23-2319.01. Termination of employment; account forfeited; when; County Employer Retirement Expense Fund; created; use; investment.

(1) For a member who has terminated employment and is not vested, the balance of the member's employer account or employer cash balance account shall be forfeited. The forfeited account shall be credited to the County Employees Retirement Fund and shall first be used to meet the expense charges incurred by the retirement board in connection with administering the retirement system, which charges shall be credited to the County Employees Defined Contribution Retirement Expense Fund, if the member participated in the defined contribution option, or to the County Employees Cash Balance Retirement Expense Fund, if the member participated in the cash balance option, and the remainder, if any, shall then be used to restore employer accounts or employer cash balance accounts. Except as provided in subsection (3) of section 23-2310.04 and subdivision (4)(c) of section 23-2317, no forfeited amounts shall be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the County Employees Retirement Act.

(2) If a member ceases to be an employee due to the termination of his or her employment by the county and a grievance or other appeal of the termination is filed, transactions involving forfeiture of his or her employer account or employer cash balance account and transactions for payment of benefits under sections 23-2315 and 23-2319 shall be suspended pending the final outcome of the grievance or other appeal.

(3) The County Employer Retirement Expense Fund is created. The fund shall be administered by the Public Employees Retirement Board. Prior to July 1, 2012, the County Employer Retirement Expense Fund shall be used to meet expenses of the retirement system whether such expenses are incurred in administering the member's employer account or in administering the member's employer cash balance account when the funds available in the County Employees Defined Contribution Retirement Expense Fund or County Employees Cash Balance Retirement Expense Fund make such use reasonably necessary. The County Employer Retirement Expense Fund shall consist of any reduction in a county contribution which would otherwise be required to fund future service retirement benefits or to restore employer accounts or employer cash balance accounts referred to in subsection (1) of this section. On July 1, 2012, or as soon as practicable thereafter, any money in the County Employer Retirement Expense Fund shall be transferred by the State Treasurer to the County Employees Retirement Fund and credited to the cash balance benefit established in section 23-2308.01.

(4) Prior to July 1, 2012, expenses incurred as a result of a county depositing amounts into the County Employer Retirement Expense Fund shall be deducted prior to any additional expenses being allocated. Any remaining amount shall be allocated in accordance with subsection (3) of this section. Any money in the County Employer Retirement Expense Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

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