O.C.G.A. § 47-3-102 (2019)
Early retirement after 30 years’ service; time for application; payment by member of actuarial cost
(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘school year’’ means a regular school year which begins during or near September of one year and ends during or near June of the following year.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of Code Section 47-3-101, a member employed pursuant to a contract for each school year who will attain 30 years of creditable service by not later than the thirty-first day of December of the ensuing school year shall be eligible to retire effective on the first day of September nearest to the opening date of the ensuing school year on the basis of 30 years of creditable service, subject to the following conditions and requirements:
(1) The member must apply for early retirement pursuant to the authority of this Code section to the board of trustees, with a copy of such application being sent to the member’s employer, by not later than the first day of May immediately preceding the opening date of the ensuing school year; and
(2) The member must pay to the board of trustees an amount determined by the board of trustees to be sufficient to cover the full actuarial cost of granting early retirement as provided in this Code section.
(c) The payment required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be based on the compensation of the member which was in effect immediately preceding the opening date of the ensuing school year. For the purposes of determining average compensation in the computation of the retirement benefit under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and subsection (d) of Code Section 47-3-120, the two consecutive years of creditable service shall include the period on which the payment required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section is based, and the compensation for such period shall be the same as the compensation used for the determination of such payment.
(d) The board of trustees shall certify to the applicant the amount of the payment required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this Code section upon receiving an application for early retirement under this Code section. The payment so certified must be paid in full by the applicant to the board prior to the date of retirement under this Code section.
History
(Code 1981, § 47-3-102, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1301, § 1.)
Annotations
Law reviews. - For article surveying legislative and judicial developments in Georgia local government law for 1978-79, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 155 (1979).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Cited in Carr v. Sparks, 213 Ga. 606, 100 S.E.2d 583 (1957). OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Person teaching in academy for blind would be entitled to same treatment under Ga. L. 1943, p. 640 et seq. (see O.C.G.A. Ch. 3, T. 47) as other teachers in the public school system. 1945-47 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 210. When teacher retires, the teacher withdraws from the retirement system. 1954-56 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 615. In five-year average salary, ‘‘year’’ may mean 12-months. - For the purposes of awarding a year of creditable service and determining a member’s five-year average salary for computing benefits, the board of trustees may, by rule or regulation, employ the word ‘‘year’’ to mean a continuous
12-month period of time. 1976 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 76-84. Teacher not allowed pension based on local retirement fund years. - If a teacher includes previous service in a system under the retirement system toward retirement under a local retirement fund, and the retirement system pays the pension amounts on that service to the local fund, the teacher cannot be allowed pension benefits from the retirement system based on those same years for which payments are being made to the local fund as this would clearly amount to a double payment. 1974 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 74-21.
RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 60A Am. Jur. 2d, Pensions and Retirement Funds, §§ 1174 et seq., 1187 et seq., 1207 et seq., 1226 et seq., 1231. C.J.S. - 67 C.J.S., Officers and Public Employees, § 311 et seq. 70 C.J.S., Pensions, §§ 5, 10. 78 C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, § 481 et seq.
ALR. - Re-employment or reinstatement of public officer or employee as restoration of original status as regards incidental rights of privileges, 89 ALR 684.