| (a) Upon receipt of a notice of a judgment overturning
the conviction of a former TRS member or service retiree for a qualifying
felony that resulted in the termination of membership in TRS or the
forfeiture of service retirement benefits required in §824.009,
Government Code, or upon receipt of a notice of judgment that the
person whose membership in TRS was terminated or who forfeited service
retirement benefits as required in §824.009, Government Code
meets the requirements for innocence under §103.001 (a)(2), Civil
Practice and Remedies Code, TRS shall restore the person to membership
or distribute service retirement benefits to the person as provided
in this section.
(b) A person whose membership in TRS was terminated
as provided in §29.90 of this subchapter before the distribution
of service retirement benefits commenced shall be restored to membership
in TRS as follows:
(1) If there was a qualified domestic relations order
(QDRO) in effect before September 1, 2017, membership shall be restored
upon receipt from the former member of an amount equal to the total
accumulated contributions paid on behalf of the member under §29.90
of this subchapter, including any accumulated contributions paid to
an alternate payee under the terms of a QDRO. However, TRS shall not
pay to the alternate payee any portion of any benefits restored under
this section under the terms of a QDRO in effect before September
1, 2017, even if the benefits result in part from the reinstatement
of service credit initially credited during the marriage.
(2) If a QDRO was entered on or after September 1,
2017 under the authority provided in §824.009 (i), Government
Code, the person shall repay all of the accumulated contributions
distributed under §29.90, and:
(A) If a distribution of service retirement benefits
has not yet commenced to the alternate payee, the amount of accumulated
contributions held under §29.90(c)(3) for the benefit of the
alternate payee shall be restored to the member account. Any future
distribution of benefits on behalf of the member shall be subject
to the terms of the QDRO entered under the authority of §824.009,
Government Code; or
(B) If a distribution of service retirement benefits
has commenced to the alternate payee, the former member shall pay
the amount of accumulated contributions refunded on his or her behalf
less the portion of accumulated contributions retained by TRS under
the terms of the QDRO and TRS shall commence distributing to the member
the portion of the retirement benefits elected by the member and not
awarded to the alternate payee. The alternate payee shall continue
to receive the portion of the standard service retirement annuity
awarded under the terms of the QDRO until the earlier of the death
of the alternate payee or the member.
(3) If a QDRO was entered on or after September 1,
2017 but not under the authority provided in §824.009(i), membership
shall be restored upon receipt from the person of an amount equal
to the total accumulated contributions paid on behalf of the member
under §29.90, including any accumulated contributions paid to
an alternate payee. However, TRS shall not pay to the alternate payee
any portion of any benefits restored under this section under the
terms of a QDRO in effect before September 1, 2017, even if the benefits
result in part from the reinstatement of service credit initially
credited during the marriage.
(4) If there was no QDRO in effect with respect to
the member, membership is restored upon receipt by TRS of an amount
equal to all accumulated contributions refunded to the member.
(c) A person whose membership in TRS was terminated
as provided in §29.90 after the commencement of service retirement
benefits shall be restored to TRS membership as follows:
(1) If there was a QDRO in effect before September
1, 2017 or on or after September 1, 2017 under the authority provided
in §824.009(i), Government Code:
(A) the member shall receive an amount equal to the
accrued total of annuity payments, including any PLSO payments, previously
forfeited due to the conviction through the calendar month of notice
of the judgement overturning the conviction to TRS plus interest,
less any amounts paid to the alternate payee under the terms of a
QDRO;
(B) the member shall repay to TRS an amount equal to
the portion of the accumulated contributions refunded to the member.
A distribution of service retirement annuities, less any amount distributed
to the alternate payee under the terms of the QDRO, may resume to
the member effective with the annuity payable for the calendar month
in which TRS receives the member's payment of the amount refunded
under this section;
(2) If there was a QDRO in effect after September 1,
2017 and not under the authority of provided in §824.009(i),
Government Code:
(A) the member shall receive an amount equal to the
accrued total of annuity payments, including any PLSO payments, previously
forfeited due to the conviction through the calendar month of notice
of the judgement overturning the conviction to TRS plus interest;
(B) the member shall repay to TRS an amount equal to
all accumulated contributions refunded by TRS, including any accumulated
contributions paid to an alternate payee pursuant to the QDRO. A distribution
of service retirement annuities may resume to the member effective
with the annuity payable for the calendar month in which TRS receives
the member's payment of the amount of refunded accumulated contributions.
TRS shall not pay to the alternate payee any portion of any benefits
restored under this section under the terms of the QDRO, even if the
benefits result in part from the reinstatement of service credit initially
credited during the marriage.
(3) If there was no QDRO in effect with respect to
the member, the member shall receive an amount equal to the accrued
total of annuity payments, including any PLSO payments, previously
forfeited due to the conviction through the calendar month of notice
of the judgement overturning the conviction to TRS plus interest.
A distribution of service retirement annuities may resume to the member
effective with the annuity payable for the calendar month in which
TRS receives the member's payment of the total amount accumulated
contributions refunded to the member.
(d) The amount of interest payable under subsection
(c) of this section is the amount of interest provided for member
contributions in §825.307, Government Code, for the time period
that the service retirement benefits were previously forfeited.
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