N.J. Admin. Code § 17:3-2.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 17:3-2.1 - Enrollment eligibility

(a) Any person appointed by the State, local board of education, or charter school to a position listed in the definition of "teacher" found at 18A:66-2.p or as a regular, full-time employee in a position that meets the following conditions shall be required to become a member of the Fund effective as of the date of their employment:

1. The position requires a valid certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners, pursuant to 18A:6-34 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 6A:9, and the person employed holds this valid certificate;

2. The position is covered by Social Security; and

3. Salary requirements and full-time weekly work hours to qualify for enrollment are met, based on the date of eligibility for enrollment:

i. If eligibility for enrollment began prior to November 2, 2008, the minimum salary requirement for the position is $ 500.00 or more within a work year;

ii. If eligibility for enrollment began between November 2, 2008 and May 21, 2010, the position must meet the minimum salary requirements pursuant to the provisions of 18A:66-4.b(3), as provided in (g) below;

iii. If eligibility for enrollment began after May 21, 2010, regular full-time hours of 32 hours per week are required for enrollment, pursuant to the provisions of 18A:66-4.b(4); or

iv. If a break in a member's service occurs and it has been more than two consecutive years since that member's last pension contribution, reenrollment will occur based on the date of eligibility for enrollment, in accordance with (a)3i, ii, or iii above.

(b) An employee in an unclassified administrative position within the State Department of Education who possesses a valid certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners, pursuant to 18A:6-34 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 6A:9, and meets all other requirements in (a) above, is eligible for participation in the Fund.

(c) An employee meeting all of the conditions stipulated in (a) above who is paid on an hourly or per diem basis is eligible for membership in the Fund.

(d) Any person meeting all of the requirements of (a) above, who is appointed to a regular full-time position in an accredited evening high school or vocational school after September 1, 1989, shall be eligible for enrollment in the Fund with the following limitation. Individuals teaching at a vocational school may substitute the directly applicable "occupational license" as required by the Department of Education for the certification stipulated in (a)1 above.

1. Prior to September 1, 1989, only individuals appointed to regular full-time positions in accredited evening high schools, as determined by the State Board of Education, were eligible for enrollment in the Fund. A minimum of five periods per evening was required to qualify as a full-time employee. The accredited evening high schools were Camden, East Orange, Newark, Bayonne, Jersey City, Trenton, Woodbridge, Asbury Park, Morristown, and the Belleville Cerebral Palsy Center.

2. Between September 1, 1989 and May 21, 2010, individuals appointed to both regular full-time and part-time positions in accredited evening high schools, as determined by the State Board of Education, were eligible for enrollment in the Fund.

3. After May 21, 2010, only individuals appointed to regular full-time positions (working at least 32 hours per week) in accredited evening high schools, as determined by the State Board of Education, are eligible for enrollment in the Fund.

(e)18A:66-2(p) specifically excludes substitute teachers from enrollment in the Fund. The statute also permits the Board to determine whether any person is a teacher as defined in this article. The following positions have been determined by the Board to be ineligible for enrollment in the Fund:

1. Substitute and replacement teacher positions;

2. Permanent or long term substitute positions; and

3. Independent contractors and consultants.

(f) As of January 20, 2004, new part-time instructors employed at postsecondary vocational-technical schools are ineligible for enrollment in the Fund. Part time instructors at postsecondary vocational-technical schools who were members of the Fund, as of January 19, 2004, are "grandfathered" in their positions with postsecondary vocational-technical schools, as long as they remain with their current employers.

(g) Pursuant to the provisions of 18A:66-4, for individuals who became members of the TPAF between November 2, 2008 and May 21, 2010, the minimum annual base salary for participation in the retirement system initially set at $ 7,500, shall be adjusted annually by the Director of the Division in accordance with changes in the Consumer Price Index, but by no more than four percent. For the calendar year beginning January 1, 2010 and each year thereafter, the minimum base annual salary required for enrollment will be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index. For purposes of this calculation, "Consumer Price Index" means the average of the annual increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted for all items, in the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan statistical areas during the preceding calendar year as reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1. The adjustment factor for a calendar year shall be calculated as a fraction, pursuant to the following:

i. The numerator shall be the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City metropolitan statistical area for the calendar year ending December 31 of the first year preceding the July 1 calculation date, plus the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area for the same time period; and

ii. The denominator shall be the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City metropolitan statistical area for the calendar year ending December 31 of the second year preceding the July 1 calculation date, plus the annual Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area for the same time period.

2. If the value of the calculation in (g)1 above is less than zero for a calendar year, then the adjustment factor for the calendar year shall be equal to zero. If the value of that fraction is greater than 1.04 for a calendar year then the adjustment factor for the calendar year shall be equal to 1.04.

3. The adjustment shall be calculated on or about July 1 each calendar year to become effective on January 1 of the subsequent calendar year.

4. Increases in the minimum annual base salary shall be made in multiples of $ 100.00, except that any increase, which is not a multiple of $ 100.00 will be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $ 100.00. Each annual adjustment shall not be more than four percent when compared to the preceding year's minimum annual base salary.

(h) The calculation and any needed adjustment pursuant to (g) above shall be published via a notice of administrative change in the New Jersey Register revising the minimum annual base salary.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:3-2.1

Amended by 47 N.J.R. 2876(a), effective 11/16/2015