41.50.065 - Accumulated service credit -- Annual notification to members.

Accumulated service credit — Annual notification to members.

(1) The department shall annually notify each member of each retirement system listed in RCW 41.50.030 of his or her:

     (a) Service credit accumulated in the preceding calendar year; and

     (b) Total service credit accumulated.

     (2) The department shall begin notifying members under this section according to the following schedule:

     (a) All members of the teachers' retirement system shall begin receiving annual notification of accumulated service credit and service credit earned within the preceding school year or one school year, as appropriate, no later than January 1, 1991;

     (b) All members, other than members of the teachers' retirement system, shall begin receiving annual notification of service credit accumulated within the preceding calendar year or school year, as appropriate, no later than June 30, 1992;

     (c) All members within five years of being eligible for service retirement shall begin receiving annual notification of total service credit accumulated no later than October 1, 1993;

     (d) Members, other than members of the teachers' retirement system, who are not within five years of being eligible for service retirement shall begin receiving annual notification of total service credit accumulated according to the following schedule:

     (i) For members of the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system, Washington state patrol retirement system, judicial retirement system, and judges' retirement system, no later than August 30, 1993;

     (ii) For employees of the state of Washington who are members of the public employees' retirement system, no later than August 30, 1994;

     (iii) For employees of political subdivisions of the state of Washington, no later than January 31, 1995;

     (iv) For employees of institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, no later than June 30, 1995; and

     (v) For school district employees who are members of the public employees' retirement system, no later than April 30, 1996.

     (3) The department shall adopt rules implementing this section.

[1991 c 282 § 1; 1990 c 8 § 2.]

Notes: Findings -- 1990 c 8: "The legislature recognizes that:

     (1) It is important that members of the retirement system are informed about the amount of service credit they have earned. Untimely and inaccurate reporting by employers hampers the department's ability to inform members of the service credit they have earned;

     (2) Requiring a transfer of funds from the retirement accounts of members of the public employees' retirement system and the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system to the expense funds of those systems does not represent added revenue to the systems but is instead a transfer from the trust fund to the expense fund that causes administrative costs and results in a loss to the system or to the member; and

     (3) A standardized time period for school administrator contracts and a prohibition against retroactive revision of those contracts is needed to prevent potential abuses of the average final compensation calculation process." [1990 c 8 § 1.]