Definitions

As used in North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52 and this article: 1. "Accumulated contributions" means the total of all of the following: a. The employee account fund balance accumulated under the prior plan as of June 30, 1977. b. The vested portion of the employee's "vesting fund" accumulated under the prior plan as of June 30, 1977. c. The member's mandatory contributions made after July 1, 1977. d. The member's vested employer contributions made after January 1, 2000, pursuant to North Dakota Century Code section 54-52-11.1. e. The interest on the sums determined under subdivisions a, b, c, and d, compounded annually at the rate of five percent from July 1, 1977, to June 30, 1981, six percent from July 1, 1981, through June 30, 1986, and one-half of one percent less than the actuarial interest assumption from July 1, 1986, to the member's withdrawal from the plan or retirement. f. The sum of any employee purchase or repurchase payments. 2. "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit calculated to be of equal value to the benefit otherwise payable when computed on the basis of assumptions and methods adopted for this purpose by the board in a way that precludes employer discretion pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 401(a)(25). The assumptions and methods adopted by the board, and any table of adjustment factors established in accordance with the assumptions and methods, are incorporated by reference. 3. "Alternative retirement system" means the teachers' fund for retirement, the highway patrolmen's retirement system, and the teachers' insurance and annuity association of America. 4. "Beneficiary" means any person in receipt of a benefit provided by this plan or any person designated by a participating member to receive benefits. 5. "Board" means the board of trustees for the public employees retirement system. 6. "Bonus" means cash compensation for services performed in addition to base salary excluding commission and shift differentials. Bonus does not include lump sum payments of sick leave provided under North Dakota Century Code section 54-06-14 or lump sum payments of annual leave or vacation pay. 7. "Claim" means the right to receive a monthly retirement allowance, the receiving of a retirement allowance, or the receiving of a disability benefit. 8. "Continuously employed" means any period of employment uninterrupted by voluntary or involuntary termination or discharge. A member who has taken a leave of absence approved by the member's employer, not to exceed a year unless approved by the executive director, and returns to employment shall be regarded as continuously employed for the period. 9. "Contribution" means the payment into the fund as a percentage of the salary of a member. 10. "County judge" means a judge who was elected pursuant to North Dakota Century Code section 27-07.1-01 or an individual holding the position of county judge, county justice, or judge of county court prior to the general election in 1982, who meets all the eligibility requirements established under North Dakota Century Code chapter 54-52. 11. "Interruption of employment" is when an individual is inducted (enlists or is ordered or called to active duty into the armed forces of the United States) and leaves an employment position with a state agency or political subdivision, other than a temporary position. The individual must have left employment to enter active duty and shall make application in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. 12. "Leave of absence" means the period of time up to one year for which an individual may be absent from covered employment without being terminated. At the executive director's discretion, the leave of absence may be extended not to exceed two years, or indefinitely if the leave of absence is due to interruption of employment. 13. "Medical consultant" means a person or committee appointed by the board of the North Dakota public employees retirement system to evaluate medical information submitted in relation to disability applications, recertifications, and rehabilitation programs or other such duties as assigned by the board. 14. "Normal retirement age", except for members of the national guard plan, the bureau of criminal investigation plan, and the public safety plan, means age sixty-five unless otherwise provided. For members of the national guard plan, the bureau of criminal investigation plan, and the public safety plan, normal retirement age means age fifty-five, unless otherwise provided. 15. "Office" means the administrative office of the public employees retirement system. 16. "Overtime" as used in North Dakota Century Code section 54-52-01 means, for employees other than firefighters and peace officers, any hours worked over the regularly scheduled work week and not to exceed forty hours in a week which are paid either at the regular hourly rate or time and one-half. For firefighters and peace officers, overtime means hours worked over the regularly scheduled work period which are paid either at the regular hourly rate or time and one-half. 17. "Participating employer" means an employer who contributes to the North Dakota public employees retirement system. For confidentiality purposes, "participating employer" means the person or group of persons with the ultimate authority over personnel decisions within the agency or political subdivision with which the member is employed or the person's or group's official designee. 18. "Pay status" means a member is receiving a retirement allowance from the fund. 19. "Permanent and total disability" for members of the main retirement system, the national guard plan, the bureau of criminal investigation plan, and the public safety plan means the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. For members of the judges' plan, "permanent and total disability" is determined pursuant to subsection 3 of North Dakota Century Code section 54-52-17. 20. "Plan administrator" means the executive director of the North Dakota public employees retirement system or other person or committee as may be appointed by the board of the North Dakota public employees retirement system from time to time. 21. "Plan year" means the twelve consecutive months commencing July first of the calendar year and ending June thirtieth of the subsequent calendar year. 22. "Prior plan" means the state employees' retirement system which existed from July 1, 1966, to June 30, 1977. 23. "Regularly funded" means a legislatively authorized full-time equivalent (FTE) position for state agencies. For all governmental units other than state agencies, regularly funded means a similar designation by the unit's governing board which is created through the regular budgeting process and receives traditional employee benefits such as sick leave and annual leave. 24. "Retiree" means an individual receiving a monthly retirement allowance pursuant to chapter 54-52. 25. "Retirement allowance" means a reoccurring, periodic benefit from an eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan as approved by the board. 26. "Service credit" means increments of time to be used in the calculation of retirement benefits. Service credit may be earned as stated in section 71-02-03-01 or may be purchased or repurchased according to section 71-02-03-02.1. 27. "Substantial gainful activity" must be based upon the totality of the circumstances including consideration of an individual's training, education, and experience; an individual's potential for earning at least seventy percent of the individual's predisability earnings; and other items deemed significant on a case-by-case basis. Eligibility is based on an individual's employability and not actual employment status. 28. "Termination of employment" for the purposes of determination for eligibility for benefit payments means a severance of employment by not being on the payroll of a covered employer for a minimum of one month. Approved leave of absence or if reemployed by any covered employer prior to receiving a lump sum distribution of the member's account balance does not constitute termination of employment. 29. "Termination of participation" means termination of eligibility to participate in the retirement plan.