Montana Title 19. Public Retirement Systems § 19-20-303. Inactive membership--dormant membership status

(1) A nonvested or vested member's active membership in the retirement system terminates and the member becomes an inactive member when the member ceases to be employed in a position reportable to the retirement system.

(2) A vested member becomes an inactive member of the teachers' retirement system if the member becomes an active member of another retirement or pension system supported wholly or in part by the money of another government agency, except the federal social security retirement system, and the membership in the other retirement system would allow credit for the same employment service in both retirement systems. However, the member may not be excluded from active membership in the teachers' retirement system solely because the person is receiving or is eligible to receive retirement benefits from another retirement system.

(3) A vested inactive member must be transferred to dormant membership status if the member fails to take one of the following actions by April 1 following the calendar year in which the member attains the age of 70 1/2 if the member was born before July 1, 1949, or the age of 72 if the member was born on or after July 1, 1949:

(4) A nonvested inactive member must be transferred to dormant membership status if the member fails to take one of the following actions within 7 years after becoming an inactive member:

(5) With respect to a member in dormant membership status:

(6) If a vested inactive member in dormant membership status takes an action described in subsection (3), the member is no longer in dormant membership status and the retirement system shall restore the member's account balance to the member's annuity savings account and credit the account balance with the interest that would have been earned if the amount had remained in the annuity savings account.

(7) If a nonvested inactive member takes an action described in subsection (4), the member is no longer in dormant membership status and the retirement system shall restore the member's account balance to the member's annuity savings account and credit the account balance with the interest that would have been earned if the amount had remained in the annuity savings account.

(8) Nothing in this section affects the rights, benefits, obligations, or liabilities provided for under this chapter if a member dies in a dormant membership status.