Washington § 41.50.280 - Higher education retirement plan supplemental beneficiaries — Department assumption of responsibility for making benefit payments.

(1) On July 1st of the fiscal year following a determination by the pension funding council that a higher education institution has sufficiently funded the liabilities of that institution through contributions to the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund, the department shall assume responsibility for making benefit payments to higher education retirement plan supplemental beneficiaries for that institution from the portion of the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit fund attributed to the individual institution.

(2) Immediately following the determination by the pension funding council under RCW 41.45.060(9) that an institution participating in the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefits has sufficiently funded the benefits of the plan that higher education institution:

(a) Must provide any data and assistance requested by the department to facilitate the transition of responsibility for making benefit payments to higher education retirement plan members eligible for supplemental benefit payments; and

(b) Is governed by the provisions of RCW 41.50.110.

(3) On the date that the department assumes responsibility for benefit payments under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall assess contributions to the department of retirement systems expense fund under RCW 41.50.110(3) for active participants in the higher education retirement plan. Contributions to the expense fund for higher education retirement plan members must end when there are no longer retirees or beneficiaries from an institution receiving payments administered by the department.

(4)(a) Upon the department's assumption of responsibility for making benefit payments from an institution's higher education retirement plan, the institution shall submit to the department the benefit level for current higher education retirement plan supplemental beneficiaries, and each month following the department's assumption of responsibility for making benefit payments to an institution's higher education retirement plan supplemental beneficiaries, the institution shall submit to the department information on any new retirees covered by the higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit. The submission shall include all data relevant to the calculation of a supplemental benefit for each retiree, and the benefit that the institution determines the individual qualifies to receive. No later than January 1st, following the funding determination in RCW 41.45.060(9) that begins the transition of responsibility for benefit payments to the department, the department shall provide the institution with a notice of what data will be required to determine higher education retirement plan supplemental benefit determinations for future retirees.

(b) The department shall review the information provided by the institution for each retiring higher education retirement plan member eligible for the supplemental benefit and determine the supplemental benefit amount the member is eligible to receive, if any.

(c) In the event that the department is not provided with all data required by the notice in (a) of this subsection, the institution of higher education will remain responsible for payment of higher education retirement plan supplemental benefits to that member. In addition, the collection of overpayments and error correction provisions of this chapter apply in the event that the department makes supplemental benefit payments based on incomplete or inaccurate data provided by an institution.

Findings—Intent—Effective date—2020 c 103: See notes following RCW 28B.10.423.