| (i) Certification. The ORP employer shall certify to
the Board, on the ORP employer's annual ORP report as required by
subsection (g) of this section, that the company is unable to receive
funds by EFT.
(ii) Participant Notification. At least once per fiscal
year, the ORP employer shall provide notice to each participant indicating
which ORP companies are unable to receive funds by EFT.
(10) Same-Day Credit. ORP companies shall deposit each
participant's ORP contributions into the accounts and/or funds designated
by the participant effective on the same business day that the contributions
are received by the company if the funds are received before the close
of business and on the next business day if the funds are received
after the close of business. A company that does not comply with this
provision shall not be eligible to be authorized as an ORP company
by any ORP employer.
(11) Forfeited ORP Employer Contributions. If a participant
forfeits ORP employer contributions under §25.5(a) of this title
(relating to Vesting Requirement), the ORP employer shall return the
forfeited contributions to the originating fund in accordance with
the following procedures.
(A) 93-Day Deadline for Request. Not later than 93
calendar days after the last day of the calendar month in which an
unvested participant terminates all employment with all ORP employers,
the ORP employer shall send a request to the ORP company or companies
for a return of the ORP employer contributions that were sent to the
company or companies for that participant during that period of employment.
This request may be referred to as a vesting letter because it indicates
that the participant has not met the vesting requirement.
(i) 93 Days is Outside Limit. An ORP employer may send
the request for forfeited ORP employer contributions immediately upon
a participant's termination if the ORP employer has knowledge that
the participant has not become employed and is not anticipating becoming
employed in a position that is eligible for ORP in lieu of the same
retirement system at the same or another ORP employer within the 93-day
period.
(ii) If Deadline is Missed. If the ORP employer fails
to request the forfeited amounts within the 93-day deadline, then
the ORP employer shall make the request immediately upon discovering
the oversight, even if the participant later resumes participation
after the 93-day deadline as described in subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph.
(B) If Participant Returns After 93 Days. If an unvested
participant returns to employment that is eligible for ORP in lieu
of the same retirement system at the same or another ORP employer
and resumes active participation on a date that is more than 93 calendar
days after the last day of the calendar month in which he or she previously
terminated participation, the participant's unvested ORP employer
contributions from the prior period of employment shall still be forfeited,
even if the participant subsequently satisfies the vesting requirement.
(C) Forfeited Amount. The forfeited amount shall be
the actual amount of ORP employer contributions sent to the participant's
ORP accounts during his or her current period of employment.
(i) Excess Amounts not Included. The forfeited amount
shall not include any amounts in the participant's ORP account in
excess of the actual ORP employer contributions that are attributable
to net earnings.
(ii) If Account is Less than Actual Amount. The entire
amount of actual ORP employer contributions shall be returned even
if the account balance is less than the amount of the actual ORP employer
contributions because of investment loss, transfer, or other occurrence
or transaction.
(I) Company's Responsibility. The ORP company shall
be responsible for making arrangements to cover any loss of unvested
ORP employer contributions, so that the entire amount of actual ORP
employer contributions is returned to the ORP employer upon request.
(II) Certification. Before an ORP employer may authorize
a company to receive ORP contributions from unvested participants,
as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the ORP employer shall
require the company to certify that the entire amount of actual unvested
ORP employer contributions will be returned upon request. The ORP
employer may require the company to indicate what method will be used,
for example, restriction of unvested funds to money market or similar
accounts.
(D) Company Response Deadline. Within 30 days of receiving
the ORP employer's request for a return of unvested ORP employer contributions,
the ORP company shall:
(i) process a reimbursement to the ORP employer; and
(ii) send notification of the transaction to the employee
indicating the reason for the reduction in the account balance.
(E) Deposit into Originating Fund. The ORP employer
shall deposit the reimbursed ORP employer contributions into the originating
fund or funds in accordance with instructions from the Texas Comptroller
of Public Accounts and any other applicable policies and procedures.
(F) Resumption of Participation within 93 Days.
(i) If unvested ORP employer contributions are returned
to the originating fund when the participant did, in fact, resume
ORP participation in lieu of the same retirement system at the same
or another ORP employer within 93 calendar days of the last day of
the calendar month in which the termination of participation occurred,
the ORP employer that requested the reimbursement shall, immediately
upon being notified of the employee's resumption of participation,
return the reimbursed amount to the ORP company for re-deposit into
the participant's account.
(ii) The ORP employer with which the participant resumes
participation, if not the ORP employer that requested the reimbursement,
shall notify the ORP employer that requested the reimbursement of
the participant's status as soon as practicable after the participant
resumes participation.
(iii) The entire amount of actual ORP employer contributions
that were returned to the originating fund under the provisions in
this paragraph shall be sent back to the company. There shall be no
allowance for any earnings or losses on the ORP employer contributions
that may have accrued during the time that the amounts were not in
the participant's account.
(b) Withdrawal of Retirement System Funds. An employee
who elects to participate in ORP may withdraw any member contributions
(plus accrued interest, if any) that he or she may have accumulated
in the applicable retirement system prior to the election of ORP.
Withdrawn member contributions shall not be rolled over into the participant's
ORP account prior to termination of ORP participation.
(c) ORP Companies.
(1) Authorized by Each ORP Employer. Each ORP employer
shall establish its own list of companies that are authorized to provide
ORP products to that employer's ORP participants. Governing boards
with more than one component institution may establish one list for
all components or separate lists for one or more component institutions.
(2) Qualified Companies. Companies authorized by an
ORP employer shall be qualified to do business in the state of Texas
as determined by the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas State
Securities Board, and any other applicable state or federal agency.
(3) Minimum Number of Companies.
(A) Minimum of Four. Each ORP employer shall authorize
a minimum of four qualified companies, including at least one company
that offers 403(b)(1) annuity accounts and at least one company that
offers 403(b)(7) custodial accounts.
(B) Variety of Choices. Each ORP employer's list of
authorized companies and products shall provide a reasonable variety
of choices among types of accounts and funds.
(C) No Maximum Number. Each ORP employer may authorize
as many ORP companies as the ORP employer deems appropriate.
(4) Return of Unvested Employer Contributions. Before
an ORP employer may authorize a company to receive ORP contributions
from unvested participants, the ORP employer shall require the company
to certify that the entire amount of actual unvested ORP employer
contributions will be returned upon request, in accordance with the
procedures in paragraph (a)(11) of this section. The ORP employer
may require the company to indicate what method will be used, for
example, restriction of unvested funds to money market or similar
accounts.
(5) Authorization Policies and Procedures. Each ORP
employer shall be responsible for establishing local policies and
procedures for authorizing or certifying companies to provide ORP
products to the ORP employer's ORP participants. Governing boards
with more than one component institution may establish one policy
for all components or separate policies for one or more component
institutions.
(A) Consultants. ORP employers may enlist the assistance
of consultants or other outside parties to develop selection criteria.
Cont'd... |
