[Ord. No. 2010-002, 8/11/2010]
Effective as of August 9, 2006, the accompanying joinder agreement
and the terms of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs Master
Retirement Trust are hereby adopted by the employer, to be known as
the "Borough of Wesleyville Police Pension Plan," and that said plan
shall be deemed to be a successor to and a continuation of the prior
plan.
[Ord. No. 2010-002, 8/11/2010]
All ordinances or resolutions or parts of ordinances or resolutions,
insofar as they are inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed and
rescinded.
[Ord. No. 2010-002, 8/11/2010]
In the event any provision, section, sentence, clause or part
of this Part shall be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not
affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sections, sentences
clauses or parts of this Part, it being the intent of the Borough
that the remainder of this Part shall be and shall remain in full
force and effect.
[Ord. No. 2010-002, 8/11/2010]
This Part shall take effect and be in force from and after its
enactment, as provided by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Ord. No. 2018-11, 3/28/2018]
1. Title. This section shall be known as the "Borough of Wesleyville
Police Act 44 Retirement Program."
2. Definitions. When used in this section, the below words shall have
the meaning indicated:
Act 44 Program ACCOUNT
Separate ledger account created to accept Act 44 Program
participants' monthly pension benefit while an Act 44 Program
participant, as well as any interest thereon.
BOROUGH
Borough of Wesleyville, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
DROP
Deferred retirement option program.
PARTICIPANT
A police officer who meets the eligibility for and has executed
the proper documents for participation in the Act 44 Program and has
had such application approved by the Borough.
3. Eligibility. Eligibility for the Act 44 Program shall be determined
as follows:
A. Police officers who have not retired prior to the implementation
of the Act 44 Program may enter into the Act 44 Program on the first
day of the month following completion of 25 years of credited service
and attaining the age of 50; i.e., superannuation date.
4. Written Election. Eligible Officers who wish to be participants in
the Act 44 Program must signify that intention, in writing, as follows:
A. A police officer electing to participate in the Act 44 Program must
complete and execute an Act 44 Program participation election form
prepared by the Borough, which shall evidence the member's election
to participate in the Act 44 Program. The form must be signed by the
police officer and be notarized and submitted to the Borough Secretary.
The Act 44 Program participation election form shall include an irrevocable
notice to the Borough, by the police officer member, that the police
officer shall resign from employment with the Police Department effective
on a specific date (the "resignation date") that is no later than
five years from the effective date of Act 44 Program election form.
A police officer shall cease to work as and may no longer be employed
as a police officer on the officer's resignation date, unless
the Borough properly terminates or honorably discharges the officer
prior to the resignation date. A participant may resign from employment
while in Act 44 Program status, which shall terminate his/her participation
in the Act 44 Program.
B. In addition to the above information, the Act 44 Program participation
election form shall also advise the employee of the following: an
explanation of the participant's rights and obligations while
in Act 44 Program; that, as a condition of Act 44 Program participation,
the participant foregoes active participation in the Police Pension
Fund and foregoes any recalculation of pension benefits, to include
salary increases occurring after Act 44 Program participation commences;
and that the Act 44 Program participant's service while in Act
44 Program will not count as pension service nor will it entitle a
participant to any service increment benefits to which the participant
was not entitled prior to commencing Act 44 Program participation.
An Act 44 Program participant must also complete any and all retirement
documents required by the Police Pension Fund administrator, and such
documents must be filed and presented to the Borough for approval
of retirement and payment of pension. Once an Act 44 Program participation
election form has been approved by the Borough, it is irrevocable.
Likewise, once an Act 44 Program participant enters the Act 44 Program,
the participant may not subsequently leave and then reenter the Act
44 Program, even if the employee separates from employment and subsequently
begins employment with the Borough again.
5. Benefit Calculation. For all Pension Plan purposes, continuous service
of a police officer participating in the Act 44 Program shall remain
as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation
in the Act 44 Program. Service thereafter shall not be recognized
or used for the calculation or determination of any benefits payable
by the Borough Police Pension Fund. The average monthly compensation
of the police officer for pension calculation purposes shall remain
as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation
in the Act 44 Program. 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. The pension benefit payable
to the members shall increase only as a result of cost-of-living adjustments
in effect on the effective date of the member's participation
in the Act 44 Program or by applicable cost-of-living adjustments
granted thereafter.
6. Accumulation of the Act 44 Program 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 the Act 44 Program,
accumulate to the benefit of that officer and be accounted for on
that police officer's Act 44 Program account. Participants shall
not have the option of self-directed investment of their individual
Act 44 Program account while in the Act 44 Program. Instead, the monies
shall be invested in a fund to be identified and selected solely by
the Borough in accordance with applicable law so as to generate a
rate of return of no less than 0% and no more than 4.5%.
7. Accrual of Nonpension Benefits. After a police officer elects to
participate in the Act 44 Program, all other contractual benefits
shall continue to accrue with the exception of those provisions relating
to the Police Pension Fund.
8. Payout. Upon separation from employment, the Act 44 Program payout
options available to the Act 44 Program participant shall be as follows:
A. The balance of the Act 44 Program participant's account, less
withholding taxes, if any, remitted to the Internal Revenue Service,
shall be paid to the participant or the participant's surviving
beneficiary.
B. The balance of the Act 44 Program participant's account shall
be paid directly to the custodian of an eligible retirement plan as
defined by Internal Revenue Code Section 402(c)(8)(b), or in the case
of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving spouse of a
deceased Act 44 Program participant, an eligible retirement plan that
is an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity
as defined by Internal Revenue Code Section 402(c)(9).
C. If the Act 44 Program participant or beneficiary fails to make an
election within 60 days following the date of termination of Act 44
Program participation, then the chief administrative officer of the
pension plan shall implement Subsection 8A, above.
9. Service Connected Disability During Act 44 Program. If an Act 44
Program participant becomes temporarily incapacitated due to a service-connected
injury during his participation in Act 44 Program, that police officer
shall continue to participate in the Act 44 Program as if fully employed.
The police officer shall receive disability pay in the same amount
as disabled police officers that are not participating in Act 44 Program.
In no event shall a police officer on temporary disability have the
ability to draw from his Act 44 Program account. However, notwithstanding
any other provision in this paragraph, if a police officer is disabled
and has not returned to work as of the date of his required resignation,
then such resignation shall take precedence over all other provisions
herein and said officer shall be required to resign. Nothing contained
in this plan shall be construed as conferring any legal rights upon
any police officer or other person to a continuation of employment,
nor shall participation in the Act 44 Program supersede or limit in
any way the right of the Borough to honorably discharge a police officer
based upon an inability to perform his or her full duties as a police
officer. If an Act 44 Program participant becomes eligible for a service-connected
disability pension and his employment is terminated due to an inability
to continue in service on grounds that render him eligible for a service-connected
disability pension, the monthly normal retirement benefit of the Act
44 Program participant may be reclassified as being on account of
a service-connected disability. In no event shall an ACT 44 participant's
monthly retirement benefit be recalculated. The ACT 44 participant's
monthly retirement benefit shall remain 50%, as calculated at the
time of entry into the Act 44 Program.
10. Death. If an Act 44 Program participant dies, the participant's
eligibility for Act 44 Program shall terminate upon the date of death.
In such case, if the Act 44 Program account balances have not yet
been paid out, the participant's legal beneficiary shall have
the same rights and options as the participant to withdraw/roll over
the account balance.
11. Forfeiture of Benefits. Notwithstanding a police officer's status
as an Act 44 Program participant, a current or former participant
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 to 1314, shall forfeit his right
to receive a pension, including any amounts currently deposited in
the Act 44 Program account. In such a case, the participant shall
only be entitled to receive the contributions, if any, made by the
participant to the Police Pension Fund, without interest.
12. Cost of Management for Act 44 Program. The police officers and the
Borough agree that any costs or fees associated with the management
of the Act 44 Program accounts shall be paid directly from the Pension
Fund and not by the Borough.
13. Amendment. Any amendments to this Part shall be consistent with the
provisions covering individual retirement option plans set forth in
any applicable collective bargaining agreement and shall be binding
upon all future Act 44 Program participants and upon all Act 44 Program
participants who have balances in their individual retirement option
accounts. The Act 44 Program may only be amended by a written instrument,
not by any oral agreement or past practice.
14. Construal of Provisions. A police officer's election to participate
in the Act 44 Program shall in no way be construed as a limitation
on the Borough's right to suspend 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. Severability. The provisions of the Act 44 Program shall be severable,
and if any of its provisions shall be held to be unconstitutional
or illegal, the validity of any of the remaining provisions of the
Act 44 Program shall not be affected thereby. It is hereby expressly
declared as the intent of the Borough that the Act 44 Program would
have been adopted had such unconstitutional or illegal provision or
provisions not been included herein.
16. Effective Date. The Effective Date of the Act 44 Program shall be
the date this Part is enacted.