Date of Adoption: April 21, 2000.

Purpose: To amend the department's general rules in order to make them consistent with 1994 and 1996 statutory amendments to chapter 41.50 RCW and with a state court decision Newlun v. Retirement Systems, 53 Wn. App. 809, 770 P.2d 1071 (1989).

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 415-02-040 and 415-02-070; and amending WAC 415-02-010, 415-02-020, 415-02-030, 415-02-050, 415-02-060, 415-02-080, and 415-02-100.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.50.050.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 00-04-025 on January 24, 2000.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 2, Amended 7, Repealed 2.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 2, Amended 7, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 2, Amended 7, Repealed 2.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

April 21, 2000

John Charles

Director

OTS-3705.3

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 4, filed 7/27/77)

WAC 415-02-010
Identification.

The department of retirement systems is a department of state government created by chapter 105, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess.

(1) The chief executive officer of the department of retirement systems is the director of retirement systems.

(2) ((The department of retirement systems is divided, structurally, into two divisions.      Each division is headed by an assistant director answerable to the director.      The two divisions are:

(a) The administrative services division which is headed by the assistant director for administrative services; and

(b) The program services management division which is headed by the assistant director for program services.

(3))) Members of the public may obtain information, make submittals or requests, or obtain copies of agency decisions by addressing their requests or submittals to the director of the Department of Retirement Systems at ((1025 East Union,)) P.O. Box 48380, Olympia, Washington, 98504.      Upon receipt of such a request or submittal, the director shall forward the same to the proper officer or employee of the department of retirement systems for an appropriate response.

(((4))) (3) Members of the public who wish to inspect and/or copy public records maintained by the agency pursuant to chapter 42.17 RCW shall do so in accordance with the methods and procedures established in chapter 415-06 WAC ((415-06-010 through 415-06-110 of these rules)).

[Order 4, § 415-02-010, filed 7/27/77.]

(1) The department ((of retirement systems)) is vested with the authority to administer, in accordance with chapter 105, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess., as now or hereafter amended, the Washington public employees' retirement system created by chapter 41.40 RCW, the Washington state teachers' retirement system created by chapters 41.32 and 41.34 RCW, the Washington school employees retirement system created by chapter 41.35 RCW, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system, created by chapter ((41.25)) 41.26 RCW, the Washington state patrol retirement system, created by chapter 43.43 RCW, the Washington judicial retirement system, created by chapter 2.10 RCW, and the judges retirement fund created by chapter 2.12 RCW.

(2) ((The director of retirement systems and the state finance committee are empowered to provide for the investment of all funds of the Washington public employees' retirement systems, the Washington teachers' retirement system, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement system, the Washington state patrol retirement system, the Washington judicial retirement system, and the judges retirement fund, pursuant to RCW 43.84.150, with the approval of the respective boards of the retirement systems and funds above listed.      The state finance committee will execute all such transactions.

(3))) The director is empowered to propose rules pursuant to RCW ((2.10.050, 2.10.070, 41.26.060, 41.32.160, 41.40.020, and 43.43.140, with the approval of the appropriate retirement board.

(4) The director has no authority to perform functions vested in the various retirement boards by law with respect to applications for benefits paid upon either temporary or permanent disability, except to see that such staff assistance is provided by the department to the boards as may be required.

(5) The director is required to evaluate all proposed legislation to be submitted by a retirement board as a departmental request.      When such legislation is submitted to the director, he will obtain an initial actuarial estimate of the cost of each systems of the changes contained in the proposed legislation as if the legislation were applicable to each retirement system under his jurisdiction.      The results of that estimate will then be transmitted to the retirement board which has requested the proposed legislation.      That board may then modify its legislative proposal into final form for introduction as a bill on the basis of the estimate.      The final form for the legislative proposal shall then be returned to the director who shall obtain a final actuarial estimate of the costs applied in the same manner as the initial estimate.      On or before September 1, the director will transmit the final legislation proposal together with the actuarial estimates to the governor for consideration in his budget requests and shall also transmit the same to the chairman of the ways and means committees of the legislature)) 41.50.050.

[Order 4, § 415-02-020, filed 7/27/77.]

Unless the context requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings established below:

(1) "Appeal" means the ((method by which a party secures a contested case hearing before a retirement board or the director subsequent to an initial determination by the board or director of the legal rights, duties or privileges of the specific party)) process through which a party obtains review of a department action in an adjudicative proceeding before the department's presiding officer or hearings examiner under chapter 415-08 WAC.

(2) (("Clerk" means the director, any assistant director of the department of retirement systems, or the confidential secretary to the director of retirement systems, when used in reference to requests, submittals, papers or pleadings which must be filed with the clerk of one of the retirement boards established by chapters 2.10, 41.26, 41.32, 41.40, and 43.43 RCW or the director of the department of retirement systems.

(3))) "Department" means the department of retirement systems.

(((4))) (3) "Director" means the director of retirement systems.

(((5))) (4) "Employee" under this chapter, means a worker who performs labor or services for a retirement systems employer under the control and direction of the employer as determined under WAC 415-02-110(2).      An employee may be eligible to participate as a member of one of the state-administered retirement systems according to eligibility requirements specified under the applicable retirement system.

(((6) "Employer" means the employer of a particular member.

(7) "Hearings examiner" or "presiding officer" means a person or persons appointed by a retirement board or the director to preside at a contested case hearing and matters related thereto.

(8))) (5) "Independent contractor" under this chapter, means a worker providing services under contract to a retirement system employer for remuneration who is not under the direction or control of the employer as determined under WAC 415-02-110 (2) and (3).      ((Independent contractors are ineligible to participate as members in any state-administered retirement system.

(9))) (6) "Member" means a person who is entitled to membership in one of the retirement systems created by chapters 2.10, 2.12, ((41.25)) 41.26, 41.32, 41.34, 41.35, 41.40, or 43.43 RCW.

(((10))) (7) "Petition" means the method by which a party secures a review of an administrative determination ((by an assistant director)) prior to an appeal to the director. The department's petitions examiner performs the review under chapter 415.04 WAC.

(((11) "Retirement board" means either the Washington judicial retirement board, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' retirement board, the board of trustees of the Washington state teachers' retirement system, the Washington public employees' retirement board, or the Washington state patrol retirement board.

(12))) (8) "Plan 1" means the retirement plans in existence prior to the enactment of chapters 293, 294 and 295, Laws of 1977 ex. sess.

(9) "Plan 2" means the retirement plans established by chapters 293, 294 and 295, Laws of 1977 ex. sess., and chapter 341, Laws of 1998.

(10) "Plan 3" means the retirement plans established by chapter 239, Laws of 1995 and chapter 341 Laws of 1998.

(11) "Retirement system employer" means "employer" as defined in RCW 41.26.030(2), 41.32.010(11), 41.34.010(5), 41.35.010(4), or 41.40.010(4), and a "city" or "cities" as defined in RCW 41.44.030(2).

(((13))) (12) "Worker" means a person who performs services for a retirement system employer either as an employee or as an independent contractor.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050.      94-09-039, § 415-02-030, filed 4/19/94, effective 5/20/94; Order 4, § 415-02-030, filed 7/27/77.]

The actions and activities of the department of retirement systems are not major actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment as described in chapter 43.21C RCW.      All of the activities of the department are exempted from the threshold determination and environmental impact statement requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) by WAC ((197-10-175)) 197-11-875.

The responsible official of the agency for the purposes of SEPA is the director.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(6) and 41.50.090.      78-03-023 (Order IV), § 415-02-050, filed 2/15/78.]

((A request for a refund of contributions will not be honored if it was executed more than thirty days prior to its receipt by the department.      A member may cancel the request for a refund of accumulated contributions at any time prior to the mailing of the warrant representing the refund of contributions.)) The department will cancel a member's request for refund of defined benefit plan member contributions if the refund warrant is not cashed within one hundred eighty days of the date on the warrant. There will be no earnings on returned contributions for the one hundred eighty-day period that funds were held for distribution to the member.

If the member does not cash a warrant for a distribution of defined contribution plan member contributions within one hundred eighty days of the date on the warrant, the contributions will be returned to the member's account with the same allocation as existed on the date of the warrant. There will be no earnings on returned contributions for the one hundred eighty-day period that funds were held for distribution to the member.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(6) and 41.50.090.      78-03-023 (Order IV), § 415-02-060, filed 2/15/78.]

((Records of members of the retirement systems will be filed and identified in part by Social Security number.      Each member of the systems shall be required to supply his or her Social Security number for such record keeping purposes.      Such disclosure shall be voluntary and shall only be used for record keeping and identification purposes.      Failure to supply a Social Security number shall not result in the loss of any benefits supplied by these systems.)) The department is authorized by the Internal Revenue Code to solicit Social Security numbers. The department uses Social Security numbers as the identifying number for the member file to ensure that any amounts paid from retirement accounts are properly reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as required by law. Each member of the retirement system is required to supply his or her Social Security number to the department. Failure to do so will not cause the member to lose benefits, but may result in misreporting to the IRS which can lead to adverse tax consequences for the member.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(6) and 41.50.090.      78-03-023 (Order IV), § 415-02-080, filed 2/15/78.]

((Effective December 1, 1984)) The department ((of retirement systems)) will not accept requests by retirees of any of the systems which the department administers to deduct premiums for any kind of insurance from retirement allowances unless the provider has at least twenty-five such retirees enrolled in a withholding program.      Any providers who ((now)) have less than twenty-five retirees in their deduction program will have twelve months in which to secure at least twenty-five participants.      Failing to acquire the required minimum within twelve months will result in suspension of the deduction program for such provider.      Any qualified provider ((presently qualified)) who drops below twenty-five participants ((in the future)) will be suspended if they remain under twenty-five participants for ninety days.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(5) and 41.50.090.      84-24-017 (Order V), § 415-02-100, filed 11/28/84.]

(1) During the course of the administration of its duties, including, but not limited to, audit or investigation, the department may issue a subpoena under RCW 41.50.137. The department may direct the subpoena to any employer, member, person or entity (served party) who may possess information which is relevant and material to compel the party to:

(a) Appear and give testimony; and/or

(b) Produce any books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, or other documents, which the department deems relevant and material.

(2) The subpoena must:

(a) Identify "Washington state department of retirement systems" as the agency issuing the subpoena;

(b) Identify the name and address of the party subpoenaed;

(c) Specifically describe the information which is sought;

(d) State a reasonable time and place for the production of the information, but no later than twenty days after service; and

(e) Notify the served party that if the information is not produced, the department will apply to the superior court under RCW 34.05.588 for an appropriate order or other remedy.

(3) The subpoena may be served by:

(a) Delivering it personally; or

(b) Sending a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested.

[]

(1) DRS provides information in an annual statement to all members who are currently employed and are being reported. The statements include, but are not limited to, the following information:

(a) Service credit;

(b) Contributions; and

(c) Interest.

(2) The annual statement is based on information provided to the department by the employer as of a certain date. At the time the department compiles the annual statement, it may not have all the information necessary to make a final computation of any data reported. Information in the annual statement is subject to correction.

[]

     The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:

WAC 415-02-040	Definition of Plan II.
WAC 415-02-070	Application of particular rules to Plan II members.

© Washington State Code Reviser's Office