Rights of members separated from service
HRS §88-96
in effect88-96. Rights of members separated from service
(a) Any member who ceases to be an employee and who became a member before July 1, 2012, and has fewer than five years of credited service, excluding unused sick leave, or who becomes a member after June 30, 2012, and has fewer than ten years of credited service, excluding sick leave, shall, upon application to the board, be paid all of the member's accumulated contributions and the member's membership shall thereupon terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited; provided that a member shall not be paid the member's accumulated contributions:
(1) If the member becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the member ceased to be an employee; or
(2) If, at the time the application for return of
accumulated contributions is received by the board, the member has become an
employee again.
Regular interest shall be credited to the
former employee's account until the former employee's accumulated contributions
are returned to the former employee; provided that the former employee's
membership shall not continue after the fourth full year following the calendar
year in which the individual's employment terminates. Upon termination of the
former employee's membership, the former employee's credited service shall be
forfeited and, if the former employee's accumulated contributions are $1,000 or
less at the time of distribution, the system shall return the former employee's
contributions to the former employee. If the former employee does not become
an employee again and if the former employee's accumulated contributions have
not been withdrawn by the former employee or previously returned by the system
to the former employee, the system shall return the former employee's
accumulated contributions to the former employee as soon as possible after the
later of: (A) the former employee attaining age sixty-two; or (B) the
termination of the former employee's membership.
(b) Any member who ceases to be an employee
and who became a member before July 1, 2012, and has more than five years of
credited service, excluding unused sick leave, or who becomes a member after
June 30, 2012, and has more than ten years of credited service, excluding sick
leave, shall, upon application to the board, be paid all of the member's
accumulated contributions and thereupon the former employee's membership shall
terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited; provided that a member shall
not be paid the member's accumulated contributions:
(1) If the member becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the member ceased to be an employee; or
(2) If, at the time the application for return of
accumulated contributions is received by the board, the member has become an
employee again.
If the contributions are not withdrawn by the
former employee within four calendar years following the calendar year in which
the former employee's employment terminates, the former employee shall have
established vested benefit status and shall be eligible for the service
retirement benefit in effect at the time of the former employee's retirement,
payable in accordance with this chapter; provided that if the former employee
withdraws the former employee's accumulated contributions, the former employee's
vested benefit status shall terminate and all credited service shall be
forfeited.
(c) In case of the death of any former member
after the termination of service, the former member's accumulated contributions
shall be payable to the former member's estate or to such person as the former
member has nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the
board.
[L 1925, c 55, §6(10); RL 1935, pt of §7925; RL 1945, §708, subs 10, 13;
am L 1945, c 73, §1(f); am L 1947, c 103, §1(b), (c); RL 1955, §6-53; am L
1963, c 127, §13; am L 1965, c 222, §10; HRS §88-87; am L 1969, c 110, pt of
§1; am L 1982, c 165, pt of §2(15); am L 1984, c 32, §1; am L 1989, c 100, §2;
am L 2004, c 179, §15; am L 2005, c 58, §12; am L 2006, c 169, §19; am L 2011,
c 163, §10; am L 2015, c 85, §1]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0088/HRS_0088-0096.htmFetched: 11/10/2026