The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Base salary" means salaries or wages earned by a member of a system during a payroll period for personal services and includes wages and salaries deferred under provisions of the United States internal revenue code, but shall exclude overtime payments, nonmoney maintenance compensation, and lump sum payments for deferred annual sick leave, unused accumulated vacation, unused accumulated annual leave, any form of severance pay, any bonus for voluntary retirement, any other form of leave, or any similar lump sum payment; except that forms of payment which are excluded under this subsection shall be included in base salary when reportable to the department in all of a dual member's retirement systems, and when none of the dual member's retirement systems are the Washington state patrol retirement system.

(2) "Department" means the department of retirement systems.

(3) "Director" means the director of the department of retirement systems.

(4) "Dual member" means a person who (a) is or becomes a member of a system on or after July 1, 1988, (b) has been a member of one or more other systems, and (c) has never been retired for service from a retirement system and is not receiving a disability retirement or disability leave benefit from any retirement system listed in RCW 41.50.030 or subsection (6) of this section.

(5) "Service" means the same as it may be defined in each respective system. For the purposes of RCW 41.54.030, military service granted under RCW 41.40.170(3) or 43.43.260 may only be based on service accrued under chapter 41.40 or 43.43 RCW, respectively.

(6) "System" means the retirement systems established under chapters 41.32, 41.40, 41.44, 41.35, 41.37, and 43.43 RCW; plan 2 of the system established under chapter 41.26 RCW; and the city employee retirement systems for Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane.

Effective date—2004 c 242: See RCW 41.37.901.

Effective date—1998 c 341: See RCW 41.35.901.

Purpose—1993 c 517: See note following RCW 41.26.420.