Wisconsin § 40.63 - Disability annuities.

§ 40.63. Disability annuities.

40.63(1) (1) Any participating employee is entitled to a disability annuity from the Wisconsin retirement system, beginning on the date determined under sub. (8) if, prior to attaining his or her normal retirement date, all of the following apply: 40.63(1)(a) (a) The employee has earned at least one-half year of creditable service in each of at least 5 calendar years not including any calendar year preceding by more than 7 calendar years the year in which the application for the disability annuity is received by the department, or has earned a total of at least 5 years of creditable service during that period of time, or, if the disability was a result of employment as a participating employee for an employer, last rendered services to a participating employer not more than 2 years prior to the date the application for the disability annuity is received by the department. 40.63(1)(b) (b) The employee becomes unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration. 40.63(1)(c) (c) The employee is not entitled to any earnings from the employer and the employer has certified that it has paid to the employee all earnings to which the employee is entitled, that the employee is on a leave of absence and is not expected to resume active service, or that the employee’s participating employment has been terminated, because of a disability as described in par. (b) and as a consequence the employee is not entitled to any earnings from the employer. In this paragraph, “earnings” does not include bonus compensation to which the employee was entitled under s. 25.156 (7) (a) , 1997 stats. 40.63(1)(d) (d) Except as provided in sub. (8) (h) 2. , the employee is certified in writing by at least 2 licensed and practicing physicians approved or appointed by the department, to be disabled as described in par. (b) . 40.63(2) (2) For purposes of sub. (1) a participant shall be considered a participating employee only if no other employment which is substantial gainful activity has intervened since service for the participating employer terminated and if the termination of active service for the participating employer was due to disability. For purposes of sub. (1) an elected official shall be considered to have terminated active service due to disability if a disability is determined, under sub. (1) , to exist at the end of the elected official’s term of office. 40.63(3) (3) For purposes of sub. (1) (a) only, if a participant was previously receiving a disability annuity which was terminated, the participant is deemed to have received full creditable service for any month for which the previous disability annuity was paid. 40.63(4) (4) Notwithstanding sub. (1) (b) , a protective occupation participant is not disqualified from receiving a disability annuity if the participant has accumulated 15 or more years of creditable service and would attain age 55 in 60 months or less after the occurrence of disability and the medical evidence, as provided in sub. (1) , establishes a disability to the extent that the participant can no longer efficiently and safely perform the duties required by the participant’s position, and that the condition is likely to be permanent. 40.63(5) (5) The department shall make a report based on the evidence prescribed in subs. (1) to (4) as to whether a disability benefit shall be granted and the department shall submit the report to the teachers retirement board for teacher participants and to the Wisconsin retirement board for participants other than teachers. A copy of the report and notice of the date that the report was presented, or will be presented, to the appropriate board and the board’s name, shall be mailed to the applicant and to the applicant’s former employer. Either the applicant or the employer may request a hearing under s.