N.J. Admin. Code § 17:3-7.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 17:3-7.1 - Honorable service; interfund transfers; State-administered retirement systems

(a) The receipt of a public pension or retirement benefit is expressly conditioned upon the rendering of honorable service by a public officer or employee. If the Board of an employee's former system determines that all or a portion of the employee's prior service is dishonorable, the Board of the employee's new State-administered retirement system shall disallow the transfer of that portion of prior service deemed dishonorable for misconduct occurring during the member's prior public service.

(b) Except as noted at (a) above, a member is eligible to transfer membership from another State-administered defined benefit retirement system, provided the membership has not expired or has not been withdrawn and provided that all service eligible for participation has ceased.

1. A member desiring to transfer service credit and contributions from one State-administered defined benefit retirement system to another, must file an "Application for Interfund Transfer." This application will void all possible benefits claims in the former system when approved, and the membership is commenced in the new system.

2. The member's accumulated contributions, full interest included, less any outstanding loan, shall be transferred to the new membership account of the respective member. Any outstanding loan, back deductions, or arrears obligation will be scheduled for repayment.

3. A statement reflecting the member's status as of the date of transfer shall be prepared and a copy forwarded to the old account.

4. The member's service credits and enrollment date established in the former system shall be transferred into the new membership account.

5. The member is not eligible to transfer service credit if any of the following conditions apply:

i. The member has withdrawn the previous membership;

ii. The member has credit in the present system for service earned after the date of enrollment in the new system (concurrent service) unless the member meets the criteria established by 43:15A-14. 43:15A-14 provides that a member of the PERS at the time of enrollment in the TPAF may transfer the non-concurrent PERS service if the member ceased to be an active contributing member of the PERS three or less years from the date of enrollment in the TPAF. The member must apply to transfer this service no more than two years from the date of the last contribution in the PERS, or the member's PERS account has not expired due to the provisions of 43:15A-8. A member who transfers service under this provision shall receive credit for the salaries earned in both the TPAF and PERS during the period of concurrent service; or

iii. The account has expired (it has been more than two years from the date of the last contribution, and the member is not vested, nor has the member's account remained active due to the provisions of 18A:66-8).

6. A data sheet shall be created for the member's new account that shall indicate an interfund transfer from the member's previous retirement system and the service credit transferred into the new membership account.

(c) The system will transfer membership to any State-administered defined benefit retirement system as provided in (b) above.

(d) The reserves accrued in the present system shall be valued and compared to the reserves required in the new system.

1. If the reserves accumulated or provided for in the present system are less than those required in the new system, the full reserve will be transferred.

2. If the reserves accumulated or provided for in the present system are more than those required in the new system, only the amount required to establish the credit will be transferred.

(e) Years of credit will be subject to the benefit formula of the new system after transfer.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:3-7.1

Amended by 47 N.J.R. 2876(a), effective 11/16/2015

Amended by 55 N.J.R. 957(a), effective 5/1/2023