(1)
General. A member shall submit a written application to
IPERS
setting forth the retirement date, provided the member has attained at least
age 55 by the retirement date and the retirement date is after the member's
last day of service. A member's first month of entitlement shall be no earlier
than the first day of the first month after the member's date of termination
from employment or, if later, the month provided for under subrule 11.3(2). No
payment shall be made for any month prior to the month the completed
application for benefits is received by
IPERS.
If a member files a retirement application but fails to select
a valid first month of entitlement, IPERS will select by default the earliest
month possible. A member may appeal this default selection by sending written
notice of the appeal postmarked on or before 30 days after a notice of the
default selection was mailed to the member. Notice of the default selection is
deemed sufficient if sent to the member at the member's address.
(2)
Additional FME
provisions. Effective January 1, 2001, employees of a school
corporation who are permitted by the terms of their employment contracts to
receive their annual salaries in monthly installments over periods ranging from
9 to 12 months may retire at the end of a school year and receive trailing
wages through the end of the contract year if they have completely fulfilled
their contract obligations at the time of retirement. For purposes of this
paragraph, "school corporation" means body politic described in Iowa Code
sections
260C.16
(community colleges), 273.2 (area education agencies) and 273.1 (K-12 public
schools). For purposes of this paragraph, "trailing wages" means previously
earned wage payments made to such employees of a school corporation after the
first month of entitlement. This exception does not apply to hourly employees,
including those who make arrangements with their employers to hold back hourly
wages for payment at a later date, to employees who are placed on sick or
disability leave or leave of absence, or to employees who receive lump sum
leave, vacation leave, early retirement incentive pay or any other lump sum
payments in installments.
For all employees of all IPERS-covered employers who terminate
employment in January 2003, or later, if the final paycheck is paid within the
same quarter or within one quarter after termination and wages are reported
under the normal pay schedule, the first month of entitlement shall be the
month following termination. However, if the last paycheck is paid more than
one quarter after the termination, the first month of entitlement shall be the
first month after the employee is paid the last paycheck. Under no
circumstances shall such trailing wages result in more than one quarter of
service credit being added to retiring members' earning records.
(3)
Survival into
designated FME. To be eligible for a monthly retirement benefit, the
member must survive into the designated first month of entitlement. If the
member dies prior to the first month of entitlement, the member's application
for monthly benefits is canceled and the distribution of the member's account
is made pursuant to Iowa Code section
97B.52.
Cancellation of the application shall not invalidate a beneficiary designation.
If the application is dated later in time than any other designations, IPERS
will accept the designation in a canceled application as binding until a
subsequent designation is filed.
(4)
Members retiring under the rule
of 88. The first month of entitlement of a member qualifying under the
rule of 88 shall be the first of the month when the member's age as of the last
birthday and years of service equal 88. The fact that a member's birthday
allowing a member to qualify for the rule of 88 is the same month as the first
month of entitlement does not affect the retirement date.
