{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-17-103","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-17-103","heading":"Membership","body":"Except as provided in the Alternate Retirement Plan for\n\nComprehensive Universities Act, the membership of the retirement\n\nsystem shall consist of the following:\n\nA. All classified personnel shall become members of the\n\nretirement system as a condition of their employment.\n\nB. For the period from August 2, 1969, to June 30, 2021, all\n\nfull-time nonclassified optional personnel regularly employed for\n\nmore than one (1) year may join the Teachers’ Retirement System of\n\nOklahoma subject to the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to\n\nthe Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma. On or after July 1,\n\n2021, all nonclassified optional personnel regularly employed for\n\ntwenty (20) hours or more per week may join the System upon hiring\n\nor eligibility, subject to the provisions of subsection C of this\n\nsection and the rules and regulations adopted by the System pursuant\n\nto Section 17-101 et seq. of this title.\n\nC. 1. Nonclassified optional personnel shall have thirty (30)\n\ndays from the initial date of hire or eligibility to make a one-time\n\nirrevocable election to opt out of participation in the System, in a\n\nmanner required by the Board of Trustees. If an eligible employee\n\nfails to make an election within the thirty-day period, the eligible\n\nemployee shall be deemed to participate in the System.\n\n2. If an eligible employee elects to opt out of participation\n\nin the System, the employee shall not make any required employee\n\ncontributions to the System and the employee’s employer shall not\n\nmake any required employer contributions to the System.\n\n3. If an eligible nonclassified optional employee does not\n\ntimely opt out of participation in the System, such an employee\n\nshall make employee contributions to the System pursuant to Section\n\n17-116.2 of this title and the employer shall make employer\n\ncontributions to the System pursuant to Section 17-108.1 of this\n\ntitle. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit\n\nthe employer from making the contribution of the employee to the\n\nSystem on behalf of the employee.\n\n4. Nonclassified optional personnel who opt out of\n\nparticipation in the System shall be ineligible for future\n\nparticipation in the System; provided, however, that if such an\n\nemployee is hired for a classified position, he or she shall become\n\na member of the System pursuant to subsection A of this section but\n\nshall not be eligible for prior service credit for service performed\n\nwhile employed in a nonclassified position during which the employee\n\nopted out of participation in the System.\n\nD. The Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, deny the right\n\nto become members to any class of members whose compensation is only\n\npartly paid by the state, or who is serving on a temporary or other\n\nthan per annum basis, and it also may, in its discretion, make the\n\nindividual entrance into the retirement system for members in any\n\nsuch class optional.\n\nE. Should any non-vested member, in any period of six (6)\n\nconsecutive years after becoming a member, be absent from service\n\nmore than five (5) years, withdraw his or her contributions, retire\n\nor die, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member. The\n\nprovisions of this subsection shall not apply to any member of the\n\nTeachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma who has been a member of\n\nsuch classes of military services as may be approved by the Board of\n\nTrustees, until a period of one and one-half (1 1/2) years from date\n\nof termination of such service shall have elapsed.\n\nF. Effective November 1, 2019, a retired member of the\n\nTeachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma who becomes employed by the\n\nState Department of Education for the first time on or after\n\nNovember 1, 2019, shall have the option to remain a member of the\n\nTeachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma subject to any applicable\n\nlimitations placed on retired members returning to work or may\n\nchoose to participate as an active member in the Oklahoma Public\nf the\n\nTeachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma who becomes employed by the\n\nState Department of Education for the first time on or after\n\nNovember 1, 2019, shall have the option to remain a member of the\n\nTeachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma subject to any applicable\n\nlimitations placed on retired members returning to work or may\n\nchoose to participate as an active member in the Oklahoma Public\n\nEmployees Retirement System defined benefit plan or the Oklahoma\n\nPublic Employees Retirement System defined contribution system,\n\nwhichever is applicable under the laws and rules governing those\n\nsystems.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"a8c0edefd154610eccf196768525f80fecd71a2e042476f6371de7c4b753f46f","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-17-102.3","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-17-103.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}