Bill Text: HI SB1207 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To The Employees' Retirement System.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-12-01 - Carried over to 2020 Regular Session. [SB1207 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-SB1207-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1207 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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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 bill is to establish
a clear statutory basis for the recovery of overpayments of employees'
retirement system (the "system") benefits. This bill declares overpaid member benefits
to be a debt due and owing to the system and authorizes the system to
promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
recover overpaid member benefits. In
addition, this bill provides the board of trustees or the executive director of
the 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, 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) All overpayments of refunds and retirement
benefits, including but not limited to the over issuance of death benefits,
beneficiary benefits, payments to alternate payees, and adjustment payments
shall constitute a debt due and owing to the system by the recipient of such
overpayments. In addition to the
remedies elsewhere prescribed in this chapter for the recovery of benefits,
recovery of all overpayments shall be made to the extent allowable by federal
regulations. The system shall adopt and
enforce such rules as may be necessary to effect the maximum recovery of
retirement benefit overpayments. System
rules for the recovery of overpayments shall prescribe procedures for recourse
to the civil courts when required, the filing of liens against the real
property of overpaid recipients, and the filing of claims against the estate of
a deceased recipient who has received overpayments that have not been
recovered. Nothing in this section shall
preclude the board of trustees or the executive director of the system from
promulgating procedures for waiving 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
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]
shall recover any such 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 upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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BY REQUEST |
Report Title:
Employees' Retirement System; Recovery of Retirement Benefit Overpayments
Description:
Authorizes the Employees' Retirement System to recover overpaid benefit payments.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
