[Adopted 10-1-1984 by Ord. No. 82; amended in its entirety 1-7-2008 by Ord. No. 240-2007]
A. 
Each full-time nonuniformed employee not employed by the Police Department shall be eligible to participate in the pension plan on the first day of the month in which the employee is hired. Active members of the prior pension plan on January 1, 1982, are automatically active members of the current plan.
B. 
The following persons shall be entitled to receive pension or retirement benefits as hereinafter provided:
(1) 
Beginning on January 1, 2008, and thereafter, each participant who shall have completed eight years of service and who shall have attained 62 years of age shall be eligible to receive a normal retirement benefit equal to the amount determined under § 28-2A of this chapter.
(2) 
Beginning on January 1, 2008, and thereafter, each participant who is hired after age 55 will be entitled to receive pension or retirement benefits on the first day of the month on or after the eighth anniversary of said participant's hiring date.
(3) 
Each participant who shall have 15 years of continuous service with this municipality, and who shall have attained 60 years of age, shall be eligible to receive an early retirement benefit equal to the amount determined under § 28-2B of this article.
C. 
"Continuous service" shall mean full-time employment with this municipality, including periods of absence which are approved by the governing body of this municipality or which arise by operation of the law.
D. 
An employee hired before January 1, 2018, who works 1,000 hours or more a year will be considered a full-time employee.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord. No. 312-2018]
E. 
An employee hired after January 1, 2018, who works 1,440 hours or more a year will be considered a full-time employee.
[Added 2-6-2018 by Ord. No. 312-2018]
A. 
The amount of pension payable to a participant who retires under the provisions of § 28-1B(1) of this plan shall be equal to 1.75% of the employee's average pay as reported on form W-2 of his five pay years (dates), or all his pay years (dates), multiplied by the employee's "benefit service," which is one year for each service period during which the employee has 1,440 or more hours of service, up to 30 benefit service years (maximum benefit, 30 benefit service years). The "average pay" means, on any date, the average of an employee's monthly pay for his highest five (calendar) consecutive years of wages (dates), or all his pay years (dates) if less than this number.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord. No. 312-2018]
B. 
The amount of pension payable to a participant who retires under the provisions of § 28-1A(2) of this plan shall be equal to the amount determined under Subsection A, actuarially reduced to reflect early commencement of benefits.
C. 
Any participant who continues full-time employment with this municipality after his or her normal retirement date will be eligible to receive monthly retirement income only after retirement on the late retirement date. A participant's late retirement date will be the first day of the month on or after the date employment is discontinued with this municipality. However, in no case will a late retirement date be more than 10 years after a participant's normal retirement date.
D. 
Lump sum benefits prohibited. Payment of any benefits hereunder, except in the case of death benefits payable to the estate of a single, unmarried plan member, in a single lump sum payment is and shall be prohibited.
[Amended 11-2-2009 by Ord. No. 259-2009[1]; 12-28-2009 by Ord. No. 260-2009]
A. 
Payments by participants. All participating members of the Township of Bern nonuniformed pension fund shall pay into the nonuniformed pension fund created by this article that percentage of his monthly compensation as shall from time to time be established by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord. No. 312-2018]
B. 
The municipality shall contribute all other funding necessary for the plan to be maintained on a financially and actuarially sound basis.
[1]
Editor's Note: In its preamble, this ordinance also provided that said contribution of 2.5% shall begin 1-1-2010.
A. 
The municipality shall be the owner of all moneys or property paid into the fund or annuities or policies purchased from insurance companies hereunder and the owner of any insurance or retirement income contracts acquired hereunder, and no participant prior to retirement shall have any rights or interest in any portion of said moneys or property except as provided below.
B. 
Termination or discontinuance of employment.
(1) 
Each participant is 100% vested in his or her contributions to the plan. In the event of termination or discontinuance of employment with this municipality for reasons other than retirement or death, a participant who has completed full years of service with the municipality will retain a nonforfeitable (vested) right to the accrued benefit as defined in Subsection D derived from this municipality's contributions to the plan, as shown on the schedule below:
Full Years of Service
Percentage Vested
Less than 8
0
8 or more
100
(2) 
At termination of employment for reasons other than retirement or death, a participant shall be entitled to a refund of his or her contributions to the plan, if any, plus earnings thereon at 4% compounded annually.
C. 
Death benefits.
(1) 
If a participant dies prior to the date on which benefits commence, his or her beneficiary shall be entitled to the greater of the proceeds of life insurance policies, if any, purchased on the participant's behalf or the present value of the participant's accrued benefit.
(2) 
The participant may name and change his or her beneficiary under the plan.
(3) 
If a participant dies prior to the date on which benefits commence and after the participant is vested in the plan, then his or her beneficiary shall be entitled to an immediate benefit equal to 50% of the participant's accrued benefit on the date of the participant's death.
D. 
The accrued benefit shall be equal to the participant's projected normal retirement benefit assuming the participant's current salary would remain in effect until normal retirement age multiplied by a reduction factor. The numerator of the reduction factor shall be equal to the number of years the participant has actually been covered under the plan and the denominator shall equal the number of years the participant would have been covered under the plan if he or she participated until normal retirement date.
A. 
The nonuniformed employees pension fund shall be under the direction of the governing body of the municipality, or such committee or persons as the governing body of the municipality 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 administration of the program established hereunder and shall hold, invest, reinvest and distribute all funds or other property received pursuant hereto in trust for the purposes of this chapter. The Trustees may receive at any time, and from time to time, gifts, grants, devices or bequests to the pension fund of any money or property, real, personal or mixed, to be held by them in trust for the benefit of this fund to such rules and regulations as may from time to time be adopted by the governing body of this municipality by ordinance or resolution.
B. 
The Trustees shall have full power and 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 chapter, including for purposes of illustration but not limited to any and all of the following:
(1) 
To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received pursuant to this article in such legal investments as may be authorized as legal investments under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(2) 
To enter into contracts or deposit agreements on behalf of this municipality with one or more insurance companies in order to provide the pension and other benefits herein stated, and to pay the premiums and deposits required by the purchase of said contracts.
(3) 
To retain or purchase as an investment any form of annuity or contracts of a similar nature, and to exercise with respect thereto any right or incident of ownership.
(4) 
To retain any property which may at any time become an asset of the fund, as long as said Trustees may deem it advisable.
(5) 
To make distribution of the moneys in the fund in accordance with the terms of this article.
A. 
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, payments or proceeds on any contract or agreement purchased or acquired by this municipality hereunder.
B. 
Any contract or agreement purchased or acquired pursuant to this article, 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.
All contracts, agreements or funds held by this municipality for the purpose of providing pensions, annuities or retirement income, or any of them, on any nonuniformed employee who shall be a participant in the program herein established shall be and hereby are transferred and assigned to the fund herein created. After such transfer, the pension fund shall assume the liability, if any, of continuing the payment of pensions to any employees retired prior to such transfer in accordance with the laws and regulations under which such employees were retired.
The expense of administering this pension fund program, including compensation of an actuary, any custodian of the fund and any other charges or expenses related thereto, exclusive of the payment of pensions, shall be paid by this municipality by appropriations made by the governing body of the municipality.