WAC 131-16-021   Employees eligible to participate in the retirement plan.  (1) Eligibility to participate in the plan is limited to persons who hold appointments to participating employer staff positions as full-time or part-time faculty members, administrators or professional staff exempt from the provisions of chapter 41.06 RCW and, effective July 1, 1999, are assigned a cumulative total of at least fifty percent of a full-time workload as defined by the collective bargaining agreement and/or the appointing authority at one or more participating employers for at least two consecutive college quarters or its equivalent. (Part-time faculty workload is calculated in accordance with RCW 28B.50.489 and 28B.50.4891.) Effective July 1, 2011, otherwise eligible employees who have retired or are eligible to retire from a public employees' retirement system listed in RCW 41.50.030 are prohibited from participation in the plan.

     (2) Participation in the plan is also permitted for current and former employees of participating employers who are on leave of absence or who have terminated employment by reason of permanent disability and who are receiving a salary continuation insurance benefit through a plan made available by the state of Washington: Provided, That such noncontributory participation shall not be creditable toward the number of years of full-time service utilized in calculating eligibility for supplemental retirement benefits pursuant to WAC 131-16-061.

     (3) Optional participation in tax-deferred annuities other than this qualified plan as offered by participating employers is permitted consistent with the Internal Revenue Code: Provided, That the provisions of WAC 131-16-015, 131-16-050, and 131-16-061 shall not apply in such cases. Optional tax-deferred annuities are provided through a salary reduction agreement between the employee and employer. There is no employer contribution for optional tax-deferred annuities.

     (4) An employee who moves from an ineligible to an eligible position for the same appointing authority may become a participant by so electing in writing within thirty days following such move.

     (5) A participant who moves from an eligible position to a classified position for the same appointing authority may continue to be a participant by so electing within thirty days following such move.

     (6) As specified in RCW 28B.10.400, participation in the plan by employees of the higher education coordinating board is limited to eligible employees who have contributed premiums to a similar qualified plan and who are not receiving or accruing a retirement allowance under Title 41 RCW or chapter 43.43 RCW.

     (7) Participants shall continue participation regardless of the proportion of full-time duties assigned, except as otherwise provided in this section, as long as continuously employed by a participating employer. The participating employer shall notify, in writing, all newly hired employees of their potential right to participate. A participating employee, who changes employers without a break in service, shall have the responsibility to notify in writing the new participating employer of his or her eligibility. In no case will there be a requirement for retroactive contributions if an employee fails to inform his or her participating employer about eligibility previously established with another participating employer. For the purposes of determining eligibility, spring and fall quarters shall be considered as consecutive periods of employment.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.400. 11-19-065, § 131-16-021, filed 9/15/11, effective 10/16/11; 10-22-073, § 131-16-021, filed 10/29/10, effective 11/29/10; 05-24-051, § 131-16-021, filed 12/1/05, effective 1/1/06. Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.50 RCW. 00-14-017, § 131-16-021, filed 6/28/00, effective 7/29/00; 99-22-052, § 131-16-021, filed 10/29/99, effective 11/29/99; 99-19-100, §131-16-021, filed 9/20/99, effective 10/21/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.400 and chapter 28B.50 RCW. 98-14-033, § 131-16-021, filed 6/23/98, effective 7/24/98. Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.50 RCW. 97-10-069, § 131-16-021, filed 5/5/97, effective 7/8/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.400. 91-13-048 (Resolution No. 91-20, Order 129), § 131-16-021, filed 6/14/91, effective 7/15/91.]