A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow for certain transfers of service from the legislative retirement system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 120‑4.13 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(d)	Any member who retired from this Retirement System on or before January 1, 2004, and who is also a member of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, may elect to rescind the member's retirement by repaying all retirement allowances received as a retiree of this Retirement System and thereby qualify for the transfers of service authorized by subsections (b) and (c) of this section."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 135‑18.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑18.9.  Transfer of members from the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System.
(a)	The accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves, if any, of a member of the Legislative Retirement System, as provided for in Article 1A of G.S. 120, or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, as provided for in Article 4 of G.S. 135, who later becomes a member of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System for a period of five or more years may, upon application of the member, be transferred from the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System. The accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves of any member whose service as a member of the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System is terminated other than by retirement or death and who later becomes a member of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System may, upon application of the member, be transferred from the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System to the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System. In order to effect the transfer of a member's creditable service from the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System to the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, the accumulated contributions of each member credited in the annuity savings fund in the Legislative Retirement System or the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System shall be transferred and credited to the annuity savings fund in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System.
(a1)	In the event that a retired member of the Legislative Retirement System elects to transfer accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves, if any, to this Retirement System, as authorized by G.S. 120‑4.13(d):
(1)	If the member is also a retired member of this Retirement System, the member's retirement allowance shall be increased the month the member rescinds the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System. The increase in the retirement allowance shall be the difference between the initial retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, and the amount of the retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, to which the retired member would have been entitled had the service been transferred prior to retirement, adjusted by any increases in the retirement accrual rate occurring between the member's date of retirement and the date the member rescinds the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System. The increase in the retirement allowance shall not include any adjustment for cost‑of‑living increases granted since the date of retirement.
		Upon the death of a retired member who has transferred service from the Legislative Retirement System as authorized by G.S. 120‑4.13(d), the person or persons the retiree has nominated by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the Board of Trustees for the death benefit provided by G.S. 135‑5(g1), if the person or persons are living at the time of the retiree's death, or otherwise to the retiree's legal representatives, shall be paid an additional death benefit equal to the excess, if any, of the accumulated contributions transferred from the Legislative Retirement System over the total of the increases in the retirement allowance attributable to creditable service transferred from the Legislative Retirement System, paid from the month in which the member rescinded the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System until the death of the retiree.
(2)	If the member has not yet retired from this Retirement System, then upon retirement the member shall receive an allowance calculated in accordance with G.S. 135‑5.
(b)	The Board of Trustees shall effect such rules as it may deem necessary to administer subsections (a) and (a1) of this section and to prevent any duplication of service credits or benefits that might otherwise occur."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 135‑70.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑70.1.  Transfer of members from the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Legislative Retirement System.
(a)	The accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves, if any, of a former teacher or employee, as defined in G.S. 135‑1(25), 135‑1(10), and 128‑21(10), respectively, or a former member of the General Assembly who is a member of the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System for a period of five or more years may, upon application of the member, be transferred from the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Legislative Retirement System to the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System. The accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves of any member whose service as a teacher or employee or member of the General Assembly is terminated other than by retirement or death and who becomes a member of the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System may, upon application of the member, be transferred from the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Legislative Retirement System to the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System. In order to effect the transfer of a member's creditable service from the Local Governmental Retirement System, the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Legislative Retirement System, to the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, the accumulated contributions of each member credited in the annuity savings fund in the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, or the Legislative Retirement System shall be transferred and credited to the annuity savings fund in the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System.
(a1)	In the event that a retired member of the Legislative Retirement System elects to transfer accumulated contributions, creditable service, and reserves, if any, to this Retirement System, as authorized by G.S. 120‑4.13(d):
(1)	If the member is also a retired member of this Retirement System, the member's retirement allowance shall be increased the month the member rescinds the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System. The increase in the retirement allowance shall be the difference between the initial retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, and the amount of the retirement allowance, under any optional allowance elected at the time of retirement, to which the retired member would have been entitled had the service been transferred prior to retirement, adjusted by any increases in the retirement accrual rate occurring between the member's date of retirement and the date the member rescinds the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System. The increase in the retirement allowance shall not include any adjustment for cost‑of‑living increases granted since the date of retirement.
		Upon the death of a retired member who has transferred service from the Legislative Retirement System as authorized by G.S. 120‑4.13(d), the person or persons the retiree has nominated by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the Board of Trustees for the death benefit provided by G.S. 135‑64(c) or (d), if the person or persons are living at the time of the retiree's death, or otherwise to the retiree's legal representatives, shall be paid an additional death benefit equal to the excess, if any, of the accumulated contributions transferred from the Legislative Retirement System over the total of the increases in the retirement allowance attributable to creditable service transferred from the Legislative Retirement System, paid from the month in which the member rescinded the member's retirement in the Legislative Retirement System until the death of the retiree.
(2)	If the member has not yet retired from this Retirement System, then upon retirement the member shall receive a allowance calculated in accordance with G.S. 135‑58 or G.S. 135‑60.(b)	The Board of Trustees shall effect such rules as it may deem necessary to administer the preceding  subsections and to prevent any duplication of service credits or benefits that might otherwise occur."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2007, and expires December 31, 2007.