Nevada Public Employees' Retirement Board v. Smith

OPINION

By the Court,

Pickering, C.J.:

On this appeal we consider NRS 286.541(2), governing retirement by members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). PERS interprets NRS 286.541(2) as limiting retirement eligibility. In its view, a member who goes from one PERS-eligible job to another without a break in service and retiring from PERS may not thereafter retire and receive benefits from PERS, until the member effectively retires from his or her new PERS-eligible job. A contrary interpretation, PERS maintains, would allow in-service distributions, violating NRS 286.541 and the…