Rights of members separated from service
HRS §88-341
in effect88-341. Rights of members separated from service
(a) Any class H 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 unused sick leave, shall, upon application to the board, be paid all of the former employee's accumulated contributions, and the former employee's membership shall thereupon terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited; provided that an individual shall not be paid the individual's accumulated contributions if either:
(1) The individual becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the individual ceased to be an employee; or
(2) At the time the application for return of
accumulated contributions is received by the board, the individual has become
an employee again.
Regular interest shall be credited to the
former employee's account until the former employee's accumulated contributions
are withdrawn; provided that the former employee's membership shall not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. If the former employee does not become an
employee again and has not withdrawn the former employee's accumulated
contributions, 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 class H 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 an amount equal to
the former employee's hypothetical account balance and the former employee's
membership shall thereupon terminate and all credited service shall be forfeited;
provided that the individual shall not be paid the individual's hypothetical
account balance if either:
(1) The individual becomes an employee again within
fifteen calendar days from the date the individual ceased to be an employee; or
(2) At the time the application for payment of the
individual's hypothetical account balance is received by the board, the
individual has become an employee again.
If the contributions are not withdrawn by the
former employee after the individual's employment terminates, the former
employee shall have 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.
(c) In case of the death after the termination
of service and prior to retirement of any former class H member who has not
withdrawn the member's contributions, there shall be paid to the former
member's estate or to the person that the former member has nominated by
written designation duly executed and filed with the board:
(1) The former member's accumulated contributions, if
the former member became a member before July 1, 2015, and had fewer than five
years of credited service at the time of death or if the former member became a
member after June 30, 2015, and had fewer than ten years of credited service at
the time of death; or
(2) The former member's hypothetical account balance,
if the former member became a member before July 1, 2015, and had five or more
years of credited service at the time of death or if the former member became a
member after June 30, 2015, and had ten or more years of credited service at
the time of death.
[L 2004, c 179, pt of §1; am L 2005, c 58, §31; am L 2006, c
169, §39; am L 2011, c 163, §15; am L 2015, c 85, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0088/HRS_0088-0341.htmFetched: 11/10/2026