District of Columbia Code
Part A - General
§ 38–2021.01. Salary deductions; deposit

(a) Beginning on the first day of the first pay period which begins after December 31, 1969, there shall be deducted and withheld from the annual salary of each teacher in the public schools of the District of Columbia an amount equal to 7% of the teacher’s annual salary; except that in the case of teachers hired on or after the first day of the first pay period that begins after October 29, 1996, there shall be deducted and withheld from the annual salary of each teacher in the public schools of the District of Columbia an amount equal to 8% of the teacher’s annual salary. The amounts deducted and withheld from the annual salary of each teacher, including amounts so deducted and withheld prior to July 1, 1946, under subchapter I of this chapter, shall be credited to an individual account of the teacher from whose salary the deduction is made, together with interest at 4% per annum, compounded annually up to July 1, 1946, and thereafter at 3% per annum, compounded annually from December 31st of the year in which the deductions are made; provided, that such interest shall not be credited after December 31, 1956, except that in the case of a teacher separated before he has completed 5 years of eligible service interest shall be credited to the date of separation or the end of the 90-day period beginning on November 17, 1979, whichever is earlier. These individual interest-bearing accounts shall be kept by the Custodian of Retirement Funds. After the end of the 90-day period beginning on November 17, 1979, any amounts deducted and withheld pursuant to this subsection shall be paid to the Custodian of Retirement Funds (as defined in § 1-702(6)) for deposit in the District of Columbia Teachers’ Retirement Fund established by § 1-713(a).
(b) Repealed.
(c) Amounts deducted and withheld from the annual salary of each teacher shall be:
(1) Picked up by the public schools of the District of Columbia, as described in section 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) Deducted and withheld from the annual salary of the teachers as salary reduction contributions;
(3) Paid by the public schools of the District of Columbia to the Custodian of Retirement Funds, as defined in § 1-702(6); and
(4) Made a part of the teacher’s annuity benefit.
(d) Notwithstanding any provisions of this part to the contrary, the amounts contributed under this section shall be fully (100%) vested.
(e) Notwithstanding any provisions of this part to the contrary, upon the employer’s request, a contribution that was made by a mistake of fact shall be returned to the employer by the trustee within one year after the payment of the contribution. A portion of a contribution returned pursuant to this section shall be adjusted to reflect earnings or gains. Notwithstanding any provisions of this part to the contrary, the right or claim of a participant or beneficiary to an asset of the trust or a benefit under this part shall be subject to and limited by the provisions of this subsection.
(Aug. 7, 1946, 60 Stat. 875, ch. 779, § 1; Mar. 6, 1952, 66 Stat. 17, ch. 95,§ 1; Aug. 5, 1955, 69 Stat. 530, ch. 569, title V, § 21; June 4, 1957, 71 Stat. 46, Pub. L. 85-46, § 1; Dec. 29, 1967, 81 Stat. 747, Pub. L. 90-231, § 1(1); May 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 257, Pub. L. 91-263, § 1(d)(1); Nov. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 866, Pub. L. 96-122, §§ 123(b)(1)(A), 253(a)(1); Mar. 24, 1990, D.C. Law 8-97, § 4, 37 DCR 1046; Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-218, § 4(a), 43 DCR 6172; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 55(a), 52 DCR 2638; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 60, 53 DCR 6794; May 1, 2013, D.C. Law 19-312, § 2(a), 60 DCR 3434.)
1981 Ed., § 31-1221.
1973 Ed., § 31-721.
This section is referenced in § 1-713, § 38-2021.04, § 38-2021.08, § 38-2023.14, and § 38-2041.01.
D.C. Law 15-354, in subsec. (b), substituted “District of Columbia Retirement Board” for “Council of the District of Columbia” and substituted “prescribed by the District of Columbia Retirement Board” for “prescribed by the Council, in”.
D.C. Law 16-191 validated a previously made technical correction in (b).
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-312 deleted “purchase of annuity” from the section heading; repealed (b), relating to the purchase of annuities; and added (c), (d), and (e).
District of Columbia teachers retirement fund, see § 1-713.
Election of educational employees of the Teachers College to remain subject to provisions of subchapter, see § 38-1103.
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Board of Education Early-Out Retirement for “ET” Employees Emergency Amendment Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-262, April 18, 1996, 43 DCR 2177).
For temporary amendment of section, see § 4(a) of the New Hires Police Officers, Fire Fighters, and Teachers Pension Modification Emergency Amendment Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-428, October 29, 1996, 43 DCR 6147), and 4(a) of the New Hires Police Officers, Fire Fighters, and Teachers Pension Modification Congressional Adjournment Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-10, March 3,
For temporary amendment of section, see § 2(a) of the Retirement of Public-School Teachers Omnibus Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-584, January 1, 2013, 60 DCR 134).
Section 2(a)(1) of D.C. Law 19-313 amended the heading by striking the phrase “; purchase of annuity”. Section 2(a)(2) of D.C. Law 19-313 repealed subsection (b).
Section 2(a)(3) of D.C. Law 19-313 added new subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
“(c) Amounts deducted and withheld from the annual salary of each teacher shall be:
“(1) Picked up by the public schools of the District of Columbia, as described in section 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code;
“(2) Deducted and withheld from the annual salary of the teachers as salary reduction contributions;
“(3) Paid by the public schools of the District of Columbia to the Custodian of Retirement Funds, as defined in section 102(6) of the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act, approved November 17, 1979 (93 Stat. 866; D. C. Official Code § 1-702(6)); and
“(4) Made a part of the teacher’s annuity benefit.
“(d) Notwithstanding any provisions of this act to the contrary, the amounts contributed under this section shall be fully (100%) vested.
“(e) Notwithstanding any provisions of this act to the contrary, upon the employer’s request, a contribution that was made by a mistake of fact shall be returned to the employer by the trustee within one year after the payment of the contribution. A portion of a contribution returned pursuant to this section shall be adjusted to reflect earnings or gains. Notwithstanding any provisions of this act to the contrary, the right or claim of a participant or beneficiary to an asset of the trust or a benefit under this act shall be subject to and limited by the provisions of this subsection.”
Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 19-313 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of the Retirement of Public-School Teachers Omnibus Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-41, March 25, 2013, 60 DCR 5361, 20 DCSTAT 527).
Full Funding of Pension Liability Retirement Reform Amendment Act of 1994: Section 311 of D.C. Law 10-135 amended (a) by inserting “(or, with respect to each pay period which begins on or after October 1, 1995, 8 per centum)” following “7 %” in the first sentence.
Section 401 of D.C. Law 10-135 provided that notwithstanding any other law, title I, §§ 101(b)(1) and (2), and titles II and III shall apply to any action or transaction taken or undertaken with respect to the Police Officers and Fire Fighters’ Retirement Fund, the Teachers’ Retirement Fund and the Judges’ Retirement Fund on and after October 1, 1995.
Section 501 of D.C. Law 10-135 provided that the act shall take effect on the later of: (1) completion of a 30-day period of Congressional review following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council of the District of Columbia to override the veto) as provided in § 1-2-33(c)(1), and publication in either the District of Columbia Register, the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations; or (2) enactment by Congress of titles II and III of this act and of an amendment to D.C. Code § 11-1563 which amends the first sentence in subsection (a) by inserting after “per centum” the following: “(or, with respect to each pay period which begins on or after October 1, 1995, 4 1/2 per centum)” and an amendment to D.C. Code § 11-1564(d)(1) which inserts after “United States Code,” the following: “with respect to services performed before October 1, 1995, and equal to 4 1/2 per centum of such salary, pay, or compensation with respect to services performed on or after October 1, 1995,”.
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(239) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.