§ 24-7-907. Participation in plan

Participation in an alternate retirement plan established pursuant to this subchapter shall be as follows:

1. (1) All staff members shall participate in either the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System or an alternate retirement plan or may participate in both, but participation in both shall be limited to the circumstances described in subdivision (2) of this section;

2. (2) Any staff member who has become fully vested in the retirement system may:

   1. (A) Continue as an active member of the retirement system;

   2. (B) Discontinue contributing to the retirement system, thus becoming an inactive member of the retirement system, and participate instead in an alternate retirement plan. Under those circumstances, the staff member would be both an inactive member of the retirement system and an active member of the alternate retirement plan; or

   3. (C) Participate in an alternate retirement plan and receive all accumulated contributions to the credit of the staff member in the members’ deposit account which is maintained pursuant to the provisions of § 24-7-406 and have the member’s credited service under the retirement system cancelled;

3. (3) Any staff member who has participated in the retirement system for a period which is insufficient to allow for full vesting of that staff member’s retirement system benefits may:

   1. (A) Continue as an active member of the retirement system;

   2. (B) Discontinue membership in the retirement system and transfer from the retirement system into his or her account with the alternate retirement plan, i.e., roll over all contributions which the staff member has previously made to the retirement system; or

   3. (C) Participate in the alternate retirement plan and receive all accumulated contributions to the credit of the staff member in the members’ deposit account which is maintained pursuant to the provisions of § 24-7-406 and have the member’s credited service under the retirement system cancelled;

4. (4)

   1. (A) No staff member may participate in an alternate retirement plan without giving prior written notice of his or her election to participate in the alternate retirement plan.

   2. (B) The notice of election shall be in writing on a form established by the Department of Career Education and filed with both the Director of the Division of Higher Education and the retirement system.

   3. (C) New staff members shall make the election within ninety (90) days after the date of their employment;

5. (5)

   1. (A) Effective July 1, 2001, a staff member who elected to participate in an alternate retirement plan may elect to become a member of the retirement system.

   2. (B) Service credit forfeited while a member of an alternate retirement plan cannot be established in the retirement system.

   3. (C) The election to withdraw from the alternate retirement plan and become a member of the retirement system shall be made by December 31, 2001, and notice of the election shall be made in writing to the director and the retirement system by December 31, 2001.