{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-305.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 47-2-305.2","heading":"Deferred option plans","body":"A. In lieu of terminating employment and accepting a service\n\nretirement pension pursuant to Section 2-305 of this title, any\n\nmember of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System who has not\n\nless than twenty (20) years of participating service and who is\n\neligible to receive a service retirement pension may make an\n\nirrevocable election to participate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nDeferred Option Plan and defer the receipts of benefits in\n\naccordance with the provisions of this section.\n\nB. For purposes of this section, participating service shall\n\ninclude service credit recognized pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (d)\n\nof Section 2-307, subsection B of Section 2-307.2, and Sections 2-\n\n309.1, 2-309.2, 2-309.3, 2-309.4, 2-309.5 and 2-309.6 of this title\n\nbut for eligibility purposes only.\n\nC. The duration of participation in the Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Deferred Option Plan for a member shall not exceed five\n\n(5) years. Participation in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred\n\nOption Plan must begin the first day of a month and end on the last\n\nday of the month. At the conclusion of a member's participation in\n\nthe Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan, the member shall\n\nterminate employment as a member of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nRetirement System, and shall start receiving the member's accrued\n\nmonthly retirement benefit from the System. Such a member may\n\ncontinue to receive in-service distributions of such member's\n\naccrued monthly retirement benefit from the System if the member is\n\nreemployed by a state agency only if such reemployment is in a\n\nposition not covered under the System.\n\nD. When a member begins participation in the Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Deferred Option Plan, the contribution of the member\n\nshall cease. The employer contributions shall continue to be paid\n\nin accordance with Section 2-304 of this title. Employer\n\ncontributions for members who elect the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nDeferred Option Plan shall be credited equally to the Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Retirement System and to the member's Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Deferred Option Plan account. The monthly retirement\n\nbenefits that would have been payable had the member elected to\n\ncease employment and receive a service retirement shall be paid into\n\nthe member's Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan account.\n\nE. 1. A member who participates in this plan shall be eligible\n\nto receive cost of living increases.\n\n2. A member who participates in this plan shall earn interest\n\nat a rate of two percentage points below the rate of return of the\n\ninvestment portfolio of the System, but no less than the assumed\n\ninterest rate. The assumed interest rate shall be seven and five-\n\ntenths percent (7.5%) until the Board amends the assumed interest\n\nrate prospectively by resolution. The interest shall be credited to\n\nthe individual account balance of the member on an annual basis.\n\nF. A member in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option\n\nPlan shall receive, at the option of the member:\n\n1. A lump-sum payment from the account equal to the option\n\naccount balance of the member, payable to the member;\n\n2. A lump-sum payment from the account equal to the option\n\naccount balance of the member, payable to the annuity provider which\n\nshall be selected by the member as a result of the research and\n\ninvestigation of the member; or\n\n3. Any other method of payment if approved by the Board.\n\nNotwithstanding any other provision contained herein to the\n\ncontrary, commencement of distributions under the Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Deferred Option Plan shall be no later than the time as\n\nset forth in paragraph 7 of Section 2-300 of this title.\n\nIf a member meets the definition of disability as defined in\n\nparagraph 11 of Section 2-300 of this title by direct reason of the\n\nperformance of the member's duties, the payment from the account\n\nshall be an in-line-of-duty disability payment.\nions under the Oklahoma Law\n\nEnforcement Deferred Option Plan shall be no later than the time as\n\nset forth in paragraph 7 of Section 2-300 of this title.\n\nIf a member meets the definition of disability as defined in\n\nparagraph 11 of Section 2-300 of this title by direct reason of the\n\nperformance of the member's duties, the payment from the account\n\nshall be an in-line-of-duty disability payment.\n\nG. If the member dies during the period of participation in the\n\nOklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan, a lump-sum payment\n\nequal to the account balance of the member shall be paid to the\n\ndesignated beneficiary as defined in paragraph 17 of Section 2-300\n\nof this title, or if there is no designated beneficiary or the\n\ndesignated beneficiary predeceases the member, to the estate of the\n\nmember. If such member was receiving, or eligible to receive, an\n\nin-line-of-duty disability pension pursuant to subsection E or F of\n\nSection 2-305 of this title at the time of death, payment of the\n\naccount balance shall be an in-line-of-duty disability payment.\n\nH. In lieu of participating in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nDeferred Option Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of\n\nthis section, a member may make an irrevocable election to\n\nparticipate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan\n\npursuant to this subsection as follows:\n\n1. For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions\n\nshall apply:\n\na. \"back drop date\" means the date selected by the member\n\nwhich is up to five (5) years before the member elects\n\nto participate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nDeferred Option Plan, but not before the date at which\n\nthe member completes twenty (20) years of\n\nparticipating service,\n\nb. \"termination date\" means the date the member elects to\n\nparticipate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred\n\nOption Plan pursuant to this subsection and the date\n\nthe member terminates employment and starts receiving\n\nthe member's accrued monthly retirement benefit from\n\nthe System. Such termination has at all times\n\nincluded reemployment of a member by a state agency,\n\nbut only in a position not covered under the System,\n\nc. \"earlier attained participating service\" means the\n\nparticipating service earned by a member as of the\n\nback drop date. Earlier attained participating\n\nservice cannot be reduced to less than twenty (20)\n\nyears of participating service, and\n\nd. \"deferred benefit balance\" means all retirement\n\nbenefits that would have been paid from the back drop\n\ndate to the termination date, and one-half (1/2) of\n\nthe employer contributions from the back drop date to\n\nthe termination date, with interest based on how the\n\nbenefit would have accumulated on a compound annual\n\nbasis as if the member had participated in the\n\nOklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan pursuant\n\nto subsections A, B, C, D and E of this section from\n\nthe back drop date to the termination date;\n\n2. At the termination date, a member's monthly pension benefit\n\nshall be determined based on the earlier attained participating\n\nservice and on the final average salary as of the back drop date.\n\nThe member's individual deferred option account shall be credited\n\nwith an amount equal to the deferred benefit balance; the member\n\nshall terminate employment and shall start receiving the member's\n\naccrued monthly retirement benefit from the System. The member\n\nshall, upon application filed with the Board, be refunded from the\n\nfund an amount equal to the accumulated contributions the member\n\nmade to the fund from the back drop date to the termination date,\n\nbut excluding any interest. Such termination has at all times\n\nincluded reemployment of a member by a state agency, but only in a\n\nposition not covered under the System. The provisions of\n\nsubsections B, C, E, F and G of this section shall apply to this\n\nsubsection; and\nd an amount equal to the accumulated contributions the member\n\nmade to the fund from the back drop date to the termination date,\n\nbut excluding any interest. Such termination has at all times\n\nincluded reemployment of a member by a state agency, but only in a\n\nposition not covered under the System. The provisions of\n\nsubsections B, C, E, F and G of this section shall apply to this\n\nsubsection; and\n\n3. A member may participate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement\n\nDeferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection even if the member\n\nhas elected to participate in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred\n\nOption Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this\n\nsection. Such a member may select a back drop date which is up to\n\nfive (5) years prior to the termination date, but not before the\n\ndate at which the member completes twenty (20) years of\n\nparticipating service. Such a member's participation in the\n\nOklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan may not exceed five\n\n(5) years when combined with such a member's prior period of\n\nparticipation in the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Deferred Option Plan.\n\nThe provisions of subsections B, C, E, F and G of this section shall\n\napply to this subsection.","path":["OK Code","Title 47"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os47.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"b12777678f792f48e4e7db777f664fc9549e3bc0b5f881904644a0f46dafae83","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-305.1c","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-305.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}