(a) Exemption from Execution, Garnishment, or Attachment.
(1) The right of a participant in that participant's account balances or any other right or benefit under this Division are not subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, or any other process, and are not assignable.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a portion or all of a participant's account balances may be paid to an alternate payee pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order under the Internal Revenue Code. The Chief Administrative Officer must establish forms and procedures to determine the qualified status of domestic relations orders and must determine the form and timing of distributions permissible under such qualified orders.
(b) Protection Against Fraud. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement savings plan in any attempt to defraud the retirement savings plan is subject to punishment for a class A violation.
(c) Error in records. If any change or error in the records results in any participant or beneficiary receiving from the retirement savings plan more or less than the participant or beneficiary is entitled to receive had the records been correct, the error must be corrected, and as far as practicable, the payment must be adjusted in such manner that the amount of the benefit to which that participant or beneficiary was correctly entitled will be paid. If any participant or beneficiary has received any payment from the retirement savings plan to which the participant or beneficiary is not entitled, the participant or beneficiary must refund that amount to the retirement savings plan.
(d) Lost Participants. The Chief Administrative Officer must use all reasonable resources to locate or communicate with a former participant or beneficiary, in order to make and process required minimum distributions as required by Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9). If such efforts fail, the Chief Administrative Officer or a third party holding these amounts, must distribute the former participant’s or beneficiary’s unprocessed required minimum distributions to the State under the unclaimed property laws. No amounts must be due to a former participant or beneficiary once paid to the State. The former participant or beneficiary must claim the distributed amounts directly from the State.
(e) Transfer of assets between trust funds of the retirement system. To the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code and applicable guidance under the Internal Revenue Code, the County may transfer assets of the retirement system relating to an account or accrued benefit of a participant in trust-to-trust transfers between the trusts of the Employees' Retirement System and the Retirement Savings Plan to correct operational failures relating to such accounts or accrued benefits.
(f) Exclusive Benefit. The Retirement Savings Plan Trust Fund must be held for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan, and except as otherwise provided under the Internal Revenue Code, no part of the trust fund shall ever enure to the benefit of the County. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; 2003 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 16, §1.)