall have lived the entire preceding calendar month; (U) Part-time employee means an employee, certified as a part-time employee by the county clerk on a form provided by the board or its designee, who works regularly in each of the twelve (12) months during a calendar year, and who is employed by an employer or an elected or appointed county official who is under the direct control and supervision of an employer or an elected or appointed county official and who is subject to continued employment, promotion, salary review, or termination by an employer or an elected or appointed county official and who is compensated directly from county funds and whose position is not anticipated to require the actual performance of duties during one thousand (1,000) hours or more per calendar year; provided that, a part-time employee shall be eligible only for benefits available to parttime employees subject to the terms and conditions of the plan and as determined in accordance with the plan; (V) Participant means an employee covered by this plan and a former employee with a vested accrued benefit remaining in the plan; (W) Plan, or CERF, means the County Employees’ Retirement Fund, as described in sections 50.1000–50.1300, RSMo. The plan intends to satisfy Code section 401(a) by meeting the requirements of Code section 414(d), applicable to a governmental plan; (X) Plan year means the calendar year; (Y) Primary Social Security amount means the old age insurance benefit pursuant to section 202 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402) payable to a participant at age sixty-two (62). Such determination shall be at the time that creditable service ends without assuming any future increases in compensation, any future increases in the taxable wage base, any changes in the formulas used pursuant to the Social Security Act, or any future increases in the Consumer Price Index; provided, however, that if the participant’s creditable service ends after age sixty-two (62), the primary Social Security amount shall be determined pursuant to the Social Security Act as in effect at the time the participant reached age sixty-two (62). However, it shall be assumed that the employee will continue to receive compensation at the same rate as that received at the time the determination is being made, until the participant reaches age sixty-two (62). The first year of compensation as an employee shall be regressed at three percent (3%) per year with respect to years prior to the period of creditable service. For this purpose, the “first year of compensation” shall be the first complete calendar year in which the plan has documented information regarding the participant’s compensation. If the board does not have records of a participant’s compensation for a plan year, the board may make reasonable estimates of compensation, if the participant does not supply the records described in 16 CSR 50-2.050; (Z) Prime rate means the prime rate at any given time as listed in the Historical Chart of Prime Rates at https://fred. stlouisfed.org/series/PRIME, or any other source which the board in its discretion deems to be reliable; (AA) Prior plan means the County Employees’ Retirement System as in effect on December 31, 1999; (BB) Prior service means a participant’s service rendered prior to August 28, 1994; (CC) Required beginning date means the April first of the calendar year following the later of the calendar year in which the participant reaches age seventy-three (73) (effective January 1, 2023, with respect to participants who attain age seventy-two (72) after December 31, 2022, and age seventythree (73) before January 1, 2033, or such other applicable age described under Code section 401(a)(9)(C) and the Treasury regulations), or the calendar year in which the participant separates from service; (DD) Seasonal employee means an employee, certified as such by the county clerk on a form provided by the board or its designee, who works intermittently, but less than twelve (12) months, during a calendar year and who is employed by an employer or an elected or appointed county official who is under the direct control and supervision of an employer or an elected or appointed county official and who is subject to continued employment, promotion, salary review, or termination by an employer or an elected or appointed county official and who is compensated directly from county funds, whether or not the position is anticipated to require the actual performance of duties during one thousand (1,000) hours or more per calendar year; provided that, a seasonal employee shall be eligible only for benefits available to seasonal employees subject to the terms and conditions of the plan and as determined in accordance with the plan; (EE) Separation from service means the severance of a participant’s employment with an employer for any reason, including retirement; provided that a participant shall not be deemed to have incurred a separation from service if the participant resumes employment with an employer within thirty (30) days after terminating employment with an employer; (FF) Survivor annuitant means the individual other than a beneficiary eligible to receive an annuity following the death of a participant who is receiving an annuity; (GG) Target replacement ratio means: 1. Eighty percent (80%), if a participant’s average final compensation is thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000) or less; 2. Seventy-seven percent (77%), if a participant’s average final compensation is forty-eight thousand dollars ($48,000) or less, but greater than thirty-six thousand dollars ($36,000); and 3. Seventy-two percent (72%), if a participant’s average final compensation is greater than forty-eight thousand dollars ($48,000); (HH) Trust fund means the custodial account established to fund benefits under the plan; and (II) Trustee means the entity, or individuals, or committee that is responsible for holding and managing the trust fund that is appointed by the board. (2) The masculine gender shall be deemed to include the feminine and the singular shall include the plural unless otherwise clearly required by the context. AUTHORITY: section 50.1032, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed Oct. 11, 1995, effective May 30, 1996. Amended: Filed July 16, 1998, effective Jan. 30, 1999. Rescinded and readopted: Filed Sept. 29, 2000, effective March 30, 2001. Amended: Filed Sept. 17, 2007, effective March 30, 2008. Amended: Filed Jan. 25, 2010, effective July 30, 2010. Amended: Filed June 4, 2010, effective Dec. 30, 2010. Amended: Filed Dec. 19, 2011, effective July 30, 2012. Amended: Filed Sept. 28, 2017, effective March 30, 2018. Amended: Filed Oct. 15, 2025, effective April 30, 2026. *Original authority: 50.1032, RSMo 1995.