{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-19-19-956","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 19-956","heading":"Eligibility for benefits - Reduction of mandatory service","body":"requirement - Disability - Military service - Surviving spouse.\n\nNo member of a county retirement system shall be eligible for\n\nretirement benefits under Section 951 et seq. of this title until\n\nsuch member:\n\n1. Has attained the age of sixty-two (62) years and shall have\n\nserved for a period of at least fifteen (15) years with said county;\n\n2. Has attained the age of fifty-five (55) years and shall have\n\nserved for a period of at least thirty (30) years with said county;\n\nor\n\n3. Has attained the age at which the sum of the employee's age\n\nand number of years of service with the county total eighty (80).\n\nTo be eligible for retirement benefits the employee's service\n\nwith the county shall have ceased. Provided, the board of trustees\n\nand the board of county commissioners, by resolution, may allow\n\nretirees to return to work on a part-time basis after the first\n\nmonth of retirement and continue to be eligible for their retirement\n\nbenefits. Provided, that any county employee who shall have\n\ncompleted fifteen (15) years of service as such county employee, and\n\nwho, at the time of completing such fifteen (15) years of service\n\nshall not have reached the age of sixty-two (62) years, may then\n\nelect to retire, such retirement to become effective and all\n\nretirement benefits to begin when such county employee shall have\n\nattained the age of sixty-two (62) years, provided that such\n\nelection shall be in writing upon such form as the board of trustees\n\nshall direct, and such election shall be signed by such employee and\n\nfiled with the board of trustees, and any funds paid into the\n\nretirement system by such employee may not thereafter be withdrawn\n\nby such employee. Provided, that when approved by the board of\n\ntrustees of the county retirement system and the board of county\n\ncommissioners of any county which has provided for a retirement fund\n\nand system as authorized under the provisions of Section 951 of this\n\ntitle, the board of trustees may lower the mandatory fifteen-year\n\nrequirement to not less than five (5) years by a resolution if the\n\nfollowing has occurred:\n\n1. Prior to such action, an actuarial report on the system\n\nshall be made by an independent professional actuary qualified as an\n\n\"Enrolled actuary\" as defined by the Employee Retirement Income\n\nSecurity Act (ERISA) of 1974, which report shall determine and\n\ndeclare whether the reduction of the mandatory service requirement\n\nwould result in any additional unfunded or accrued liabilities and,\n\nif so, the amount required to make the retirement system actuarially\n\nsound expressed in dollars and in percent of the gross payroll.\n\n2. Such report shall be filed with the board of trustees and\n\nwith the board of county commissioners and notice of the receipt and\n\nfiling of such report be given by the board of county commissioners\n\nby publishing notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation\n\nin the county. Such report shall be a public document subject to\n\nexamination by any interested person. Any member of the retirement\n\nsystem or any citizen of the county may, within thirty (30) days\n\nfrom the date of such publication, file a petition in the district\n\ncourt of the county in which the retirement system is located to\n\nchallenge the validity and accuracy of the actuarial report or any\n\nother action taken in connection therewith, and the court is hereby\n\nvested with jurisdiction to receive evidence and enter a judgment\n\naffirming, modifying or rejecting the actuarial report or any\n\nfunding provisions, and such report shall be conformed in accordance\n\nwith any final judgment. The costs, including attorney fees, if\n\nany, of such action shall be assessed by the court as it may deem\n\nequitable irrespective of the form of the judgment.\n\n3. If the final report determines that additional funding shall\n\nbe required to implement any reduction of the mandatory service\nl report or any\n\nfunding provisions, and such report shall be conformed in accordance\n\nwith any final judgment. The costs, including attorney fees, if\n\nany, of such action shall be assessed by the court as it may deem\n\nequitable irrespective of the form of the judgment.\n\n3. If the final report determines that additional funding shall\n\nbe required to implement any reduction of the mandatory service\n\nrequirement, then and in that event affirmative action by the board\n\nof county commissioners, approved by the board of trustees,\n\nproviding for the funding of any such changed benefits in an amount\n\nnecessary to make said system actuarially sound upon the\n\nimplementation of such change shall be established at or prior to\n\nthe effective date of such reduction in the mandatory service\n\nrequirement.\n\n4. If the report reveals no additional funding requirement,\n\nthen the board of county commissioners with the approval of the\n\nboard of trustees may lower the mandatory fifteen-year service\n\nrequirement as provided in this section without a corresponding or\n\nconcurrent funding resolution.\n\n5. It is further provided that if the mandatory service credit\n\nis reduced to a period of time less than fifteen (15) years, then\n\nand in that event the retirement benefits shall be correspondingly\n\nreduced by at least an amount equal to six and two-thirds percent (6\n\n2/3%) from that which would have been earned for fifteen (15) years'\n\nservice multiplied by the number of years of reduction in the\n\nmandatory service except for those retirees who have eight (8)\n\nyears' service and are entitled to disability retirement. The\n\nentitlement to disability retirement and the amount thereof shall\n\nnot be affected by this paragraph.\n\n6. No person shall be entitled to receive the benefits of a\n\nreduction in the mandatory service requirement who at the time of\n\nsuch reduction is not then an employee of the county, has been\n\ncontinuously employed by the county and a member of the county\n\nretirement system for the twenty-four (24) months immediately\n\npreceding the reduction in the mandatory service requirement or\n\nshall have been an employee with twenty-four (24) months immediately\n\npreceding the election by such employee to receive the benefit of\n\nthe reduced mandatory service requirement.\n\nProvided further, that, for the purposes of Section 951 et seq.\n\nof this title and the eligibility of employees to participate\n\ntherein, employees of levee districts shall be considered county\n\nemployees. Retirement benefits, disability benefits and benefits\n\npaid to the surviving spouse shall be calculated on the average of\n\nthe income of any three (3) years which shall be the years of\n\nhighest income for said employee during participation in said\n\nretirement system.\n\nAny member of the county retirement system covered by Section\n\n951 et seq. of this title who shall have completed eight (8) years\n\nof employment with said county and who, by reason of disability\n\nresulting from the performance of his or her duties as such employee\n\nof said county, shall become disabled to such an extent as to be\n\nunable to perform his or her duties as an employee shall be entitled\n\nto disability retirement and to such benefits as the board of\n\ntrustees shall determine; provided, however, that the board of\n\ntrustees shall find that said disability is total and permanent, and\n\nresulted from the performance of his or her duty as such employee of\n\nthe county.\n\nAny member of the county retirement system covered by Section\n\n951 et seq. of this title who has participated in the system\n\nimmediately preceding the time he or she is required, by Act of\n\nCongress of the United States and/or by order of the President of\n\nthe United States, or volunteers to leave the employment of the\n\ncounty to enter the military service of the United States government\n\nshall receive credit, for the purposes of Section 951 et seq. of\nction\n\n951 et seq. of this title who has participated in the system\n\nimmediately preceding the time he or she is required, by Act of\n\nCongress of the United States and/or by order of the President of\n\nthe United States, or volunteers to leave the employment of the\n\ncounty to enter the military service of the United States government\n\nshall receive credit, for the purposes of Section 951 et seq. of\n\nthis title, for all actual time so served in full-time military\n\nservice, to the extent required by Internal Revenue Code Section\n\n414(u) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights\n\nAct of 1994. Provided further, that if any county employee who\n\nshall have completed at least fifteen (15) years of service to any\n\ncounty covered by Section 951 et seq. of this title and who has not\n\nyet reached the age of retirement shall die, then, and in such\n\nevent, the surviving spouse of said county employee shall receive\n\nretirement benefits in the amount of sixty-six and two-thirds\n\npercent (66 2/3%) of whatever benefits would otherwise be received\n\nby said county employee under Section 951 et seq. of this title at\n\nthe age of sixty-two (62) years, such retirement benefits to the\n\nsurviving spouse to begin on the date said deceased county employee\n\nwould have reached the age of sixty-two (62) years.\n\nProvided further, that if any county employee receiving or\n\neligible to receive retirement benefits pursuant to the provisions\n\nof Section 951 et seq. of this title shall die, then, and in such\n\nevent, the surviving spouse of said person shall receive retirement\n\nbenefits in the amount of sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%)\n\nof whatever benefits the deceased was receiving or was entitled to\n\nreceive for the remainder of the natural life of said surviving\n\nspouse. This provision shall apply to anyone who has qualified for\n\nretirement, even though they may not have retired or are deceased.\n\nSaid provision also shall include any employees who have retired\n\nafter January 1, 1970, and later shall become deceased, then in such\n\nevent the surviving spouse shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds\n\npercent (66 2/3%). This shall not apply to persons who have retired\n\nprior to January 1, 1970, or their spouses.\n\nProvided further, that the board of trustees and the board of\n\ncounty commissioners may elect to amend the surviving spouse benefit\n\nprovision to increase the surviving spouse retirement benefit to as\n\nmuch as one hundred percent (100%).\n\nProvided further, that the board of trustees and the board of\n\ncounty commissioners may elect to amend the benefit provisions to\n\nallow any vested employee who is otherwise not eligible to retire\n\nbecause such employee has not satisfied any of the age requirements\n\nthe option of retiring as early as age fifty-five (55). However,\n\nsuch employee shall have met the minimum service requirements\n\napproved by the board of trustees of the county retirement system\n\nand the board of county commissioners. If any employee elects such\n\nan option, the employee shall receive an actuarially reduced\n\nbenefit.","path":["OK Code","Title 19"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os19.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"338521dde01d9d3a0a239296f6e4e55ef8f98ee08328d2811d7760d4272312c0","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-19-19-955","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-19-19-956.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}