Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-50-111.3

A. In lieu of terminating employment and accepting a service

retirement pension pursuant to Section 50-114 of this title, any

member of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System who has

not less than twenty (20) years of creditable service and who is

eligible to receive a service retirement pension may make an

irrevocable election to participate in the Oklahoma Police Deferred

Option Plan and defer the receipts of benefits in accordance with

the provisions of this section.

B. For purposes of this section, creditable service shall

include service credit reciprocally recognized pursuant to Section

50-101 et seq. of this title but for eligibility purposes only.

C. The duration of participation in the Oklahoma Police

Deferred Option Plan for a member shall not exceed five (5) years.

Participation in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan must begin

the first day of a month and end on the last day of a month. At the

conclusion of a member's participation in the Oklahoma Police

Deferred Option Plan, the member shall terminate employment with all

participating municipalities as an officer, and shall start

receiving the member's accrued monthly retirement benefit from the

System. Such a member may receive in-service distributions of such

member's accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System if such

member is reemployed by a participating municipality only if such

reemployment is as a police chief or in a position not covered under

the System.

D. When a member begins participation in the Oklahoma Police

Deferred Option Plan, the contribution of the employee shall cease.

The employer contributions shall continue to be paid in accordance

with Section 50-109 of this title. Municipal contributions for

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employees who elect the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan shall

be credited equally to the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement

System and to the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan. The monthly

retirement benefits that would have been payable had the member

elected to cease employment and receive a service retirement shall

be paid into the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan account.

E. 1. A member who participates in this plan shall be eligible

to receive cost of living increases.

2. A member who participates in this plan shall earn interest

at a rate of two percentage points below the rate of return of the

investment portfolio of the System, but no less than the actuarial

assumed interest rate as certified by the actuary in the yearly

evaluation report of the actuary. The interest shall be credited to

the individual account balance of the member on an annual basis.

F. A participant in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan

shall receive, at the option of the participant:

1. A lump sum payment from the account equal to the option

account balance of the participant, payable to the participant;

2. A lump sum payment from the account equal to the option

account balance of the participant, payable to the annuity provider

which shall be selected by the participant as a result of the

research and investigation of the participant; or

3. Any other method of payment if approved by the State Board.

Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein to the

contrary, commencement of distributions under the Oklahoma Police

Deferred Option Plan shall be no later than the time as set forth in

subsection C of Section 50-114 of this title.

G. If the participant dies during the period of participation

in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan, a lump sum payment

equal to the account balance of the participant shall be paid to the

recipients, which may include a trust, properly designated in

writing by the participant or, if none, to the surviving spouse who

was married to the participant for the thirty (30) continuous months

immediately preceding the death of the participant; provided, a
in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan, a lump sum payment

equal to the account balance of the participant shall be paid to the

recipients, which may include a trust, properly designated in

writing by the participant or, if none, to the surviving spouse who

was married to the participant for the thirty (30) continuous months

immediately preceding the death of the participant; provided, a

surviving spouse of a participant who died in, and as a consequence

of, the performance of the participant's duty for a participating

municipality shall not be subject to the thirty-month marriage

requirement for survivor benefits or, if no surviving spouse, to the

estate of the participant.

H. In lieu of participating in the Oklahoma Police Deferred

Option Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this

section, a member may make an irrevocable election to participate in

the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection

as follows:

1. For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions

shall apply:

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a. "back drop date" means the date selected by the

member, which is up to five (5) years before the

member elects to participate in the Oklahoma Police

Deferred Option Plan, but not before the date at which

the member completes twenty (20) years of credited

service,

b. "termination date" means the date the member elects to

participate in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option

Plan pursuant to this subsection, and the date the

member terminates employment with all participating

municipalities as an active police officer, such

termination has at all times included reemployment of

a member by a participating municipality only if such

reemployment is as a police chief or in a position not

covered under the System,

c. "earlier attained credited service" means the credited

service earned by a member as of the back drop date,

and earlier attained credited service cannot be

reduced to less than twenty (20) years of credited

service, and

d. "deferred benefit balance" means all monthly

retirement benefits that would have been payable had

the member elected to cease employment on the back

drop date and receive a service retirement from the

back drop date to the termination date, all of the

member's contributions and one-half (1/2) of the

employer contributions from the back drop date to the

termination date, with interest based on how the

benefit would have accumulated as if the member had

participated in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option

Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D and E of this

section from the back drop date to the termination

date;

2. At the termination date, the monthly pension benefit shall

be determined based on earlier attained credited service and on the

final average salary as of the back drop date. The member's

individual deferred option account shall be credited with an amount

equal to the deferred benefit balance; the member shall terminate

employment with all participating municipalities as a police officer

and shall start receiving the member's accrued monthly retirement

benefit from the System. The provisions of subsections B, C, E, F

and G of this section shall apply to this subsection. A member

shall not participate in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan

pursuant to this subsection if the member has elected to participate

in the Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsections

A, B, C, D, E and F of this section; and

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3. If a member who has not less than twenty (20) years of

creditable service and who is eligible to receive a service

retirement pension dies prior to terminating employment, the

surviving spouse shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit

determined as if the member had elected to participate in the

Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan in accordance with this
. Cities and Towns Page 636

3. If a member who has not less than twenty (20) years of

creditable service and who is eligible to receive a service

retirement pension dies prior to terminating employment, the

surviving spouse shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit

determined as if the member had elected to participate in the

Oklahoma Police Deferred Option Plan in accordance with this

subsection on the day immediately preceding the death. The

surviving spouse must have been married to the member for the thirty

(30) continuous months preceding the member's death; provided, the

surviving spouse of a member who died while in, and as a consequence

of, the performance of the member's duty for a participating

municipality shall not be subject to the thirty-month marriage

requirement for this election.