Senate Bill 2218 Summary

• Revises definitions in the Public Employees' Retirement System to clarify that "membership service" is the relevant service requirement for beneficiaries and specifies that natural children must be conceived before the member's death to qualify as dependents.

• Excludes the value of maintenance and in-kind benefits (such as insurance premiums and tuition reimbursement) from calculations of earned compensation used to determine retirement benefits.

• Changes creditable service awards for members retiring on or after July 1, 2013 from fiscal year increments to monthly increments and modifies unused leave calculations for post-July 1, 2013 retirees.

• Requires members applying for disability retirement to provide objective medical evidence and clarifies that death or disability benefits for line-of-duty claims must result directly from physical injury caused by external violence or traumatic events.

• Authorizes the Public Employees' Retirement System to make benefit payments through direct deposit or other prescribed means, with alternative payment methods available if the member demonstrates undue hardship, and revises the early retirement reduction formula for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System to use actuarially determined percentages instead of a fixed 3% rate.