[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
A Police Pension Fund, to be known as the "West Norriton Township
Police Pension Fund," is hereby established by West Norriton Township
for the benefit of such full-time employees of its police force as
shall receive honorable discharge therefrom by reason of age and service,
or disability, and the families of such as may be killed in the service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund shall be maintained by charges against
each member of the Police Department, by annual appropriations made
by West Norriton Township, by payments made by the State Treasurer
to the Township Treasurer from the monies received from taxes paid
upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance companies for purposes
of pension retirement for policemen, by the proceeds of appropriate
policies of insurance designed to protect the integrity of the Police
Pension Fund, and by gifts, grants, devises or bequests granted to
the Police Pension Fund by authority of § 703.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund is hereby authorized to take, by gift,
grant, devise or bequest, any money or property, real, personal or
mixed, in trust for the benefit of such fund; and the care, management,
investment and disposal of such trust funds or property shall be vested
in the Trustees of the West Norriton Township Police Pension Fund;
and the trust funds shall be governed thereby, subject to such directions,
not inconsistent therewith, as the donors of such funds and property
may prescribe.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund shall be under the direction of the
Board of Commissioners of West Norriton Township or such committee
or persons as the Board of Commissioners may from time to time designate
by resolution, who shall act as Trustees of the Pension Fund, and
such Trustees shall have full responsibility for the administration
of the program established hereunder and shall hold, invest, reinvest
and distribute all funds or property received pursuant hereto in trust
for the purposes of this Part 7A. The Trustees shall be subject to
such rules and regulations as may from time to time be adopted by
the Board of Commissioners by ordinance or resolution. The Trustees
shall have full power of authority by a majority action of its members,
either directly or through their designated representatives, to do
all acts, execute, acknowledge and deliver all instruments, and to
exercise, for the sole benefit of the participants hereunder, any
and all powers and discretion necessary to implement and effectuate
the purposes of this Part 7A, including, for purposes of illustration,
but not limited to any and all of the following:
A. To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received pursuant to this
Part 7A in such legal investments as may be authorized as legal investments
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
B. To enter into contacts or deposit agreements on behalf of West Norriton
Township with one or more insurance companies, in order to provide
the pension and other benefits herein set forth, and to pay the premiums
and deposits required by the purchase of said contracts;
C. To retain or purchase as an investment any form of annuity or contracts
of similar nature and to exercise, with respect thereto, any right
or incident of ownership;
D. To retain any property which may at any time become an asset of the
Fund, as long as said Trustees may deem it advisable; and
E. To make distribution of the monies in the fund in accordance with
the terms of this Part 7A.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Each police officer who is employed by West Norriton Township
on a full-time basis, who shall have a minimum period of total service
in the aggregate of 25 years with the Township, and who shall have
attained 50 years of age may retire or be retired and thereafter shall
receive pension or retirement benefits as hereinafter provided on
the first day of the month coincident with or next following the later
of his 50th birthday and completion of 25 years of service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any participant hired prior to January 1, 2000, who shall serve
as a police officer and who has completed 25 years of continuous service
shall be entitled to an additional monthly payment of $100 a month
for each year of service beyond 25 years, for each completed year
of service in excess of 25 years. Said service increment shall be
in addition to the monthly pension payment or other retirement benefits
to which the participant shall be entitled. Any per month increment
of $100 due to a participant for additional years of service, in addition
to language allowed under Act 600, shall be paid from the Police Pension
Fund. The length-of-service increment shall be capped at $100 for
officers hired on or after January 1, 2000.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. Any member who becomes permanently disabled as a result of a line-of-duty
injury or illness shall receive a disability benefit according to
the following schedule:
|
Length
|
Percentage of Compensation
|
---|
|
1st day through 24 months
|
100%
|
|
25th month through 48 months
|
90%
|
|
49th month through 60 months
|
80%
|
|
After 60th month
|
70%
|
2. The amount of the disability payments shall be based upon the member's
salary for the pay period immediately preceding the date of determination
of permanent injury. The amount of the disability payments hereunder
shall be reduced to the extent that the member receives payments based
on compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act or from any collateral
source funded or paid for by the Township or from any state-funded
plan. Benefits shall commence on the date the member is deemed by
the Pension Committee to be permanently disabled. Any member who receives
benefits for the same injuries under the Social Security Act (49 Stat.
620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) shall have this minimum disability
benefit offset or reduced by the amount of such benefits.
3. Disability Pension Benefits for DROP Participants. The disability pension and salary continuation benefits under § 707, Subsections
1 and
2, shall not be available to members who have entered the DROP Program. Rather, any member who participates in the DROP Program and who then applies for and receives a disability pension shall only be entitled to a disability pension equal to the monthly pension benefit payable upon his entry into the DROP Program, which shall not be increased under any circumstances.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The amount of pension or retirement benefits shall be computed
at 1/2 the monthly average salary, as defined below, of the participant
during the last 36 calendar months of employment. Such retirement
benefits shall be payable monthly during the balance of the participant's
life following actual retirement; and the benefits for any month shall
be computed as the sum of:
A. Any pension benefits from pension plans heretofore established by
a private organization or association for the members of the police
force, but only to the extent that the commonwealth or West Norriton
Township shall have contributed to such pension plan monies raised
by taxation; and
B. Benefits from the Pension Fund established hereunder to the extent
necessary to bring the total benefits in any month up to 1/2 of the
aforesaid monthly avenge salary.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
For the purposes of pension benefit calculations, the definition
of "monthly avenge salary" shall be based on an officer's date of
hire. For participants hired by the Township on or after January 1,
2000, "monthly average salary" shall include only base pay, longevity
pay, education incentive pay, and overtime pay paid to such participant
during the last 36 months immediately prior to retirement. For participants
hired prior to January 1, 2000, and only as to those participants,
"monthly average salary" shall include base pay, longevity pay, education
incentive pay, and overtime pay, as well as sellbacks of holiday,
personal and vacation time (but excluding sellback of sick leave),
paid to such participant during the last 36 months immediately prior
to retirement. Except as specifically provided herein, "monthly average
salary" shall not include variable pay and shall exclude all other
forms of compensation.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. The surviving spouse of a participant who retired prior to April
17, 2002, and who dies, or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives
and subsequently dies or remarries, then the child or children under
the age of 18 of such participant, shall receive 50% of the pension
the participant was receiving at the time of his or her death.
2. The surviving spouse of a participant who retired on or after April
17, 2002, 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 23
years, of such participant shall receive 50% of the pension the participant
was receiving at the time of his death.
3. The phrase "attending college" shall mean the eligible children are
registered at an accredited institution of higher learning and are
carrying a minimum courseload of seven credit hours per semester.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
When required by the Trustees, each member of the police force
shall pay into the Pension Fund monthly an amount up to 8% of all
forms of pensionable compensation, the Trustees to determine annually
the percentage to be paid in accordance with any applicable provisions
of the governing collective bargaining agreement. For purposes of
this § 713, "pensionable compensation" shall be defined
as all forms of compensation that are includable in a police officer's
pension calculation, as more fully described under § 709.
All such charges shall be deducted by the Township through payroll
deductions on a pretax basis. The remainder of the needed annual contribution
shall become the obligation of the Township and shall be paid by it
to the Pension Fund by annual appropriations.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Payments made by the State Treasurer to the Township Treasurer
from the monies received from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign
casualty insurance companies for purposes of pension retirement or
disability benefits for policemen shall be used as follows:
A. To reduce the unfunded liability and, after such liability has been
funded;
B. To apply against the annual obligation of the Township for future
service cost or, to the extent that the payment may be in excess of
such obligations;
C. To reduce member contributions.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
No person participating in the Police Pension Fund established
by this Part 7A who becomes entitled to receive a benefit therefrom
shall be deprived of his right to his accrued benefit upon the basis
of which he first became entitled thereto.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. Any member of the police force of the Township who for any reason
whatsoever shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having contributed
any charges to the Police Pension Fund established by this Part 7A
shall be entitled to a refund of all such monies paid by him into
the Police Pension Fund immediately upon discontinuance of his employment
with the Police Department. If such discontinuance is due to death,
such monies shall be paid to his designated beneficiary or, in the
absence thereof, to his estate.
2. Effective April 17, 2002, 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, then the
child or children under the age of 18 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 or other increases in
value of the member's investment in the Pension Fund, unless the member
has designated another beneficiary for this purpose.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any officer who ceases to be employed as a full-time police
officer by the Township of West Norriton prior to completing normal
retirement age and service requirements but after having completed
12 years of total service shall be entitled to vest his retirement
benefits by filing with the Secretary of the Township of West Norriton,
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 deferred,
monthly accrued pension determined by applying the percentage of his
years of service years to the years of service he would have rendered
had he continued to work until his normal retirement date to the gross
pension, using, however, the monthly average salary during the thirty-six-month
period prior to his termination of full-time employment. Such pension
or retirement benefits for any month shall be those benefits determined
in accordance with § 708 hereof to the extent necessary
to bring the total benefits of any month up to his partial superannuation
retirement allowance outlined above.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Township shall employ an approved actuary. The actuary shall
prepare and certify the actuarial valuation report, make cost estimates
prior to the adoption of any benefit plan modification, and perform
experienced investigations when needed. The actuary's tasks shall
be conducted in conformity with the requirements of the Municipal
Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act (Act 205) and related
regulations and guidelines.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The pension payments herein provided for shall not be subject
to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other legal process
and shall be payable only to the participant or his designated beneficiary.
No participant or beneficiary shall have any right to alienate, encumber
or assign any assets of the fund held by the Trustees on his behalf
or any of the benefits or payments or proceeds of any contract or
agreement purchased or acquired by the Township hereunder. Any contract
or agreement purchased or acquired pursuant to this Part 7A, upon
the life of such participant, shall contain a provision, in substance,
that, to the extent permitted by law, none of the benefits or payments
or proceeds of such contract or agreement shall be subject to any
legal process by any creditor of such participant or beneficiary of
such participant.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Benefit payments shall be charged to the Police Pension Fund.
Expenses of administering the Police Pension Fund, which are directly
associated with the plan, which are necessary, reasonable and which
benefit the plan, including the compensation of the actuary, shall
be paid from the assets of the Pension Fund. Disbursements of such
administrative expenses shall be documented in sufficient detail to
satisfy the Office of the Auditor General.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Pension payments made under the provisions of this Part 7A shall
not be a charge on any other fund in the Treasury of the Township
or under its control, except the Police Pension Fund herein provided
for.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any member of the police force employed by West Norriton Township
who has served in the Police Department, on a full-time basis, for
a period of at least six months and who shall thereafter enter into
the military service of the United States shall have credited to his
employment record, for pension or retirement benefits, any of the
time spent by him in such military service, if such person returns
to his employment within six months after his separation from the
military service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the plural
shall include the singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine,
and vice versa, wherever used in this Part 7A.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
BENEFICIARY
The individual identified by a police officer to receive
the contents of an officer's DROP account in the event of the death
of an officer during the period in which the officer is participating
in the DROP but before the officer separates from employment.
DROP
Deferred Retirement Option Plan.
DROP ACCOUNT
A separate account created to accept DROP participants' monthly
pension checks while a DROP participant.
FUND or PLAN
The Police Pension Plan for West Norriton Township.
2. Eligibility. As of the effective date of this Part 7A, police officers
who have not retired prior to the implementation of the DROP Program
may enter into DROP on the first day of any month following completion
of 25 years of credited service and attaining the age of 50. Police
officers who have elected to receive a disability pension prior to
entering the DROP Program shall be ineligible and deemed to have waived
the option of participating in DROP.
3. Written Election.
A. A police officer electing to participate in the DROP must complete
and file with the Township Manager a drop option form, prepared by
the Township, which shall evidence the officer's participation in
the DROP. The form must be signed by the participant and notarized
and submitted to the Township prior to the date on which the participant
wishes the DROP option to be effective. The DROP option notice shall
include an irrevocable notice to the Township, by the participant,
that the participant shall resign from employment with the West Norriton
Township Police Department effective on a specific date (the "resignation
date"). In no event shall the resignation date be shorter than 12
months or longer than 36 months from the execution of the DROP option
form. An officer shall cease to work as a police officer on the officer's
resignation date, unless the Township terminates or honorably discharges
the officer prior to the resignation date.
B. In addition, all retirement documents required by the Police Pension
Plan Administrator and by the custodian and/or manager of DROP assets
must be signed, filed and presented to the Township for approval of
retirement and payment of pension. Once a retirement application has
been approved by the Township, it is irrevocable. The documentation
that must be executed before a police officer may participate in the
program shall include a provision releasing the Township from any
liability with regard to investment and other losses and shall contain
an acknowledgement that any fees, commissions and administrative costs
attributable to DROP participation shall be the sole and exclusive
responsibility of the police officer.
C. As a condition precedent to participation in DROP, the officer must
acknowledge and agree to hold the Township harmless for any consequences
of the officer's decision to participate in DROP, including but not
limited to any tax consequences or implications of DROP participation
and/or any monetary loss incurred as the result of DROP participation.
4. Pension Contributions. A police officer shall not be required to
make any contributions to the fund during his/her DROP period.
5. Limitation on Pension Accrual. After the effective date of the DROP
option, the police officer shall no longer earn or accrue additional
years of continuous service for pension purposes.
6. Benefit Calculation. For all retirement fund purposes, the length
of service of a police officer participating in the DROP shall remain
as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation
in the DROP. Service thereafter shall not be recognized or used for
the calculation or determination of any benefits payable by the Police
Pension Plan of West Norriton Township. The monthly average salary
of the Police Officer for pension calculation purposes shall remain
as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation
in the DROP. Earnings or increases in earnings thereafter shall not
be recognized or used for the calculation or determination of any
benefits payable by the Pension Plan.
7. Payments to the DROP Account. The monthly retirement benefits that
would have been payable had the police officer elected to cease employment
and receive a normal retirement benefit shall, upon the police officer
commencing participation in DROP, be paid into the separate account
established to receive the participant's monthly pension payments.
Such account shall be an individual subaccount of the pension plan
set up in each DROP participant's name. This account shall be designated
the DROP account. An individual officer's DROP account shall be a
self-directed investment vehicle, with the officer having exclusive
control over the investment of his or her DROP account monies. The
Township shall have no responsibility, and makes no guarantee, for
the performance of any investments made by the officer, nor shall
the Township guarantee or be required to guarantee that an officer's
DROP account generate a specific amount of earnings, interest, or
income or any earnings, interest or income at all. Any investment
losses occurring in an officer's DROP account shall be the sole and
exclusive responsibility of the officer, and the Township shall have
no liability or responsibility for the same. Likewise, the Township's
establishment of a DROP shall not be construed to endorse any retirement
vehicle, investment manager, fund, stock or other investment, nor
shall the DROP be construed as providing tax advice or other information
to retirees. By entering into the DROP, each participating officer
holds the Township harmless for any tax, investment, financial or
other consequences of the DROP program or the officer's participation
therein. As a condition of DROP participation, each officer acknowledges
that investing funds involves the risk of loss and that he/she should
consult a professional prior to making any decisions.
8. Accrual of Nonpension Benefits. After a police officer elects to
participate in the DROP program, all other contractual benefits shall
continue to accrue, with the exception of those provisions relating
to the Police Pension Plan. A police officer may utilize available
paid leave time during the DROP period.
9. Payout. Upon the resignation date set forth in the police officer's
drop option notice or such date as the Township separates the participant
from employment, the retirement benefits payable to the police officer
or the police officer's designated beneficiary, if applicable, shall
be paid to the police officer or beneficiary and shall no longer be
paid to the police officer's deferred retirement option account. Within
30 days following termination of a police officer's employment pursuant
to his/her participating in the DROP program, or as soon as practical
thereafter, the balance in the police officer's DROP account shall
be paid to the police officer in a single lump-sum payment or, at
the police officer's option, in any manner permitted by law. By participating
in the DROP, each officer agrees to hold the Township harmless for
any tax or other consequences flowing from the officer's disposition
of the payout under this section.
10. Disability During DROP.
A. If a police officer becomes temporarily incapacitated during his
participation in DROP, that police officer shall continue to participate
in the DROP Program as if fully employed. The police officer shall
receive any disability pay to which he may be entitled in the same
amount (or not at all) as disabled police officers that are not participating
in DROP. In no event shall a police officer on temporary disability
have the ability to draw from his DROP account.
B. If a police officer becomes permanently disabled during the DROP
period, the officer shall be honorably discharged from employment
and may obtain the contents of his DROP account. Thereafter, if the
underlying condition is the result of a work-related injury, the police
officer shall receive a disability pension benefit equal to the pension
benefit as calculated upon his entry into the DROP Program. This disability
pension benefit shall be in lieu of any other disability pension benefit
or salary continuation that may be available to officers who have
not elected to enter DROP.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision in this subsection, if a police
officer is disabled and has not returned to work as of his required
resignation date, then such resignation shall take precedence over
all other provisions herein, and said officer shall be required to
resign.
11. Death. If a DROP participant dies before the DROP account balances
are paid, the participant's designated beneficiary shall have the
same rights as the police officer to withdraw or direct the account
balance. If a DROP participant is killed in the line of duty, the
participant's survivors, as that term is utilized under Act 600, shall
receive the killed-in-service benefit. However, under those circumstances,
any amounts in the participant's DROP account at the time of his/her
death must be returned to the Township's Police Pension Fund; and,
with the exception of the killed-in-service benefit, no other pension
benefit will be paid to the participant's account or his/her beneficiary.
12. Forfeiture of Benefits. Notwithstanding a police officer's participation
in the DROP Plan, a police officer who is convicted or pleads guilty
to engaging in criminal misconduct which constitutes a "crime related
to public office or public employment," as that phrase is defined
in Pennsylvania's Pension Forfeiture Act, 43 P.S. §§ 1311-1314,
and interpreted thereunder, shall forfeit his right to receive a pension,
including any amounts currently deposited in the DROP account. In
such a case, the police officer shall only be entitled to receive
the contributions, if any, made by the police officer to the fund,
without interest.
13. Amendment. Any amendments to the DROP Ordinance shall be consistent
with the provisions covering deferred retirement option plans set
forth in any applicable collective bargaining agreement and shall
be binding upon all future DROP participants and upon all DROP participants
who have balances in their deferred retirement option accounts. The
DROP Plan may only be amended by a written instrument, not by any
oral agreement or past practice.
14. Effect of Provisions. A police officer's election to participate
in the DROP program shall in no way be construed as a limitation on
the Township's right to suspend, demote or to terminate a police officer
for just cause or to grant the police officer an honorable discharge
based upon a physical or mental inability to perform his or her duties.
15. Change in Law. In the event that the DROP provision is declared invalid
or illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction or through an administrative
determination of the Office of the Auditor General, the police officers
shall have the right to bargain in accordance with Act 111 over deletion
of this benefit. It is expressly understood that any such bargaining
shall not involve bargaining over a replacement provision.