CHAPTER 148: DEFERRED COMPENSATION PROGRAM

(A) As used in this chapter:

(1) “Eligible employee” means any public employee, as defined in division (A) of section 145.01 of the Revised Code; any person eligible to become a member of the public employees retirement system under section 145.20 of the Revised Code; any employee, as defined in division (C) of section 742.01, division (B) of section 3309.01, or division (A) of section 5505.01 of the Revised Code; any electing employee, as defined in section 3305.01 of the Revised Code; and any member of the state teachers retirement system.

(2) “Participant account” means any of the following accounts:

(a) An account that is maintained by the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board and that evidences moneys that have been deferred by a continuing member or participating employee and transmitted to the board by the retirement system of the continuing member or participating employee;

(b) An account that is maintained by the governing board, administrator, depository, or trustee of a deferred compensation program of a municipal corporation and that evidences moneys that have been deferred by an officer or employee of that municipal corporation and transmitted to the governing board, administrator, depository, or trustee by the retirement system of the officer or employee or in another manner;

(c) An account that is maintained by a governing board, as defined in section 148.06 of the Revised Code, and that evidences moneys that have been deferred by an officer or employee of a government unit, as defined in that section, and transmitted to the governing board by the retirement system of the officer or employee or in another manner.

(3) “Participating employee” means any eligible employee who is having compensation deferred pursuant to a contract that is executed before the compensation is earned and that is with the eligible employee’s employer and the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board.

(4) “Continuing member” means any former participating employee who is not currently having compensation deferred, or the former participating employee’s beneficiary, to whom payment has not been made of all deferred compensation distributions.

(B) Notwithstanding section 145.01 of the Revised Code, the definitions of that section are applicable to this chapter only to any extent necessary to fully understand the provisions of this chapter. Reference may also be had to Chapters 742., 3305., 3307., 3309., and 5505. of the Revised Code for that purpose.

Effective Date: 04-01-2001

The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board shall be comprised of a member of the house of representatives and a member of the senate, who shall not be of the same political party, each to be appointed to serve at the pleasure of the member’s respective leadership, and the members of the public employees retirement board as constituted by section 145.04 of the Revised Code, who are hereby created as a separate legal entity for the purpose of administering a deferred compensation system for all eligible employees. The public employees retirement board may utilize its employees and property in the administration of the system on behalf of the Ohio public employees deferred compensation board, in consideration of a reasonable service charge to be applied in a nondiscriminatory manner to all amounts of compensation deferred under this system.

The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board may exercise the same powers granted by section 145.09 of the Revised Code necessary to its functions. The attorney general shall be the legal adviser of the board.

Effective Date: 09-21-2000

(A) The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board shall initiate, plan, expedite, and, subject to an appropriate assurance of the approval of the internal revenue service, promulgate and offer to all eligible employees, and thereafter administer on behalf of all participating employees and continuing members, and alter as required, a program for deferral of compensation, including a reasonable number of options to the employee for the investment of deferred funds, including life insurance, annuities, variable annuities, pooled investment funds managed by the board, or other forms of investment approved by the board, always in such form as will assure the desired tax treatment of such funds. The members of the board are the trustees of any deferred funds and shall discharge their duties with respect to the funds solely in the interest of and for the exclusive benefit of participating employees, continuing members, and their beneficiaries. With respect to such deferred funds, section 148.09 of the Revised Code shall apply to claims against participating employees or continuing members and their employers.

(B) Every employer of an eligible employee shall contract with the employee upon the employee’s application for participation in a deferred compensation program offered by the board. Every retirement system serving an eligible employee shall serve as collection agent for compensation deferred by any of its members and account for and deliver such sums to the board.

(C) The board shall, subject to any applicable contract provisions, undertake to obtain as favorable conditions of tax treatment as possible, both in the initial programs and any permitted alterations of them or additions to them, as to such matters as terms of distribution, designation of beneficiaries, withdrawal upon disability, financial hardship, or termination of public employment, and other optional provisions.

(D) In no event shall the total of the amount of deferred compensation to be set aside under a deferred compensation program and the employee’s nondeferred income for any year exceed the total annual salary or compensation under the existing salary schedule or classification plan applicable to the employee in that year.

Such a deferred compensation program shall be in addition to any retirement or any other benefit program provided by law for employees of this state. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to provide any necessary standards or conditions for the administration of its programs, including any limits on the portion of a participating employee’s compensation that may be deferred in order to avoid adverse treatment of the program by the internal revenue service or the occurrence of deferral, withholding, or other deductions in excess of the compensation available for any pay period.

Any income deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation for the purpose of computing the contributions to and benefits from the retirement system of such employee. Any sum so deferred shall not be included in the computation of any federal and state income taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.

(E) This section does not limit the authority of any municipal corporation, county, township, park district, conservancy district, sanitary district, health district, public library, county law library, public institution of higher education, or school district to provide separate authorized plans or programs for deferring compensation of their officers and employees in addition to the program for the deferral of compensation offered by the board. Any municipal corporation, township, public institution of higher education, or school district that offers such plans or programs shall include a reasonable number of options to its officers or employees for the investment of the deferred funds, including annuities, variable annuities, regulated investment trusts, or other forms of investment approved by the municipal corporation, township, public institution of higher education, or school district, that will assure the desired tax treatment of the funds.

Effective Date: 09-21-2000; 09-21-2006

As used in this section:

(A) “Government unit” means a county, park district of any kind, conservancy district, sanitary district, health district, public library district, or county law library.

(B) “Governing board” means, in the case of the county, the board of county commissioners; in the case of a park district, the board of park commissioners; in the case of a conservancy district, the district’s board of directors; in the case of a sanitary district, the district’s board of directors; in the case of a health district, the board of health; in the case of a public library district, the board of library trustees; and in the case of a county law library, the board of trustees of the law library association.

In addition to the program of deferred compensation that may be offered under this chapter, a governing board may offer to all of the officers and employees of the government unit not to exceed two additional programs for deferral of compensation designed for favorable tax treatment of the compensation so deferred. Any such program shall include a reasonable number of options to the officer or employee for the investment of the deferred funds, including annuities, variable annuities, regulated investment trusts, or other forms of investment approved by the governing board, that will assure the desired tax treatment of the funds.

Any income deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation for the purpose of computing the contributions to and benefits from the officer’s or employee’s retirement system but shall not be included in the computation of any federal and state income taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.

Effective Date: 09-21-2000; 09-21-2006

Except as provided in sections 3105.171 and 3105.63 and Chapters 3119., 3121., 3123., and 3125. of the Revised Code and this chapter, a participant account or any benefit or other right accrued or accruing to any person under this chapter or under a deferred compensation program offered by a government unit, as defined in section 148.06 of the Revised Code, or by a municipal corporation shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, sale to satisfy a judgment or order, the operation of bankruptcy or insolvency laws, or other process of law and shall be unassignable.

Effective Date: 03-22-2001

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any payment, other than a survivorship benefit, that is to be made to a person by a deferred compensation program pursuant to those sections or a deferred compensation program offered by a government unit, as defined in section 148.06 of the Revised Code, or by a municipal corporation is subject to any withholding order issued pursuant to section 2907.15 or division (C)(2)(b) of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code. The Ohio public employees deferred compensation board, the governing board, as defined in section 148.06 of the Revised Code, that is associated with a government unit, and the governing board, administrator, depository, or trustee of a deferred compensation program of a municipal corporation shall comply with that withholding order in making payment.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if a deferred compensation program receives a notice pursuant to section 2907.15 or division (D) of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code that a person who has a participant account has been charged with a violation of section 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, or 2921.41 of the Revised Code, no payment from that account shall be made prior to whichever of the following is applicable:

(1) If the person is convicted of or pleads guilty to the violation and a motion for a withholding order for purposes of restitution has not been filed under section 2907.15 or division (C)(2)(b)(i) of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code, thirty days after the day on which the person is sentenced for the violation;

(2) If the person is convicted of or pleads guilty to the violation and a motion for a withholding order for purposes of restitution has been filed under section 2907.15 or division (C)(2)(b)(i) of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code, the day on which the court decides the motion;

(3) If the charge is dismissed or the person is found not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity of the violation, the day on which the dismissal of the charge or the verdict is entered in the journal of the court.

Effective Date: 09-21-2000