Coverage

Prior to July 1, 1990, all full time employees of the Institutions of Higher Learning were covered under PERS; however, in the 1990 Legislative session, the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) were instrumental in the passage of House Bill 1070 which made an optional retirement plan available to the IHL teaching and administrative faculty. This alternative plan was established in recognition of the fact that many university level faculty members transfer from state to state a number of times prior to retirement and that such mobility in employment severely limits the ability to build a meaningful retirement benefit under a defined benefit plan such as PERS. This alternative plan is structured so as to be portable and transferable as teaching and administrative faculty staff move from one state to another. It was also designed to serve as a recruiting tool to better enable Mississippi to attract qualified and talented university staff.

In order to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan, an employee must first be eligible to participate in PERS and be employed in a qualifying position. Qualifying positions include:

1. All persons whose specific assignments customarily include conducting instruction, research or public service as a principal activity (or activities), and who hold academic-rank titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, and/or research scientist.


2. Employees hired on or after August 1, 1998, as librarians with academic rank as well as intercollegiate coaches, with or without academic rank.


3. Employees hired on or after July 1, 2001, in the following categories:
     (a)  an intern or resident in training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center or the College         of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University under a teaching program at such         institution,
     (b)  a post doctoral assistant/fellow at any Institution, or
     (c)  a research scientist with or without academic rank whose specific assignments customarily         include conducting research at any Institution.  


4. Deans, associate deans, assistant deans, and executive officers of academic departments (chairmen, head or the equivalent) if their principal activity is instructional.  Teaching Positions do not include student teachers or research assistants.


5. Administrative Faculty Positions which include persons whose assignments require primary (and major) responsibility for management of the Institution or a customarily recognized department. Assignments require the performance of work directly related to management policies or general business operations of the Institution, department, or subdivision. It is assumed that ssignments in this category customarily and regularly require the incumbent to exercise discretion and independent judgment and to direct the work of others. The administrative faculty category is limited to officers holding such titles as president, vice president, and dean as well as officers subordinate to any of these administrators with such titles as associate dean, assistant dean, or executive officer of academic departments, (chairmen, head or the equivalent) if their principal activity is administrative. Employees hired on or after August 1, 1998, as administrators with budgetary authority shall be deemed to hold Administrative Faculty Positions.

An eligible employee has the option to elect to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan. This option is only available during the first 30 days of employment. If no election is made during that period of time, the employee automatically becomes a member of PERS. The decision is then irrevocable.