[Adopted 12-18-1990 by Ord. No. 116; amended 11-1996 by Ord. No. 162]
A municipal Police Pension Fund be and the same is hereby established for the Township of Bern, Berks County, Pennsylvania, pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Act of Assembly of May 29, 1956, P.L. (1955) 1804, as amended,[1] said Police Pension Fund to be maintained by:
A. 
A charge against each member of the Township of Bern Police Force.
B. 
By annual appropriations made by the Township of Bern.
C. 
By payments made by the State Treasurer to the Treasurer of the Township of Bern from moneys received from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance companies for purposes of pension retirement for policemen.
D. 
By gifts, grants, devises or bequests granted to said Police Pension Fund.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767.
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
A. 
The Police 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 the 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 article. The Trustees may receive at any time, and from time to time, gifts, grants, devises 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, subject 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 Board of Supervisors shall direct and maintain the Police Pension Fund in the following manner:
(1) 
The Board of Supervisors shall keep full and accurate accounts of all transactions and may make rules for the transaction of business, the application, care, management, investment and disposal of the funds and property of the fund.
(2) 
The Board of Supervisors shall appoint a fund manager who shall be responsible for the investment of the assets of the fund.
(3) 
The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, appoint an investment advisor, Trustee and/or custodian for the investment and/or custody of all or part of the fund.
A. 
All full-time police officers of the Township of Bern shall become a participating member of the Police Pension Fund immediately upon the effective date of this article. All full-time police officers hired by the Township of Bern after the effective date of this article shall become participating members thereof as of the date of their employment. The term "full-time police officers" for the purpose of this section shall mean those police officers who devote at least 40 hours per week to the duties of the police force. All such police officers on full-time service shall be deemed to be members of the Police Pension Fund and shall be entitled to the benefits and subject to the terms and obligations of this article and all applicable regulations applicable thereto, and the provisions of all contracts of insurance purchased for such police officers.
B. 
The Secretary of the Township of Bern shall give written notice to all newly hired full-time police officers of the Township of Bern of the existence of and essential benefits provided by this article on the date of which he is hired.
A. 
Normal retirement.
[Amended 11-1996 by Ord. No. 162; 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004; 10-8-2007 by Ord. No. 237-2007]
(1) 
Every participating member of the Police Pension Fund, within the purview of § 28-12 of this article (Ordinance 116 of 1990), who shall be at least 50 years of age and who shall have served as such for an aggregate period of at least 25 years, shall be entitled to normal retirement benefits, as hereinafter provided, by making a written application to the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern advising that he/she desires to retire and receive such normal retirement benefits to which he/she is then entitled.
(2) 
Every participating member of the Police Pension Fund, within the purview of § 28-12 of this article (Ordinance 116 of 1990), entitled to normal retirement benefits, as hereinbefore provided, shall receive a monthly retirement benefit for life equal to 50% of the average monthly compensation (as reported, or as will be reported, on IRS Form W-2) earned by such participating member during the last 36 months of his/her employment on the Township Police Force. For the purposes of this chapter, W-2 wage income shall include accumulated sick leave earned during the past 36 months for which the officer has received payment from the Township prior to his/her retirement. However, W-2 wage income shall not include payment for any unused sick leave earned in excess of that earned during the thirty-six-month time period immediately preceding the officer's retirement, nor any unused vacation pay or compensatory time to which the officer is entitled. This definition of W-2 wage income shall apply equally to normal retirees as well as to those who retire pursuant to the DROP Program enacted under Article III of this chapter.
(3) 
Each participating member who retires is entitled to an annual post-retirement cost-of-living benefit adjustment review, which will be undertaken no later than November 1 of each calendar year. Annual increases, if any, to the original retirement benefit shall be based on the consumer price index (Series CPI-W for the Philadelphia SMSA) published by the United States government for the immediate past calendar year to a cumulative maximum of 130% of the original retirement benefit. Annual adjustments, if any, shall be effective January 1 of each year. Each participant's maximum yearly pension benefits shall not exceed 75% of the retired participant's salary for computing retirement benefits.
[Amended 12-6-2011 by Ord. No. 273-2011]
(4) 
Pension benefits for participating members of the Police Pension Fund who were hired before September 1, 1996, shall be 100% vested upon completion of 10 years of vesting service. Pension benefits for participating members of the Police Pension Fund who were hired on or after September 1, 1996, shall be 100% vested upon completion of 12 years of vesting service. Pension benefits payable upon normal retirement shall be equal to the required or allowable state benefits provided for or made available for normal retirement benefits under Act of Assembly of May 29, 1956, P.L. (1955) 1804, as amended heretofore or hereafter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767.
(5) 
The provisions of this section shall be applied retroactively to any DROP Plan participants still employed by the Township as though Subsection A(2), (3) and (4) above were in effect at the time the participants made their DROP elections and any required payments had been made by the Township.
B. 
Service-related disability benefits. In the event that any participating member is so totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty as to be permanently unable to perform his regular and normal duties as a police officer in the Township of Bern, as finally determined by a physician appointed by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern to make an examination and give his findings to such Board, any such participating member, regardless of his period of service with the Bern Township Police Department, shall be entitled to a pension calculated at a rate no less than 50% of the member's salary at the time the disability was incurred, provided that any member who receives benefits for the same injuries under the Social Security Act (49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) shall have his disability pension payments offset or reduced by the amount of such benefits.[2]
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection C, Disability Benefits - Non-Service-Related, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 11-1996 by Ord. No. 162.
C. 
Survivor benefits after retirement:
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
(1) 
Retirement benefits are payable for the life of the retired member with no minimum number of payments guaranteed.
(2) 
Lump sum benefits prohibited. Except for payments as provided in §§ 28-14A and 28-18B, payment of benefits hereunder, in a single lump sum payment, is and shall be prohibited.
A. 
Any member who has contributed to the Police Pension Fund but whose interest in the Police Pension Fund has not vested shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the member invested in the Police Pension Fund plus interest or other increases in value of the member's investment in the Police Pension Fund. If any former police officer after having received a refund of contributions is again employed by the Township of Bern as a full-time police officer, he shall be reinstated as a participating member of the pension fund and receive credit for past service upon contributing to the fund the amount of the refund of contributions and interest, if any, received by him when employed. This provision shall apply only to contributions made after January 1, 1992, and any contributions and interest withdrawn in 1991 or before is specifically exempted.
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
B. 
The granting of leaves of absences by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern for special training, vacation, sickness and/or accidents shall not be construed as a termination of employment.
C. 
Any participating member who has been a regularly appointed full-time officer for a period of at least six months and who thereafter shall enter the military service of the United States shall have credited to his employment record for retirement purposes all time spent by him in the military service, if such person returns to his employment as a full-time Township of Bern police officer within six months after his separation from the military service.
A. 
Payments by police officers. All participating members of the Township of Bern shall pay into the Police 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 and which payments shall be in accordance with and not in violation of Act of Assembly of May 29, 1956, P.L. (1955) 1804, as amended heretofore or hereafter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767.
B. 
Payments by township. The remainder of any funds needed annually to provide the benefits established herein and as are set forth in the laws of the commonwealth shall become the obligation of the Township of Bern and shall be paid by it to the Police Pension Fund by annual or more frequent appropriation, as required.
C. 
Payments by State Treasurer. Payments by the State Treasurer to the Township of Bern for pensions for the Township of Bern Police Officers shall be applied pursuant to the provisions of Act 205 of 1984, 53 P.S. § 895.101 et seq., as amended heretofore or hereafter.
D. 
Other payments. Any other moneys paid into the Police Pension Fund shall be applied equally against the participating member and the Township of Bern portion of future service cost.
E. 
Payroll deductions. The Secretary of the Township of Bern is hereby authorized to establish a system of payroll deductions necessary for administration of the members' contributions to the Police Pension Fund.
F. 
Reduction or elimination of payments by participating members. The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern may, on an annual basis, by ordinance or resolution, reduce or eliminate payments into the fund by members without the necessity of conducting an actuarial study.
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
The Township of Bern Police Pension Fund may be funded in whole or in part by the purchase from funds available in its Police Pension Fund of such annuity, endowment or life insurance contracts as are issued by any reputable life insurance company as shall be designated from time to time by said Board of Supervisors, the ownership whereof shall remain in the name of the Township of Bern or the Township's Police Pension Fund. No such annuity, endowment or life insurance contracts shall be purchased that are not permitted to be acquired by law or regulation of any state or federal law or agency applicable to, or having jurisdiction of, such Police Pension Fund.
[Amended 11-1996 by Ord. No. 162; 2-2-2016 by Ord. No. 300-2016]
A participating member who is eligible to retire at age 50 and, upon completion of 25 years of service, may continue in the employ of the Township of Bern as a police officer after he is qualified for normal retirement. Such extended service, if permitted, shall be allowed on an annual basis only. Each participant so employed shall be entitled to receive a late retirement benefit calculated in accordance with the guidelines set forth below. However, the participating member shall not be entitled to receive such pension benefits until actual retirement.
A. 
Members hired on or before September 1, 1996, shall be entitled to receive a late retirement benefit as an additional monthly benefit of $100 for each full year of service after 26 years to a maximum accumulated benefit increase of $400.
B. 
Members hired after September 1, 1996, and on or before December 31, 2015, shall be entitled to receive a late retirement benefit as an additional monthly benefit of $100 for completion of one full year of service after 25 years. The maximum additional monthly benefit shall be $100, regardless of the number of full years of service completed after 26 years. However, the participating member shall not be entitled to receive such pension benefits until actual retirement.
C. 
Members hired after December 31, 2015, shall not be entitled to receive a late retirement benefit.
[Amended 9-8-2004 by Ord. No. 213-2004]
A. 
The surviving spouse of a member of the police force or a member who retires on pension who dies, or if no spouse survives, or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, then the child or children under the age of 18 years, or if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, of a member of the police force or a member who retires on pension who dies, shall, during his or her lifetime in the case of a surviving spouse, or until reaching the age of 18 years, or if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, in the case of a child or children, be entitled to receive a pension calculated at no less than 50% of the pension the member was receiving, had he or she been retired at the time of death.
B. 
The surviving spouse of a member of the police force who dies before his or her pension has vested, or if no spouse survives, or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, the child or children under the age of 18 years, or if attending college, under the age of 23 years, of the member of the police force shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the member invested in the pension fund plus interest or other increases in value of the member's investment in the pension fund, unless the member has designated another beneficiary for this purpose.
C. 
Members of police force killed in service.
[Amended 4-6-2010 by Ord. No. 263-2010]
(1) 
On or after March 12, 2010, the surviving spouse of a member of the police force who was killed in service or who has died as a result of the performance of his duty, as his duty is defined in the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, Act 51 of 2009,[1] or, if no spouse survives, or if he or she survives or subsequently dies, the child or children under the age of 18 years, or attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, of the member of the police force shall be entitled to receive the following benefits which shall be reimbursed to the Township of Bern by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from its general fund as follows:
(a) 
The sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with Subsection F of the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, being Act 51 of 2009, as amended from time to time.
(b) 
An amount equal to the monthly salary, adjusted in accordance with Subsection F of the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, being Act 51 of 2009, less any workers' compensation or pension or retirement benefits paid to such survivors.
(c) 
In the event no spouse or minor children survive an officer killed in the line of duty or in the performance of his duty, a single sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with Subsection F of the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, being Act 51 of 2009, shall be paid to the parent or parents of said police officer.
[1]
Editor’s Note: See 53 P.S. § 891.
(2) 
In enacting this § 28-18C, the Township of Bern intends to fully comply with said Pennsylvania Act 51 of 2000, so as to cause the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to fully reimburse the Township of Bern for any payment made hereunder, and this section shall be interpreted in such manner as will effectuate such intent. Under no circumstances shall the provisions of this § 28-18C be interpreted as replacing, superseding, or supplementing the benefits provided by Pennsylvania Act 51 of 2009.
D. 
For purposes of this article, the phrase "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 per semester.
E. 
For purposes of this article, the phrase "surviving spouse" shall not be construed to include the spouse of any member who shall be legally separated or divorced from the member at the time of the member's death.
F. 
Insofar as these amendments by this Ordinance No. 213-2004 affect the benefits available to surviving spouses, the amendments shall apply to surviving spouses whose spouse died on or before April 17, 2002, and who were not remarried as of that date.
A. 
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 Bern Township Police Pension Fund established pursuant to the provisions of the Act of May 29, 1956, P.L. 1804, as amended,[1] shall be entitled to a refund of the employee's contributions, including previously earned and credited interested plus accumulated but uncredited interest as of the date of receipt by the Pension Plan Administrator of employee's written notice of request for withdrawal or notice from the township of employee's termination, whichever is earlier, calculated at the rate of 5%.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767.
B. 
Any member of the police force who has a vested interest in and has contributed personal funds to the Bern Township Police Pension Fund prior to December 31, 1990, shall be entitled to a refund of that member/employee's contributions, including previously earned and credited interest plus accumulated but uncredited interest as of the date of receipt by the Pension Plan Administrator of the employee's written request for withdrawal, calculated at the rate of 5%. In the event of the death of the employee subsequent to his written request for withdrawal, a refund of such moneys with interest, as determined above, shall be made to his designated beneficiary or, in the absence thereof, to his estate. Payment hereunder shall be made within 30 days of receipt of written notice to the Plan Administrator of death, termination or discontinuance of employment.
There is hereby created a Police Advisory Board which shall consist of two representatives to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors, at least one of whom shall be knowledgeable in pension matters and one representative to be appointed by the participant members of the Police Department of the Township of Bern. This Board shall meet no less than once each calendar year, the date of which shall be initially proposed by the Police Department representatives. The Advisory Board shall be charged with making recommendations, from time to time, to the Board of Supervisors based on actuarial studies. The cost for these studies shall be borne by the Police Pension Fund as an administrative expense.
Any pension benefits provided for herein shall not be subject to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other legal process, and shall be payable only to the member, his designated beneficiary or to his estate, and benefits shall not be subject to assignment or transfer.
[Amended 11-1996 by Ord. No. 162]
All expenses of managing and administering the Police Pension Fund shall be paid by the Police Pension Fund with appropriate, annual reports thereof submitted to the Bern Township Police Pension Board and the Bern Township Board of Supervisors on or before July 1 of the succeeding year or sooner if required by applicable statute or regulation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern shall employ a qualified actuary at such compensation as may be fixed from time to time by said Board of Supervisors to perform such functions as are required by law to be performed by an actuary.
Any participating member who shall retire from the Township of Bern Police Department and qualify for pension benefits as provided for herein shall be subject to service, from time to time, as a police reserve in case of riot, tumult or preservation of the public peace until such time as they become unfit for such service by reason of mental or physical disability.
In the event that there be any provision in this article which is in conflict or inconsistent with any state or federal law or regulation applicable or relating to the Police Pension Fund, especially Act of Assembly of May 29, 1956, P.L. (1955) 1804, as heretofore or hereafter amended,[1] the provisions of such state or federal law and regulations shall prevail.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767.