[Adopted 12-29-1977 by Ord. No. 1431 as
Ch. 13, Art. II of the Cheltenham Code]
From and after April 21, 1953, the Cheltenham
Township Police Pension Fund Inc. is hereby recognized by the Township
of Cheltenham as an official and corporate body and eligible to receive
any Township or other appropriations to which the Township is entitled
to receive and does appropriate for the benefit of said fund.
A.
The Township hereby creates a municipal police pension
fund, to be known as the "Cheltenham Municipal Police Pension Fund,"
which fund shall be maintained by a charge against each member of
the police force; by annual appropriations made by the Township; by
payments made by the State Treasurer to the Township Treasurer from
the moneys received from taxes upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance
companies for purposes of pension retirements for Township police
officers; and by gifts, grants, devises or bequests granted to said
pension fund.
B.
The municipal police pension fund shall be administered
by a committee of three members appointed by the Board of Township
Commissioners, and the term of their appointment shall be for the
duration of such period of time as may be fixed by the Township Commissioners.
The Committee shall be known as the "Pension Fund Supervisors."
C.
The Board of Township Commissioners shall appoint
one or more Trustees to serve in that capacity at any time of reference.
The trust shall be administered and managed under an appropriate deed
of trust to be prepared by the Township Solicitor and approved by
the Board of Township Commissioners.
D.
Payment of benefits.
[Amended 12-19-1978 by Ord. No. 1454; 12-15-1981 by Ord. No.
1529; 1-20-1987 by Ord. No. 1645; 3-19-1991 by Ord. No. 1735-91]
(1)
The benefits from the fund shall be payable to:
(a)
Police officers who have served in the police force
of the Township for an aggregate total of at least 25 years and have
attained the age of at least 50 years. Normal retirement shall be
at 60 years of age.
[Amended 11-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2290-14]
(b)
Police officers who are deemed unable to perform the
duties of a police officer when such inability is the result of service-incurred
injury as determined by the Township.
(c)
Police officers who are deemed unable to perform the
duties of a police officer when such inability is other than a result
of service-incurred injury and who have served on the police force
of the Township for an aggregate total of at least two years.
(d)
The families of police officers who have been killed
in service.
(3)
Retired officers may be temporarily called back into
service in case of riot, tumult or the preservation of the public
peace, until unfit for such service, when they may be finally discharged
by reason of age or disability.
[Amended 12-15-1981 by Ord. No. 1529]
Any member of the Township police force who
has been in service in the force at least six months and who thereafter
enters the military service of the United States shall have credited
to his record for pension benefits all of his time in the military
service if he returns to his employment within six months after his
separation from military service.
[Amended 12-15-1981 by Ord. No. 1529]
Payments made under the provisions of this Article
shall not be a charge on any other fund in the treasury of the Township,
or under its control, save the municipal police pension fund herein
provided for.
[Amended 12-15-1981 by Ord. No. 1529; 3-19-1991 by Ord. No.
1735-91]
The basis for determining the benefits shall
be as follows:
A.
Monthly benefits other than length of service increments
shall be computed at 1/2 the monthly average salary during not more
than the last 60 nor less than the last 36-months of employment.
[Amended 11-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2290-14]
B.
The benefit must be in conformity with a uniform
scale and fixed by the plan’s governing document at 50% of
the member’s salary at the time the disability was incurred,
reduced by the amount of social security disability benefits received
for the same injury. The benefit is payable until recovery from disability,
death or normal retirement age.
[Amended 11-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2290-14]
C.
Benefits payable to family.
(1)
Monthly benefits to the family of a police officer killed in service shall be the following percentages of the pension which would have been payable to the police officer had he been eligible for the benefits under Subsection A: 50% to the widow and 10% to each child, provided that the maximum total for a widow and children shall be 100%.
(2)
If the wife of the deceased officer is or becomes
deceased or remarries, the death benefit under this section shall
be payable to the child or children of the deceased officer as follows:
50% to one child and 60% to two children, increased by 10% for each
additional child up to a maximum of 100%.
(3)
The pension to the widow shall cease if she remarries.
(4)
"Child" shall mean an officer's natural or legally
adopted son or daughter who has not attained the age of 18 years.
D.
The benefits for any month shall be offset by monthly
social security benefits as follows:
(1)
For police officers retired prior to January 1, 1981,
monthly benefits shall be offset by 75% of the monthly social security
benefit accrued while in the employ of the Township which would become
payable to the officer at age 65.
(2)
For police officers retired between January 1, 1981,
and December 31, 1983, monthly benefits shall be offset by 50% of
the monthly social security benefit accrued while in the employ of
the Township which would become payable to the officer at age 65.
(3)
For police officers retired on or after January 1,
1984, monthly benefits shall not be offset by any social security
benefits.
The Township may employ an actuary at a compensation to be determined from time to time by the Board of Township Commissioners. The actuary shall determine the present value of the liability for the pensions payable under § 48-7 to police officers for service prior to the effective date of this Article. To the extent that the past service cost has not been funded by the Cheltenham Police Pension Fund, Inc., the Township shall make contributions to the municipal police pension fund to fully fund such liability over a period not to exceed 25 years. The actuary shall also determine the amount which shall be contributed to the establishment of this municipal police pension fund.
[Amended 3-19-1991 by Ord. No. 1735-91]
Members of the Cheltenham Township police force
shall pay into the Municipal Police Pension Fund an amount equal to
not more than 5% of monthly compensation. The Township Manager is
hereby authorized to establish a system of payroll deductions necessary
for the administration of the fund and to make payments of the amounts
so withheld pursuant to the provisions of this section unto said Municipal
Police Pension Fund. The remainder of the needed annual contributions,
as determined by the actuary, shall be paid to the fund by the Township.
Payments by the State Treasurer to the Township
Treasurer from the taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance
companies shall be applied as follows:
The existing Cheltenham Municipal Police Pension
Fund, Inc., a corporation incorporated November 7, 1934, by the Court
of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, shall be continued;
provided, however, that no Township funds or funds received from the
State Treasurer as aforesaid shall be paid to the Cheltenham Municipal
Police Pension Fund, Inc., and no police officer shall be required
to make contributions thereto.
[Amended 3-19-1991 by Ord. No. 1735-91]
A.
A lifetime survivor’s benefit must be provided
to the surviving spouse (or if no spouse survives or if he or she
subsequently dies, the child or children under 18 years of age or
if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23) of 50% of
the pension the member was receiving or would have been receiving
or would have been entitled to receive had he been retired at the
time of 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 seven credit hours.)
[Amended 11-19-2014 by Ord. No. 2290-14]
B.
All officers shall have the right of vesting after
completing 12 years of service in lieu of a refund of their own contributions.
Under the provisions of this benefit, should a police officer, before
completing superannuation retirement age and service requirements
but after having completed 12 years of total service, for any reason,
cease to be employed as a full-time police officer by the Township,
such officer shall be entitled to vest retirement benefits by filing
with the Township, within 90 days of the date such person ceases to
be a full-time police officer, a written notice of intention to vest.
Upon reaching the date which would have been the officer's superannuation
retirement date if employment as a full-time officer had continued,
the officer shall be paid a partial superannuation retirement allowance
determined by applying the percentage such officer's years of service
bear to the years of service which the officer would have rendered
had employment continued until the officer's superannuation retirement
date to the gross pension, using, however, the monthly average pay
during the appropriate period prior to termination of employment.
C.
Any member of the police force who for any reason shall be ineligible to receive a pension hereunder after having contributed to the police pension fund created hereby shall be entitled to a refund of all such moneys paid by him into said fund immediately upon discontinuance of his employment with the police force. If such discontinuance is due to death, the refund shall be paid to his designated beneficiary or to his estate to the extent that it has not been paid to his family under § 48-7 above.
The pensions herein provided shall not be subject
to attachment, or other legal process, and shall be payable only to
the member or his designated beneficiary or to his estate and shall
not be subject to assignment or transfer.
The expenses of administration and management
of the fund, including the compensation of the actuary and of the
trustees of the fund, shall be paid by the Township.
[Added 11-20-2007 by Ord. No. 2145-07[1]]
A.
ASSOCIATION
BENEFICIARY or BENEFICIARIES
DROP
DROP PARTICIPATION PERIOD
DROP PERIOD
DROP PROGRAM
DROP ACCOUNTS
DROP NOTICE
DROP PARTICIPANT or PARTICIPANT
MEMBER or OFFICER
PLAN
RESIGNATION DATE
TOWNSHIP
Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
The Cheltenham Township Police Association, the duly recognized
collective bargaining unit representing all eligible full-time police
officers of the Cheltenham Township Police Department.
The individual or individuals identified by a DROP participant
to receive the balance of such DROP participant's DROP account in
the event of the death of the DROP participant during the DROP participation
period.
Deferred Retirement Option Plan.
The period of time from the commencement of the officer's
(i.e., participant's) participation in the DROP as stated in the officer's
DROP notice, which has been approved by the Township, until the officer's
separation from employment as a police officer in Cheltenham Township
(e.g., resignation date, as defined below), which in no event shall
be less than 12 months and shall not exceed 36 months.
The period of time during which an officer can participate
in a DROP, which in no event shall be less than 12 months or exceed
more than 36 months.
The program implemented by the Township and Association pursuant
to which members of the Township's Police Department may establish
DROP accounts while continuing to provide police service for the Township
as described herein. The DROP Program is an integral component of
the Plan.
Separate accounts created for the exclusive purpose of accepting
monthly pension checks of DROP participants while they are participating
in the DROP Program.
The form prescribed by the Township and Association upon
which a member or officer informs the Township of his or her irrevocable
intent to participate in the DROP Program. Once submitted to the Township
and approved by the Township, the DROP notice is irrevocable, except
as otherwise provided herein.
A member or officer who has properly submitted a DROP notice
to participate in the DROP, which has been approved by the Township's
Board of Commissioners, and who has commenced his or her DROP participation
period.
A duly sworn police officer employed by the Township.
The Cheltenham Township Police Pension Plan.
The date specified in the participant's irrevocable DROP
notice approved by the Township on which the member or participant
shall resign from employment with the Cheltenham Township Police,
which shall be no less than 12 months and no more than 36 months from
the commencement of the Officer's DROP participation period.
The Township of Cheltenham, County of Montgomery, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, including its elected and appointed officials.
B.
Eligibility. Any member who has reached his/her normal
retirement date (as defined by the pension plan) may elect to become
a DROP participant on the first day of any month following satisfaction
of the requirements for receipt of normal pension benefits under the
Plan, which is a minimum of 25 years of service and attaining at least
the age of 50. In addition, in order to be eligible to participate
in the DROP, an officer must:
(1)
Written DROP notice. An officer electing to participate
in the DROP must complete and execute a DROP notice. The DROP notice
must be signed by the officer and notarized and submitted to the Township
at least 45 days prior to the date on which the officer wishes his/her
DROP participation period to commence, which shall be specified on
the DROP notice. The DROP notice shall include a notice to the Township
by the member that the member shall resign from employment with the
Cheltenham Township Police Department effective on a specific date
(the "resignation date") which shall be no less than 12 months and
no more than 36 months from the commencement of the Officer's DROP
participation period. Once approved by the Township, an Officer's
resignation date shall be irrevocable. 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.
(2)
Finality of election and approval by Township. All
retirement documents required by the Police Pension Plan Administrator
must be filed and presented to the Township for approval of retirement,
participation in the DROP and payment of pension benefits.
(3)
Once the Township approves a DROP notice, it is irrevocable.
C.
Pension contributions. After an officer's DROP participation
period commences, the officer shall not be required to make any contributions
to the plan during his/her DROP participation period.
D.
Accrual of nonpension benefits. After an officer elects
to participate in the DROP Program, all other contractual benefits
shall continue to accrue in accordance with the collective bargaining
agreement with the exception of those provisions relating to the Plan.
E.
Disability during DROP period. The Township, Association
and all DROP participants all recognize the unique nature of the DROP
Program and the benefits that it offers to the DROP participant and
the Township. Such benefits for the Township, however, are based on
the DROP participant being able to work to provide the Township with
the benefit of his or her experience, as stated above. It is recognized
that if the DROP participant cannot work by providing police services
for the Township, the Township will suffer a significant burden and
the purpose and intent behind the DROP Program will not be fulfilled,
to the detriment of the taxpayers of Cheltenham Township. Accordingly,
if a DROP participant becomes temporarily incapacitated during his
DROP participation period, as defined in the Township's disability
benefit plan, the following shall apply:
(1)
The DROP Participant shall continue to participate
in the DROP Program as if fully employed. Such participant shall receive
disability benefits (including heart and lung benefits, if eligible
and such benefits are applicable) in the same amount and under the
same terms as disabled police officers that are not participating
in DROP, except:
(a)
If a DROP participant is disabled and has not
returned to work as of his required resignation date (as defined above),
such participant shall be required to resign on his or her resignation
date. Such member shall not be entitled to any other disability payment
or monthly disability pension benefit from the Township or the Plan.
(b)
If a participant becomes and remains incapacitated
for a period of six months during his or her DROP participation period,
the participant shall be honorably discharged from employment at the
end of the sixth month. At that time, such member shall receive the
balance of his or her DROP account and, thereafter, commence receiving
his or her frozen monthly pension benefit in the amount calculated
when the officer became a participant in the DROP Program. Such member
shall not be entitled to any other disability payment or monthly disability
pension benefit from the Township or the Plan.
F.
Death during DROP period. If a DROP participant dies
during the DROP participation period, his or her survivor as defined
by the Plan shall be entitled to receive benefits and his or her DROP
account shall be handled according to the following:
(1)
If a DROP Participant dies during his or her DROP
participation period and the Act 600 killed-in-service death benefit
is legally payable (pursuant to the limitations and requirements of
Act 600) to the participant's survivors as defined by the Plan, the
participant's DROP notice shall be revoked and the DROP account shall
not be payable to any designated beneficiary of the deceased DROP
participant, but such funds will revert back to the Plan.
(2)
If death occurs during the DROP period but the Act
600 killed-in-service death benefit is not legally payable (pursuant
to the limitations and requirement of Act 600) to the participant's
survivors as defined by the Plan, the DROP participant's DROP notice
shall be revoked, the beneficiary shall receive a lump-sum payment
of the DROP account balance, and the participant's survivors as defined
by the Plan shall receive the survivor's benefit as defined by the
Plan.
G.
The monthly pension benefit calculation and limitation
on pension accrual. After the effective date of the DROP notice, the
officer shall no longer earn or accrue additional years of service
for pension calculation purposes under the Plan. No benefit increases
that may occur after a DROP participant's commencement of participation
in the DROP Program, including bargained pension enhancements, mandated
pension enhancements through arbitration or pension enhancements mandated
by law, will apply to the DROP participant and shall not increase
the DROP participant's frozen pension under the Plan, as calculated
on the effective date of the DROP participation period. The average
monthly compensation of the officer for pension calculation purposes
shall remain as it existed on the effective date of the DROP participation
period. Earnings or increases in earnings thereafter shall not be
recognized or used for the calculation or determination of any benefits
payable by the Plan. The pension benefit payable to the members shall
increase only as a result of cost-of-living adjustments in effect
under the Plan on the effective date of the member's participation
in the DROP Program or by applicable cost-of-living adjustments specifically
granted to DROP participants or retirees thereafter.
H.
Termination of employment. On the participant's resignation
date, his or her employment shall terminate automatically.
I.
DROP pension payments. Upon entry into the DROP Program,
a member's service and average applicable compensation (as each are
defined under the Plan) will be frozen and his or her pension payment
will be calculated as if he or she retired and ceased employment with
the Township on the effective date of such officer's DROP participation
period. The monthly pension payment shall be transferred into the
participant's DROP account.
J.
Individual DROP investment account. Each member shall
select and direct the investments in his or her DROP account from
an array of options selected by the Township. The Township may select
a third party to provide mutual fund or other investment options,
recordkeeping and reporting to the members and the Plan. All investment
and administrative costs shall be charged against the participant's
DROP account. Accordingly, the officer shall bear the full responsibility
for obtaining appropriate investment advice, as well as for the consequences
of any investment of all or part of the contents of the DROP account.
The DROP account established for each participant will be considered
a tax-deferred account maintained as part of the plan, and, as a result,
will be subject to the restrictions established under Section 401(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code. As a condition of participation in the
DROP Program, both the Association and the individual officers and
participants collectively and individually acknowledge that the Township
shall have no responsibility for the financial impact and/or consequences
of an Officer's participation in the DROP Program, including, but
not limited to, the investment of the balance of an officer's DROP
account, the performance of any such investments, or any tax consequences
flowing from participation in the DROP Program.
K.
Distribution options. Commensurate with DROP Program
participation, a member must make an election on forms designated
by the Township of the payout option(s) desired upon termination of
the DROP period. This election may be changed at any time before the
resignation date. The distribution options are as follows:
L.
Beneficiary designation. Commensurate with DROP Program
participation, a member must make an election, on forms designated
by the Township, of his or her beneficiary or beneficiaries.
M.
Revocation of DROP participation. A DROP participant
who voluntarily terminates his or her employment for any reason prior
to the resignation date stated in his or her DROP notice (which has
been accepted by the Township) shall automatically revoke his or her
DROP participation election and cease employment with the Township.
N.
Amendment. Any amendments to the DROP Plan 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 DROP accounts. The DROP
Plan may only be amended by a written instrument, signed by an authorized
representative of the Township and the Association, not by any oral
agreement or past practice.
O.
Interpretation of provisions.
(1)
This section shall be interpreted under the laws of
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. An 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 or terminate an officer for just cause
or to grant the officer an honorable discharge based upon a physical
or mental inability to perform his or her duties. Nothing provided
hereunder shall be construed as a change to the parties' practice
of calculating pensionable compensation, and except for the ability
to establish a DROP account and participate in the DROP Program, nothing
herein is intended to create new pension benefits of any kind which
did not exist as of December 31, 2007.
(2)
Nothing provided hereunder shall guarantee any officer
or DROP participant a specific term of employment. All DROP participants
shall be subject to the same terms and conditions of employment (except
those relating to benefits under the Plan and retiree benefits), rules
and regulations and disciplinary procedures as other officers and
members who are not DROP participants.
(3)
Except as provided in this DROP section, all DROP
participants shall be considered to be employees of the Township and
subject to the same terms and conditions of employment contained in
all Township policies, directives, and orders as well as in the collective
bargaining agreement between the Township and the police, including
but not limited to the obligation to continue to make health care
contributions, just as all other police officers employed by the Cheltenham
Township Police Department who are not DROP participants.
P.
Cost to participants. Participants will pay any costs
of the Township and the Plan relating to the operation and administration
of the DROP Program.
Q.
Compliance with a future law. The Township and the
Association and all current and future DROP participants (as a condition
of participating in the DROP) recognize that laws may be enacted that
impact the provisions of this DROP Program. The Township, the Association
and any current and future DROP participants (as a condition of participating
in the DROP) agree and acknowledge that if any such law requires that
this DROP Program be altered, changed, modified or amended in any
way, such changes shall be made as required by such law within the
required time period. The Association and the Township shall meet
to discuss how to most efficiently implement those changes, and any
agreement reached in those discussions shall be binding on the Township,
the Association and any current and future DROP participants. Such
discussions, however, shall not in any way delay the implementation
of any such required change as required by law.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided that
it shall take effect 1-1-2008.
