The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
(1) Active Participation--Period of employment during
which an ORP participant makes regular ORP contributions through payroll
deduction based on the statutory percentage of the employee's salary
earned during that period, which along with the matching employer
contributions, are sent by the ORP employer to an authorized ORP company.
A faculty member who is not employed by a Texas public institution
of higher education during the three summer months but who was participating
in ORP at the end of the spring semester immediately preceding the
summer and who resumes ORP participation with the same or another
Texas public institution of higher education in the fall semester
immediately following that summer shall be considered an active participant
during the three summer months.
(2) Applicable Retirement System--The Teacher Retirement
System of Texas for employees of Texas public institutions of higher
education and the Employees Retirement System of Texas for employees
of the Board.
(3) Board--The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board.
(4) Break in Service--A period following a participant's
termination of all employment with all Texas public institutions of
higher education or the Board that is at least one full calendar month
in which no ORP contribution is made, excluding the three summer months
for faculty members who were participating in ORP at the end of the
spring semester immediately preceding the summer and who resume ORP
participation with the same or another Texas public institution of
higher education in the fall semester immediately following that summer,
and excluding periods of leave-without-pay. A transfer between Texas
public institutions of higher education with less than a full calendar
month in which no ORP contribution is made shall not be considered
a break in service.
(5) ERS--Employees Retirement System of Texas.
(6) Full-time--For purposes of determining initial
ORP eligibility, the term "full-time" shall mean employment for the
standard full-time workload established by the institution ("100 percent
effort").
(7) Initial ORP Eligibility Date--The first day of
an ORP-eligible employee's 90-day ORP election period. An employee's
initial ORP eligibility date shall be the first date that the employee
meets all four criteria in §25.4(a) of this title (relating to
Eligibility Criteria).
(8) Initial ORP Eligibility Period--The period of time
an ORP participant must be employed on a full-time basis ("100 percent
effort") beginning with the initial ORP eligibility date, as defined
in paragraph (7) of this section, and ending after one full semester
or four and one-half months.
(9) Major Department Requirement--One of the factors
used to determine whether a position is ORP-eligible in the "Other
Key Administrator" category as defined in §25.4(k) of this title
(relating to Eligible Positions). A department or budget entity at
a public institution of higher education shall meet this requirement
if:
(A) the department or budget entity is considered a
"major" department by the institution based on the specific organizational
size and structure of that institution; and
(B) the department or budget entity has its own budget,
policies and programs.
(10) ORP--Optional Retirement Program.
(11) ORP Election Period--The period of time during
which ORP-eligible employees have a once-per-lifetime opportunity
to elect to participate in ORP in lieu of the applicable retirement
system. The ORP election period shall begin on an employee's initial
ORP eligibility date, as defined in paragraph (7) of this section,
and shall end on the earlier of:
(A) the date the employee makes an ORP election by
signing the TRS 28 ORP election form (or its successor) or, for employees
of the Board, the ORP election form provided by the Board, and submitting
the ORP election form to the ORP employer for certification; or
(B) the 90th calendar day after the employee's initial
ORP eligibility date, not including the initial ORP eligibility date
and including the 90th calendar day. If the 90th calendar day after
the initial ORP eligibility date falls on a weekend or holiday, the
deadline shall be extended until the first business day after the
90th calendar day.
(12) ORP Employer--All public institutions of higher
education in Texas and the Board.
(13) ORP Retiree--An individual who participated in
ORP while employed with a Texas public institution of higher education
or the Board and who established retiree status by meeting the applicable
retiree insurance requirements and enrolling in retiree group insurance
provided by ERS, The University of Texas System, or The Texas A&M
University System, regardless of whether currently enrolled.
(14) Principal Activity Requirement--One of the factors
used to determine whether a position is ORP-eligible based on the
percent of effort required by the position to be devoted to ORP-eligible
duties. The principal activity requirement shall be met if at least
51 percent of the position's duties are devoted to ORP-eligible duties
in one of the ORP-eligible categories defined in §25.4(k) of
this title (relating to Eligible Positions), with two exceptions:
(A) During Initial ORP Eligibility Period. During an
employee's initial ORP eligibility period (when the position is required
to be 100 percent effort to qualify as ORP-eligible), if the ORP-eligible
duties associated with an ORP-eligible category are less than 51 percent
of the activities for a particular position, the position shall be
considered to meet the principal activity requirement if all of the
position's other duties are ORP-eligible duties under one of the other
ORP-eligible categories defined in §25.4(k) of this title (relating
to Eligible Positions), for a total of 100 percent effort devoted
to ORP-eligible duties, as would be the case, for example, for a position
with required duties that are 50 percent instruction and/or research
(faculty position) and 50 percent department chair (faculty administrator
position).
(B) After Initial ORP Eligibility Period. For a participant
who has completed the initial ORP eligibility period but who has not
vested in ORP and who fills a position that is less than 100 percent
effort but at least 50 percent effort, then the principal activity
requirement shall be considered met if at least 50 percent effort
is devoted to applicable ORP-eligible duties in one of the ORP-eligible
categories defined in §25.4(k) of this title (relating to Eligible
Positions).
(15) TRS--Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
(16) Vesting Requirement--The minimum amount of ORP
participation required to attain vested status. An ORP participant
shall be considered vested on the first day of the second year of
active participation in lieu of the applicable retirement system,
as provided in §25.5(a) of this title (relating to Vesting Requirement).
A vested participant shall have ownership rights to the employer contributions
in his or her ORP accounts, meaning that, upon termination of employment
with all ORP employers or reaching age 70-1/2, he or she may access
both the employee and employer contributions (and any net earnings)
in his or her accounts. A vested participant shall remain in ORP even
if subsequently employed in a position that is not ORP-eligible, as
provided in §25.5(f) of this title (relating to Employment in
a non-ORP-Eligible Position).
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Source Note: The provisions of this §25.3 adopted to be effective May 23, 2004, 29 TexReg 5079; amended to be effective November 28, 2005, 30 TexReg 7873; amended to be effective August 30, 2016, 41 TexReg 6484 |