Missouri Revised Statutes













Chapter 169

Teacher and School Employee Retirement Systems

←169.060

Section 169.070.1

169.073→

August 28, 2015

Retirement allowances, how computed, election allowed, time period--options--effect of federal O.A.S.I. coverage--cost-of-living adjustment authorized--limitation of benefits--employment of special consultant, compensation, minimum benefits.

169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose age at

retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable service is five years

or more, or whose sum of age and creditable service equals eighty years or

more, or who has attained age fifty-five and whose creditable service is

twenty-five years or more or whose creditable service is thirty years or more

regardless of age, may be the sum of the following items, not to exceed one

hundred percent of the member's final average salary:



(1) Two and five-tenths percent of the member's final average salary for

each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of membership service

for each year of prior service not exceeding thirty years.

In lieu of the retirement allowance otherwise provided in subdivisions (1) and

(2) of this subsection, a member may elect to receive a retirement allowance

of:



(3) Two and four-tenths percent of the member's final average salary for

each year of membership service, if the member's creditable service is

twenty-nine years or more but less than thirty years, and the member has not

attained age fifty-five;



(4) Two and thirty-five-hundredths percent of the member's final average

salary for each year of membership service, if the member's creditable service

is twenty-eight years or more but less than twenty-nine years, and the member

has not attained age fifty-five;



(5) Two and three-tenths percent of the member's final average salary

for each year of membership service, if the member's creditable service is

twenty-seven years or more but less than twenty-eight years, and the member

has not attained age fifty-five;



(6) Two and twenty-five-hundredths percent of the member's final average

salary for each year of membership service, if the member's creditable service

is twenty-six years or more but less than twenty-seven years, and the member

has not attained age fifty-five;



(7) Two and two-tenths percent of the member's final average salary for

each year of membership service, if the member's creditable service is

twenty-five years or more but less than twenty-six years, and the member has

not attained age fifty-five;



(8) Between July 1, 2001, and July 1, 2014, two and fifty-five

hundredths percent of the member's final average salary for each year of

membership service, if the member's creditable service is thirty-one years or

more regardless of age.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in subsection 1 of this

section, a member whose age is sixty years or more on September 28, 1975, may

elect to have the member's retirement allowance calculated as a sum of the

following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of the member's final

average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of membership service

for each year of prior service not exceeding thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions (1) and (2)

of this subsection for each month of attained age in excess of sixty years but

not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. (1) In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, collectively called "option 1", a member

whose creditable service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the

age of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may elect in

the member's application for retirement to receive the actuarial equivalent of

the member's retirement allowance in reduced monthly payments for life during

retirement with the provision that:



Option 2. Upon the member's death the reduced retirement allowance shall

be continued throughout the life of and paid to such person as has an

insurable interest in the life of the member as the member shall have

nominated in the member's election of the option, and provided further that if

the person so nominated dies before the retired member, the retirement

allowance will be increased to the amount the retired member would be

receiving had the retired member elected option 1;



OR



Option 3. Upon the death of the member three-fourths of the reduced

retirement allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member and as the

member shall have nominated in an election of the option, and provided further

that if the person so nominated dies before the retired member, the retirement

allowance will be increased to the amount the retired member would be

receiving had the member elected option 1;



OR



Option 4. Upon the death of the member one-half of the reduced

retirement allowance shall be continued throughout the life of, and paid to,

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member and as the

member shall have nominated in an election of the option, and provided further

that if the person so nominated dies before the retired member, the retirement

allowance shall be increased to the amount the retired member would be

receiving had the member elected option 1;



OR



Option 5. Upon the death of the member prior to the member having

received one hundred twenty monthly payments of the member's reduced

allowance, the remainder of the one hundred twenty monthly payments of the

reduced allowance shall be paid to such beneficiary as the member shall have

nominated in the member's election of the option or in a subsequent

nomination. If there is no beneficiary so nominated who survives the member

for the remainder of the one hundred twenty monthly payments, the total of the

remainder of such one hundred twenty monthly payments shall be paid to the

surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares, surviving parents in

equal shares, or estate of the last person, in that order of precedence, to

receive a monthly allowance in a lump sum payment. If the total of the one

hundred twenty payments paid to the retired individual and the beneficiary of

the retired individual is less than the total of the member's accumulated

contributions, the difference shall be paid to the beneficiary in a lump sum;



OR



Option 6. Upon the death of the member prior to the member having

received sixty monthly payments of the member's reduced allowance, the

remainder of the sixty monthly payments of the reduced allowance shall be paid

to such beneficiary as the member shall have nominated in the member's

election of the option or in a subsequent nomination. If there is no

beneficiary so nominated who survives the member for the remainder of the

sixty monthly payments, the total of the remainder of such sixty monthly

payments shall be paid to the surviving spouse, surviving children in equal

shares, surviving parents in equal shares, or estate of the last person, in

that order of precedence, to receive a monthly allowance in a lump sum

payment. If the total of the sixty payments paid to the retired individual

and the beneficiary of the retired individual is less than the total of the

member's accumulated contributions, the difference shall be paid to the

beneficiary in a lump sum.



(2) The election of an option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date on which the

retirement of the member is to be effective. If either the member or the

person nominated to receive the survivorship payments dies before the

effective date of retirement, the option shall not be effective, provided

that:



(a) If the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service or after

attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring five or more years of

creditable service and before retirement, except retirement with disability

benefits, and the person named by the member as the member's beneficiary has

an insurable interest in the life of the deceased member, the designated

beneficiary may elect to receive either survivorship benefits under option 2

or a payment of the accumulated contributions of the member. If survivorship

benefits under option 2 are elected and the member at the time of death would

have been eligible to receive an actuarial equivalent of the member's

retirement allowance, the designated beneficiary may further elect to defer

the option 2 payments until the date the member would have been eligible to

receive the retirement allowance provided in subsection 1 or 2 of this

section;



(b) If the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

before attaining age fifty-five but after acquiring five but fewer than

twenty-five years of creditable service, and the person named as the member's

beneficiary has an insurable interest in the life of the deceased member, the

designated beneficiary may elect to receive either a payment of the member's

accumulated contributions, or survivorship benefits under option 2 to begin on

the date the member would first have been eligible to receive an actuarial

equivalent of the member's retirement allowance, or to begin on the date the

member would first have been eligible to receive the retirement allowance

provided in subsection 1 or 2 of this section.



4. If the total of the retirement or disability allowance paid to an

individual before the death of the individual is less than the accumulated

contributions at the time of retirement, the difference shall be paid to the

beneficiary of the individual, or to the surviving spouse, surviving children

in equal shares, surviving parents in equal shares, or estate of the

individual in that order of precedence. If an optional benefit as provided in

option 2, 3 or 4 in subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if the total

retirement allowance paid to the retired individual and the beneficiary of the

retired individual is less than the total of the contributions, the difference

shall be paid to the surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares,

surviving parents in equal shares, or estate of the beneficiary, in that order

of precedence, unless the retired individual designates a different recipient

with the board at or after retirement.



5. If a member dies and his or her financial institution is unable to

accept the final payment or payments due to the member, the final payment or

payments shall be paid to the beneficiary of the member or, if there is no

beneficiary, to the surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares,

surviving parents in equal shares, or estate of the member, in that order of

precedence, unless otherwise stated. If the beneficiary of a deceased member

dies and his or her financial institution is unable to accept the final

payment or payments, the final payment or payments shall be paid to the

surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares, surviving parents in

equal shares, or estate of the member, in that order of precedence, unless

otherwise stated.



6. If a member dies before receiving a retirement allowance, the

member's accumulated contributions at the time of the death of the member

shall be paid to the beneficiary of the member or, if there is no beneficiary,

to the surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares, surviving parents

in equal shares, or to the estate of the member, in that order of precedence;

except that, no such payment shall be made if the beneficiary elects option 2

in subsection 3 of this section, unless the beneficiary dies before having

received benefits pursuant to that subsection equal to the accumulated

contributions of the member, in which case the amount of accumulated

contributions in excess of the total benefits paid pursuant to that subsection

shall be paid to the surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares,

surviving parents in equal shares, or estate of the beneficiary, in that order

of precedence.



7. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as herein defined

and certifies to the board of trustees that such cessation is permanent, or if

the membership of the person is otherwise terminated, the member shall be paid

the member's accumulated contributions with interest.



8. Notwithstanding any provisions of sections 169.010 to 169.141 to the

contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school employee after acquiring

five or more years of membership service in Missouri, the member may at the

option of the member leave the member's contributions with the retirement

system and claim a retirement allowance any time after reaching the minimum

age for voluntary retirement. When the member's claim is presented to the

board, the member shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections

169.010 to 169.141 on the basis of the member's age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time the member requests the member's

retirement to become effective.



9. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of disability

shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which the member's creditable service

would entitle the member if the member's age were sixty, or fifty percent of

one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in determining the member's

contributions during the last school year for which the member received a year

of creditable service immediately prior to the member's disability, whichever

is greater, except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which the member would have been entitled upon retirement at age

sixty if the member had continued to teach from the date of disability until

age sixty at the same salary rate.



10. Notwithstanding any provisions of sections 169.010 to 169.141 to the

contrary, from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate pursuant to sections

169.010 to 169.141 shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any

member of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is

paid from state or local tax funds on account of the member's employment

entitling the person to membership in the system. The monetary benefits for a

member who elected not to exercise an option to pay into the system a

retroactive contribution of four percent on that part of the member's annual

salary rate which was in excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not

in excess of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of employment

in a position covered by this system between July 1, 1957, and July 1, 1961,

as provided in subsection 10 of this section as it appears in RSMo, 1969,

shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths of the full

amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in which the

full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under the formula in effect at

the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and prior to

July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as it appears in RSMo,

1959; except that if the member has at least thirty years of creditable

service at retirement the member shall receive the benefit payable pursuant to

that section as though the member's age were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in which the

two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of the benefits under the

formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement.



11. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom federal Old Age

and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at any time from state or local

funds on account of the member's employment entitling the member to membership

in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths of the full

amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in which the

full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under the formula in effect at

the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in which the

two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of the benefits under the

formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement.



12. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior to September

1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under option 1 or option 2 of

subsection 3 of this section, as such option existed prior to September 1,

1972, will be eligible to receive an increase in the retirement allowance of

the member of two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired prior to July 1,

1975. This increased amount shall be payable commencing with January, 1976,

and shall thereafter be referred to as the member's retirement allowance. The

increase provided for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580* or 169.585, nor

shall the amount being paid pursuant to these sections be reduced because of

any increases provided for in this section.



13. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of living, as

measured by generally accepted standards, increases two percent or more in the

preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the retirement allowances

which the retired members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount being received by the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the

annual increase is granted by the board with the provision that the increases

provided for in this subsection shall not become effective until the fourth

January first following the member's retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever

later occurs, or in the case of any member retiring on or after July 1, 2000,

the increase provided for in this subsection shall not become effective until

the third January first following the member's retirement, or in the case of

any member retiring on or after July 1, 2001, the increase provided for in

this subsection shall not become effective until the second January first

following the member's retirement. Commencing with January 1, 1992, if the

board of trustees determines that the cost of living has increased five

percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by five percent. The total of the increases granted to

a retired member or the beneficiary after December 31, 1976, may not exceed

eighty percent of the retirement allowance established at retirement or as

previously adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than five percent, the board of trustees may determine the percentage of

increase to be made in retirement allowances, but at no time can the increase

exceed five percent per year. If the cost of living decreases in a fiscal

year, there will be no increase in allowances for retired members on the

following January first.



14. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have been granted

as increases to a member pursuant to subsection 13 of this section if the cost

of living, as determined by the board and as measured by generally accepted

standards, is less than the cost of living was at the time of the first

increase granted to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed

the amount of increases which have been made to the member's allowance after

December 31, 1976.



15. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn statement by

the member certifying that the spouse of the member at the time the

application was completed was aware of the application and the plan of

retirement elected in the application.



16. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person retired prior

to September 28, 1983, who is receiving a reduced retirement allowance under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, as such option existed

prior to September 28, 1983, and whose beneficiary nominated to receive

continued retirement allowance payments under the elected option dies or has

died, shall upon application to the board of trustees have his or her

retirement allowance increased to the amount he or she would have been

receiving had the option not been elected, actuarially adjusted to recognize

any excessive benefits which would have been paid to him or her up to the time

of application.



17. Benefits paid pursuant to the provisions of the public school

retirement system of Missouri shall not exceed the limitations of Section 415

of Title 26 of the United States Code except as provided pursuant to this

subsection. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board of

trustees may establish a benefit plan pursuant to Section 415(m) of Title 26

of the United States Code. Such plan shall be created solely for the purpose

described in Section 415(m)(3)(A) of Title 26 of the United States Code. The

board of trustees may promulgate regulations necessary to implement the

provisions of this subsection and to create and administer such benefit plan.



18. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any

person retired before, on, or after May 26, 1994, shall be made, constituted,

appointed and employed by the board as a special consultant on the matters of

education, retirement and aging, and upon request shall give written or oral

opinions to the board in response to such requests. As compensation for such

duties the person shall receive an amount based on the person's years of

service so that the total amount received pursuant to sections 169.010 to

169.141 shall be at least the minimum amounts specified in subdivisions (1) to

(4) of this subsection. In determining the minimum amount to be received, the

amounts in subdivisions (3) and (4) of this subsection shall be adjusted in

accordance with the actuarial adjustment, if any, that was applied to the

person's retirement allowance. In determining the minimum amount to be

received, beginning September 1, 1996, the amounts in subdivisions (1) and (2)

of this subsection shall be adjusted in accordance with the actuarial

adjustment, if any, that was applied to the person's retirement allowance due

to election of an optional form of retirement having a continued monthly

payment after the person's death. Notwithstanding any other provision of law

to the contrary, no person retired before, on, or after May 26, 1994, and no

beneficiary of such a person, shall receive a retirement benefit pursuant to

sections 169.010 to 169.141 based on the person's years of service less than

the following amounts:



(1) Thirty or more years of service, one thousand two hundred dollars;



(2) At least twenty-five years but less than thirty years, one thousand

dollars;



(3) At least twenty years but less than twenty-five years, eight hundred

dollars;



(4) At least fifteen years but less than twenty years, six hundred

dollars.



19. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, any

person retired prior to May 26, 1994, and any designated beneficiary of such a

retired member who was deceased prior to July 1, 1999, shall be made,

constituted, appointed and employed by the board as a special consultant on

the matters of education, retirement or aging and upon request shall give

written or oral opinions to the board in response to such requests. Beginning

September 1, 1996, as compensation for such service, the member shall have

added, pursuant to this subsection, to the member's monthly annuity as

provided by this section a dollar amount equal to the lesser of sixty dollars

or the product of two dollars multiplied by the member's number of years of

creditable service. Beginning September 1, 1999, the designated beneficiary

of the deceased member shall as compensation for such service have added,

pursuant to this subsection, to the monthly annuity as provided by this

section a dollar amount equal to the lesser of sixty dollars or the product of

two dollars multiplied by the member's number of years of creditable service.

The total compensation provided by this section including the compensation

provided by this subsection shall be used in calculating any future

cost-of-living adjustments provided by subsection 13 of this section.



20. Any member who has retired prior to July 1, 1998, and the designated

beneficiary of a deceased retired member shall be made, constituted, appointed

and employed by the board as a special consultant on the matters of education,

retirement and aging, and upon request shall give written or oral opinions to

the board in response to such requests. As compensation for such duties the

person shall receive a payment equivalent to eight and seven-tenths percent of

the previous month's benefit, which shall be added to the member's or

beneficiary's monthly annuity and which shall not be subject to the provisions

of subsections 13 and 14 of this section for the purposes of the limit on the

total amount of increases which may be received.



21. Any member who has retired shall be made, constituted, appointed and

employed by the board as a special consultant on the matters of education,

retirement and aging, and upon request shall give written or oral opinions to

the board in response to such request. As compensation for such duties, the

beneficiary of the retired member, or, if there is no beneficiary, the

surviving spouse, surviving children in equal shares, surviving parents in

equal shares, or estate of the retired member, in that order of precedence,

shall receive as a part of compensation for these duties a death benefit of

five thousand dollars.



22. Any member who has retired prior to July 1, 1999, and the designated

beneficiary of a retired member who was deceased prior to July 1, 1999, shall

be made, constituted, appointed and employed by the board as a special

consultant on the matters of education, retirement and aging, and upon request

shall give written or oral opinions to the board in response to such requests.

As compensation for such duties, the person shall have added, pursuant to

this subsection, to the monthly annuity as provided by this section a dollar

amount equal to five dollars times the member's number of years of creditable

service.



23. Any member who has retired prior to July 1, 2000, and the designated

beneficiary of a deceased retired member shall be made, constituted, appointed

and employed by the board as a special consultant on the matters of education,

retirement and aging, and upon request shall give written or oral opinions to

the board in response to such requests. As compensation for such duties, the

person shall receive a payment equivalent to three and five-tenths percent of

the previous month's benefit, which shall be added to the member or

beneficiary's monthly annuity and which shall not be subject to the provisions

of subsections 13 and 14 of this section for the purposes of the limit on the

total amount of increases which may be received.



24. Any member who has retired prior to July 1, 2001, and the designated

beneficiary of a deceased retired member shall be made, constituted, appointed

and employed by the board as a special consultant on the matters of education,

retirement and aging, and upon request shall give written or oral opinions to

the board in response to such requests. As compensation for such duties, the

person shall receive a dollar amount equal to three dollars times the member's

number of years of creditable service, which shall be added to the member's or

beneficiary's monthly annuity and which shall not be subject to the provisions

of subsections 13 and 14 of this section for the purposes of the limit on the

total amount of increases which may be received.



(L. 1945 p. 1353 § 7, A.L. 1949 p. 525, A.L. 1953 p. 480, A.L. 1957 p.

432, A.L. 1961 p. 367, A.L. 1967 p. 250, A.L. 1972 H.B. 1429,

A.L. 1975 S.B. 149, A.L. 1977 H.B. 477, A.L. 1978 S.B. 542, A.L.

1980 S.B. 507, A.L. 1983 S.B. 3, A.L. 1984 S.B. 407, A.L. 1986

S.B. 616, A.L. 1987 H.B. 558, et al. merged with S.B. 264, A.L.

1988 H.B. 1100, et al., A.L. 1989 H.B. 610 merged with S.B. 146

merged with H.B. 600, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1347, et al., A.L. 1991 S.B.

242, et al., A.L. 1992 H.B. 926, A.L. 1993 S.B. 126, A.L. 1994

H.B. 1544 merged with S.B. 575, A.L. 1995 S.B. 378, A.L. 1996

S.B. 860, A.L. 1997 S.B. 309, A.L. 1998 S.B. 501, A.L. 1999 S.B.

308 & 314, A.L. 2000 H.B. 1808, A.L. 2001 H.B. 660, A.L. 2003

H.B. 346 & 174, A.L. 2005 H.B. 443, A.L. 2007 S.B. 406, A.L. 2009

H.B. 265, A.L. 2013 S.B. 17)



*Section 169.580 was repealed by H.B. 1608, 2012





2009

2007

2005

2003

2001

2000



2009



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



2007



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



2005



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



2003



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



2001



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



2000



169.070. 1. The retirement allowance of a member whose

age at retirement is sixty years or more and whose creditable

service is five years or more, or whose creditable service is

thirty years or more, may be the sum of the following items, not

to exceed one hundred percent of the member's final average

salary:



(1) Two and one-tenth percent of his final average salary

for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years.



2. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided in

subsection 1 of this section, a member whose age is sixty years

or more on September 28, 1975, may elect to have his retirement

allowance calculated as a sum of the following items:



(1) Sixty cents plus one and five-tenths percent of his

final average salary for each year of membership service;



(2) Six-tenths of the amount payable for a year of

membership service for each year of prior service not exceeding

thirty years;



(3) Three-fourths of one percent of the sum of subdivisions

(1) and (2) of this subsection for each month of attained age in

excess of sixty years but not in excess of age sixty-five.



3. In lieu of the retirement allowance provided either in

subsection 1 or 2 of this section, a member whose creditable

service is twenty-five years or more or who has attained the age

of fifty-five with five or more years of creditable service may

elect in his application for retirement to receive the actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance in reduced monthly

payments for life during retirement with the provision that



Option 1. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member

and as the member shall have nominated in his election of the

option



OR



Option 2. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option



OR



Option 3. Upon his death the reduced retirement allowance

shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such

person as has an insurable interest in the life of the member as

the member shall have nominated in his election of the option,

and provided further that if the person so nominated dies before

the retired member, the retirement allowance will be increased

to the amount the retired member would be receiving had he not

elected an option



OR



Option 4. Upon his death one-half the reduced retirement

allowance shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to

such person as has an insurable interest in the life of the

member and as the member shall have nominated in his election of

the option, and provided further that if the person so nominated

dies before the retired member, the retirement allowance will be

increased to the amount the retired member would be receiving

had he not elected an option.

The election of option may be made only in the application for

retirement and such application must be filed prior to the date

on which the retirement of the member is to be effective;

provided, that if either the member or the person nominated to

receive the survivorship payments dies before the effective date

of retirement, the option shall not be effective, except that if

the member or a person retired on disability retirement dies

after acquiring twenty-five or more years of creditable service

or after attaining the age of fifty-five years and acquiring

five or more years of creditable service and before retirement,

except retirement with disability benefits, his spouse, if named

as his beneficiary, may elect to receive either survivorship

benefits under option 1 or a payment of his accumulated

contributions.



4. If the total of the retirement allowance paid to an

individual before his death is less than his accumulated

contributions at the time of his retirement, the difference

shall be paid to his beneficiary, or to his estate, if there be

no beneficiary. If an optional benefit as provided in

subsection 3 of this section had been elected, and the

beneficiary dies after receiving the optional benefit, and if

the total retirement allowance paid to the retired individual

and his beneficiary is less than the total of the contributions,

the difference shall be paid to the estate of the retired

individual.



5. If a member dies before receiving a retirement

allowance, his accumulated contributions at the time of his death

shall be paid to his beneficiary or to his estate, if there be no

beneficiary; except that, no such payment shall be made if the

beneficiary elects option 1 in subsection 3 of this section.



6. If a member ceases to be a public school employee as

herein defined and certifies to the board of trustees that such

cessation is permanent, or if his membership is otherwise

terminated, he shall be paid his accumulated contributions with

interest.



7. Notwithstanding anything in sections 169.010 to 169.140

to the contrary, if a member ceases to be a public school

employee after acquiring five or more years of membership

service in Missouri, he may at his option leave his

contributions with the retirement system and claim a retirement

allowance any time after he reaches the minimum age for

voluntary retirement. When his claim is presented to the board,

he shall be granted an allowance as provided in sections 169.010

to 169.140 on the basis of his age, years of service, and the

provisions of the law in effect at the time he requests his

retirement to become effective.



8. The retirement allowance of a member retired because of

disability shall be nine-tenths of the allowance to which his

creditable service would entitle him if his age were sixty, or

fifty percent of one-twelfth of the annual salary rate used in

determining the member's contributions during the last school

year for which he received a year of creditable service

immediately prior to his disability, whichever is greater,

except that no such allowance shall exceed the retirement

allowance to which he would have been entitled upon retirement

at age sixty if he had continued to teach from the date of

disability until age sixty at the same salary rate.



9. Notwithstanding anything in this law to the contrary,

from October 13, 1961, the contribution rate under this law

shall be multiplied by the factor of two-thirds for any member

of the system for whom federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance

tax is paid from state or local tax funds on account of his

employment entitling him to membership in the system. The

monetary benefits for a member who elected not to exercise an

option to pay into the system a retroactive contribution of four

percent on that part of his annual salary rate which was in

excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars but not in excess

of eight thousand four hundred dollars for each year of

employment in a position covered by this system between July 1,

1957, and July 1, 1961, as provided in subsection 10 of this

section as it appears in RSMo 1969, shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, and

prior to July 1, 1961, the benefits provided in this section as

it appears in RSMo 1959; except that if the member has at least

thirty years of creditable service at retirement he shall

receive the benefit payable under that section as though his age

were sixty-five at retirement;



(4) For years of membership service after July 1, 1961, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



10. The monetary benefits for each other member for whom

federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance tax is or was paid at

any time from state or local funds on account of his employment

entitling him to membership in the system shall be the sum of:



(1) For years of service prior to July 1, 1946, six-tenths

of the full amount payable for years of membership service;



(2) For years of membership service after July 1, 1946, in

which the full contribution rate was paid, full benefits under

the formula in effect at the time of the member's retirement;



(3) For years of membership service after July 1, 1957, in

which the two-thirds contribution rate was paid, two-thirds of

the benefits under the formula in effect at the time of the

member's retirement.



11. Any retired member of the system who was retired prior

to September 1, 1972, or beneficiary receiving payments under

option 1 or option 2 of subsection 3 of this section, will be

eligible to receive an increase in his retirement allowance of

two percent for each year, or major fraction of more than

one-half of a year, which the retired member has been retired

prior to July 1, 1975. This increased amount shall be payable

commencing with January, 1976, and shall thereafter be referred

to as the member's retirement allowance. The increase provided

for in this subsection shall not affect the retired member's

eligibility for compensation provided for in section 169.580 or

169.585, nor shall the amount being paid under these sections be

reduced because of any increases provided for in this section.



12. If the board of trustees determines that the cost of

living, as measured by generally accepted standards, increases

two percent or more in the preceding fiscal year, the board

shall increase the retirement allowances which the retired

members or beneficiaries are receiving by two percent of the

amount which each retired member received at the time of his

retirement, or by two percent of the amount being received by

the retired member or the beneficiary at the time the annual

increase is granted by the board; with the provision that the

increases provided for in this subsection shall not become

effective until the fourth January first following the member's

retirement or January 1, 1977, whichever later occurs.

Commencing with January 1, 1981, if the board of trustees

determines that the cost of living has increased four percent or

more in the preceding fiscal year, the board shall increase the

retirement allowances by four percent. The total of the

increases granted to a retired member or the beneficiary after

December 31, 1976, may not exceed fifty-six percent of the

retirement allowance established at retirement or as previously

adjusted by other subsections. If the cost of living increases

less than four percent, the board of trustees may determine the

percentage of increase to be made in retirement allowances, but

at no time can the increase exceed four percent per year. If

the cost of living decreases in a fiscal year, there will be no

increase in allowances for retired members on the following

January first.



13. The board of trustees may reduce the amounts which have

been granted as increases to a member under subsection 11 of

this section if the cost of living, as determined by the board

and as measured by generally accepted standards, is less than

the cost of living was at the time of the first increase granted

to the member; except that, the reductions shall not exceed the

amount of increases which have been made to the member's

allowance after December 31, 1976.



14. Any application for retirement shall include a sworn

statement by the member certifying that his spouse at the time

the application was completed was aware of the application and

the plan of retirement elected in the application.



15. Any retired member with at least twenty years of

creditable service whose combined retirement allowance and any

salary payable under this chapter because of age, service, or

disability is less than three hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under this chapter of three hundred

dollars per month; provided that, in determining the amount of

the increase, if the member elected to receive an actuarial

equivalent of his retirement allowance under section 169.060 or

this section he will be considered as receiving the retirement

allowance to which he would be entitled had he not elected the

actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way affect the

retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary under any

other section or subsection of this chapter.



16. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any

retired member with at least thirty years of creditable service

whose combined retirement allowance and any salary payable under

sections 169.010 to 169.140 because of age, service, or

disability is less than six hundred dollars per month shall be

entitled to receive an increase in his benefits sufficient to

provide total payments under sections 169.010 to 169.140 of six

hundred dollars per month; provided that, in determining the

amount of the increase, if the member elected to receive an

actuarial equivalent of his retirement allowance under section

169.060 or this section he will be considered as receiving the

retirement allowance to which he would be entitled had he not

elected the actuarial equivalent. This increase shall in no way

affect the retired member's eligibility for benefits or salary

under any other section or subsection of this chapter.



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