Nebraska State Seal

Nebraska Laws Pertaining to
Libraries & Library Operations

Chapter 23. County Government and Officers
COUNTY EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT
§§ 23-2301, 2306, 2323.03, 2331

Statute: 23-2301
Terms, defined.

  1. For purposes of the County Employees Retirement Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
    1. Compensation means gross wages or salaries payable to the member for personal services performed during the plan year. Compensation does not include insurance premiums converted into cash payments, reimbursement for expenses incurred, fringe benefits, or bonuses for services not actually rendered, including, but not limited to, early retirement inducements, cash awards, and severance pay, except for retroactive salary payments paid pursuant to court order, arbitration, or litigation and grievance settlements. Compensation includes overtime pay, member retirement contributions, and amounts contributed by the member to plans under sections 125, 403(b), and 457 of the Internal Revenue Code or any other section of the code which defers or excludes such amounts from income.
    2. Compensation in excess of the limitations set forth in section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be disregarded. For an employee who was a member of the retirement system before the first plan year beginning after December 31, 1995, the limitation on compensation shall not be less than the amount which was allowed to be taken into account under the retirement system as in effect on July 1, 1993;
  2. Date of adoption of the retirement system by each county means the first day of the month next following the date of approval of the retirement system by the county board or January 1, 1987, whichever is earlier;
  3. Date of disability means the date on which a member is determined by the board to be disabled;
  4. Disability means an inability to engage in a substantially gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or be of a long and indefinite duration;
  5. Eligibility and vesting credit means credit for years, or a fraction of a year, of participation in a Nebraska governmental plan for purposes of determining membership in the retirement system and vesting the employer account;
  6. Employees means all persons or officers who are employed by a county of the State of Nebraska on a permanent basis, persons employed as provided in section 2-1608, all elected officers of a county, and such other persons or officers as are classified from time to time as permanent employees by the county board of the county by whom they are employed, except that employees does not include judges, employees or officers of any county having a population in excess of one hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, or, except as provided in section 23-2306, persons making contributions to the School Retirement System of the State of Nebraska;
  7. Five-year break in service means a period of five consecutive one-year breaks in service;
  8. Full-time employee means an employee who is employed to work one-half or more of the regularly scheduled hours during each pay period;
  9. Future service means service following the date of adoption of the retirement system;
  10. Group annuity contract means the contract issued by one or more life insurance companies to the board in order to provide the future service benefits described in the act;
  11. Guaranteed investment contract means an investment contract or account offering a return of principal invested plus interest at a specified rate. For investments made after July 19, 1996, guaranteed investment contract does not include direct obligations of the United States or its instrumentalities, bonds, participation certificates or other obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or the Government National Mortgage Association, or collateralized mortgage obligations and other derivative securities. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the liquidation of investment contracts or accounts entered into prior to July 19, 1996;
  12. One-year break in service means a plan year during which the member has not completed more than five hundred hours of service;
  13. Part-time employee means an employee who is employed to work less than one-half of the regularly scheduled hours during each pay period;
  14. Plan year means the twelve-month period beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31;
  15. Prior service means service prior to the date of adoption of the retirement system;
  16. Regular interest means the rate of interest earned each calendar year as determined by the retirement board in conformity with actual and expected earnings on the investments;
  17. Required contribution means the deduction to be made from the compensation of employees as provided in the act;
  18. Retirement means qualifying for and terminating employment after becoming qualified to receive the retirement allowance granted under the act;
  19. Retirement board or board means the Public Employees Retirement Board;
  20. Retirement system means the Retirement System for Nebraska Counties;
  21. Service means the actual total length of employment as an employee and is not deemed to be interrupted by
    1. temporary or seasonal suspension of service that does not terminate the employee's employment,
    2. leave of absence authorized by the employer for a period not exceeding twelve months,
    3. leave of absence because of disability, or
    4. military service, when properly authorized by the retirement board. Service does not include any period of disability for which disability retirement benefits are received under section 23-2315;
  22. Straight life annuity means an ordinary annuity, payable for the life of the primary annuitant only, and terminating at his or her death without refund or death benefit of any kind;
  23. Surviving spouse means
    1. the spouse married to the member on the date of the member's death or
    2. the spouse or former spouse of the member if survivorship rights are provided under a qualified domestic relations order filed with the board pursuant to the Spousal Pension Rights Act. The spouse or former spouse shall supersede the spouse married to the member on the date of the member's death as provided under a qualified domestic relations order. If the benefits payable to the spouse or former spouse under a qualified domestic relations order are less than the value of benefits entitled to the surviving spouse, the spouse married to the member on the date of the member's death shall be the surviving spouse for the balance of the benefits; and
  24. Termination of employment occurs on the date on which a county which is a member of the retirement system determines that its employer-employee relationship with an employee is dissolved. The county shall notify the board within two weeks after the date such a termination is deemed to have occurred. Termination of employment does not occur if an employee whose employer-employee relationship with a county is dissolved enters into an employer-employee relationship with the same or another county which participates in the Retirement System for Nebraska Counties and there are less than one hundred twenty days between the date when the employee's employer-employee relationship ceased with the county and the date when the employer-employee relationship commenced with the same or another county which qualifies the employee for participation in the plan. It shall be the responsibility of the current employer to notify the board of such change in employment and provide the board with such information as the board deems necessary. If the board determines that termination of employment has not occurred and a termination benefit has been paid to a member of the retirement system pursuant to section 23-2319, the board shall require the member who has received such benefit to repay the benefit to the retirement system.

Source:
Laws 1965, c. 94, § 1, p. 402; Laws 1969, c. 172, § 1, p. 750; Laws 1973, LB 216, § 1; Laws 1974, LB 905, § 1; Laws 1975, LB 47, § 1; Laws 1975, LB 45, § 1; Laws 1984, LB 216, § 2; Laws 1985, LB 347, § 1; Laws 1985, LB 432, § 1; Laws 1986, LB 311, § 2; Laws 1991, LB 549, § 1; Laws 1993, LB 417, § 1; Laws 1994, LB 833, § 1; Laws 1995, LB 369, § 2; Laws 1996, LB 847, § 2; Laws 1996, LB 1076, § 1; Laws 1996, LB 1273, § 14; Laws 1997, LB 624, § 1; Laws 1998, LB 1191, § 23; Laws 1999, LB 703, § 1; Laws 2000, LB 1192, § 1. Effective date March 22, 2000.

Statute: 23-2306 Retirement system; members; employees; elected officials; new employee; participation in another governmental plan; how treated; separate employment; effect.

  1. The membership of the retirement system shall be composed of (a) all full-time employees who have been employees for a period of twelve continuous months, except that full-time elected officials shall be members on taking office, (b) all full-time or part-time employees who have attained the age of twenty-five, have been employed for a total of twelve months within a five-year period, and exercise the option to join the retirement system, and (c) all part-time elected officials who exercise the option to join the retirement system. A part-time employee who exercises the option to join the retirement system shall remain in the system until termination or retirement.
  2. Within the first thirty days of employment, a full-time employee may apply to the board for eligibility and vesting credit for years of participation in another Nebraska governmental plan, as defined by section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. During the years of participation in the other Nebraska governmental plan, the employee must have been a full-time employee, as defined in the Nebraska governmental plan in which the credit was earned.
  3. Any employee who qualifies for membership in the retirement system pursuant to this section may not be disqualified for membership in the retirement system solely because such employee also maintains separate employment which qualifies the employee for membership in another public retirement system, nor may membership in this retirement system disqualify such an employee from membership in another public retirement system solely by reason of separate employment which qualifies such employee for membership in this retirement system.
  4. A full-time or part-time employee of a city, village, or township who becomes a county employee pursuant to a merger of services shall receive credit for his or her years of employment with the city, village, or township for purposes of the membership provisions of this section and shall receive eligibility and vesting credit for his or her years of participation in a Nebraska governmental plan, as defined by section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, of the city, village, or township.
  5. Information necessary to determine membership in the retirement system shall be provided by the employer.

Source:
Laws 1965, c. 94, § 6, p. 405; Laws 1975, LB 32, § 1; Laws 1984, LB 216, § 3; Laws 1985, LB 349, § 1; Laws 1991, LB 549, § 3; Laws 1995, LB 501, § 1; Laws 1996, LB 1076, § 2; Laws 1997, LB 250, § 5; Laws 1997, LB 624, § 2; Laws 1998, LB 1191, § 24; Laws 2000, LB 1192, § 2. Effective date March 22, 2000.

Statute: 23-2323.03
Retirement system; accept payments and rollovers; limitations; board; duties.

  1. The retirement system may accept cash rollover contributions from a member who is making payment pursuant to section 23-2306.02, 23-2320, or 23-2323.01 if the contributions do not exceed the amount authorized to be paid by the member pursuant to section 23-2306.02, 23-2320, or 23-2323.01, and the contributions represent (a) all or any portion of the balance of the member's interest in a qualified trust under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code or (b) the interest of the member from an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity, the entire amount of which is attributable to a qualified total distribution, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, from a qualified trust under section 401(a) of the code and qualified as a tax-free rollover amount. The member's interest under subdivision (a) or (b) of this subsection must be transferred to the retirement system within sixty days from the date of the distribution from the qualified trust, individual retirement account, or individual retirement annuity.
  2. Cash transferred to the retirement system as a rollover contribution shall be deposited as other payments made under section 23-2306.02, 23-2320, or 23-2323.01.
  3. The retirement system may accept direct rollover distributions made from a qualified trust pursuant to section 401(a)(31) of the Internal Revenue Code. The direct rollover distribution shall be deposited as all other payments under this section.
  4. The board shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations defining procedures for acceptance of rollovers which are consistent with sections 401(a)(31) and 402 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Source:
Laws 1996, LB 847, § 9; Laws 1997, LB 250, § 7; Laws 1997, LB 624, § 7.

Statute: 23-2331
Act, how cited.

Sections 23-2301 to 23-2332 shall be known and may be cited as the County Employees Retirement Act.

Source:
Laws 1965, c. 94, § 31, p. 411; Laws 1985, LB 347, § 18; Laws 1991, LB 549, § 13; Laws 1994, LB 833, § 8; Laws 1995, LB 501, § 3; Laws 1996, LB 847, § 10; Laws 1996, LB 1076, § 7; Laws 1997, LB 250, § 8; Laws 1997, LB 623, § 6; Laws 1997, LB 624, § 8; Laws 1998, LB 1191, § 33; Laws 1999, LB 687, § 3.

For more information, contact Richard Miller.