§1944. Computation of disability benefits

A. The board of trustees shall award disability benefits to eligible members who have been officially certified as having a disability by the State Medical Disability Board. In no event shall any such benefit exceed one hundred percent of final compensation. The disability benefit shall be determined as provided in this Section:

(1) Upon retirement caused by disability, a member hired on or before December 31, 2006, shall receive a normal retirement allowance if he is eligible therefor; otherwise, he shall receive a disability benefit which shall consist of the lesser of:

(a) An amount equal to three percent of the member's final compensation multiplied by his years of creditable service; however, for computation purposes, such number of years shall not be considered to be less than fifteen, or

(b) A retirement benefit which would be payable assuming continued service to the age of sixty years using other current computation factors.

(2) Upon retirement caused by disability, a member hired on or after January 1, 2007, shall receive a normal retirement allowance if he is eligible therefor; otherwise, he shall receive as a disability benefit the lesser of:

(a) An amount equal to three percent of the member's final compensation multiplied by his years of creditable service; provided however, that for computation purposes such number of years shall not be considered to be less than fifteen, or

(b) A retirement benefit which would be payable assuming continued service to the age of sixty-two years.

B. Upon retirement caused by disability, a member may select any of the optional modes of benefit payments provided by R.S. 11:1932. The computation of any optional benefit payment shall be based upon the option factors the system utilizes for normal retirement and the ages of the member and the option beneficiary, projected to the member's earliest normal retirement age assuming the member remained in continuous service until that time.

Acts 1979, No. 765, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980; Redesignated from R.S. 33:6154 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1993, No. 759, §1; Acts 2006, No. 584, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2014, No. 811, §4, eff. June 23, 2014.

NOTE: See Acts 2006, No. 584, §3, relative to Act superseding conflicting provisions of Acts of 2006 R.S.

NOTE: Acts 2014, No. 811 changed terminology referring to persons with disabilities throughout the La. Revised Statutes and codes of law, and included a listing of terms that were deleted and their respective successor terms (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §36). The Act provides that it is not the intent of the legislature that changes in terminology effected therein alter or affect in any way the substance, interpretation, or application of any law or administrative rule; further provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to expand or diminish any right of or benefit for any person provided by any law or administrative rule (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §35(C) and (D)).