Bill Text: HI SB1118 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To The Employees' Retirement System.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-15 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB1118 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-SB1118-Amended.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1118 |
|
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
S.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to establish a clear statutory authority for the recovery of overpayments of employees' retirement system benefits.
Specifically, this Act:
(1) Declares overpaid member benefits to be a debt due and owing to the employees' retirement system;
(2) Authorizes the employees' retirement system to adopt rules as necessary to recover overpaid member benefits; and
(3) Provides the board of trustees or the executive director of the employees' retirement system with the discretion to waive the recovery of overpayments in cases of bona fide hardship or where the costs of recovery would exceed the amount expected to be recovered.
SECTION 2. Section 88-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§88-6 Payment of refunds and retirement benefits. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:
(1) All retirees and beneficiaries of the state retirement system or county pension funds shall be paid semimonthly; provided that:
(A) All retirees and beneficiaries of the state retirement system who either retire or become beneficiaries after January 1, 2003, shall be paid monthly; and
(B) Effective July 1, 2011, all retirees and beneficiaries of the state retirement system shall be paid monthly; provided that this subparagraph shall not apply to any retiree or beneficiary who:
(i) Became a retiree or beneficiary prior to January 1, 2003;
(ii) Is eighty years of age or older on January 1, 2011; and
(iii) Receives $800 or less of pension benefits each month; and
(2) Any retiree or beneficiary of the state retirement system whose benefit commences after June 30, 2001, shall designate a financial institution account into which the system shall be authorized to deposit their retirement benefit; and effective April 1, 2011, all retirees and beneficiaries of the state retirement system shall designate a financial institution account into which the system shall be authorized to deposit their state retirement system benefits. This method of payment may be waived by the system.
(b)
Any member, former employee, retirant, or beneficiary to whom
accumulated contributions or a hypothetical account balance, as defined in
section 88-311, is payable after June 30, 2008, [shall,] if the
payment will be greater than $250 and the member, former employee, retirant, or
beneficiary does not elect to rollover the payment into an eligible retirement
plan, shall designate a financial institution account into which the
system shall be authorized to deposit the payment. This method of payment may be waived by the
system if another method is determined to be more appropriate.
(c) An overpayment of a refund or retirement
benefit, including the over-issuance of a death benefit, beneficiary benefit,
payment to an alternate payee, or adjustment payment shall constitute a debt
due and owing to the system by the recipient of the overpayment; provided that:
(1) In addition to
the remedies prescribed elsewhere in this chapter for the recovery of benefits,
recovery of an overpayment shall be in accordance with applicable state law and
federal regulations; and
(2) Nothing in this
section shall preclude the board of trustees or the executive director of the
system from establishing procedures to waive the recovery of overpayments in
cases of bona fide hardship or where the costs of recovery would exceed the
amount expected to be recovered.
(d) The system shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 as may be necessary to effectuate the maximum recovery of retirement
benefit overpayments, which shall prescribe procedures for:
(1) Recourse to the
civil courts when required;
(2) The filing of
liens against the real property of overpaid recipients; and
(3) The filing of
claims against the estate of a deceased recipient who has received overpayments
that have not been recovered."
SECTION 3. Section 88-106, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§88-106 Correction of errors. Should any change or error in records result
in any member, retirant, or beneficiary receiving from the system more or less
than the member, retirant, or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive
had the records been correct, the board of trustees shall correct the error and
as far as practicable, shall adjust the payments in [such] a manner that
the actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which the member, retirant, or
beneficiary was correctly entitled shall be paid. Should any error in calculation or records
result in any member, retirant, or beneficiary receiving from the system more
than the member, retirant, or beneficiary would have been entitled to receive
had the calculation or records been correct, the board of trustees shall
correct the error and [may forgive any such] shall recover the
overpayment[.] unless recovery is waived pursuant to procedures
adopted under section 88-6."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2051.
Report Title:
Employees' Retirement System; Recovery of Retirement Benefit Overpayments
Description:
Authorizes the Employees' Retirement System to recover overpaid benefit payments. Requires the Employees' Retirement System to adopt rules to effectuate the maximum recovery of overpayments. Allows the Board of Trustees or the Executive Director of the Employees' Retirement System to waive the recovery of an overpayment in cases of bona fide hardship or where the costs of recovery would exceed the amount expected to be recovered. Takes effect 1/1/2051. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
