Vermont § 1938 - Disability retirement

§ 1938. Disability retirement

• (a) Upon notice not later than 90 days subsequent to the date the member may have separated
  from service, any member who has had five or more years of creditable service and
  has served as a teacher in the State during the five years immediately preceding the
  date of such separation from service, may be retired by the Board of Trustees on a
  disability retirement allowance on the first day of the calendar month next following
  receipt of application, provided such application is filed not less than 30 nor more
  than one 180 days subsequent to the filing of such notice, or on the first day of
  the calendar month next following the member’s separation from service provided such
  application is filed prior to such separation, and further provided that the Medical
  Board, after a medical examination of such member, shall certify that the member is
  mentally or physically incapacitated for ordinary service; and, if previously separated
  from service, that such incapacity has existed since the time of the member’s separation
  from such service; and that such incapacity is likely to be permanent. (b) Anything to the contrary notwithstanding, should the Board of Trustees of the State
  Teachers’ Retirement System determine, within its sole discretion, that a member of
  said System had failed for good cause to file the notice or application required by
  subsection (a) of this section, within the time limits prescribed, said Board may
  permit the filing of such notice or application at any time prior to termination of
  membership and may thereupon act upon such notice or application as if it had been
  filed within the time limits prescribed by the subsection. (c) Upon disability retirement a member shall receive a service retirement equal to the
  normal retirement benefit accrued to the effective date of the disability retirement,
  provided, however, that such allowance shall not be less than 25 percent of his or
  her average final compensation at the time of his or her disability. (d) Once each year during the first five years following the retirement of a member on
  a disability retirement allowance, and once in every three-year period thereafter,
  the Board of Trustees may, and upon his or her application shall, require any disability
  beneficiary who has not reached his or her normal retirement date to undergo a medical
  examination by a Medical Board or by a physician or physicians designated by the Medical
  Board, such examination to be made at the place of residence of such beneficiary or
  other place mutually agreed upon. Should any disability beneficiary who has not reached
  his or her normal retirement date refuse to submit to such medical examination, his
  or her allowance may be discontinued until his or her withdrawal of such refusal,
  and should his or her refusal continue for one year, all his or her rights in and
  to his or her pension may be revoked by the Board of Trustees. (e) Should the Medical Board report and certify to the Board of Trustees that any disability
  beneficiary has a residual functional capacity that might enable the beneficiary to
  return to work, and should the Board of Trustees reasonably conclude that the beneficiary
  is engaged in or is, as a result of specific findings made by a certified vocational
  counselor, able to engage in a gainful occupation paying more than the difference
  between the beneficiary’s retirement allowance and his or her average final compensation
  at retirement, the beneficiary’s pension may be reduced to an amount that, together
  with his or her annuity and the amount earnable by him or her, shall equal the beneficiary’s
  average final compensation at retirement, adjusted for inflation each year following
  retirement, provided that: (1) The Board of Trustees shall provide written notice and an opportunity to be heard
  to the beneficiary prior to any reduction of the beneficiary’s pension under this
  subsection. (2) If the beneficiary has engaged in a gainful occupation subsequent to receiving disability
  retirement, the Board of Trustees in its discretion may reject in whole or in part
  a vocational assessment of the beneficiary’s ability to engage in a more gainful occupation
  and may rely in whole or in part on evidence of the beneficiary’s actual earnings
  in determining the amount earnable by the beneficiary. In addition, if the Board of
  Trustees’ determination is based in whole or in part on a vocational assessment of
  the ability to engage in a gainful occupation, the beneficiary shall be given a reasonable
  opportunity, not to exceed two years, to seek gainful occupation prior to any change
  in his or her retirement allowance. Not later than 60 days before the change in retirement
  allowance is to occur, at the conclusion of the period of a reasonable opportunity
  to seek gainful occupation, the beneficiary may petition the Board of Trustees for
  an extension of that period. An extension will be granted only where the beneficiary
  can demonstrate reasonable diligence in seeking gainful employment and that a substantial
  hardship will result from a change in the retirement allowance. The Board of Trustees
  shall render a decision at least five days before the change in retirement allowance
  is set to occur. In the event that the beneficiary is subsequently restored to service
  as a teacher as set forth in subsection 1939(a) of this chapter, the beneficiary’s
  retirement allowance shall cease, effective on the date when reemployment commences. (f) Every recipient of disability benefits who has not reached his or her normal retirement
  date shall, annually on a date determined by the Board of Trustees, file with the
  State Treasurer a statement certifying, under penalty of perjury and in such form
  as the Board of Trustees shall prescribe, the full amount of his or her earnings from
  earned income during the preceding calendar year. The State Treasurer may request,
  and the beneficiary shall provide within 60 days after such request, additional financial
  information and records pertinent to the beneficiary’s earned income. The beneficiary’s
  statement and accompanying forms and schedules and any other financial information
  and records provided by the beneficiary to the State Treasurer shall be confidential.
  In the event that a beneficiary fails to submit the certification or any required
  or requested financial information or records pertinent to the beneficiary’s earned
  income, the beneficiary’s retirement allowance shall be suspended until all such information
  and records have been submitted, and in the event that the failure continues for one
  year, the suspension shall include all the beneficiary’s rights in and to his or her
  pension. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, if the beneficiary’s
  earned income for the preceding year exceeded the difference between the beneficiary’s
  retirement allowance and his or her average final compensation at retirement, adjusted
  for inflation each year following retirement, the beneficiary shall refund the portion
  of the preceding year’s retirement allowance that is equal to the amount of the reduction
  specified in subsection (e) of this section, and the refund amount may be offset against
  the beneficiary’s monthly pension benefits. Prior to suspension or revocation of the
  beneficiary’s retirement allowance, reemployment rights, or inception of any offset
  under this subsection, the Board of Trustees shall provide the beneficiary with written
  notice and an opportunity to be heard. (g) If a disability beneficiary engages in gainful occupation paying more than the difference
  between his or her retirement allowance and his or her average final compensation
  at retirement, the Board of Trustees may, under uniform standards of economic need,
  reduce and from time to time adjust his or her pension to an amount that, together
  with his or her annuity and the amount earnable by him or her, equals his or her average
  final compensation at retirement. For the purposes of this subsection, “retirement
  allowance” means the allowance payable without optional modification as provided in
  section 1941 of this title, and does not include any part of the annuity not provided by the regular contributions
  of the member at the rate provided under subdivision 1944(b)(2) of this title. (Amended 1959, No. 72, § 3, eff. April 1, 1959; 1961, No. 85, § 2; 1963, No. 110, § 1, eff. May 28, 1963; 1963, No. 182, § 2; 1967, No. 172, § 2; 1973, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1981, No. 41, § 26; 1993, No. 33, § 3; 1999, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 12.)