Payment of refunds and retirement benefits
HRS §88-6
in effect88-6. Payment of refunds and retirement benefits
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter:
(1) All retirees and beneficiaries of the state
retirement system or county pension funds shall be paid semimonthly; provided
that:
(A) All retirees and beneficiaries of the
state retirement system who either retire or become beneficiaries after January
1, 2003, shall be paid monthly; and
(B) Effective July 1, 2011, all retirees and
beneficiaries of the state retirement system shall be paid monthly; provided
that this subparagraph shall not apply to any retiree or beneficiary who:
(i) Became a retiree or beneficiary prior to
January 1, 2003;
(ii) Is eighty years of age or older on January
1, 2011; and
(iii) Receives $800 or less of pension benefits
each month; and
(2) Any retiree or beneficiary of the state
retirement system whose benefit commences after June 30, 2001, shall designate
a financial institution account into which the system shall be authorized to
deposit their retirement benefit; and effective April 1, 2011, all retirees and
beneficiaries of the state retirement system shall designate a financial
institution account into which the system shall be authorized to deposit their
state retirement system benefits. This method of payment may be waived by the
system.
(b) Any member, former employee, retirant, or
beneficiary to whom accumulated contributions or a hypothetical account
balance, as defined in section 88-311, is payable after June 30, 2008, if the
payment will be greater than $250 and the member, former employee, retirant, or
beneficiary does not elect to rollover the payment into an eligible retirement
plan, shall designate a financial institution account into which the system
shall be authorized to deposit the payment. This method of payment may be waived
by the system if another method is determined to be more appropriate.
(c) All overpayments of refunds and retirement
benefits, including but not limited to the over issuance of death benefits,
beneficiary benefits, payments to alternate payees, and adjustment payments,
shall constitute a debt due and owing to the system by the recipient of such
overpayments. In addition to the remedies elsewhere prescribed in this chapter
for the recovery of benefits, recovery of all overpayments shall be made in
accordance with applicable state law and federal regulations. The system shall
adopt and enforce rules as may be necessary to effect the maximum recovery of
retirement benefit overpayments. System rules for the recovery of overpayments
shall prescribe procedures for recourse to the civil courts when required, the
filing of liens against the real property of overpaid recipients, and the
filing of claims against the estate of a deceased recipient who has received
overpayments that have not been recovered. Nothing in this section shall
preclude the board of trustees or the executive director of the system from
adopting procedures for waiving the recovery of overpayments in cases of bona
fide hardship or where the costs of recovery would exceed the amount expected
to be recovered.
[L 1967, c 98, §1; HRS §88-6; am L 1969, c 110, pt of §1; am L
2001, c 102, §1; am L 2002, c 128, §2; am L 2008, c 41, §2; am L 2010, c 94, §1;
am L 2019, c 53, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0088/HRS_0088-0006.htmFetched: 11/10/2026