[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1; Ord. of 1-4-1988]
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 2]
All ordinances and special acts referring to the retirement
system of the City of Milford and not included in this chapter, or
recognized and continued in force by reference herein, are hereby
repealed.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § A)]
The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, unless
a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall have
the following meanings:
The beneficiary or beneficiaries named by the employee in
writing, and such beneficiary may be changed by the employee at any
time, provided due notice shall be given in writing to the Retirement
Board.
Employees of the City who render permanent and full-time
service to the City for compensation.
The twelve-month period from July 1 of each year to June
30 of the following year, both dates inclusive.
The salary or wages of an employee for his services to the
City, including all grants and allowances for maintenance at such
figures as may be determined by the Retirement Board.
A payment made to an employee retired under the provisions
of this Act.
Interest at the rate determined from time to time by the
Retirement Board, and shall be substantially that which is earned
on the retirement fund, compounded annually on the last day of the
fiscal year.
The board herein created for the administration of the retirement
system.
The fund derived from contributions made as herein provided
for the payment of pensions under this chapter.
The plan for retirement of City employees as established
by this chapter.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § B); Ord. of 5-24-1979, § 1;
Ord. of 1-7-1980, § 1; Ord. of 6-2-1997; Ord. of 7-10-2000]
(a)
There shall be a retirement system for the City of Milford, the management
of which shall be vested in a Retirement Board consisting of 15 members
and eight alternates who shall be appointed by the Board of Aldermen
for terms of three years each. Three of the alternates shall serve
for the nonunion members of the Board, and five of the alternates
shall serve for the union members of the Board, provided that the
alternate union members may only participate and/or vote in lieu of
the absent regular employee member of the same bargaining unit. A
quorum of the Retirement Board shall consist of 10 members. Five of
the members shall be City employees participating in the retirement
system as hereinafter provided. Said employees shall be appointed
by the Board of Aldermen, one upon selection by members of Local No.
1566, Council 4, AFSCME, one upon selection by the members of Local
No. 2018, Council 4, AFSCME, one upon selection by the members
of the Milford Employees Association, one upon selection by the members
of Local No. 899, AFSCME, Council 15, and one upon selection
by members of Local No. 944, IAFF. The members of the Retirement
Board shall serve without compensation. The Board shall employ such
actuarial, consultant, medical, clerical and other services as may
be necessary for the proper operation of the retirement system. The
cost of actuarial and consultant services shall be added annually
to the City's contribution to the retirement fund and shall be charged
to said fund.
(b)
The Board shall, with the exception of actuarial and consultant services,
submit annually to the City a schedule of its estimated expenses for
the administration of this chapter and all such expenses of the administration
shall be paid by the City.
(c)
The Board shall be the trustee of the retirement fund and shall have
full control and management thereof with power to invest and reinvest
the same in accordance with the laws of the State of Connecticut governing
the investment of trust funds. The Board further shall have the authority
and power to appoint, employ or engage agents, managers, advisors
or investment counselors, as the Board may deem necessary or advisable,
which agents, managers, advisors or investment counselors may act
on behalf of the Board in respect to the investment and reinvestment
of the pension fund, provided such investments shall be made in accordance
with the laws of the State of Connecticut governing investment of
trust funds. Any outside agent, manager, advisor or investment counselor
shall invest and reinvest the funds of the pension fund pursuant to
regulations and guidelines which shall be established by the pension
and Retirement Board. Any such agent, advisor or investment counselor
shall be required to furnish a bond in such amount as shall be determined
by the pension and Retirement Board and the cost of such bond shall
be paid by the agent, manager, advisor or investment counselor. The
members of the pension and Retirement Board shall be required to furnish
a bond in such amount as shall be determined by the City of Milford
and the cost of such bond shall be paid by the City.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § C); Ord. of 8-7-1989; Ord. of 11-9-1992; Ord. of 12-7-1992, § 1;
Ord. of 11-8-2001; Ord. of 6-5-2006]
(a)
The terms of this chapter shall apply to all permanent and full-time paid employees of the City of Milford as further defined in Subsection (b) below, except:
[Amended by Ord. of 12-2-2019]
(1)
Casual, seasonal or part-time employees;
(2)
Employees covered by the state teachers' retirement system;
(3)
(Reserved)
(4)
Employees who have been employed under a federal or state or
combined federal and state subsidized program other than uniformed
and investigatory employees of the Police and Fire Departments and
whose employment under said subsidized program began prior to October
1, 1977, who have exercised the option not to participate in the retirement
system;
a.
Subsidized uniform and investigatory employees of the Police
and Fire Departments will not be allowed to exercise this option.
b.
This option not to participate in the retirement system must
be exercised in writing within 30 days of September 26, 1977, for
all subsidized employees whose employment under said subsidized program
began prior to October 1, 1977.
c.
Those employees who are employed under a federal or state, or
a combined federal and state subsidized program other than uniformed
and investigatory employees of the Police and Fire Departments who
exercise the option not to participate in the retirement system shall
forfeit the right to have the time of their subsidized employment
counted toward their pension benefit eligibility if they are subsequently
appointed to a City-budgeted position in the City of Milford. During
the period of their subsidized employment the exercise of the option
not to participate in the retirement system shall be irrevocable.
If a subsidized employee who has exercised the option not to participate
in the retirement system is subsequently appointed to a City-budgeted
position in the City of Milford, he or she shall be required to participate
in the pension system as a condition of his or her employment; and
(b)
All employees, except as noted herein, shall be considered eligible
employees. For the purposes hereunder, eligible full-time employees
shall be defined to mean any persons who work in a budgeted position
20 or more hours per week and are paid from the General Fund and/or
bond funds.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § D)]
(a)
The City of Milford shall be liable to the Retirement Board for such
an amount on account of future pensions representing services of employees
rendered prior to the inception of the retirement systems as shall
be determined by the Board on sound actuarial principles. In lieu
of full payment initially of such an amount, the City shall pay periodically
such amounts as the Board shall determine as necessary to discharge
such liability over a definite period of not exceeding 30 years, provided
in no fiscal year shall the payment made on this account be less than
regular interest on the amount of such liability still outstanding.
(b)
The City shall also pay to the Retirement Board such amounts determined
by the Board on sound actuarial principles as necessary, in addition
to contributions of the employees, to provide future pensions on account
of service rendered by employees subsequent to the date upon which
each shall begin participation in the retirement system.
(c)
Subsidized employees.
(1)
However, in the instance of City employees who are participants
in state or federally subsidized, or combined state and federally
subsidized on-the-job training work experience and public service
employment programs which participate in the pension system, the City
shall first make payments into a reserve account established in the
specific federally funded program title for the actuarially determined
number of participants in that federally funded program title who
can be expected to obtain:
(2)
If a subsidized employee who participates in the retirement
system gains unsubsidized employment with the City, an amount representing
the City's pension contribution for said subsidized employee during
his subsidized employment calculated on the basis of the percentage
for City contributions set forth in the most recent City actuarial
report to the Retirement Board, shall be taken from the reserve account
in the program title under which the subsidized employee worked and
paid to the Retirement Board so that the time spent by the subsidized
employee under the subsidized program can be fully credited to his
retirement benefits.
(3)
If a subsidized employee who participates in the retirement
system achieves vesting, as is defined in this chapter, then an amount
representing the City's pension contribution for said subsidized employee
during his subsidized employment calculated on the basis of the percentage
for City contributions set forth in the most recent City actuarial
report to the Retirement Board shall be taken from the reserve account
in the program title under which the subsidized employee worked and
paid to the Retirement Board so that the time spent by the subsidized
employee under the subsidized program can be fully credited to his
retirement benefits.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § E); Ord. of 11-9-1992; Ord. of 12-7-1992, § 2]
(a)
In the event of termination of employment of an employee, the Board
shall pay to him or to his legal representative an amount equal to
his contributions plus regular interest thereon compounded annually.
(b)
In the event of the death of an employee prior to the effective date
of his retirement, the Board shall pay to the beneficiary named by
him, or to his legal representative if there is no living named beneficiary,
an amount equal to his contributions plus regular interest thereon
compounded annually. At the death of an employee subsequent to the
effective date of his retirement, the Board shall pay to the representative,
if there is no living named beneficiary, the amount of any excess
of his accumulated contributions plus regular interest thereon compounded
annually as of such effective date of retirement over pension payments
made to him.
(c)
In the event of the discontinuance of the retirement system, the
Board shall pay to the employee an amount equal to his contributions
plus regular interest thereon compounded annually.
(d)
In no event shall an employee have a vested interest in any funds
of the retirement system (except as herein provided] other than in
an amount equal to his contributions plus regular interest thereon
compounded annually. No return of contributions shall be made hereunder
in any case while payments are being made under any other provisions
of this act, and thereafter only the amount of excess of contributions
over such payments. The term "regular interest" shall, subsequent
to November 1, 1977, mean interest at an annual rate of 5%.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § E); Ord. of 11-9-1992; Ord. of 12-7-1992]
(a)
Eligibility for retirement for all City employees represented by either the Milford Police Union, the Milford Fire Union, the Milford Supervisors Association, the Milford Association of Educational Secretaries, the Milford Employees Association, the Milford Registered Professional Nurses Association, Locals 1566 and 2018, Council No. 4, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, and Cafeteria Workers, Local 217, Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union, AFL-CIO, (employees of the Public Works Department of the City of Milford and custodial and cafeteria workers of the Milford Board of Education) shall be governed by their respective pension agreements or binding arbitration awards with respect to pensions as same may be amended from time to time, along with the applicable provisions of state and federal law. Eligibility for retirement for all City employees affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Locals 1103 and 1109, and all City employees not represented by a union shall be governed by the provisions of Article III herein. Any such eligible member may retire from service by filing with the Retirement Board a written statement, duly attested, setting forth at what time subsequent to the date of filing thereof, but not later than 60 days subsequent to such date, he or she desires to be retired; or the Retirement Board may, upon receipt of a request from the Mayor, at its option retire any such eligible member for superannuation by furnishing him or her written notice thereof at least 60 days in advance of the specified date of such retirement.
(b)
"Continuous service," for the purpose of this chapter, shall mean
uninterrupted employment, but absence from employment for any reason,
followed by reinstatement within one year thereafter, shall not be
considered as breaking the continuity of the service. In case of absence
from employment for more than one year, the Retirement Board shall
determine the period within which the employee may return without
breaking the continuity of his service. Reinstatement of any employee
in the retirement system shall be conditioned upon such medical examination
as the Board may prescribe and upon payment to the retirement fund
of contributions previously withdrawn, together with such an amount
as will establish the proper actuarial reserve for that portion of
the annuity reinstated which was represented by the contributions
previously withdrawn. In computing years of service to determine eligibility
for retirement, no year shall be included in which the employee has
not seen actual service for at least nine months. The military service
of any member of the retirement system who entered the military service
from City employment and served in the Armed Forces of the United
States after December 7, 1941, shall not be considered as breaking
the continuity of his service if he returned to City employment within
six months after being eligible for honorable discharge from such
military service. Said period of military service shall also be considered
in computing pension benefits accruing to such members on the basis
of the member's salary during the military service if such employee
elects to repay to said fund any contributions withdrawn by him. The
City shall pay into the retirement fund an amount to be determined
on a sound actuarial basis for this purpose.
(c)
Subsidized employees.
(1)
Buy-back. Any subsidized employee who has participated in the
City retirement system, and who has had his pension contributions
refunded upon his termination as a subsidized employee and who is
subsequently appointed to a City-budgeted position shall be eligible
to receive credit for his time as a subsidized employee for the purposes
of calculating his continuous service as is defined in this chapter,
in the calculation of his pension benefits upon fulfillment of the
following conditions:
a.
Submission of a written application to the Retirement Board
by March 31, 1978, to buy in to the retirement system for that time
for which he was a subsidized employee;
b.
Full payment to the Retirement Board of the amount of his pension
contribution refunded to him upon his termination as a subsidized
employee;
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Said payment shall be in one lump sum in a check made payable
to the Pension and Retirement Board, the City of Milford, on or before
May 31, 1978.
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(2)
Date of entry into pension system. Any nonuniformed and/or noninvestigatory
subsidized employee appointed to a permanent, nonuniformed and/or
noninvestigatory position within the City government or any uniformed
and/or investigatory subsidized employee appointed to a permanent,
uniformed and/or investigatory budgeted position shall have the date
of his or her initial appointment under the subsidized program as
his or her permanent date of employment for entry into the pension
system provided there is no break in service between the subsidized
employment and appointment to the permanent budgeted position.
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Any nonuniformed and/or noninvestigatory subsidized employee
appointed to a permanent uniformed and/or investigatory budgeted position
or any uniformed and/or investigatory subsidized employee appointed
to a permanent nonuniformed and/or noninvestigatory position shall
have his or her date of appointment to the permanent budgeted position
as his or her date of employment for entry into the pension system,
provided there is no break in service between the subsidized employment
and the permanent appointment.
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[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § G)]
No action for amounts due under the provisions of this chapter
shall be brought but within six years after the right of action shall
accrue. Persons legally incapable of bringing an action when the right
shall accrue may sue at any time within three years next after becoming
legally capable of instituting suit. All amounts not claimed within
said period shall remain absolutely a part of the retirement fund.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § H]
The right of any person to a pension or to the return of contributions,
any benefit or right accrued or accruing to any person under the provisions
of this chapter and the cash and securities held under this act shall
be exempt from any state or municipal tax and exempt from levy and
sale, garnishment, attachment or any other process, and shall be unassignable.
[Ord. of 3-13-1978, § 1 (Art. I, § I]
The Retirement Board shall, within 90 days following the close
of the fiscal year, file with the City an annual report showing the
financial conditions of the retirement system as of the end of the
last completed fiscal year, and setting forth such other facts, recommendations
and data as may be of value to the members of the retirement system
and the City of Milford.
