A. A member shall be eligible for disability benefits if the member has acquired ten years or more of earned service credit and if the board certifies the member to be totally disabled to continue the member's employment and unable to obtain and retain other gainful employment commensurate with the member's background, education and experience.
B. Prior to any certification of disability by the board, the board shall require each applicant for disability benefits to submit medical records as required by the board in support of the applicant's disability claim.
History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-35, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 158; 2017, ch. 21, § 15.
The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, removed the provision that required applicants for disability benefits to submit to a medical examination by a doctor approved by the educational retirement board, and required applicants for disability benefits to submit his or her medical records in support of the applicant's disability claim; in Subsection A, substituted "the member" for "he" or "his" throughout the subsection, and after "earned", changed "service-credit" to "service credit"; and in Subsection B, after "submit", deleted "himself to a medical examination by the medical authority" and added "medical records as required by the board in support of the applicant's disability claim".
Scope of board's authority. — The legislature, through this section has granted the board the authority to award disability benefits if certain requirements are met. If the board certifies the eligible member to be totally disabled, the board must award benefits. Once the determination of total disability is made, it is the duty of the board to certify the member as disabled. There is nothing in this grant of authority which authorizes the board to refuse to accept an application for disability if the applicant continues to hold a property interest in a bus contract. Gonzales v. N.M. Educ. Retirement Bd., 1990-NMSC-024, 109 N.M. 592, 788 P.2d 348, cert. denied, 498 U.S. 818, 111 S. Ct. 61, 112 L. Ed. 2d 36 (1990).
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.