As used in Section 2-300 et seq. of this title:
1. "System" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement
System;
2. "Act" means Section 2-300 et seq. of this title;
3. "Board" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement Board
of the System;
4. "Executive Director" means the managing officer of the
System employed by the Board;
5. "Fund" means the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement Fund;
6. "Participating employer" means any Oklahoma entity with one
or more employees who are members of the System;
7. a. "Member" means:
(1) all commissioned law enforcement officers of the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division of the
Department of Public Safety who have obtained
certification from the Council on Law Enforcement
Education and Training, and all cadets of a
Patrol Academy of the Department of Public
Safety,
(2) law enforcement officers and criminalists of the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation,
(3) law enforcement officers of the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control
designated to perform duties in the investigation
and prevention of crime and the enforcement of
the criminal laws of this state,
(4) law enforcement officers of the Alcoholic
Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission designated
to perform duties in the investigation and
prevention of crime and the enforcement of the
criminal laws of this state,
(5) employees of the Communications Section of the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division, radio
technicians and tower technicians of the
Department of Public Safety, who are employed in
any such capacity as of June 30, 2008, and who
remain employed on or after July 1, 2008, until a
termination of service, or until a termination of
service with an election of a vested benefit from
the System, or until retirement. Effective July
1, 2008, a person employed for the first time as
an employee of the Department of Public Safety in
the Communications Division as an information
systems telecommunication technician of the
Department of Public Safety shall not be a member
of the System,
(6) park rangers of the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department and any park manager or
park supervisor of the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department, who was employed in such a
position prior to July 1, 1985, and who elects on
or before September 1, 1996, to participate in
the System,
(7) inspectors of the State Board of Pharmacy,
(8) active commissioned or CLEET-certified agents
hired by the Office of the Attorney General or
the Military Department of the State of Oklahoma
on or after July 1, 2024,
(9) police officers who are CLEET-certified and
employed by the University of Oklahoma or
Oklahoma State University and who participate in
the System, pursuant to Section 2-314 of this
title, and
(10) lake patrolmen or dispatchers of the Grand River
Dam Authority who participate in the System,
pursuant to Section 2-315 of this title.
b. Effective July 1, 1987, a member does not include a
"leased employee" as defined under Section 414(n)(2)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with
the participating employer that the individual's
services are to be performed as a leased employee or
an independent contractor shall not be a member
regardless of any classification as a common-law
employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other
governmental agency, or any court of competent
jurisdiction.
c. All persons offered a position described in
subparagraph a of this paragraph shall participate in
the System only upon meeting the requisite post-offer-
pre-employment examination standards which shall be
subject to the following requirements:
(1) all such persons shall be of good moral
character, free from deformities, mental or
physical conditions, or disease and alcohol or
drug addiction which would prohibit the person
from performing the duties of a law enforcement
officer,
(2) the physical-medical examination shall pertain to
age, sight, hearing, agility and other conditions
the requirements of which shall be established by
the Board,
(3) the person shall be required to meet the
conditions of this subsection prior to the
beginning of actual employment but after an offer
of employment has been tendered by a
participating employer,
(4) the Board shall have authority to deny or revoke
membership of any person submitting false
information in such person's membership
application, and
(5) the Board shall have final authority in
determining eligibility for membership in the
System, pursuant to the provisions of this
subsection;
8. "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the member
is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's
accrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day of the
month coinciding with or following the date the member:
a. completes twenty (20) years of vesting service, or
b. attains sixty-two (62) years of age with ten (10)
years of vesting service, or
c. attains sixty-two (62) years of age, if:
(1) the member has been transferred to this System
from the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement
System on or after July 1, 1981, and
(2) the member would have been vested had the member
continued to be a member of the Oklahoma Public
Employees Retirement System.
With respect to distributions under the System made for calendar
years beginning on or after January 1, 2005, the System shall apply
the minimum distribution incidental benefit requirements, incidental
benefit requirements, and minimum distribution requirements of
Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
in accordance with the final regulations under Section 401(a)(9) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including Treasury
Regulations Sections 1.401(a)(9)-1 through 1.401(a)(9)-9; provided,
that for individuals who attain seventy and one-half (70 1/2) years
of age after December 31, 2019, but before January 1, 2023, such
distributions shall take into account that "age 70 1/2" was stricken
and "age 72" was inserted in Sections 401(a)(9)(B)(iv)(I),
401(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) and 401(a)(9)(C)(ii)(I) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended, and, provided further, that for
individuals who attain seventy-two (72) years of age after December
31, 2022, such distributions shall take into account that "age 72"
was stricken and "the applicable age", as defined in Section
401(a)(9)(C)(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
was inserted in Section 401(a)(9)(B)(iv)(I) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (applicable to calendar year 2023), Section
401(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) and Section 401(a)(9)(C)(ii)(I) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and that the further revision of
Section 401(a)(9)(B)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, effective for calendar years after 2023 with respect to
certain distributions shall be taken into account, in all cases
notwithstanding any provision of the System to the contrary. With
respect to distributions under the System made for calendar years
beginning on or after January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2004,
the System shall apply the minimum distribution requirements and
incidental benefit requirements of Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in accordance with the regulations
under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, which were proposed in January 2001, notwithstanding any
provision of the System to the contrary.
Effective July 1, 1989, notwithstanding any other provision
contained herein to the contrary, in no event shall commencement of
distribution of the accrued retirement benefit of a member be
delayed beyond April 1 of the calendar year following the later of:
(1) the calendar year in which the member reaches seventy and one-
half (70 1/2) years of age for a member who attains this age before
January 1, 2020, or, for a member who attains this age on or after
January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2023, the calendar year in
which the member reaches seventy-two (72) years of age, or effective
for distributions required to be made after December 31, 2022, the
calendar year in which the member reaches seventy-three (73) years
of age for an individual who attains age seventy-two (72) after
December 31, 2022, or "the applicable age", as defined in Section
401(a)(9)(C)(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if
later; or (2) the actual retirement date of the member. A member
electing to defer the commencement of retirement benefits pursuant
to Section 2-308.1 of this title may not defer the benefit
commencement beyond the age of sixty-five (65).
Effective September 8, 2009, notwithstanding anything to the
contrary of the System, the System, which as a governmental plan
(within the meaning of Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended), is treated as having complied with Section
401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for all
years to which Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, applies to the System if the System complies with
a reasonable and good faith interpretation of Section 401(a)(9) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
A member who was required to join the System effective July 1,
1980, because of the transfer of the employing agency from the
Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System to the System, and was
not a member of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System on
the date of such transfer shall be allowed to receive credit for
prior law enforcement service rendered to this state, if the member
is not receiving or eligible to receive retirement credit or
benefits for such service in any other public retirement system,
upon payment to the System of the employee contribution the member
would have been subject to had the member been a member of the
System at the time, plus five percent (5%) interest. Service credit
received pursuant to this paragraph shall be used in determining the
member's retirement benefit, and shall be used in determining years
of service for retirement or vesting purposes;
9. "Actual paid base salary" means the salary received by a
member, excluding payment for any accumulated leave or uniform
allowance. Salary shall include any amount of nonelective salary
reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
10. "Final average salary" means the average of the highest
thirty (30) consecutive complete months of actual paid gross salary.
Gross salary shall include any amount of elective salary reduction
under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
and any amount of nonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1,
1992, gross salary shall include any amount of elective salary
reduction under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended. Effective July 1, 1998, gross salary shall include any
amount of elective salary reduction not includable in the gross
income of the member under Section 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1998, for purposes of
determining a member's compensation, any contribution by the member
to reduce his or her regular cash remuneration under Section
132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be
treated as if the member did not make such an election. Only salary
on which required contributions have been made may be used in
computing the final average salary. Gross salary shall not include
severance pay.
In addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding
any other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or
after July 1, 2002, the annual gross salary of each "Noneligible
Member" taken into account under the System shall not exceed the
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA")
annual salary limit. The EGTRRA annual salary limit is Two Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for
increases in the cost of living in accordance with Section
401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The
annual salary limit in effect for a calendar year applies to any
period, not exceeding twelve (12) months, over which salary is
determined ("determination period") beginning in such calendar year.
If a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months,
the EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of months in the determination
period, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes
of this section, a "Noneligible Member" is any member who first
became a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1,
1996.
For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference
in the System to the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA
salary limit set forth in this provision.
Effective January 1, 2008, gross salary for a plan year shall
also include gross salary, as described above, for services, but
paid by the later of two and one-half (2 1/2) months after a
member's severance from employment or the end of the calendar year
that includes the date the member terminated employment, if it is a
payment that, absent a severance from employment, would have been
paid to the member while the member continued in employment with the
employer.
Effective January 1, 2008, any payments not described above
shall not be considered gross salary if paid after severance from
employment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one-half
(2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the
end of the calendar year that includes the date of severance from
employment, except payments 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 Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent these payments do
not exceed the amounts the individual would have received if the
individual had continued to perform services for the employer rather
than entering qualified military service.
Effective January 1, 2008, back pay, within the meaning of
Section 1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be
treated as gross salary for the limitation year to which the back
pay relates to the extent the back pay represents wages and
compensation that would otherwise be included in this definition.
Effective for years beginning after December 31, 2008, gross
salary shall also include differential wage payments under Section
414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
11. "Credited service" means the period of service used to
determine the amount of benefits payable to a member. Credited
service shall consist of the period during which the member
participated in the System or the predecessor Plan as an active
employee in an eligible membership classification, plus any service
prior to the establishment of the predecessor Plan which was
credited under the predecessor Plan and for law enforcement officers
and criminalists of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control
who became members of the System on July 1, 1980, any service
credited under the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of
June 30, 1980, and for members of the Communications and Lake Patrol
Divisions of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, who became
members of the System on July 1, 1981, any service credited under
the predecessor Plan or the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement
System as of June 30, 1981, and for law enforcement officers of the
Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission who became members of
the System on July 1, 1982, any service credited under the Oklahoma
Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1982, and for park
rangers of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department who became
members of the System on July 1, 1985, any service credited under
the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1985,
and for inspectors of the State Board of Pharmacy who became members
of the System on July 1, 1986, any service credited under the
Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1986, for
law enforcement officers of the Oklahoma Capitol Patrol Division of
the Department of Public Safety who became members of the System
effective July 1, 1993, any service credited under the Oklahoma
Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1993, and for all
commissioned officers in the Gunsmith/Ammunition Reloader Division
of the Department of Public Safety who became members of the System
effective July 1, 1994, any service credited under the Oklahoma
Public Employees Retirement System as of June 30, 1994, and for the
park managers or park supervisors of the Oklahoma Tourism and
Recreation Department who were employed in such a position prior to
July 1, 1985, and who elect to become members of the System
effective September 1, 1996, any service transferred pursuant to
subsection C of Section 2-309.6 of this title and any service
purchased pursuant to subsection B of Section 2-307.2 of this title.
Effective August 5, 1993, an authorized leave of absence shall
include a period of absence pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993;
12. "Disability" means a physical or mental condition which, in
the judgment of the Board, totally and presumably permanently
prevents the member from engaging in the usual and customary duties
of the occupation of the member and thereafter prevents the member
from performing the duties of any occupation or service for which
the member is qualified by reason of training, education or
experience. A person is not under a disability when capable of
performing a service to the employer, regardless of occupation,
providing the salary of the employee is not diminished thereby;
13. "Limitation year" means the year used in applying the
limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
which year shall be the calendar year;
14. "Line of duty" means any action which a member whose
primary function is crime control or reduction or enforcement of the
criminal law is obligated or authorized by rule, regulations,
condition of employment or service, or law to perform including
those social, ceremonial or athletic functions to which the member
is assigned, or for which the member is compensated, by the agency
the member serves;
15. "Personal injury" or "injury" means any traumatic injury as
well as diseases which are caused by or result from such an injury,
but not occupational diseases;
16. "Catastrophic nature" means consequences of an injury that
permanently prevent an individual from performing any gainful work;
17. "Traumatic injury" means a wound or a condition of the body
caused by external force including injuries inflicted by bullets,
explosives, sharp instruments, blunt objects or other physical
blows, chemicals, electricity, climatic conditions, infectious
diseases, radiation and bacteria, but excluding stress and strain;
and
18. "Beneficiary" means the individual designated by the member
on a beneficiary designation form supplied by the Oklahoma Law
Enforcement Retirement System, or, if there is no designated
beneficiary or if the designated beneficiary predeceases the member,
the estate of the member. If the member's spouse is not designated
as the sole primary beneficiary, the member's spouse must sign a
consent.
Added by Laws 1980, c. 357, § 4, eff. July 1, 1980. Amended by Laws
1981, c. 227, § 1, operative July 1, 1981; Laws 1982, c. 328, § 1,
operative July 1, 1982; Laws 1985, c. 296, § 1, emerg. eff. July 24,
1985; Laws 1986, c. 253, § 1, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1987, c.
236, § 160, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 267, § 20,
operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1989, c. 209, § 1, eff. July 1, 1989;
Laws 1990, c. 337, § 8; Laws 1991, c. 323, § 4, emerg. eff. June 12,
1991; Laws 1992, c. 390, § 5, emerg. eff. June 9, 1992; Laws 1993,
c. 277, § 1, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 44, § 1, eff. July 1,
1994; Laws 1995, c. 1, § 15, emerg. eff. March 2, 1995; Laws 1995,
c. 294, § 1, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 60, § 1, eff. July 1,
1996; Laws 1999, c. 257, § 22, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 377,
§ 5, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 5, § 14, emerg. eff. March 21,
2001; Laws 2002, c. 399, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 3, §
27, emerg. eff. March 19, 2003; Laws 2003, c. 406, § 3, eff. July 1,
2003; Laws 2004, c. 5, § 31, emerg. eff. March 1, 2004; Laws 2004,
c. 542, § 1, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 142, § 1, emerg. eff.
May 5, 2005; Laws 2006, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 46, § 18, eff. July 1,
2006; Laws 2007, c. 62, § 10, emerg. eff. April 30, 2007; Laws 2008,
c. 177, § 7, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2009, c. 169, § 7, emerg. eff.
May 11, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 437, § 8, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010; Laws
2011, c. 141, § 1, emerg. eff. April 29, 2011; Laws 2011, c. 262, §
9, eff. July 1, 2011; Laws 2015, c. 383, § 1, emerg. eff. June 4,
2015; Laws 2021, c. 59, § 1, emerg. eff. April 19, 2021; Laws 2023,
c. 151, § 8, emerg. eff. May 1, 2023; Laws 2024, c. 361, § 1, eff.
July 1, 2024; Laws 2025, c. 45, § 1, emerg. eff. May 7, 2025.
NOTE: Laws 1987, c. 231, § 6 repealed by Laws 1989, c. 136, § 3,
eff. Jan. 1, 1990, and by Laws 1990, c. 337, § 26. Laws 1989, c.
136, § 1 repealed by Laws 1990, c. 337, § 26. Laws 1993, c. 157, §
1 repealed by Laws 1994, c. 2, § 34, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994.
Laws 1994, c. 2, § 13 repealed by Laws 1995, c. 1, § 40, emerg. eff.
March 2, 1995. Laws 2000, c. 287, § 13 repealed by Laws 2001, c. 5,
§ 15, emerg. eff. March 21, 2001. Laws 2002, c. 238, § 1 repealed
by Laws 2003, c. 3, § 28, emerg. eff. March 19, 2003. Laws 2003, c.
456, § 1 repealed by Laws 2004, c. 5, § 32, emerg. eff. March 1,
2004.‹ Prev All Oklahoma sections Next ›
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