[Adopted 6-11-1997 by Ord. No. 1997-7]
The City of Pittston may, under the provisions of the Act of
May 23, 1945, P.L. 903, as amended,[1] an Act authorizing cities of the third class to establish
an optional retirement system for officers and employees, create and
hereby does create an Officers and Employees Retirement System, under
the conditions and subject to the qualifications following.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 39371 et seq.
The following words and phrases, unless a different meaning
is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meanings:
Officers and Employees Retirement Board.
The City of Pittston.
Retirement allowance or compensation.
A person in the service of the City, who is either or who
is not now adequately protected under all circumstances by pensions
authorized by the laws of this commonwealth and in force at the time
of the passage of this article.
Officers and Employees Retirement Fund.
The masculine and feminine pronouns.
A City employee who shall have become a member of the retirement
system subsequent to the last date permitted by such City for statement
of preference concerning social security coverage or who, having become
a member on or before such date, shall have filed with the Retirement
Board a written statement that he or she elects social security coverage
under an agreement with the Federal Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare entered into by the commonwealth.
A person elected or appointed to City service.
The employee pension shall be calculated using the monthly
or five-year average salary as follows:
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
MONTHLYAny employee who retires during the course of any year shall do so effective the 1st of the month. He/she can use the monthly taxable wages (as defined in this section) paid during the last calendar month prior to retiring for pension calculation.
FIVE-YEAR AVERAGEAn employee who for some unforeseen reason is at a lower pay scale than at some time in his/her career with the City has the option of using the average salary (as defined in this section) of the five highest years of employment with the City.
An officer or employee of the City.
The definition of the term "salary" shall be either of the
following two definitions:
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
MONTHLY SALARYThe total taxable amount paid to an employee during any calendar month. This would include the regular fixed scheduled salary (all W-2 wages), but specifically excludes other taxable pay such as vacation buyback, sick day buyback, compensatory pay and personal leave pay.
FIVE-YEAR AVERAGE EARNINGSThe average of the highest five years of annual earnings as taken from the employee's W-2 wages less any vacation buyback, sick day buyback, compensatory pay and personal leave pay.
A City employee who shall have become a member of the retirement
system on or before the last date permitted by such City for statement
or preference concerning social security coverage and who either shall
have filed with the Retirement Board a written statement that he or
she does not elect social security coverage under any agreement with
the Federal Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare entered into
by the commonwealth or shall not have filed with the Retirement Board
any written statement.
The twelve-year vesting in § 68-4E will extend to all sections which previously required 20 years for vesting and vesting-type benefits.
Includes any time, not exceeding six years, spent by the
employee on active duty with the armed forces of the United States,
providing that he received an honorable discharge or a certificate
of satisfactory service and he pays to the Board an amount equal to
3% of his last monthly salary or wage prior to entering on active
duty for each month he is not employed by the City because of his
active duty with the armed forces.
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3; 3-19-2014 by Ord. No.
2014-4]
A.
Establishment. The Nonuniform Pension Fund shall be under the direction
and control of a Board of Managers, composed of both voting and nonvoting
members.
B.
Composition:
(1)
Five
voting members, to include:
(a)
The
Mayor;
(b)
One
member of the City Council;
(c)
The
City Controller; and
(d)
Two
members of the nonuniformed departments and offices, to be chosen
by the members of the nonuniformed offices and departments contributing
to the retirement fund, of which there shall be no more than one member
from a particular office or department; and
C.
Method of
appointment.
(1)
City
Council member. The City Council shall designate its member by resolution.
(2)
Nonuniformed
departments and offices members. Of the first Managers so chosen by
the nonuniformed offices and departments, one shall be chosen for
a term of two years and one for a term of four years. Biennially thereafter,
one Manager shall be chosen for a term of four years to take the place
of the Manager whose term expires. In the case of a vacancy among
the Managers chosen by the members of the nonuniformed offices and
departments, a successor shall be chosen by such members for the remainder
of the unexpired term.
A.
Every person now or hereafter elected or appointed to an office of
or employed by the City of the age 60 years and upwards who shall
have served as an officer or employee for a period of 20 years or
more shall, upon application to the Board, be retired from service
and shall, during the remainder of his life, receive the compensation
fixed by this article, subject to such qualifications as are hereinafter
contained.
(1)
If any person shall have served 20 years and voluntarily retires,
he shall, by continuing his contributions until the age of 55, be
entitled to the above compensation at age 60.
(2)
During the lifetime of any such person, he shall be entitled to receive
as compensation annually, from the fund set aside for the purpose,
50% of the amount which would constitute the highest average annual
salary or wages which he earned during any five years of his service
for the City or which would be determined by the rate of the monthly
pay of such person at the date of retirement, whichever is the higher.
Said compensation is to be paid in semimonthly payments.
B.
Persons employed for less than 20 years.
(1)
Where an officer or employee shall have served for 12 years or more
and shall have attained the age of 60 years, and his tenure of office
or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action before
the expiration of 20 years of service, he shall, in such event, during
the remainder of his life, be entitled to receive such portion of
the full compensation as the period of his service up to the date
of its termination bears to the full twenty-year period of service;
where an officer or employee shall have served for 12 years or more
and shall not have attained the age of 60 years, and his tenure of
office or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action
before the expiration of 20 years of service, he shall, in such event,
during the remainder of his life, after attaining the age of 60 years,
be entitled to receive such portion of the full compensation as the
period of his service up to the date of its termination bears to the
full twenty-year period of service; where an officer or employee has
served for 20 years or more, and his tenure of office or employment
shall be terminated without his voluntary action, then he shall be
entitled to full compensation for the remainder of his life, after
attaining the age of 55, and conditioned upon his continuing his contributions
into the fund at the same rate as when he was dismissed until he attains
the age of 55.
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
(2)
Should an officer or employee, however, become so permanently disabled
as to render him unable to perform the duties of his position or office
after 15 years of service, and before attaining the age of 55 years,
he shall be entitled to full compensation during such disability.
Proof of such disability shall consist of the sworn statement of three
practicing physicians, designated by the Board, that the employee
is in a condition of health which would permanently disable him from
performing the duties of his position or office. Such person shall
thereafter be subject to physical examination at any reasonable time
or times, upon order of the Board, and upon his refusal to submit
to any such examination, his compensation shall cease.
C.
Where the City has entered into an agreement with the commonwealth to place certain employees under the Federal Social Security Act, the compensation to be paid joint coverage members according to the provisions of Subsections A and B of this section, payable after the age and upon that portion of annual compensation on which social security benefits are payable, shall be reduced by an amount equal to 40% of the primary insurance amount of social security paid or payable to the member. Such reduction shall be subject to the following provisions:
(1)
Upon attainment of the age at which social security benefits are payable by a beneficiary receiving compensation according to the provisions of Subsections A and B of this section or upon retirement of a contributor after attaining that age, his eligibility to the old age insurance benefit and the primary insurance amount of social security, upon which the reduction in the compensation shall be based, shall be computed by the Board in the manner specified in the Federal Social Security Act, except that, in determining such eligibility and such amount, only wages or compensation for services performed in the employ of the City shall be included.
(2)
The reduction shall not apply to compensation for total and permanent disability payable under Subsection B of this section.
(3)
Whenever the amount of the reduction from the compensation shall
have been once determined, it shall remain fixed for the duration
of the compensation, except that any decrease in the primary insurance
amount under the Social Security Act shall result in a corresponding
decrease in the amount of the reduction from the compensation.
(4)
The total sum, including social security benefits, to be received
upon retirement by an employee who is a member of the system at the
time of the agreement shall not be less than the compensation that
would be paid upon the retirement system in the absence of the agreement.
(5)
Where the City has entered into an agreement with the commonwealth to place certain employees under the Federal Social Security Act, the Retirement Board may authorize any joint coverage member of the retirement system to elect, according to the provisions of this subsection, to receive compensation without the reduction provided for in Subsection C of this section, provided he shall make a lump sum payment to the Retirement Board equal to the difference between the amount of the accumulated fund to his credit in the fund as of the last date for which salary or wages were paid and the amount which would have been to his credit in such fund if contributions had been made on that portion of his salary or wages on which social security allowances are payable at the same rate as made on the portion of his salary or wages in excess thereof from the time that such salary or wages became subject to social security coverage. Such election shall be made in writing, in the form prescribed by the Retirement Board, and shall be accompanied by the lump sum payment herein required. The Retirement Board may authorize any such member to make the election herein provided at any time, and if made prior to retirement, such member shall, in addition to any lump sum payments required, pay to the Board contributions on his entire salary or wages thereafter received at the rate provided in § 68-12 of this article for monthly salary or wages in excess of that on which social security allowances are payable.
D.
The widow or widower of an employee who retires on pension or, being
eligible for pension but still employed full-time, dies or is killed
in the service on or after January 1, 1960, shall, during her or his
lifetime or so long as she or he does not remarry, be entitled to
receive a pension calculated at the rate of 50% of the pension the
employee was receiving or would have been receiving had he or she
been retired at the time of his or her death. Any employee who is
unmarried at the time Council elects to make payments to widows or
widowers of employees may elect, within 30 days after the adoption
of this article, not to have a widow or widower receive such payments,
and the employee shall not be responsible for payments to secure such
coverage.
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
E.
It is further enacted that, in addition to the vesting of said pension
as outlined above, there is established a vested benefit where an
officer or employee who has served for 12 years or more and shall
have attained the age of 60 years and his tenure of office or employment
shall be terminated without his voluntary action before the expiration
of 20 years of his life, after attaining the age of 60 years, shall
be entitled to receive such portion of the full compensation as the
period of this service up to date of its termination bears to the
full twenty-year period of service.
[Added 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
A.
The Board may, subject to the approval required under Subsection B, increase the compensation of any member of the fund by reason of and after the termination of the services of such member of the fund. Such increases shall be in conformity with a uniform scale, which shall be based on the consumer price index for all urban consumers calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, but the total of any such allowance shall not at any time exceed 1/2 of the current salary being paid to nonuniformed employees of the highest pay grade.
B.
The Board may recommend the increase described in Subsection A to the City Council at any time. Provided that the provisions of Section 305 of the Act of December 18, 1984 (P.L. 1005, No. 205), known as the "Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act,"[1] have been satisfied, the Council, by ordinance, may approve
this increase; subject, however, to the approval of the Mayor.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 895.101 et seq.
A.
The officers and employees of any City creating such fund and Board
shall, upon the acceptance of this article, pay unto said Board monthly
an amount equal to 3% of their monthly salaries or wages, and if the
Council elects to make such payments, an additional amount not to
exceed 1% if deemed necessary by the Council to provide sufficient
funds for payments to widows and widowers of members retired on pension
or killed in the service, except as hereinafter provided concerning
laborers, which shall be applied to the purpose of this article.
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
B.
If any compensation be granted to a person who has not been a contributor
to the fund, as herein provided, for an aggregate period of 20 years,
such person shall be required to pay unto the Board for the benefit
of the fund, monthly, an amount equal to 3% of his compensation until
such time as his contribution shall have been extended to a period
of 20 years.
C.
Any person who has served for a period of less than 20 years and
who has not reached the age of 55 years and who shall cease to be
in the service of the City shall be entitled only to the return of
his total contribution to the fund without interest.
D.
If for any cause any person contributing to the fund who has served
less than 12 years shall cease to be in the service of the City, he
shall become entitled to the total amount of the contributions paid
into the fund by him, without interest. Any person, who has served
for a period of less than 20 years and who has not reached the age
of 55 years and who voluntarily retires from such service shall be
entitled only to the return of his total contributions to the fund
without interest.
[Amended 12-12-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-3]
No person holding a position in any City as an employee, at
a per diem wage, shall be compelled to pay or contribute toward the
fund herein provided for, but he shall have the option or choice of
so doing, and shall only, upon electing to contribute to the fund,
become entitled to the compensation provided by this article; provided,
however, that he shall be required to contribute 3% of his wages and
the same percentage upon any amount of compensation he receives after
his retirement.
All officers and employees, except elected officers, eligible
for full pension hereunder shall retire at the age of 70 years.
The head of every department and office employing persons entitled
under the provisions of this article to receive compensation shall
certify to the Board all persons so employed, and the amount of salary
or wages which are paid to said employed, together with dismissals,
resignations or terminations of service, and from the records of their
office or department shall furnish such other relative information
as the Board shall require.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Board to receive and retain and, when
deemed advisable, to invest the funds payable in accordance with the
provisions of this article and to pay over, by warrant or check, the
amount due to said officers and employees or to designate a trustee
to do so.
B.
The Board may, at its discretion, commit the fund to the custody
and management of a trustee or trustees having offices located in
the City to manage the fund in the best welfare of the said fund.
The agreement of management between the Board and the trustee or trustees
shall be approved by the City Council. Any trustee or trustees entering
into a management agreement with the Board shall be entitled to reasonable
compensation for their said management, which compensation shall be
paid from the pension fund herein.
The Council of the City of Pittston shall annually set aside,
apportion and appropriate out of all taxes and income of such City
unto the Board a sum sufficient to maintain the compensation due under
this article and any additional amount deemed necessary to provide
sufficient funds for payments to widowers of members retired on pension
or killed in the service.
A.
Where the City has entered into an agreement with the commonwealth to place its employees under the Federal Social Security Act, the Board shall appoint an actuary and may fix his compensation. The actuary shall determine the present value of the liability on account of pensions payable under the provision of § 68-4 of this article to employees who are members of the system on the effective date of the agreement and shall offset the value of any assets in the pension fund to determine the unfunded liability. The City may make such payments as it desires towards the unfunded liability until the accumulated reserve equals the present value of the liability. The actuary shall also determine the amount which shall be contributed, annually, into the fund on account of service of all new and original members subsequent to the date of the agreement.
B.
Officers and employees shall pay to the Board, monthly, an amount equal to 3 1/2% of that portion of monthly compensation on which social security allowances are payable and 5% of any monthly compensation in excess of that on which social security allowances are payable. The remainder of the needed annual contribution for service subsequent to the date of the agreement, as determined by the actuary, shall become the obligation of the City and shall be paid by it to the Board by annual appropriations. The provisions of this section shall, in all applicable cases, supersede the provisions relating to contributions in §§ 68-6 and 68-11 of this article.
A.
The benefits conferred by this article shall apply to all persons
employed in any capacity by or holding positions in the City in accordance
with its provisions, except as hereinafter provided.
B.
All full-time salaried employees are hereby required to become a
member of the fund. Per diem officers and employees are hereby required
to become a member of the fund within 90 days from the date of this
article or within 90 days of their employment, whichever is later.
Otherwise, any per diem officer and employee now employed or who may
hereafter become employed by the City neglecting to become a member
of the fund within said specified time forfeits any and all rights
to said membership and shall become ineligible for future membership
in said fund.
C.
Part-time
salaried officers and employees may waive their right to membership
in the fund, provided that said waiver is executed within 90 days
of the enactment of this article or within 90 days of their employment,
whichever is later. Otherwise, part-time salaried officers and employees
shall be members of the fund. A "part-time salaried officer and employee"
is defined as any officer or employee whose annual salaried compensation
is budgeted for less than $6,000.
The time of service herein specified shall be computed from
the time of the first or original service to the City and need not
be continuous. No compensation shall be paid under the provisions
of this article, however, until after January 1, 1977.
The compensation herein mentioned shall not be subject to attachment
or execution and shall be payable only to the beneficiary designed
by this article and shall not be subject to assignment or transfer.
[Amended 3-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-4]
Payments of pensions under this article shall not be a charge
on any fund in the treasury of the City or under its control, save
the Nonuniform Pension Fund provided for in this article. The City
Council shall, upon recommendation of the Board of Managers, and in
accordance with Act 44 of 2009,[1] appoint a trustee by resolution for the Nonuniform Pension
Plan to receive from the City any allocation received by the City
of Pittston from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, from the City of
Pittston itself, from nonuniformed employees and from gifts, grants,
devises or bequests made pursuant to this article and shall invest
such funds in the manner it deems beneficial to the fund so as to
provide retirement and other benefits as shall be required by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and this article where it
shall be established from time to time by resolution of the City Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 895.101 et seq.
