§45-8A-22.135. Amendment and termination.

(a) Amendment of the Plan.

(1) The retirement board shall have the right at any time to amend the plan, subject to the limitations of this section. Any such amendment must be consistent with this subpart, any other legislation relating to the trust, and consistent with other authority granted to the retirement board. Additionally, in the event that the Legislature amends this subpart or makes other statutory changes that impact the terms of the plan, the retirement board shall cause the plan to be amended as necessary to reflect such legislation.

(2) Any amendment which affects the rights, duties, or responsibilities of the trustee may only be made with the trustee's written consent. Any such amendment shall become effective as provided therein upon its execution. The trustee shall not be required to execute an amendment unless such amendment affects the duties of the trustee hereunder.

(3) Except as otherwise specifically provided for herein, no amendment to the plan shall be effective if it authorizes or permits any part of the trust, other than such part as is required to pay taxes and administration expenses, to be used for or diverted to any purpose other than for the exclusive benefit of participants or their beneficiaries or estates.

(b) Termination of the Plan. In the event that the Legislature takes appropriate action to terminate the plan, or in the event of a partial termination of the plan, all amounts shall be allocated in accordance with the provisions hereof and the accrued benefit, to the extent funded as of such date, of each affected participant shall become fully vested and shall not thereafter be subject to forfeiture. Upon full termination of the plan, the retirement board shall direct the distribution of the assets in the trust to the participants. In such case, the trustee shall distribute the assets to the remaining participants in the plan and to retired participants and their beneficiaries in cash or through the purchase of irrevocable deferred commitments from an insurer, subject to provision for expenses of administration or liquidation. Such distributions shall be allocated in such order as set forth by the Legislature, or by the retirement board to the extent the retirement board receives such authorization, to the extent of the sufficiency of such assets, basing such allocation on the accrued benefit for each such participant at the date of termination of the plan.

(Act 2012-484, p. 1349, §36.)