[Adopted 6-20-1979 by Ord. No. 79-7; amended in its entirety 8-6-1986 by Ord. No. 86-3]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT
A benefit determined by an actuary to be equivalent in value
to the participant's normal retirement benefit, as defined therein,
provided that such actuarial equivalent is within the limitations
provided herein.
COMMITTEE
The person appointed to administer the Nonuniformed Employee
Pension Fund established pursuant to this article.
CONTRIBUTION
The compensation paid to the pension fund by the employer.
COUNCIL
The governing body of the Township of Lower Saucon.
FUND
The Nonuniformed Employee Pension Fund established pursuant
to this article.
MONTHLY COMPENSATION
The amount of salary received by a participant in each and
every month, including overtime, longevity pay and service increments,
if any.
NORMAL RETIREMENT BENEFIT
A lifetime monthly pension equal to 1.75% credit for each year of continuous service as a participant in the plan, applied against a participant's average monthly compensation for the thirty-six-month period immediately preceding his or her retirement. Such benefit shall be subject to the vesting schedule set forth in §
38-3G and shall be payable monthly for the participant's life. A participant must have completed at least five years of full-time continuous service to be eligible for the normal retirement benefit.
[Amended 8-18-1999 by Ord. No. 99-11; 8-21-2002 by Ord. No.
2002-08; 4-2-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-05]
NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE
The first day of the month following attainment of age 65
and completion of at least five years of service.
[Amended 8-18-1999 by Ord. No. 99-11]
PARTICIPANT
Every person duly appointed from time to time by the municipality
as a full-time salaried employee working at least 40 hours a week
at a definite salary, subject to reasonable vacation and sick leave,
age 21 or over, such person to be included as a participant 30 calendar
days after the date of employment. For purposes of determining normal
retirement date, the calculation of benefits and vesting, credit for
past service shall be given for all full-time salaried employees working
at least 40 hours a week at a definite salary on the effective date
hereof, provided that the term for such credit for past service shall
be the continuous period of employment immediately prior to their
effective date.
TERMINATION
The cessation of services by the participant for any reason,
including disability, death, resignation and employer termination.
Voluntary leaves of absence without pay shall not be a termination
for purposes of this article, but no period of such leave shall be
computed in the total service in the aggregate for pension benefit
purposes. Leaves of absence with pay shall not be considered a termination
within the meaning of this article, and such leaves may be computed
in the total service in the aggregate for pension benefit purposes.
[Amended 11-3-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-12]
A. The Township Council ("Council") shall administer
the Nonuniformed Employee Pension Fund established by this article
by such regulation as shall from time to time be necessary for the
effective maintenance of the fund, provided that no regulation shall
be contrary to the statutes of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and
or applicable federal regulations.
B. The Council shall appoint an advisory committee ("Committee"), which shall assist in the administration of the pension fund established by this article. The Committee shall be established and regulated as set forth in the Lower Saucon Code at Administration of Government, §
5-12J, which section is incorporated herein by this reference.
Retirement requirements and benefits shall be
as follows:
A. Normal retirement benefit.
B. Late retirement benefit.
(1) Date: the first day of any month following normal
retirement date with the prior consent of the employer.
(2) Amount: the same formula as the normal retirement
benefit.
C. Death benefits.
(1) Before retirement, disability or other termination
of employment: $5,000.
(2) For employees hired after June 1, 1979, the death
benefit will be effective 30 calendar days after the date of the individual
participant's employment.
(3) The death benefit shall be paid within 60 days of
the date of death.
(4) The death benefit shall be paid in lieu of all other
benefits and accruals under the plan and shall completely discharge
the plan's and municipality's liability to the estate of the participant.
(5) There shall be no death benefit for any employee already
receiving benefits under the plan at the time of death.
D. Disability benefits.
(1) In the event of any participant's total and permanent disability, his account shall become vested in accordance with the vesting schedule as contained in §
38-3G hereafter. The Committee shall direct the trustee to purchase a single premium annuity with immediate monthly payments guaranteed for life on an actuarially sound basis dependent upon the funds available due to the participant's vesting.
(2) The condition of total and permanent disability shall
be finally determined by the Social Security Administration or its
successor, utilizing the guidelines of said Administration in effect
at the time of the alleged disability. The determination of the Social
Security Administration as to disability shall be final and binding
upon the employer and participant.
E. Benefits upon termination of employment prior to normal
retirement date or withdrawal from plan.
(1) Termination of employment shall result in a deferred paid-up annuity with benefits commencing at the normal retirement date for the amount which the participant's vested interests in the fund will provide, based on the vesting schedule contained in §
38-3G.
(2) Any employee who voluntarily withdrew from the plan in accordance with §
38-3E(2) of shall, within 30 days of the adoption of this article, declare, in writing, if they will participate in the plan. All new employees eligible to participate in the plan shall declare upon hiring their intent to participate. No participant shall have the right to voluntarily terminate their participation.
[Amended 12-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-13]
F. Optional forms of benefit payment.
(1) In lieu of the straight life annuity provided for in §
38-1, a participant may elect to receive an actuarially equivalent benefit in any of the following forms:
(a) Life annuity with 60 monthly payments guaranteed.
(b) Life annuity with 120 monthly payments guaranteed.
(c) One-hundred-percent joint and survivor annuity.
(d) Fifty-percent joint and survivor annuity.
(e) A lump sum payment of the vested portion of the participant's
account.
(2) In lieu of the benefit provided in §
38-3E(1) for a participant who terminates prior to the normal retirement date, a participant with 10 years of service may choose an actuarially equivalent benefit of any one of the above optional forms of benefit payment commencing within 60 days of the termination of employment or may withdraw the actuarial equivalent of his or her accrued and vested benefits in a single lump sum payable within 90 days of the termination of employment.
G. Vesting.
[Amended 12-1-1993 by Ord. No. 93-2]
(1) Upon five completed full years of continuous employment,
the benefit of any participant shall be one-hundred-percent vested.
(2) All employee contributions shall be one-hundred-percent
vested at all times.
H. Nonalienation of benefits and vesting. No benefit
under the plan shall be subject in any manner to anticipation alienation,
sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge. Nor shall
any such benefits be in any manner liable for or subject to garnishment,
attachment, execution, levy or other legal process. Further, all benefits
granted herein shall vest in the participant upon completion of the
requirements for eligibility, and his benefits shall continue in the
amount and in the form in which he or she first became entitled to
them.
I. Effective date. The effective date shall be June 1,
1978.
Any nonuniformed employee of the municipality
for at least six months who thereafter shall enter the military services
of the United States shall have credited to his employment record
for pension benefits all of the time spent by him in such military
service if such person returns to this employment with the municipality
within six months after this separation from the service.
Upon termination of the fund, the assets shall
be distributed as follows:
A. Sufficient funds shall be maintained to provide the pension benefits prescribed in §
38-3 for all participants who have retired prior to termination or who are eligible for retirement at the time of the termination of this fund.
B. Of the remaining funds, those which can be identified
as municipality contributions or contributions other than from participants
or from the commonwealth allocation shall be distributed as the Council
sees fit.
All investments by the trustee of the assets
of this fund shall comply with the Fiduciaries Investment Act of 1949,
as amended, and such regulations as the Council shall establish for
the purpose of investing such funds.
The Council reserves the right to amend at any time, in whole or in part, any or all of the provisions of this article. However, no such amendment shall authorize or permit any part of the fund to be used or diverted to purposes other than for the exclusive benefit of the participants, their beneficiaries or their estates. Nor shall any amendment divest a participant of benefits vested by §
38-3G. All such amendments shall comply with the applicable statutes of the commonwealth.
[Adopted 8-1-1979 by Ord. No. 79-8; amended
in its entirety 4-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-03]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT
A benefit determined by an actuary to be equivalent in value
to the participant's normal retirement benefit, as defined herein,
provided that such actuarial equivalent is within the limitations
provided herein.
COMPENSATION
The amount of salary received by a participant in each and
every month, including overtime, longevity pay and service increments,
if any.
COMMITTEE
The person appointed to administer the Uniformed Employee
Pension Fund established pursuant to this article.
CONTRIBUTION
The payroll deductions made monthly from the compensation of the participants and paid to the pension fund, except that contributions in §
38-15 shall mean the total contributions accumulated during the period of employment and participation in this fund.
COUNCIL
The governing body of Lower Saucon Township.
FUND
The Uniformed Employee Pension Fund established pursuant
to this article.
FUTURE SERVICE LIABILITY
The value of any participant's benefits, which shall accrue
by virtue of service in the aggregate rendered subsequent to the enactment
of this article.
PARTICIPANT
Every person duly appointed from time to time by the municipality
as a full-time paid policeman, working at least 40 hours a week at
a definite salary, subject to reasonable vacation and sick leave.
TERMINATION
The cessation of services by the participant for any reason,
including disability, death, resignation and employer termination.
Voluntary leaves of absence without pay shall not be a termination
for purposes of this article, but no period of such leave shall be
computed in the total service in the aggregate for pension benefit
purposes. Leaves of absence with pay shall not be considered a termination
within the meaning of this article, and such leaves may be computed
in the total service in the aggregate for pension benefit purposes,
provided that the municipality is able to certify to the Department
of the Auditor General that such participant on a leave of absence
with pay is within the definition of the term "participant" herein.
UNFUNDED LIABILITY
The present value of any participant's benefits accrued prior
to the enactment of this article by virtue of his/her prior service
in the aggregate.
Any member of the police force of the municipality
for at least six months who thereafter shall enter the military service
of the United States shall have credited to his employment record
for pension benefits all of the time spent by him in such military
service if such person returns to his employment with the municipality
within six months after his separation from the service.
Upon termination of the fund, the assets shall
be distributed as follows:
A. Sufficient funds shall be maintained to provide the pension benefits prescribed in §
38-13B for all participants who have retired prior to termination or who are eligible for retirement at the time of the termination of this fund.
B. Contributions with interest at a rate established by the Committee as provided in §
38-15 shall be refunded to any and all participants who terminate service at the time of the termination of this fund.
C. Of the remaining funds, those which can be identified
as municipality contributions or contributions other than from participants
or from the commonwealth allocation shall be distributed as the Council
sees fit, provided that such distribution is in compliance with this
article.
D. All funds in excess of the funds described in Subsections
A,
B and
C above shall be returned to the commonwealth as unused funds pursuant to the Act of May 12, 1943, P.L. 259, as amended, 72 P.S. § 2263.1 et seq.
All investments by the trustee of the assets
of this fund shall comply with the Fiduciaries Investment Act of 1949, as amended, and such regulations as the Council shall
establish for the purpose of investing such funds.
There shall be no amendments to the plan unless
the amendment is agreed upon by the Township and a majority of the
employees covered by the uniform contract, and all such agreements
shall be reduced in writing and signed by the majority of the employees
covered by the uniform contract and the Township.