(a) General. Any person who asserts any claim to any right or benefit under the act shall file written application with the director of the system at the office of the system at Austin.     
      (b) Form, content, and signature of applications.      
        (1) Official forms for applications for certain benefits. Official forms for use in making application for service retirement benefits, for disability retirement benefits, and for refund of accumulated deposits on terminations prior to retirement are available at and may be obtained without charge from the office of the director of the system in Austin upon written request; normally, such forms are also available at, and can be obtained from, the county auditor of a participating county or from the officer in charge of payrolls for the participating subdivision by which the member is or was employed. All applications which are the subject of any official form shall contain the information, statements, and supporting documents designated in that official form and shall conform substantially to that official form.       
        (2) Contents of applications having no official form. All applications for which no official form is prescribed shall be typewritten or printed on white paper, 8 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches long, and shall contain:                  (A) the name of the party asserting the right or claim, his membership number in the system (if any), and his address;                   (B) a concise statement of the facts relied on as giving rise to the right or claim asserted; and                   (C) a prayer stating the type of relief, action, or order desired by the applicant.         
        (3) Applications required to be signed. All applications for retirement or for retirement benefits must be personally signed in ink by the member seeking retirement unless there is a guardian of the person and estate of the member, in which event the application must be signed by the guardian. The original of all other applications shall be signed by the applicant or by the applicant's authorized representative. The director may require satisfactory proof of the authority of a representative to act for the member.       
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §101.5 adopted to be effective July 27, 1976, 1 TexReg 1929; amended to be effective January 27, 2000, 25 TexReg 389