LASERS – State of Louisiana


The Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) was established by an Act of the Louisiana Legislature in 1946. LASERS administers a qualied pension and retirement plan under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. LASERS is a trust fund created to provide retirement and other benefits for state officers, employees, and their beneficiaries.

The LASERS trust fund is the source of all benefits paid to LASERS members and their beneficiaries. Funding comes from three sources:
• Employee contributions
• Employer contributions
• Earnings from investments

Membership

Membership in LASERS is mandatory for all state employees whose employing agencies are LASERS, participants, except those exempted by state law. Examples of excluded employees include:
• Employees who receive a per diem allowance instead of earned compensation
• Students, interns, and resident physicians employed for temporary, part-time, or periodic work
• Independent contractors
• Certain pool positions
• Certain temporary seasonal employees at the Department of Revenue

The following employees are excluded if they have less than ten years of service credit:
• Job appointments (employment for a fixed period not to exceed two years)
• Intermittent employees (employment for an indefinite schedule, on an as-needed basis)
• Part-time employees (employees who work 20 hours per week or less)
• Seasonal employees (employees who work less than 5 months in a year)
• Temporary employees (employees performing services under a contractual arrangement for less than two years)

Contribution Rates (La. R.S. 11:62)

Any Regular Member of LASERS whose first employment began on or before June 30, 2006, pays a contribution rate of 7.5 percent. This means that 7.5 percent of your salary is deducted from each of your paychecks, and placed in a trust account that is used to pay benefits. Any Regular Member of LASERS whose first employment began on or after July 1, 2006, pays a contribution rate of 8 percent.

Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) (La. R.S. 11:502, et seq.)


The Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) is a defined contribution plan established in July 2000 to provide retirement and death benefits to eligible participants, while according to the portability of these benefits. Eligible members with an elective hire date between July 1, 2004, and December 7, 2007, were required to make an election to enroll in the ORP by ling an application with LASERS within 60 days of their appointment. No person appointed to an otherwise eligible position after December 7, 2007, is eligible to enroll in ORP. If an ORP member subsequently becomes employed by a LASERS reporting agency in a non-ORP position, they must continue participation in ORP.

The following employees were eligible to make an irrevocable election to participate in ORP:
• Any unclassified state employee who was appointed by a statewide elected official
whose appointment was subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate
• Any unclassified state employee who was a member of the immediate staff of such employee described above
• The CEO of the Office of State Group Benefits Program
• Members of the Executive Career Service as defined by the Civil Service Commission

If you are a member of the ORP, you may regain membership in the defined benefit plan by transferring any funds in the ORP to the defined benefit plan. You will be responsible for paying any deficiency after the transfer of funds. To determine the cost of joining the defined benefit plan, you should submit Form 15-01A: Application for Transfer to
LASERS Dened Benet Plan from the Optional Retirement Plan and pay a non-refundable actuarial calculation fee of $200.00 made payable to LASERS

Service Credit

Once you are enrolled as a member of LASERS, you will begin paying employee contributions and accruing service credit. You will be sent an annual member statement at the beginning of each calendar year which details the employee contributions you paid during the previous year and the total contributions you paid since your enrollment. This statement also contains the service credit that you earned during the previous year along with your total service credit.

Eligibility service credit is the service that will be used to determine your entitlement for benefits provided by LASERS. Computation service credit is the service that will be used to compute the amount of your LASERS benefit. Depending on your situation, your eligibility service credit may be different from your computation service credit.

The annual member statements are unaudited. You should review your annual member statement each year and notify your HR Office in writing if any discrepancies are found.

Full-Time Employees

If you are a full-time employee, your service credit is calculated by taking your actual earnings for a year and dividing by your yearly base salary which is your annual expected salary. This figure is then rounded up to the nearest tenth. A member cannot receive more than one year of service credit for any calendar year.

Part-Time Employees

  • If you are a part-time employee, your service credit is calculated by taking your actual earnings for a year and dividing by the yearly base that you would have received as a full- time employee. You will not earn an entire year of computation credit, but you may earn a year of eligibility credit if you worked part time for at least 11 months during that calendar year. Service credit and retirement eligibility for part-time members are determined on a case-by-case basis.

First Eligible Dates

If you are a full-time member, you can estimate your service credit for a partial year and your first eligible date for retirement by using the chart below. If you work from January 1 through the dates listed below, you will be given the corresponding service credit. Your termination date is the last day of your employment.

Termination DateRetirement/DROP Start DateService Credit
January 1*January 2.10
February 14February 15.20
March 31April 1.30
April 30May 1.40
May 31June 1.50
July 14July 15.60
August 14August 15.70
September 29September 30.80
October 29October 30.90
November 30December 11 year
* Assuming contributions are reported for this day

Retirement Eligibility and Final Average Compensation

Retirement benefits are paid monthly and are guaranteed for your lifetime. Benefits are funded by employee contributions, employer

contributions, and earnings from investments. To apply for retirement, a member must meet the eligibility requirements as described below.

Retirement Eligibility (La. R.S. 11:441)

If you are a Regular Member of LASERS, and were hired on or before June 30, 2006, you become eligible for retirement upon reaching one of the criteria below:

NOTE: Your LASERS Member Annual Account Statement will identify you as a “Regular Member,” and you will have these retirement eligibilities.

  • 30 years of service at any age
  • 25 years of service at age 55
  • 10 years of service at age 60
  • 20 years of service at any age, actuarially reduced (Deferred Retirement Option Plan [DROP] participation and retirement with an Initial Benefit Option [IBO] are not available to members who choose this option). The actuarial reduction is based on the number of months you are away from eligibility for an unreduced retirement. This reduction can be affected depending on whether you are in state service or out of state service at the time of your retirement.

If you are a Regular Member of LASERS hired on or after July 1, 2006, and on or before June 30, 2015, you become eligible for retirement upon reaching one of the criteria below:

NOTE: Depending on your date of hire, your LASERS Annual Account Statement will identify you as “Regular Employee 2” or “Regular Employee 3,” and you will have these retirement eligibilities.

  • 5 years of service at age 60
  • 20 years of service at any age, actuarially reduced (Deferred Retirement Option Plan [DROP] participation and retirement with an Initial Benefit Option [IBO] are not available to members who choose this option). The actuarial reduction is based on the number of months you are away from eligibility for an unreduced retirement.

If you are a Regular Member of LASERS hired

on or after July 1, 2015, you become eligible for retirement upon reaching one of the criteria below: NOTE: Your LASERS Annual Account Statement will identify you as “Regular Employee 4” and you will have these eligibilities.

  • 5 years of service at age 62
  • 20 years of service at any age, actuarially reduced (Deferred Retirement Option Plan [DROP] participation and retirement with an Initial Benefit Option [IBO] are not available to members who choose this option). The actuarial reduction is based on the number of months you are away from eligibility for an unreduced retirement.

You cannot use unused annual and sick leave to reach eligibility for retirement. Also, certain service purchases may not be used to meet retirement eligibility.

NOTE: Retiring out-of-state service may impact your coverage eligibility with the Office of Group Benefits (OGB). Contact OGB for more information.

Benefit Accrual and Final Average Compensation (La. R.S. 11:231 and 11:444)

If you are a Regular Member of LASERS, you will accrue benefits at 2.5 percent of your average compensation per year.

• If you were hired on or before June 30, 2006, your average compensation will be based on your highest successive 36 months of earnings.

◦     If you were hired before July 1, 1986, and did not terminate employment and receive a refund of your contributions, you will receive an additional

$300.00 per year added to your retirement benefit.

•    If you were hired on or after July 1, 2006, your average compensation will be based on your highest successive 60 months of earnings.

Limits on Final Average Compensation (La. R.S. 11:403(5))

When calculating your retirement benefit, the earnings used for your average compensation may be capped in order to avoid excessive spikes in compensation.

If hired on or before June 30, 2006: The earnings to be considered for the 13th through the 24th month shall not exceed 125 percent of the earnings of the 1st through the 12th month. The earnings to be considered for the final 12 months shall not exceed 125 percent of the earnings of the 13th through the 24th month.

If hired on or after July 1, 2006: The earnings to be considered for the 13th through the 24th month shall not exceed 115 percent of the earnings of the 1st through the 12th month. The earnings to be considered for the 25th through the 36th month shall not exceed 115 percent of the earnings of the 13th through the 24th month. The earnings to be considered for the 37th through the 48th month shall not exceed 115 percent of the earnings of the 25th through the 36th month. The earnings for the final 12 months shall not exceed 115 percent

of the earnings of the 37th through the 48th month.

Part-time Members: If you are employed on a part-time basis and have not accrued 36 months (if employed before July 1, 2006) or 60 months (if employed on or after July 1, 2006) of full-time employment, your average compensation will be calculated on the base pay you would have received if employed on a full-time basis. If you had the requisite full-time service, your base pay will be calculated using that time.

We encourage you to obtain estimates for regular retirement, DROP, and IBO before making a retirement decision. You can calculate your own estimates by accessing Member Self-Service on the LASERS website at www.lasersonline.org. You can also submit Form 05-01: Request for Retirement Benefit Estimate when you are within 18 months of eligibility for retirement, and LASERS will provide you with estimates.

Unused Annual and Sick Leave

At the time of retirement, you may receive additional benefits for your unused, accumulated annual and sick leave. Upon certification by your agency of the leave, you will be given the option to have the leave converted to additional credit or to receive a one-time, lump-sum payment.

Should you retire out of state service, you will not be given credit for your unused annual and sick leave unless you were eligible for retirement when you terminated state service. (For example, if you are in the rank-and-file plan and had 20 years of service credit when you terminated, you may receive credit for your leave as certified by your agency.)

not be given credit for your unused annual and sick leave unless you were eligible for retirement when you terminated state service. (For example, if you are in the rank-and-file plan and had 20 years of service credit when you terminated, you may receive credit for your leave as certified by your agency.)

If you terminate employment and later become re-employed you must contribute to LASERS for at least 18 months before you are eligible to receive credit for any unused leave for retirement purposes. No unused leave can be used for retirement eligibility purposes.

Your agency is required to submit Form 07-01: Certification of Unused Annual and Sick Leave to LASERS after you terminate employment. This form shows the balance of your unused annual and sick leave. The balance should not include any amounts that were paid to you by your agency, such as the 300 hours of annual leave paid by most Civil Service agencies.

Your application for retirement will include a section for you to make a choice about the payment of unused annual and sick leave. You will have two options:

  • Convert your unused annual and sick leave to credit, or
  • Take a lump-sum payment of the actuarial value (not the hourly salary rate) of the unused annual and sick leave. This payment may be rolled over to an IRS qualified plan.

Members who participate in DROP will make their leave selection at the time of their retirement. Disability retirees must convert their unused annual and sick leave to credit.

Convert Leave to Credit

If you decide to convert your unused leave to credit, it will be included in the total credit used to compute your retirement benefit.

Retirement Options and the Self Funded COLA (La. R.S. 11:446)

When you retire you must select a retirement option and a beneficiary(ies). You can name anyone as a beneficiary.

Generally, a married member must choose a retirement option that provides a benefit for their spouse that is at least fifty percent of the benefit payable to the retiree. (Please see the chapter on Community Property and Divorce if you and your spouse have a separate property agreement.) You may choose an option that does not leave a monthly benefit for your spouse or name another beneficiary if your spouse agrees with the choice, and signs Form 04-04: Spousal Consent in the presence of a Notary Public. Depending on the retirement option chosen, your beneficiary may receive a lifetime benefit in the case of your death. Below are the seven retirement options:

Maximum Option pays the maximum monthly benefit to you for your lifetime. This option does not pay a monthly benefit to a beneficiary(ies). Should you die before your member contributions are depleted, your beneficiary(ies) will receive a lump-sum payment of your remaining member contributions. Contributions are typically exhausted within two to three years after your retirement or entry into DROP.

Option 1 pays you a slightly reduced monthly benefit for your lifetime. The benefit reduction is based on your employee contributions, your age, and your life expectancy at the time of your

retirement. It does not pay a monthly benefit to a beneficiary(ies). Should you die before your member contributions are depleted, your beneficiary(ies) will receive a lump-sum payment of your remaining member contributions. Your contributions are depleted at an actuarially reduced rate, and are typically exhausted in approximately eight or more years after your retirement or entry into DROP. This option is not available to members who choose the Initial Benefit Option (IBO).

Option 2A pays you a reduced monthly benefit for your lifetime, and a benefit to your beneficiary after your death. The benefit reduction is based on the ages of you and your beneficiary at the time of your retirement. Upon your death, your beneficiary will receive a lifetime benefit of the same monthly amount for their lifetime. You can only select one beneficiary, and this beneficiary cannot be changed after retirement.

Option 2B is only available to members with a mentally handicapped child or children and pays you a reduced monthly benefit for your lifetime. The benefit reduction is based on the ages of you, your beneficiary, and your mentally handicapped child or children at the time of your retirement. Upon your death, your beneficiary will receive the same amount for their lifetime. At the beneficiary’s death, a benefit is paid to the legal guardian of any mentally handicapped child or children. You must submit Form 06-03: Option 2B Mentally Handicapped Designee, along with your retirement application.

This form must be certified by a physician.

Option 3 pays you a reduced monthly benefit for your lifetime, and a benefit to your beneficiary after your death. The benefit reduction is based on the ages of you and your beneficiary at the time of your retirement. Upon your death, your beneficiary will receive 50 percent of your benefit for their lifetime. You can only select one beneficiary, and this beneficiary cannot be changed after retirement.

Option 4A is only available to members who have been married at least two years at the time of their retirement. Only your spouse may be named as your beneficiary. This option pays you 90 percent of the Maximum Option benefit for your lifetime. Upon your death, your spouse will receive 55 percent of your Maximum Option benefit for their lifetime. This option is not available to Disability retirees.

Option 4B pays you a reduced monthly benefit for your lifetime. The benefit reduction is based on the ages of you and your beneficiary at the time of your retirement. Upon your death, your beneficiary will receive 55 percent of your benefit for their lifetime. You can only select one beneficiary, and this beneficiary cannot be changed after retirement. For all options other than the Maximum Option or Option 1, only one beneficiary may be named, and the beneficiary cannot be changed after your retirement. If your named beneficiary dies, you may request to have your retirement benefit increased to the amount that you would have received had you initially selected the Maximum Option. If you named your spouse as your beneficiary, and you are now divorced, you may request to have your benefit increased to an actuarially reduced Maximum amount. You must provide a court order showing that your former spouse has irrevocably relinquished all rights to a benefit, submit Form 10-06: Application for Change in Retirement Benefit due to Divorce, and pay a $150.00 nonrefundable actuarial calculation fee.

Martha is retiring with 13.20 years of service at age 60 and her beneficiary is age 64. She has an annual final average compensation of $31,668.00 and an accrual rate of 2.5%, so her Maximum retirement benefit is $895.87 per month. This amount will be reduced if she chooses a retirement option other than the Maximum. The chart below shows the monthly amount that she will receive depending on the option she chooses.

If you choose an option that will leave your spouse a monthly benefit in the event of your death, they will receive this benefit for their lifetime, even if they remarry.

 MaximumOption 1Option 2AOption 3Option 4AOption 4B
Member Retirement Payment100 percentReduced amount from maximumReduced amount based on ages at retirementReduced amount based on ages at retirement90 percent of maximumReduced amount based on ages at retirement
Monthly Benefit to Member$895.87$890.27$813.94$852.94$806.28$848.88
Beneficiary Payment (after your death)Lump-sum of the remainder of unused employee contributionsLump-sum of the remainder of unused employee contributionsSame amount as a retiree50 percent of retiree’s benefit55 percent of maximum55 percent of retiree’s benefit
Monthly Benefit to BeneficiaryNoneNone$813.94$426.47$492.73$466.88
Average compensation                                                                                   $

Self-Funded COLA (La. R.S. 11:247 and La. R.S. 11:446:(A)(6))

Unlike the system-generated cost-of-living adjustments, which are funded by the retirement system upon legislative approval, the Self-Funded cost-of-living adjustment is funded by the member/retiree through the actuarial reduction of your monthly retirement benefit. You will receive the actuarially reduced benefit for your lifetime. It can take many years to regain the benefits initially reduced in order to fund the Self-Funded COLA.

At the time of retirement or entry into DROP, you may elect to receive an actuarially reduced retirement allowance plus a 2.5 percent annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which will be effective on your retirement anniversary date. If you are not 55 at the time of retirement or entry into DROP, you are eligible to select the Self-Funded COLA, but it will not be payable to you until the anniversary date after you turn age 55. If you choose a retirement option that leaves your spouse a monthly benefit, the Self-Funded

COLA will be added to their monthly benefit after your death. However, if you name a non-spouse beneficiary, the Self-Funded COLA will not be added to their monthly benefit after your death. The Self-Funded COLA is not available for Disability retirement. If you selected the COLA at the time of retirement or entry into DROP, the COLA will apply to benefits received during your DROP participation period. The Self-Funded COLA also applies to supplemental benefits.

If you elect to receive the Self-Funded COLA, you are also able to receive the system-generated COLAs for which you are eligible. There is no guarantee of system-generated COLAs. The amount of these COLAs are dependent upon the amount of excess investment returns deposited in the Experience Account used to fund COLAs, system funding, and legislative approval. No forms are used and no action is required by members to select these COLAs. For more information, see the chapter on Cost-of-Living- Increases.

Calculating the Benefit

The Initial Benefit Option (IBO)

It is an optional method of retirement that allows you to receive a lump-sum equivalent of up to 36 months of your maximum retirement benefit at the time of your retirement. Any member who is eligible for an unreduced Regular retirement may select the Initial Benefit Option (IBO). Members who take an actuarially reduced retirement, Disability retirement, or who participate in DROP are not eligible to select the IBO. At the time of your retirement, you will select the dollar amount you will be paid, up to an equivalent of 36 months of your maximum retirement benefit. All future monthly benefits will be reduced based on your age at retirement, and the amount of the IBO selected. All IBO participants must select a retirement option at the time of retirement. However, IBO participants cannot select retirement Option 1.

NOTE: Retiring out-of-state service may impact your coverage eligibility with the Office of Group Benefits (OGB). Contact OGB for more information

Self-Directed Plan (LAC 58:I.4101 et seq.)

Members eligible for Regular retirement before January 1, 2004, have the option to leave their IBO at LASERS or to transfer it to the Self-Directed Plan. If a member elects to join the Self-Directed Plan this selection is irrevocable.

Members eligible for Regular retirement on or after January 1, 2004, will have their IBO transferred to the Self-Directed Plan. EMPOWER Retirement™ will administer the IBO account, so all withdrawals and account changes must be made through EMPOWER Retirement™, not LASERS.

Interest on IBO Accounts Held at LASERS

IBO accounts held at LASERS may accrue interest until the IBO balance is depleted. The interest rate is equal to the LASERS actuarial rate of return on investments for the prior fiscal year minus 0.5 percent. This interest rate changes from year to year and is based on investment earnings. Interest, if applicable, will be retroactively credited to your account based on your month-end account balance. If interest is earned it will be shown on your IBO annual statement which is issued in the first quarter of each year. For example, an annual statement received in March 2016 would show the interest posted for July 2014 – June 2015.

Deferred Retirement Option Plan (La. R.S. 11:447)

The Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) is an optional retirement method that allows you to defer your retirement benefit for a maximum period of 36 months while you continue to work. Neither you nor your employer will pay contributions to LASERS, and you do not earn additional service credit during the participation period. Your monthly DROP benefit will be

deposited into an individual DROP account which you can access after you have retired. You will continue to earn your regular salary and accrue annual and sick leave while in DROP.

Eligibility

A Regular Member must be eligible for retirement before participating in DROP. Members who take an actuarially reduced retirement may not participate in DROP. See the chapter on Retirement Eligibility for more information. You may participate in DROP if you have service credit with another retirement system recognized by LASERS pursuant to the provisions of

La. R.S. 11:142 (reciprocal recognition). Your combined service credit must meet the minimum eligibility requirements of each retirement system. You must submit an Application for DROP to both of the retirement systems.

Participation Period

If you were eligible to retire on or before December 31, 1995, you are eligible to participate in “Old DROP” and may enter DROP at any time prior to retirement. There is no defined window of participation. Your DROP account will remain at LASERS unless you make the irrevocable choice to transfer your DROP account to the Self-Directed Plan.

If you were eligible to retire between December 31, 1995, and December 31, 2003, and participated in DROP, you were in “New DROP.” Your DROP account will remain at LASERS unless you make the irrevocable choice to transfer your DROP account to the Self-Directed Plan. The “New DROP” plan is no longer available. If you are eligible to retire on or after January 1, 2004, you are required to enter the Self-Directed Plan. Self-Directed Plan DROP accounts will be transferred to the third party administrator, EMPOWER Retirement™, as soon as your DROP participation period ends. You will have a three-year and 60-day DROP window. You must begin DROP participation within 60 days of your first eligible date for retirement in order to participate for the full 36 months. If you enter DROP later than 60 days from your first eligible date, the 36-month participation period is reduced.

You may elect to participate in DROP for fewer than 36 months. However, once you have chosen a DROP end date, this end date cannot be extended. You cannot exit DROP prior to your stated ending date unless you terminate employment.

Retirement Options and DROP Beneficiaries

When you decide to participate in DROP you will select a retirement option, a retirement option beneficiary, and a DROP account beneficiary. The retirement option selected upon participation in DROP cannot be changed. Your DROP account beneficiary can be different from your retirement option beneficiary, and may be changed

at any time by submitting Form 01-06: Designation of Beneficiary to LASERS (Form 04-04: Spousal Consent may be required). Should you die during DROP participation, your named retirement beneficiary will receive benefits according to the retirement option you selected. Your DROP account beneficiary will be entitled to the remaining funds in your DROP account.

Calculating the DROP Benefit

Your DROP benefit is based on the amount that you would have received as a monthly retirement benefit if you had selected regular retirement. This monthly benefit will be deposited into an individual DROP account as long as you continue participation in DROP. Your unused annual and sick leave are not calculated when you go into DROP. Only when you terminate State service during or after DROP will your leave be calculated.

End of DROP Participation

Once a member completes the DROP participation period, they must choose to either terminate employment and retire, or continue employment and resume contributions to LASERS. If you terminate employment while in DROP or on your DROP end date, you will begin receiving a monthly retirement benefit from LASERS. This monthly retirement benefit will be the same as your DROP benefit, unless you convert your unused annual and sick leave to retirement credit and/or make any purchases during DROP. If you continue employment after DROP, your agency must

submit Form 09-02A: Certification of Continued Employment after DROP Participation to LASERS.

Interest on DROP Accounts

If you are eligible to leave your DROP account at LASERS, it may accrue interest once you have

ended DROP participation or retired. Interest can be accrued until your DROP balance is depleted. The interest rate is equal to the LASERS actuarial rate of return on investments for the prior fiscal year minus 0.5 percent. This interest rate is based on a five-year actuarially smoothed return. Interest, if applicable, will be retroactively credited to your account based on your month-end account balance. If interest is earned it will be shown on your DROP annual statement which is issued in the first quarter of each year. For example, a DROP annual statement received in January 2015 would show the interest posted for July 2013 – June 2014.

Although LASERS DROP accounts do not earn interest during the DROP participation period, they are eligible to accrue interest once the participation period ends. Self-Directed Plan DROP accounts will be transferred to the third-party administrator, EMPOWER Retirement™, as soon as the DROP participation ends. LASERS will not pay any interest on these accounts; instead, you will have a selection of investment options for these funds through EMPOWER Retirement™.

Working after DROP

You may choose to continue working after your DROP participation ends. Monthly deposits to your DROP account will cease and your employee contributions, as well as employer contributions, will resume. When you terminate employment, you will begin receiving a monthly retirement benefit from LASERS. This will include a supplemental benefit for employment after DROP. If you work less than three months after DROP, your service credit will not be rounded up, but will be rounded to the nearest tenth.

The calculation of your supplemental benefit for working after DROP depends on whether you had a 36 month or 60 month final average compensation period when you entered DROP.

  • If you had a 36 month final average compensation period when you entered DROP and you work less than three years after your DROP participation ends, your supplemental benefit will be based on your pre-DROP final average compensation. If you work three or more years after your DROP participation ends, your supplemental benefit will be based on your new 36 month after-DROP final average compensation.
  • If you had a 60 month final average compensation period when you entered DROP and you work less than five years after your DROP participation ends, your supplemental benefit will be based on your pre-DROP final average compensation. If you work five or more years after your DROP participation ends, your supplemental benefit will be based on your new 60 month after-DROP final average compensation.