Return of Contributions Upon Termination o f Membership by Separation from All ASRS Employment b y Other Than Retirement or Death

R2-8-115. Return of Contributions Upon Termination o f Membership by Separation from All ASRS Employment b y Other Than Retirement or Death A. The following definitions apply to this Section unless otherwise specified: 1. “Eligible retirement plan” means the same as in A.R.S. § 38-770(D)(3). 2. “Employer Number” means a unique identifier the ASRS assigns to a member employer. March 31, 2026 Supp. Administrative Code 2 A.A.C. 8 ADMINISTRATION RETIREMENT SYSTEM BOARD 3. “Employer plan” means the types of eligible retirement plans specified in A.R.S. § 38-770(D)(3)(c), (d), (e), an d (f). 4. “LTD” Means the same as in R2-8-301. 5. “On File” means ASRS has received the information. gener- 6. “Process date” means the calendar day the ASRS ates contribution withdrawal documents to be sent to a member. 7. “Warrant” means a voucher authorizing payment of fund s due to a member. B. A member who terminates from all ASRS employment b y mem- other than retirement or death and desires a return of the ber’s contributions, including amounts received for the purchase of service, any employer contributions authorized under A.R.S. § 38-740, and interest on the contributions, shall request from the ASRS, in writing or verbally, the document s necessary to apply for the withdrawal of the member’s contributions. C. Upon request to withdraw by the member, the ASRS shall provide: Ter- 1. An Application for Withdrawal of Contributions and mination of Membership form to the member, and 2. An Ending Payroll Verification - Withdrawal of Contribution and Termination of Membership form to th e employer, if ASRS has received contributions for th e member within the six months immediately preceding th e date the member submitted the request to ASRS. D. The member shall complete and return to the ASRS the Application for Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership form that includes the following information: 1. The member’s full name; 2. The member’s Social Security number or U.S. Tax Identification number; 3. The member’s current mailing address, if not On Fil e with ASRS; 4. The member’s birth date, if not On File with ASRS; 5. Notarized signature of the member certifying that th e member: a. Is no longer employed by any Employer; b. Is neither under contract nor has any verbal or written agreement for future employment with a n Employer; c. Is not currently in a leave of absence status with a n Employer; d. Understands that each of the member’s former Employers will complete an ending payroll verification form if ASRS has received contributions for th e preced- member within the six months immediately ing the date the member submitted the request t o ASRS; e. Understands that the member’s most recent Employer will complete an ending payroll verification form for the member if the member has reache d the member’s required beginning date pursuant t o A.R.S. § 38-775; f. Has read and understands the Special Tax Notic e Regarding Plan Payments the member received wit h the application and the member elects to waive th e member’s 30-day waiting period to consider a roll over or a cash distribution; g. Understands that the member is forfeiting all futur e retirement rights and privileges of membership wit h ASRS; 26-1 Page 5 2 A.A.C. 8 Arizona CHAPTER 8. STATE h. Understands that LTD benefits will be canceled if the member elects to withdraw contributions whil e receiving or electing to receive long-term disabilit y benefits; i. Understands that if the member elects to roll over all or any portion of the member’s distribution t o another employer plan, it is the member’s responsibility to verify that the receiving employer plan will sepa- accept the rollover and, if applicable, agree to rately account for the pre-tax and post-tax amount s rolled over and the related subsequent earnings o n the amounts; j. Understands that if the member elects to roll over all or any portion of the member’s distribution to a n individual retirement account, it is the member’ s responsibility to separately account for pre-tax an d post-tax amounts; and k. Understands that if the member elects a rollover t o another employer plan or individual retirement account, any portion of the distribution not desigmem- nated for roll over will be paid directly to the ber and any taxable amounts will be subject t o applicable state and federal tax withholding; ter- l. Understands that the member is not considered minated and cannot withdraw the member’s ASRS contribution if the member was called to active military service and is not currently performing service s for an Employer; m. Understands that any person who knowingly make s any false statement with an intent to defraud th e ASRS is guilty of a Class 6 felony in accordanc e with A.R.S. § 38-793. 6. Specify that: a. The entire amount of the distribution be paid directl y to the member, b. The entire amount of the distribution be rolled over to an eligible retirement plan, or c. An identified amount of the distribution be rolle d over to an eligible retirement plan and the remainin g amount be paid directly to the member; and 7. If the member selects all or a portion of the withdrawal b e rolled over to an eligible retirement plan, specify; a. The type of eligible retirement plan; and b. The name and mailing address of the eligible retirement plan. E. If ASRS has received contributions for the member within si x months immediately preceding the date the member submitte d the request to ASRS each Employer shall complete an Endin g Payroll Verification - Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership form electronically that includes th e following information: 1. The member’s full name; 2. The member’s Social Security number or U.S. Tax Identification number; 3. The member’s termination date; 4. The member’s final pay period ending date; adjust- 5. The final amount of contributions, including any ments or corrections, but not including any long-term disability contributions; 6. The Employer’s name and telephone number; 7. The Employer Number; 8. The name and title of the authorized Employer representative; Supp. Administrative Code ADMINISTRATION RETIREMENT SYSTEM BOARD 9. Certification by the authorized Employer representativ e that: a. The member Terminated Employment and is neither under contract nor bound by any verbal or writte n agreement for employment with the Employer; b. There is no agreement to re-employ the member; c. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who falsifies any record of the retirement plan with an intent to defraud the plan, is guilty of a Class 6 felony according to A.R.S. § 38-793; and d. The authorized Employer representative certifie s End- that they are the Employer user named on the ing Payroll Verification - Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership form and their title and contact information is current and correct. F. If the member has attained a required beginning distributio n date as of the date the member submitted the request to ASRS, the most recent Employer shall complete an Ending Payroll Verification - Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership form electronically that includes the informatio n contained in subsection (E). G. If the member requests a return of contributions and a Warrant is distributed during the fiscal year that the member bega n membership in the ASRS, no interest is paid to the account of the member. H. If the member requests a return of contributions after the first fiscal year of membership, the ASRS shall credit interest at th e rate specified in Column 3 of the table in R2-8-118(A) to th e account of the member as of June 30 of each year, on the basi s of the balance in the account of the member as of the previou s June 30. The ASRS shall credit interest for a partial fiscal year of membership in the ASRS on the previous June 30 balanc e includ- based on the number of days of membership up to and ing the day the ASRS issues the Warrant divided by the total number days in the fiscal year. Contributions made after th e previous June 30 are returned without interest. I. Upon submitting to the ASRS the completed and accurat e Application for Withdrawal of Contributions and Terminatio n of Membership form and, if applicable, after the ASRS ha s received any Ending Payroll Verification - Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership forms, a member i s speci- entitled to payment of the amount due to the member as fied in subsection (G) or (H) unless ASRS has received a DR O before the ASRS returns the contributions as specified by th e member. J. A member may cancel an Application for Withdrawal of Contributions and Termination of Membership form at any tim e before the return of contributions is disbursed by submittin g written notice to ASRS to cancel the request. K. If an Application for Withdrawal of Contributions and Termimem- nation of Membership form is completed through the ber’s secure ASRS account, the secure login and successful submission of the knowledge based answers shall serve as th e member’s notarized signature required under subsectio n (D)(5). Historical Note Former Rule, Social Security Regulation 1; Amended effective Dec. 20, 1979 (Supp. 79-6). Former Section R2- 8-15 renumbered as Section R2-8-115 without change effective May 21, 1982 (Supp. 82-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 1416, effective April 5, 2005 (Supp. 05-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 12 A.A.R. 644, effective February 7, 2006 (Supp. 06-1). Amended Decem- by final rulemaking at 21 A.A.R. 2515, effective 26-1 March 31, 2026 Arizona CHAPTER 8. STATE ber 5, 2015 (Supp. 15-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 22 A.A.R. 79, effective March 6, 2016 (Supp. 16-1). effec- Amended by final rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 2036, tive November 8, 2020 (Supp. 20-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 28 A.A.R. 1746 (July 22, 2022), effective September 4, 2022 (Supp. 22-3).