How was a Louisiana school employee's retirement benefit affected by working three more years after DROP?

Plain-English summary

Louisiana's School Employees' Retirement System asked how “average compensation” worked when a participant stayed employed after leaving the Deferred Retirement Options Plan, or DROP. In 2005, the Attorney General read La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4) as providing an additional benefit for at least thirty-six months of later employment, on top of the participant's base retirement benefit. The added amount was based on service credit and final average compensation for the employment after DROP participation ended.

The statute quoted in the opinion also included conversion of net sick and annual leave accumulated during that later period. The AG distinguished this specific post-DROP rule from the general definition of average compensation in La. R.S. 11:1002(6). The opinion interpreted the calculation framework; it did not compute a particular member's payment.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did a school employee lose credit for work after ending DROP participation?

The AG said the cited provision added a benefit based on service credit for at least thirty-six months of continued employment after DROP participation ended. The base benefit remained part of the monthly retirement amount.

Which compensation period mattered for the added benefit?

The AG read the post-DROP provision as using final average compensation for the employment period after participation ended. It contrasted that specific rule with the general “average compensation” definition based on the highest thirty-six successive months.

Did unused leave enter the statutory calculation?

The statute quoted in the opinion included conversion of net sick and annual leave accumulated during the post-DROP employment period. The AG did not calculate a member-specific leave amount.

Background and statutory framework

Director Patrick Cosper asked how to apply the phrase “average compensation” in La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4). That provision addressed a DROP participant who continued employment for thirty-six months or longer after participation ended. La. R.S. 11:1002(6) gave a general definition tied to thirty-six high successive months. The AG concluded that the special post-DROP provision governed the additional amount attributable to later service.

Citations

• La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4) (additional benefit after thirty-six months of post-DROP service).
• La. R.S. 11:1002(6) (general average-compensation definition).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0095

Original opinion text

April 20, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0095

92-A-2-(k) Retirement-School Board Employee Retirement System

Mr. Patrick Cosper
La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4) provides a method for
Director
determining the benefit amount to be added to the
base benefit when the participant continues State of Louisiana School Employees’ employment after termination from the DROP
Retirement System
program for a period of thirty-six months or more.
P. O. Box 44516
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4516

Dear Mr. Cosper:

You have requested an opinion from our office on behalf of the Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System. You ask that our office clarify the language contained in La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4).

Your question concerns the use of the phrase “average compensation”. The term is defined in La. R.S. 11:1002(6) and states in pertinent part,

“Average compensation” shall be based on the thirty-six highest successive months of employment, or on the highest thirty-six successive joined months of employment where interruption of service occurred…

La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4), on the other hand, provides for the specific instance when an employee works at least thirty-six months after his participation in the Deferred Retirement Options Plan (DROP) program. The statute provides as follows:

If the participant continues employment after termination of participation in the plan for a period of thirty-six months or more, his monthly retirement benefit shall equal his base benefit plus an amount based on the service credit for the additional employment, together with conversion of the net amount of sick and annual leave accumulated during that period of employment, based upon the final average compensation for the period of employment after termination of participation in the plan.

Page 2

Opinion Number 05-0095
Mr. Patrick Cosper
Director
School Employees’ Retirement System
Page: -2-

It is our office’s opinion that the phrase “average compensation” used in La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4) applies to the method used to determine the additional amount of benefits to be paid to the participant for the three plus years of employment after his termination from the DROP program. Our reading of the statute indicates that the participant is entitled to the base salary plus an additional amount based on his service credit for the additional three or more years of employment after termination from the DROP program.

I believe the above addresses your concerns. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: _________
CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, Jr./CHB, Jr./sfj

Page 3

SYLLABUS

OPINION NUMBER 05-0095

92-A-2-(k) Retirement-School Board Employee Retirement System

La. R.S. 11:1152(J)(4) provides a method for determining the benefit amount to be added to the base benefit when the participant continues employment after termination from the DROP program for a period of thirty-six months or more.

Mr. Patrick Cosper
Director
School Employees’ Retirement System
P. O. Box 44516
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4516

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: April 20, 2005

Charles H. Braud, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General