[Adopted 3-17-1980 by Ord. No. 771, approved 3-17-1980]
A Police Pension Plan is hereby established pursuant to the
Act of May 29, 1956, P.L. 1804 (widely known as "Act 600"), as amended
(53 P.S. § 767 et seq.). Such fund shall be under the direction
of the Borough of Middletown, herein referred to as the "Borough,"
and shall be applied under such regulations as the Borough may prescribe.
Each full-time policeman now or hereafter employed by the Borough
shall be eligible to participate and shall be a participant in the
Police Pension Plan.
[Amended 8-1-1988 by Ord.
No. 973, approved 8-1-1988]
Each participant who has been in the employ of the Borough as
a police officer for 25 years in the aggregate and who has attained
the age of 50 years may retire and shall, upon actual retirement from
employment with the Borough, be entitled to receive pension or retirement
benefits as are hereinafter provided. Also, participants who were
members of the police force of the Borough prior to December 21, 1965,
may retire upon attaining the age of 60 years after a period of total
service of 20 years.
Any member of the police force employed by the Borough who has
been a regular appointed policeman of the Borough 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 the employment
record of such member for pension or retirement benefits all of the
time spent by such member in said military service, if such person
returns (or has heretofore returned) to said Borough employment as
a member of the police force within six months after such separation
from said service.
[Amended 1-4-1988 by Ord.
No. 955, approved 1-4-1988]
A.
The pension or retirement benefits shall be payable during the balance of the participant's life following actual retirement and after fulfillment of the age and service requirements set forth in § 55-20. The monthly benefit shall be a sum equal to 1/2 of the average monthly compensation of the participant during the last 36 months of said participant's employment by the Borough as a member of the police force.
[Amended 4-4-1988 by Ord.
No. 966, approved 4-4-1988; 12-4-1995 by Ord. No.
1077, approved 12-4-1995]
B.
Effective January 1, 1987, the offset as provided in Act 600, as
amended, for any social security old age insurance benefits which
a participant might receive shall be computed on the following basis:
(1)
Effective January 1, 1987, 67.5% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(2)
Effective January 1, 1988, 60.0% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(3)
Effective January 1, 1989, 52.5% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(4)
Effective January 1, 1990, 45.0% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(5)
Effective January 1, 1991, 37.5% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(6)
Effective January 1, 1992, 30.0% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(7)
Effective January 1, 1993, 22.5% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(8)
Effective January 1, 1994, 15.0% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(9)
Effective January 1, 1995, 7.5% of the primary social security benefits
for a participant.
(10)
Effective January 1, 1996, 0% of the primary social security
benefits for a participant.
C.
Effective January 1, 1987, the widow of a member of the police force
or of a member who retires on pension and dies shall, during her lifetime,
so long as she does not remarry, be entitled to receive a pension
calculated at the rate of 50% of the pension the member was receiving
or would have been receiving had he been retired at the time of his
death. In the event of a member of the police force or a member who
retires on pension dies and is not survived by a widow, then the child
or children under the age of 18 of said member shall be entitled to
receive a pension calculated at the rate of 50% of the pension the
member was receiving or would have been receiving had he been retired
at the time of his death.
D.
Effective January 1, 1987, a participant shall be entitled to applicable
benefits under this chapter on account of any service-connected permanent
disability which he may suffer.
[Amended 12-4-1995 by Ord. No. 1078, approved 12-4-1995]
E.
Effective January 1, 1987, should a participant, before completing
the retirement age and service requirements but after having completed
12 years of total service to the Borough as a member of the police
force, for any reason cease to be employed as a full-time police officer
by the Borough, he shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits
by filing with the Borough Council, 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 officer, he
shall be paid a partial retirement allowance determined by applying
the percentage his years of service bears to the years of service
which he would have rendered had he continued to work until his retirement
date to the gross pension, using the monthly average salary during
the appropriate period prior to his termination of employment.
F.
Such pension or retirement benefits shall be payable from the assets
of the fund established pursuant to this article, and the pension
or retirement benefit shall be computed as the sum of:
(1)
All pension benefits from pension plans heretofore established by
a private organization or association for the member of the police
force, but only to the extent that the commonwealth or Borough shall
have contributed to such pension plan moneys raised by taxation;
(2)
The primary benefits under the federal social security laws for which the member may be eligible because of age in accordance with § 55-22B; and
(3)
Benefits from the police pension fund hereby established to the extent
necessary to bring the total benefits in any month to 1/2 of the aforesaid
monthly average salary.
G.
Effective January 1, 1988, a service increment for each completed
year of service in excess of 25 years shall be paid to a participant
at the rate of 1.25% of the participant's average monthly pay multiplied
by the number of years of service completed by the participant in
excess of 25 years. Such service increments shall be paid in addition
to other pension or retirement benefits, but not to exceed $100 per
month.
[Added 8-1-1988 by Ord.
No. 973, approved 8-1-1988; amended 2-5-1990 by Ord. No. 995, approved 2-5-1990]
H.
Effective January 1, 1991, the surviving spouse or the surviving
dependent children under the age of 18 if there is no surviving spouse
or upon the remarriage of the surviving spouse of an active police
officer who is killed in the line of duty as a police officer for
the Borough of Middletown prior to being eligible for retirement shall
be entitled to a monthly benefit equal to 100% of the benefit the
police officer would have been receiving had he been retired at the
time of death. In the case of payments to surviving dependent children,
the one-hundred-percent benefit shall be divided equally between all
eligible dependent children under the age of 18.
[Added 1-7-1991 by Ord.
No. 1012, approved 1-7-1991]
[Amended 1-4-1988 by Ord.
No. 955, approved 1-4-1988]
A.
Effective January 1, 1987, members shall pay into the fund, biweekly,
an amount in accordance with the following table, on all compensation
on which social security taxes are payable. In any event, the contribution
rate shall be 5% on that portion of compensation that exceeds the
amount on which social security taxes are payable, except that there
shall be no such contribution by members for the years 1988, 1989
and 1990. The Borough shall allocate from the subsidy funding moneys
received under Act 205 of 1984 to the Police Pension Fund an amount
equal to what would have been contributed by members at the rate of
3.2% for 1988, 3.425% for 1989, and 3.65% for 1990 of all compensation
on which social security taxes are payable, plus 5% for each year
on compensation that exceeds the amount on which social security taxes
are payable.
[Amended 8-1-1988 by Ord.
No. 973, approved 8-1-1988]
|
Effective
|
Amount
| |
|---|---|---|
|
January 1, 1987
|
2.975%
| |
|
January 1, 1988
|
0.000%
| |
|
January 1, 1989
|
0.000%
| |
|
January 1, 1990
|
0.000%
| |
|
January 1, 1991
|
3.875%
| |
|
January 1, 1992
|
4.100%
| |
|
January 1, 1993
|
4.325%
| |
|
January 1, 1994
|
4.550%
| |
|
January 1, 1995
|
4.775%
| |
|
January 1, 1996
|
5.000%
|
B.
Effective January 1, 1987, the Borough Council may, by annual resolution,
reduce or eliminate the required contribution rate for all members,
provided that an actuarial study has determined that such action will
not adversely affect the actual soundness of the Police Pension Plan.
Payments by the State Treasurer to the Borough from the moneys
received from taxes paid upon the premiums of foreign casualty insurance
companies for purposes of pension or retirement shall be used in the
following order:
The Borough shall be 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
Borough, and said trust funds shall be governed thereby subject to
such directions not inconsistent therewith as the donors of such funds
and property may prescribe.
Any member of the police force who, for any reason whatsoever,
shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having contributed
any charges to the Police Pension Fund (or to a supplanted police
pension fund as Section 9 of Act 600 further provides[1]) shall be entitled to a refund of all such moneys paid
by him into such fund, plus interest earned on such moneys, calculated
at the rate of 5%, immediately upon discontinuance of such member's
employment with the police force. If such discontinuance is due to
death, a refund of such moneys, with interest as determined above,
shall be made to the beneficiary designated by such member or, in
the absence thereof, to the estate of such member.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 775.
The pension or retirement payments herein provided for shall
not be subject to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other
legal process, shall not be subject to assignment or transfer and
shall be payable only to the member or to the designated beneficiary
or estate thereof.
The pension contract with the insurance company agreed upon
by the Borough Council is hereby approved, and the appropriate Borough
officials, President or Vice President and Secretary or Assistant
Secretary, are authorized to execute the official copies of the same.
The revocation of the Police Pension Trust Agreement of September
14, 1967, amicably concluded pursuant to Article XI, Section (a),
thereof, with ensuing transfer pursuant to Section (c) of said Article
XI by the trustee to the Borough of all contracts, is hereby ratified
and confirmed.
To the Police Pension Fund established pursuant to the provisions
of this article are transferred the members' assets and liabilities
of the police pension fund of the Borough heretofore existing, under
Ordinance No. 378, Year of 1958, as amended by Ordinance No. 516,
Year of 1967, to which had been transferred all benefits, assets and
liabilities under a predecessor pension trust agreement, and the enabling
provisions and requirements of Section 7 of Act 600, 53 P.S. § 773,
are incorporated by reference.
The Borough Manager, or as he may delegate to the Borough Administrative
Officer, after consultation with the President and appropriate committee
Chairman of the Borough Council, is authorized to work out the sundry
details incident to the transition from the Police Pension Trust to
the Pension Contract, the continuance
of the insurance contracts and the method of continuing payment of
premiums thereon separate and apart from the Pension Contract and
to harmonize administration and reporting of the Police Pension Fund
hereby established with a calendar-year basis, the initial calendar
year being 1980, and with governmental requirements, including regulations
of the Auditor General of Pennsylvania.
[Amended 4-6-1987 by Ord.
No. 943, approved 4-6-1987]
A retired police employee shall be subject to service, from
time to time, as police reserve in cases of riot, tumult or preservation
of the public peace, until unfit for such service, when he may be
finally discharged by reason of age or disability.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Originally derived from Ord. No. 334, adopted
4-28-1954, this section, as amended 7-11-1960 by Ord. No. 397, was
continued in effect by Section 15 of Ord. No. 771.
A.
All amendments to the Police Pension Plan shall be made by the Borough
Council sitting as the Committee on the Police Pension Plan. An affirmative
vote of the majority of all Borough Council Committee members shall
be required to alter, amend or revoke any or all terms of the Police
Pension Plan. Where an ordinance is required to make effective the
action of the Borough Council or its Committee, the Borough Council
shall pass such ordinance in addition to the motion passed by the
Borough Council sitting as the Committee on the Police Pension Plan.
B.
Ordinances shall only be required where the action taken involves
the payment of insurance premiums or other charges which are the legal
obligation of the Borough, designation of the trustee or custodian
of the Police Pension Plan assets and in any other area where, in
the judgment of the Borough Solicitor, an ordinance is required. Amendments
changing terms of the trust agreement dealing with its procedural
and administrative aspects shall not originate nor require the passage
of an ordinance.
C.
All amendments to the Police Pension Plan shall be signed by the
Borough President, attested to by the Borough Secretary and shall
bear the Seal of the Borough of Middletown and be approved by the
Mayor.
D.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary to keep on file an
officially executed copy of the Police Pension Plan and all amendments
thereto.
[1]
Editor's Note: Originally derived from Ord. No. 398, adopted
7-11-1960, this section was continued in effect and amended by Section
15 of Ord. No. 771.
[Added 1-3-2006 by Ord.
No. 1204, approved 1-3-2006]
Effective January 1, 2006, notwithstanding any other provision
of the Plan, any distribution to a participant made prior to the earlier
of age 62 or normal retirement age of an amount in excess of $1,000
that is an eligible rollover distribution as set forth in the Plan
and the Code shall be made only upon consent of the participant.
[Added 8-7-2006 by Ord.
No. 1210, approved 8-7-2006]
Effective for participants who terminate employment on or after
January 1, 2005, the plan, now known as the "Borough of Middletown
Police Pension Plan," is hereby amended and restated in its entirety
by substituting the attached amendment and restatement of the Borough
of Middletown Police Pension Plan[1] in its place. Participants who terminate employment prior
to January 1, 2005, shall have their pension benefits determined by
the pension arrangement that was in effect on the date that they terminated
employment.
[1]
Editor's Note: A complete and current copy of the Police Pension
Plan is on file in the Borough's offices.
