| (a) General. Any person who asserts any claim to any
right or benefit under the Act shall file written application with
the director of the system at the office of the system in Austin.
Pursuant to §§855.102 and 855.201 of the Act, the board
authorizes the director of the system to approve all forms required
by the Act or otherwise promulgated by the director or his designee(s)
for use in the administration of benefits or other operations of the
system. Any form approved by the director shall satisfy any requirement
of the Act that a form be approved or prescribed by the board.
(b) Form, content, and signature of applications.
(1) Official forms for applications for certain benefits.
Official forms for use in applying for service retirement benefits,
for disability retirement benefits, and for refund of accumulated
contributions on terminations prior to retirement are available at
and may be obtained without charge from the office of the director
of the system, in Austin, upon written request; normally, such forms
are also available at, and can be obtained from, the director of personnel
of the participating city by which the member is or was employed,
or (if no such office is maintained) from the officer in charge of
payrolls for such city; and such forms may also be available on the
system's website (www.tmrs.com) or on electronic portals maintained
by the system (e.g., MyTMRS®). All applications which are the
subject of any official form shall contain the information, statements,
and supporting documents designated in that official form, and shall
conform substantially to that official form.
(2) Contents of applications having no official form.
All applications for which no official form is prescribed shall be
typewritten or printed on white paper, 8-1/2 inches wide by 11 inches
long, and shall contain:
(A) The name, the address, and the Social Security
number or the system identification number of the party asserting
the right or claim;
(B) A concise statement of the facts relied on as giving
rise to the right or claim asserted; and
(C) A prayer stating the type of relief, action, or
order desired by the applicant.
(3) Applications required to be signed. All applications
for retirement, for retirement benefits, or any other application
or form must be personally signed by the applicant, unless there is
a legal guardian, or other representative authorized by law, for the
applicant, in which event the application must be signed by the guardian
or other lawfully authorized representative. The director may require
satisfactory proof of the authority of a representative to act for
the member.
(4) Confidential personal information in support of
applications or other forms. Notwithstanding the requirements in any
other rule in this Part 6 of Title 34 of the Texas Administrative
Code, in the event confidential personal information, including, but
not limited to a social security number, a taxpayer identification
number, or the name or contact information for a minor, is required
by a form or contained in documents filed with the system in support
of the administration of benefits, and if such documents or forms
must be filed in public records (including, but not limited to, court
records) the director or the director's designee may accept the confidential
personal information through an alternative method designed to protect
the confidential personal information from public disclosure if the
director or the director's designee reasonably determines the alternative
method to be acceptable and provided that:
(A) the alternative method is authorized by state law
or court rules or approved by a court order providing for the protection
of the confidential personal information; and
(B) the confidential personal information is filed
with TMRS.
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