§ 462. Reexamination of disability beneficiary
(a) Once each year during the first five years following the retirement of a member on
a disability retirement allowance, and once in every three year period thereafter,
the Retirement Board may, and upon the member’s application shall, require any disability
beneficiary who has not reached his or her normal retirement date to undergo a medical
examination, by the Medical Board or by a physician or physicians designated by the
Medical Board, such examination to be made at the place of residence of such beneficiary
or other place mutually agreed upon. Should any disability beneficiary who has not
reached his or her normal retirement date refuse to submit to such medical examination,
the beneficiary’s allowance may be discontinued until his or her withdrawal of such
refusal, and should the beneficiary’s refusal continue for one year, all the beneficiary’s
rights in and to his or her pension may be revoked by the Retirement Board.
(b) Should the Medical Board report and certify to the Retirement Board that any disability
beneficiary has a residual functional capacity that might enable the beneficiary to
return to work, and should the Retirement Board reasonably conclude that the beneficiary
is engaged in or is, as a result of specific findings made by a certified vocational
counselor, able to engage in a gainful occupation paying more than the difference
between the beneficiary’s retirement allowance and his or her average final compensation
at retirement, the beneficiary’s pension shall be reduced to an amount that, together
with his or her annuity and the amount earnable by him or her, shall equal the beneficiary’s
average final compensation at retirement, adjusted for inflation each year following
retirement on the same basis as for beneficiaries as provided in section 470 of this title provided that:
(1) The Retirement Board shall provide written notice and an opportunity to be heard to
the beneficiary prior to any reduction of the beneficiary’s pension under this subsection.
(2) If the beneficiary has engaged in a gainful occupation subsequent to receiving disability
retirement, the Retirement Board in its discretion may reject in whole or in part
a vocational assessment of the beneficiary’s ability to engage in a more gainful occupation
and may rely in whole or in part on evidence of the beneficiary’s actual earnings
in determining the amount earnable by the beneficiary. In addition, if the Retirement
Board’s determination is based in whole or in part on a vocational assessment of ability
to engage in a gainful occupation, the beneficiary shall be notified of his or her
entitlement to the same reemployment rights as are available to State employees under
the existing collective bargaining agreement entered into between the State and the
applicable bargaining representative, or extension of such contractual benefits. Such
rights shall commence as of the date of the determination and shall be based upon
the reemployment rights the beneficiary would have had at the time he or she retired
from State service. The reduction of pension amount will be held in abeyance until
the reemployment rights have expired. In the event that the beneficiary is subsequently
reemployed by the State, the beneficiary’s retirement allowance shall cease, effective
on the date when reemployment commences. In the event that the beneficiary is not
subsequently reemployed by the State, the reduction of the beneficiary’s pension shall
commence the month following the month in which the beneficiary’s reemployment rights
expired.
(3) In the event that a beneficiary’s pension has been reduced and should the beneficiary’s
earning capability later change, his or her pension may be further modified, provided
that no reemployment rights shall be afforded to the beneficiary in connection with
any later change and provided further that the new pension amount, together with the
amount earnable by him or her, shall not exceed the beneficiary’s average final compensation
at retirement, adjusted for inflation.
(4) As used in this subsection, “retirement allowance” shall mean the allowance payable
without modification as provided in section 468 of this title.
(c) Every recipient of disability benefits who has not reached his or her normal retirement
date shall, annually on a date determined by the Retirement Board, file with the State
Treasurer a statement certifying, under penalty of perjury and in such form as the
Retirement Board shall prescribe, the full amount of his or her earnings from earned
income during the preceding calendar year. The State Treasurer may request, and the
beneficiary shall provide within 60 days after such request, additional financial
information and records pertinent to the beneficiary’s earned income. The beneficiary’s
statement and accompanying forms and schedules and any other financial information
and records provided by the beneficiary to the State Treasurer shall be confidential.
In the event that a beneficiary fails to submit the certification or any required
or requested financial information or records pertinent to the beneficiary’s earned
income, the beneficiary’s retirement allowance shall be suspended until all such information
and records have been submitted, and in the event that the failure continues for one
year, all the beneficiary’s rights in and to his or her pension and any pending reemployment
rights under this section may be revoked by the Board. Notwithstanding any provision
of this section to the contrary, if the beneficiary’s earned income for the preceding
year exceeded the difference between the beneficiary’s retirement allowance and his
or her average final compensation at retirement as adjusted for inflation each year
following retirement, the beneficiary shall refund the portion of the preceding year’s
retirement allowance that is equal to the amount of the reduction specified in subsection
(b) of this section, and the refund amount may be offset against the beneficiary’s
monthly pension benefits. Prior to suspension or revocation of the beneficiary’s retirement
allowance, reemployment rights, or inception of any offset under this subsection,
the Retirement Board shall provide the beneficiary with written notice and an opportunity
to be heard. (Added 1971, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 2003, No. 38, § 3; 2015, No. 18, § 11; 2015, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)