Sec. 824.802.  PARTICIPATION IN PLAN.  (a)  A contributing member who is eligible under Section 824.202 to retire and receive a standard service retirement annuity that is not reduced for retirement at an early age and who has at least 25 years of service credit in the retirement system may, if the member remains an employee, elect to participate in the deferred retirement option plan.
(b)  An election to participate in the plan must be on a form prescribed by and filed with the retirement system.  An election may be made only once and must state the period that the member wishes to participate in the plan.  The period must be a minimum of 12 consecutive months and be in 12-month increments.  The maximum period a member may participate in the plan is 60 consecutive months.  An election under this section is irrevocable after filing.  The filing of an election under this section is not considered for any purpose an application for retirement, and a person is not considered a retiree for any purpose because of the filing.
(c)  The effective date of a member's participation in the plan is the first day of the month after the month in which an election is received and approved by the retirement system.  The retirement system shall approve the election filed by a member who is eligible to make the election.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1416, Sec. 21, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.