CHAPTER 9
REFUNDS
[Prior to 11/24/04, see 581—Ch 21]
495—9.1(97B) Refunds for members with only one type of service credit. A member is eligible for a refund of the employee accumulated contributions as soon as practicable after the last date the member is considered an employee, provided that the employee has filed the required forms and has not returned to covered employment before the date the refund is paid. Effective July 1, 1999, a vested member’s refund shall also include a portion of the employer accumulated contributions. Refund amounts are determined as follows:
	9.1(1) Employee accumulated contributions. Upon receiving an eligible member’s application for refund, IPERS shall pay to the terminated member the amount of the employee accumulated contributions currently reported to, and processed by, IPERS as of the date of the refund. Upon reconciliation of the final employee contributions for that member, a supplemental refund of the employee accumulated contributions will be paid if funds remain in the member account.
	9.1(2) Employer accumulated contributions. IPERS shall also pay to vested members, in addition to the employee accumulated contributions, a refund of a portion of the employer accumulated contributions. The refundable portion shall be calculated by multiplying the employer accumulated contributions by the “service factor.” The “service factor” is a fraction, the numerator of which is the member’s quarters of service and the denominator of which is the “applicable quarters.” The “applicable quarters” shall be 120 for regular members and 88 for all special service members.
All quarters of service credit shall be included in the numerator of the service factor. In no event will a member ever receive an amount in excess of 100 percent of the employer accumulated contributions for that member.
In addition to the foregoing provisions, IPERS shall calculate the refundable portion of the employer accumulated contributions as follows:
	a. 	Upon reconciliation of the final employer contributions for that member, the member’s portion of the employer accumulated contributions will be recalculated. IPERS will add the additional quarter(s) of service to the numerator of the service factor. The adjusted service factor will be multiplied by the sum of the original employer accumulated contributions plus the supplemental employer accumulated contributions. The employer accumulated contributions included in the original refund will then be subtracted from that recalculated figure to determine the amount of employer accumulated contributions to be included in the supplemental refund.
	b. 	The member’s portion of employer accumulated contributions shall be determined under rule 9.2(97B) if the member had a combination of regular service and special service, or a combination of different types of special service.
	9.1(3) In making calculations under this rule and rule 9.2(97B), IPERS shall round to not less than six decimal places to the right of the decimal point.
495—9.2(97B) Refunds for members eligible for a hybrid refund. The calculation of the member’s portion of employer accumulated contributions for a “hybrid refund” shall be as follows:
	9.2(1) A “hybrid refund” is a refund that is calculated for a member who has a combination of regular service and special service quarters.
	9.2(2) If a member is eligible for a hybrid refund, the member’s portion of employer accumulated contributions shall be calculated by multiplying the total employer accumulated contributions by: (a) the member’s regular service factor, if any; and (b) the special service factor, if any (except as otherwise provided in this subrule). The amounts obtained will be added together to determine the amount of the employer accumulated contributions payable. In no event will a member ever receive an amount in excess of 100 percent of the employer accumulated contributions for that member.
	9.2(3) Upon reconciliation of the final contributions from a member’s employer, the member’s portion of the employer accumulated contributions under this rule will be recalculated. IPERS will add the additional quarter(s) of service to the numerator of the applicable service factor. The adjusted service factor will be multiplied by the sum of the original employer accumulated contributions plus the supplemental employer accumulated contributions. The employer accumulated contributions included in the original refund will then be subtracted from that recalculated figure to determine the amount of the employer accumulated contributions to be included in the supplemental refund.
	9.2(4) If wages reported for a quarter are a combination of regular and special service wages, IPERS will classify the service credit for each quarter based on the largest dollar amount reported for that quarter. A member shall not receive more than one quarter of service credit for any calendar quarter, even though more than one type of service credit is recorded for that quarter.
	9.2(5) If a member is last employed in a sheriff or deputy sheriff position, all quarters of “eligible service” shall be counted as quarters of sheriff or deputy sheriff service credit.
	9.2(6) A special limitation applies to hybrid refunds where the member and employer contributed at regular rates for quarters that are eligible for coverage under Iowa Code section 97B.49B or Iowa Code section 97B.49C. If a member has regular service credit and special service credit and any part of the special service credit consists of quarters for which only regular contributions were made, such quarters will be counted as regular service quarters. However, the foregoing limitation will not apply if the member only has service credit eligible for coverage under Iowa Code section 97B.49B or only has service credit eligible for coverage under Iowa Code section 97B.49C.
495—9.3(97B) Refund of retired reemployed members’ contributions.
	9.3(1) Less than six months. A retired member who returns to permanent covered employment, but who resigns within six months of the date the reemployment began, is eligible to have the member contributions for this period refunded. The contributions made by the employer will be refunded to the employer.
	9.3(2) Six months or longer. A retired member who returns to permanent employment and subsequently terminates the member’s employment may elect to receive an increased monthly allowance, or a refund of the member’s accumulated contributions and, effective July 1, 1998, employer’s accumulated contributions accrued during the period of reemployment. A reemployed member who elects a refund under this rule in lieu of an increased monthly allowance shall forfeit all other rights to benefits under the system with respect to the period of reemployment. If IPERS determines that the reemployment will not increase the amount of a member’s monthly benefit, a member shall elect only the refund.
495—9.4(97B) General administrative provisions. In addition to the foregoing, IPERS shall administer a member’s request for a refund as follows:
	9.4(1) To obtain a refund, a member must file a refund application form, which is available directly from IPERS or which can be reprinted from IPERS’ Web site www.ipers.org. Effective December 31, 2002, refund application forms shall only be available from IPERS.
	9.4(2) The last date the member is considered an employee and the date of the last paycheck from which IPERS contributions will be deducted must be certified by the employer on the refund application unless the member has not been paid covered wages for at least one year. Terminated employees must keep IPERS advised in writing of any change in address so that refunds and tax documents may be delivered.
	9.4(3) Unless otherwise specified by the member, the refund warrant will be mailed to the member at the address listed on the application for refund. If a member so desires, the warrant may be delivered to the member or the member’s agent at IPERS’ principal office. The member must show verification of identification by presenting a picture identification containing both name and social security number. If a member designates in writing an agent to pick up the refund warrant, the agent must present to IPERS both the written designation and the described picture identification.
	9.4(4) No payment of any kind is required under this rule if the amount due is less than $1.
	9.4(5) Effective July 1, 2004, an employee must sever all covered employment for 30 days after the date the employee was last considered an employee, and not for 30 days after the date of the last paycheck containing IPERS covered wages.
	9.4(6) Effective November 2006, an individual who previously stopped participating in IPERS to begin participating in an alternative plan shall not receive a refund of that individual’s IPERS account while still employed by a covered employer, even if the member is no longer in IPERS covered employment.
495—9.5(97B) Reinstatement following an employment dispute. If an involuntarily terminated employee takes a refund and is later reinstated in covered employment as a remedy for an employment dispute, the member may reinstate membership service credit for the period covered by the refund by repaying the amount of the refund plus interest within 90 days after the date of the order or agreement requiring reinstatement. A reinstatement following an employment dispute shall not constitute a violation of Iowa Code section 97B.53(4), even if the reinstatement occurs less than 30 days after the date of termination. Accordingly, the reinstatement described above or, if later, a buy-back, shall be permitted but is not required. However, if the employee is retroactively reinstated and the previously reported termination is expunged, the reemployment shall be treated as falling within the scope of Iowa Code section 97B.53(4) and a previously paid refund shall be repaid with interest.
495—9.6(97B) Refund followed by commencement of disability benefits under Iowa Code section 97B.50(2). If a vested member terminates covered employment, takes a refund, and is subsequently approved for disability under the federal Social Security Act or the federal Railroad Retirement Act, the member may reinstate membership service credit for the period covered by the refund by paying the actuarial cost as determined by IPERS’ actuary. Repayments must be made by:
	1.	For members whose federal social security or railroad retirement disability payments begin before July 1, 2000, within 90 days after July 1, 2000; or
	2.	For members whose social security or railroad retirement disability payments begin on or after July 1, 2000, within 90 days after the date federal social security or railroad retirement payments begin.
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 97B.50 and 97B.53.
[Filed 11/5/04, Notice 9/15/04—published 11/24/04, effective 12/29/04]
[Filed 4/7/06, Notice 3/1/06—published 4/26/06, effective 5/31/06]
[Filed 5/3/07, Notice 3/28/07—published 5/23/07, effective 6/27/07]