Sec.5-155a-2. General rules — time frames for filing claims

(a) No action at law or in equity may be brought to recover under the State Employee Retirement System (SERS) or any of the retirement systems administered, supervised or managed by the State Employees Retirement Commission (‘‘Commission’’) any benefit, Tier transfer, service credit or any other related retirement benefit or payment (including but not limited to over or under payments) or claim challenging the alleged failure of the Commission to abide by a statutory dictate after the expiration of six (6) years after the member first knew or should have known with reasonable diligence of his or her entitlement to such a benefit, Tier transfer, service credit or other related retirement benefit or payment (including but not limited to over or under payments) or any claim challenging an alleged failure of the Commission to abide by a statutory dictate. Claims not brought within this time frame shall be denied as untimely.

(b) Before pursuing legal action, a person claiming retirement benefits or seeking redress related to the retirement system(s) shall first exhaust the Commission’s claim, review and appeal procedures.

(c) A member or the member’s designated beneficiary shall file a written claim to the Commission to appeal the final decision by the Retirement Service Division (‘‘Division’’) that adversely affects the personal interest of the member or the member’s designated beneficiary within one (1) year of the date of the final decision by the Division regarding his or her claim. Claims not brought within this time frame shall be denied as untimely.

(d) The Division, on behalf of the Medical Examining Board (‘‘Board’’), shall accept applications for disability retirement or petitions for service connected disability retirement with appropriate medical documentation. The time period for filing an application for disability retirement benefits or petition for service connected disability retirement shall begin on the day after the applicant’s last day of paid employment by the State of Connecticut and shall end at close of business on the date that is twenty-four months after the applicant’s last day of paid employment.

(e) If the Board requires additional medical or other evidence in order to make a determination on an application for disability retirement benefits or petition for service connected disability retirement, the member shall have one (1) calendar year from the date of the letter requesting such information to provide it to the Board. If the requested information is not provided within this one (1) calendar year limitation, the application shall be denied. The decision of denial shall be brought before the Commission for its approval as administratively denied.

(f) The member shall have one (1) calendar year from the date of the Board’s decision of denial to seek reconsideration of said decision. If the member does not seek reconsideration of the Board’s decision of denial within said one (1) calendar year, the Board’s initial decision of denial shall stand. The decision of denial shall be brought before the Commission for its approval as administratively denied.

(g) The member shall have one year from the date he or she sought reconsideration to: (1) submit the requested records (if any); and (2) submit additional material facts concerning his or her medical condition at the date of termination of employment; and (3) explain in writing why such material facts were not available to the member at the time of his or her original application to the Board. If the member does not provide the above information within one (1) calendar year of the date of seeking reconsideration, the Board’s initial decision of denial shall stand. The decision of denial shall be brought before the Commission for its approval as administratively denied.

(h) If the last day of any filing period or period for submission of information as set out above is a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday, then the application shall be valid if received by the Division by the close of the next business day following the Saturday, Sunday or holiday.

(i) The Commission, in its sole discretion and after hearing held by it, may allow equitable tolling of any of the time periods set out in this regulation and thus extend the time period for filing a claim. In order to equitably toll all or a portion of said time period, a petitioner shall show that extraordinary circumstances prevented him or her from filing his or her petition within the specified time period. The hearing before the Commission shall be held solely on the issue of whether extraordinary circumstances prevented the petitioner from filing a claim during the period of time at issue and shall not concern the merits of any such claim. Upon good cause shown, the Commission may extend the time frame for filing to a final and specific date certain.

(Effective April 27, 2012)