New
Mexico Register / Volume XXXIV, Issue 19 / October 10, 2023
TITLE 2 PUBLIC FINANCE
CHAPTER 84 MAGISTRATE RETIREMENT
PART 700 RETIREMENT
2.84.700.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Public Employees Retirement Association, 33
Plaza La Prensa, Santa Fe, NM, 87507
[2.84.700.1 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.1, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.2 SCOPE: This
rule affects the members, former members, retirees, beneficiaries, public
employers, the retirement board and the association under the Magistrate
Retirement Act.
[2.84.700.2 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.2, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This rule is authorized by
Sections 10-12C-3, 10-12C-8, and 10-12C-9 NMSA 1978, as amended.
[2.84.700.3 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.3, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[2.84.700.4 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.4, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.5 EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 10, 2023, unless a different date is cited as the end of a section.
[2.84.700.5 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.5, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.6 OBJECTIVE: The
objective of this rule is to establish standards and procedures for the
payment, of pensions of retired members.
[2.84.700.6 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.6, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.7 DEFINITIONS: [RESERVED]
[2.84.700.7 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.7, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.8-9 [RESERVED]
2.84.700.10 PROCEDURE FOR RETIREMENT:
A. The following
procedure governs the process for retirement:
(1) The member shall request an
application for retirement from PERA. To
ensure that the member may retire on the date the member has chosen, the
completed application should be returned to PERA, with the required documents
described in Subsection B below, at least 60 days prior to the selected date of
retirement. The completed application
and all supporting documentation must be filed with PERA no later than the
close of business on the last working day of the month prior to the selected
date of retirement.
(2) PERA shall furnish the member an
estimate of retirement pension payable within a reasonable time of receipt of
the properly completed application and required documents.
(3) When
the application is filed, PERA shall furnish the member's last judicial agency
with an employer's certification of earnings form to be completed and returned
to PERA. The final calculation of
pension cannot be processed until PERA receives the properly completed
employer's certification form.
(4) PERA
will furnish the member a final calculation of retirement pension based on the
information provided by the judicial agency.
(5) The
completed application form must either include or be accompanied by a signed
notarized statement of consent by the member’s spouse to the survivor
beneficiary elected by the member or an affidavit that the member is not
married. An affidavit naming all former
spouses must also accompany the final application form.
(6) Retirement will be effective on the
first day of the month following: a) the
filing with PERA of the completed, signed application with all required
documentation; b) the member's qualifying for retirement based on service
credit and age; and c) the member's leaving office. An application will be deemed to be
"filed" when received by PERA as evidenced by a writing on the application
indicating the date of receipt by PERA.
(7) The
retirement of the member shall be submitted to the board for ratification at
the next regular meeting following the effective date of retirement.
B. Documentation: The retiring member shall furnish the
following documents to PERA:
(1) Proof
of age of the member and any designated beneficiary or beneficiaries or the
proof of age for a beneficiary to a supplemental needs trust. Acceptable documents are a birth certificate,
a baptismal certificate, or religious record of birth established before age 5
years, or any two of the following documents showing the date of birth of the
member or designated beneficiary or beneficiaries:
(a) copy
of a life insurance policy;
(b) certified
copy of voter registration issued over ten years prior;
(c) tribal
census record;
(d) childhood
immunization record made prior to age 18 years;
(e) military
record;
(f) birth
certificate of child showing age of parent;
(g) physician’s
or midwife’s record of birth;
(h) passport;
(i)
immigration record;
(j) naturalization
record.
(2) A
copy of a marriage certificate or other proof of marital status acceptable in a
court of law for any designated survivor beneficiary to be identified as a
spouse.
(3) For any designated beneficiary to be
identified as a supplemental needs trust, a copy of the documents related to
the formation of the trust and an affidavit from the trustee that the trust is
formed as a supplemental needs trust as authorized by the federal Social
Security Act. Additional information may
be required by the association to ascertain the purpose and function of the
trust to ensure compliance with the Magistrate Retirement Act.
(4) Complete endorsed copies of all court
documents the association deems necessary to ascertain the current marital
status of the member and whether any ex-spouse of the member is entitled to any
portion of the member’s benefits. Such
documents shall include the final decrees and marital property settlements for
all marriages during the member’s employment as a magistrate. If the member’s only divorce was prior to
becoming a member, then the final decree is required, but no marital property
settlement is required. If the member
was divorced more than once prior to becoming a member, then only the most
recent final decree is required.
(5) Any member with an effective
retirement date on or after January 1, 2014 shall
provide authorization to the association for the electronic transfer of pension
payments to the retiree’s banking institution.
Such authorization shall be executed, in writing, in the form prescribed
by the association.
C. No adjustments
to the pension based on failure to claim free service credit may be made after
the first pension payment.
D. In addition to any other vesting provided
by state law, a magistrate’s normal retirement benefit is non-forfeitable when
the magistrate reaches normal retirement age, which is age 65, with five or
more years of credited service, whichever is later for an individual who was a
member on June 30, 2014 and age 65 with eight or more years of credited
service, whichever is later for an individual who initially became a member on
or after July 1, 2014. A magistrate is
also vested in his or her accrued benefits when the magistrate reaches such lesser
age and specified years of credited service as provided under the plan. If there is a termination of the magistrate
retirement system, or if employer contributions to the magistrate retirement
plan are completely discontinued, the rights of each affected member to the
benefits accrued at the date of termination or discontinuance, to the extent
then funded, are non-forfeitable.
[2.84.700.10 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.10, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.11 DISABILITY
RETIREMENT: A magistrate who becomes disabled prior to
retirement can make application for benefits in accordance with 2.80.1000 NMAC.
[2.84.700.11 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.11, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.12-19 [RESERVED]
2.84.700.20 BENEFIT PAYMENT: The maximum annual benefit limits contained
in Internal Revenue Code Section 415(b), as amended and adjusted, are
incorporated herein by reference.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Magistrate Retirement Act and
regulations, all benefits paid from the magistrate retirement trust fund shall
be distributed in accordance with the requirements of Internal Revenue Code
section 401(a)(9) and the regulations under that section. In order to meet these requirements, the
trust fund must be administered in accordance with the following provisions:
A. The entire
interest of the magistrate shall:
(1) be completely distributed to the
magistrate not later than the required beginning date; or
(2) shall be distributed, beginning not
later than the required beginning date, in accordance with internal revenue
service regulations, over a period not extending beyond the life expectancy of the
magistrate or the life expectancy of the magistrate and a designated
beneficiary.
B. For the purposes of this
section, “required beginning date” shall be defined in the same manner as the
term “required beginning date” is defined in the Internal Revenue Code Section
401 (a)(9) and the regulations under that section.
C. The life expectancy of the
magistrate or the magistrate’s beneficiary may not be recalculated after the
benefits commence.
D. If a magistrate dies before the
distribution of the magistrate’s benefits has begun, distribution to
beneficiaries must begin no later than December 31 of the calendar year
immediately following the calendar year in which the magistrate died.
E. The amounts payable to a
magistrate’s beneficiary may not exceed the maximum determined under the
incidental death benefit requirements of the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9)(G)
and regulations thereunder. PERA shall
adjust the percentage of the magistrate’s pension payable to a non-spouse
survivor beneficiary who is more than 10 years younger than the magistrate at
the time of the magistrate’s retirement as required by 26 C.F.R. Section
1.401(a)(9)-6.
[2.84.700.20 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.20, 10/10/2023]
2.84.700.21-29 [RESERVED]
2.84.700.30 ANNUAL COMPENSATION:
Notwithstanding any provision of the of the Magistrate Retirement Act
and regulations, the annual compensation of each magistrate that is taken into
account under the plan, including for benefit calculation purposes, for any
year does not exceed the limit specified in Internal Revenue Code Section
401(a)(17).
[2.84.700.30 NMAC – Rp, 2.84.700.30, 10/10/2023]
HISTORY of 2.84.700 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History: The material in this part was derived from that
previously filed with the State Records Center and Archives under:
MRA
Rule 400.00, Normal and Deferred Retirement, filed on 12/29/1989;
MRA
Rule 700, Retirement, filed on 7/1/1992;
MRA
Rule 700, Retirement, filed on 11/1/1994.
History of Repealed Materials:
2
NMAC 84.700, Paragraph 10.1.5 - Repealed 11/15/1997.
2
NMAC 84.700.20 - Repealed, 11/15/1997.
Other History of 2.84.700
NMAC:
2.84.700 NMAC, Retirement,
filed 11/1/1994 and renumbered 12/28/2000.
2.84.700 NMAC, Retirement,
filed 12/28/2000 was repealed, and replaced with 2.84.700 NMAC, Retirement,
effective 10/10/2023.