H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, PART XXX: Salaries and Benefits (SL 2015-241)

Session Year 2015

Overview: Part XXX of S.L. 2015-241 includes the following provisions pertaining to the State Retirement Systems and the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees:

Section 30.25. Allow Retirees Who Return to Work for the State in Nonpermanent Positions to Retain Their Coverage Options Under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees Rather Than Limiting Such Retirees' Coverage Options to the "Bronze Level" High-Deductible Health Plan Necessitated by the Affordable Care Act

Sec. 30.25 of S.L. 2015-241 amends G.S. 135-48.40 to allow retired State employees who return to work with the State in nonpermanent full-time positions to be eligible for coverage under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees on a partially contributory basis.

This section becomes effective January 1, 2016.

Section 30.30. Clarify and Amend the Law Providing for Purchase of Service by Members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System for Educational Leave

Sec. 30.30 of S.L. 2015-241 amends the statute that allows members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System to purchase service for educational leave by clarifying that such purchases could be approved for a period of employment as a teacher in a charter school but also limiting any other such purchases to leave or interrupted service during which (i) the member is enrolled and participates in a full-time degree program at an accredited institution of higher education, (ii) the member is not paid for the activity in which he or she is acquiring knowledge, talents, or abilities, and (iii) the service is not purchased for any month in which the member performed any services for any of the following statutorily listed organizations or successor organizations: North Carolina Education Association; North Carolina Association of Educators; North Carolina State Employees' Association; North Carolina State Firemen's Association; the North Carolina State Highway Employees Association; North Carolina Teachers' Association and the State Employees' Credit Union; alumni associations of State-supported universities and colleges; local professional associations of teachers and State employees as defined by the Board of Trustees; and the North Carolina State School Boards Association.

This section became effective July 1, 2015.

Section 30.30A. Clarify Qualified Excess Benefit Arrangement

Sec. 30.30A of S.L. 2015-241 extends the sunset for participation in the Qualified Excess Benefit Arrangement (QEBA) for members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and members of the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System to allow participation by members who retire prior to January 1, 2015 to August 1, 2016. The QEBA is a supplemental funding arrangement established in 2013 to provide for the payment of benefits to a small number of retirees whose benefits would otherwise exceed limits set under federal law.

This section became effective July 1, 2015.

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