There is hereby established a Police Pension Fund for the benefit of all full-time police officers (the "participants"), under the control of the Board of Commissioners. The initial amount of this fund shall be set by the Board of Commissioners based on an allocation from the Foreign Fire Insurance Tax Fund. The initial amount of the fund shall be the full amount of the existing Police Pension Fund as of the date of the transfer and assumption of liability described in Article I herein.
[Amended 3-14-2002 by Ord. No. 391; 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
A. 
Any participant in this plan shall be eligible to receive the retirement benefits described hereinafter upon obtaining the age of 50 years and completing a minimum of 25 years of service to the Township. For purposes of this plan, service to the Township shall include any period of voluntary or involuntary military service with the armed forces of the United States of America, provided that the participant has been employed as a full-time Police Officer of the Township for a period of at least six months immediately prior to the period of military service; and the participant returns to employment within six months following his discharge from military service or within such longer period during which his employment rights are guaranteed by applicable law or under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the Township.
B. 
Early retirement. If a participant retires or terminates employment with the Township prior to the minimum age and service requirements specified in § 30-10A, the participant shall be entitled to an immediate early retirement benefit if the participant had completed at least 20 years of service with the Township (to be calculated as provided in Subsection A above). The early retirement benefit shall be equal to the actuarial equivalent of the partial retirement allowance determined under § 30-11, Vesting. The actuarial equivalent shall mean two forms of payment of equal actuarial present value on a specified date. The factors to be used in determining the actuarial equivalent shall be the actuarial assumptions reported in the last actuarial valuation report filed with the Public Employees' Retirement Commission under Act 205.
Should a participant, before completing the retirement age and minimum service requirements described herein but after having completed 12 years of total service, for any reason cease to be employed as a full-time police officer in the Township, he shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits by filing with the Township within 90 days of the date he ceases to be a full-time police officer a written notice of his intention to vest. Upon reaching the date which would have been his normal retirement date if he had continued to be employed as a full-time police officer, he shall be paid a partial retirement allowance, determined by applying the percentage his years of service bears to the years of service he would have rendered had he continued to work into his normal retirement date.
The Township shall pay a monthly pension benefit to any eligible plan participant who meets the minimum age requirement and has completed the minimum period of service requirement described herein in an amount equal to 1/2 the monthly average salary of such participant computed on the basis of the last 36 months of employment.
A. 
Cost-of-living increases. Commencing in the first month of the second full year that an employee is receiving retirement benefits under this plan, the employee shall be entitled to a cost-of-living increase based on the Consumer Price Index. These cost-of-living increases shall not exceed in the aggregate the lesser of 30% of the original benefit or 75% of the final average salary. No cost-of-living increase shall be granted which would impair the actuarial soundness of the pension fund.
[Amended 1-13-2011 by Ord. No. 431]
B. 
Employee contributions. Each employee covered by this plan shall annually contribute an amount up to 5% of his or her gross annual compensation to the pension fund. The Township Commissioners may, on an annual basis by resolution, reduce or eliminate payments into the fund by members. Reduction or elimination of member contributions shall not permit the return of contribution or any interest or fund earnings to be made to members while actively employed.
[Amended 12-29-2005 by Ord. No. 411]
[Amended 10-12-2017 by Ord. No. 463]
All retirement benefits provided by this plan shall be funded and paid by the general assets of the Police Pension Plan Fund.
A. 
Employee benefit. Except as provided hereinafter, the last payment due with respect to any employee receiving a retirement benefit shall be the payment due on or most recently preceding the date of the employee's death.
B. 
The surviving spouse of a member of the police force or a member who retires on pension who dies, or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, then the child or children under the age of 18 years or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of twenty-three years, of a member of the police force or a member who retires on pension who dies, shall, during her lifetime in the case of a surviving spouse or until reaching the age of 18 years or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years in the case of a child or children, be entitled to receive a pension calculated at 50% of the pension the member was receiving, or would have been receiving, had he been retired at the time of his death. ("Attending college" shall mean the eligible children are registered at an accredited institution of higher learning and are carrying a minimum course load of at least 7 credit hours per semester.)
[Amended 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
C. 
Death while eligible for retirement. If an employee who is eligible for retirement dies before commencing his retirement, then the surviving spouse or, if the employee is not survived by a spouse, the minor children of the employee shall be entitled to receive a monthly benefit equal to what the surviving spouse or minor children would have received under Subsection B hereinabove had the employee commenced his retirement.
D. 
Death after vesting but prior to eligibility for retirement. If an employee dies after his pension rights have vested but before he is eligible for retirement, then upon the date that the employee would have been eligible for retirement, the employee’s surviving spouse, or child or children under the age of 18, or, if attending college, under the age of 23 if he is not survived by a spouse, shall receive a monthly benefit equal to 50% of the partial retirement allowance the employee would have received, determined by applying the percentage his years of service to the years of service he would have rendered had he continued to work to his normal retirement date, for the respective time periods described in Subsections B and C hereinabove.
[Amended 5-7-1997 by Ord. No. 359; 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
[Amended 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
Any employee who receives an honorable discharge by reason of an in-service disability shall be eligible for a disability pension equal to 50% of his normal salary at the time of his disability. This amount shall be offset by any amounts payable by reason of workmens’ compensation, social security benefits or any other insurance received for, or resulting from, the same injury or injuries.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 30-15.1, Killed in service benefit, added 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409, was repealed 11-14-2013 by Ord. No. 438, retroactive to 10-9-2009.
[Added 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
The surviving spouse of a member of the police force who dies before his pension has vested or, if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, the child or children under the age of 18 years, or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, of the member of the police force shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the member invested in the pension fund plus interest of 3.5% or other increases in value of the member’s investment in the pension fund, unless the member has designated another beneficiary for this purpose.
[Added 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409; amended 12-29-2005 by Ord. No. 411]
Any member of the Township Police Department who, for any reason whatsoever, shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having contributed any charges to a police pension fund established pursuant to the provisions of Act 30, or to a police pension fund existing on the effective date of Act 30 supplanted by a police pension fund established pursuant to the provisions of Act 30, shall be entitled to a refund of all such monies paid by him or her into such funds plus 3.5% interest earned by such monies while in the police pension fund, less any return of contributions and interest made to members pursuant to Section 6 of Act 30, as determined by regulations of the governing body, immediately upon discontinuance of his or her employment with the police force. If such discontinuance is due to death and the pension rights have not vested, such monies shall be paid to the surviving spouse. If no spouse survives or if the spouse survives and later dies, the member's children under the age of 18 years, or if attending college, under the age of 23 years, shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the member has invested plus 3.5% interest, unless the member has designated another beneficiary. If the member has no surviving spouse or children and no designated beneficiary, the money shall be paid to his estate. The pension fund will retain all amounts greater than $1,000 unless the participant consents to the distribution for the amount greater than $1,000. The fund will continue to distribute benefits of $1,000 or less without the participant's consent.
[Added 4-14-2005 by Ord. No. 409]
A. 
Any member of the Township Police Force who has been a regularly appointed employee of any such police department for a period of at least six months and who thereafter shall enter into the military service of the United States shall have credited to his employment record for pension or retirement benefits all of the time spent by him in such military service, if such person returns or has heretofore returned to his employment within six months after his separation from the service.
B. 
Any member of the Township Police Force shall be eligible to receive service credit for intervening military service, provided that he is not entitled to receive, eligible to receive now or in the future or is receiving retirement benefits for such service under a retirement system administered and wholly or partially paid for by any other governmental agency, with the exception of a member eligible to receive or receiving military retirement pay earned by a combination of active duty and nonactive duty with a reserve or national guard component of the armed forces, which retirement pay is payable only upon the attainment of a specified age and period of service under 10 U.S.C. Ch. 67 (relating to retired pay for nonregular service).