[Adopted 1-22-2008 by Ord. No. 414]
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
Shall equal 1.10% of the member's average monthly compensation
multiplied by years of service as of the date of determination, with
a maximum of 35 years of service.
Age at nearest birthday.
The average of a member's monthly compensation over the highest
five consecutive years of employment out of the last 10 years of employment.
Total pay.
Upper Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The Upper Pottsgrove Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension
Plan Trust Fund.
Each hour of employment for which a full-time Upper Pottsgrove
Township employee is paid or entitled to payment.
All Municipality employees who meet the requirements set forth in § 43-16 of this article. The masculine pronoun will include the feminine.
Upper Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The Upper Pottsgrove Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension
Plan. The plan's fiscal year is the calendar year.
Upper Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The Upper Pottsgrove Township Board of Commissioners or its
designee.
The total of an employee's service, expressed as whole years,
for each calendar year in which the employee is credited with at least
1,820 hours of service.
This plan is to be funded and maintained by
any of the following methods, or a combination of each:
A.
General fund: contributions from the general fund
of the Township which may be required after appropriate approval of
the Township Commissioners.
B.
Member contributions.
D.
Gifts, grants, devises or bequests: The sums which
may be received by the Township in the form of gifts, grants, devises
or bequests may, to the extent authorized by law, be contributed to
such fund so long as prior approval of the Township Commissioners
is obtained.
A.
Pension Committee.
(1)
The general administration and management of the plan
shall be under the direction of a Pension Committee, as appointed
by the Upper Pottsgrove Township Board of Commissioners. The Committee
shall consist of two duly appointed Township representatives and one
Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan member.
(2)
The Pension Committee shall have all powers necessary
to enable it properly to carry out its duties, including but not limited
to the power to construe the provisions of the fund, to direct the
investment advisor, to determine all questions relating to eligibility
of members and to authorize all disbursements for benefits to members.
The decisions of the Pension Committee on all matters within the scope
of its authority shall be final, subject to approval of the Board
of Commissioners.
B.
Trustee.
(1)
The fund shall be under the direction of a trustee,
designated by ordinance or resolution by the Upper Pottsgrove Township
Board of Commissioners. The trustee shall have full responsibility
for administration of the program established hereunder and shall
hold, invest, reinvest and distribute all funds and other property
received pursuant hereto in trust for the purposes of this article.
The trustee may receive, at any time, gifts, grants, devises, or bequests
to the pension fund of any money or property, real, personal or mixed,
to be held by it in trust for the benefit of this fund and in accordance
with the provisions hereof. The trustee shall be subject to such rules
and regulations as may from time to time be adopted by the governing
body of this Township by ordinance or resolution.
(2)
The trustee shall have full power and authority by
a majority action of its members, either directly or through its designated
representatives, to do all acts, to execute, acknowledge and deliver
all instruments, and to exercise, for the sole benefit of the participants
hereunder, any and all powers and discretions necessary to implement
and effectuate the purposes of this article, including, for purposes
of illustration, but not limited to any of the following:
(a)
To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received
pursuant to this article and such legal investments as may be authorized
as legal investments under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(b)
To retain any property which may at any time
become an asset of the fund, as long as said trustee may deem it advisable,
and
(c)
To make distribution of the monies in the fund,
in accordance with the terms of this article.
(3)
The expense of administering this pension fund, including
compensation of any actuary, any custodian of the fund, and any other
charges or expenses related thereto, exclusive of the payment of pensions,
may be paid by the Township or by the pension fund, as determined
by the governing body of the Township.
A.
Each full-time nonuniformed municipal employee (regularly
working not less than 35 hours per week during the calendar year)
employed by the employer is eligible to participate and shall be a
member in the Upper Pottsgrove Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension
Plan and Fund as of the January 1 or July 1 coincident with or next
following the 21st birthday and the completion of 1,820 hours of service
in 12 consecutive months of service.
B.
A member shall retain membership status until he separates from service. Any member who separates from service and begins to receive benefit payments shall cease to be a member and shall, if he returns to service, requalify after completing the eligibility requirements of § 43-16. Any member who separates from service and is rehired as a full-time employee prior to the commencement of benefit payments shall once again become a plan member as of his date of rehire and shall be credited with all past years of service for vesting and accrued purposes.
C.
For the purpose of this § 43-16, "service" shall mean the period of an employee's total employment by the employer. The following types of absence shall not break continuity, and the time elapsed shall be included in computing length of service:
(1)
A temporary leave of absence or layoff which shall,
if not otherwise stated, expire in six months, unless sooner renewed:
(2)
An absence during which regular remuneration is paid.
(3)
Absence for military service under leave granted by
the employer or when required by law, provided that the absent employee
returns to service with the employer within 90 days of his release
from active military duty or any longer period during which his right
to reemployment is protected by law. For the purpose of this section,
employees in similar circumstances shall be similarly treated.
The benefits from the fund shall be payable
to members who have served in the Township in a full-time capacity
and who meet the following requirements, after which the member may
retire from service with the employer. Benefits commence on the first
day of the month coincident with or next following actual retirement.
"Normal retirement date" shall mean the first of the month coincident
with or next following the attainment of the 65th birthday. A member
may retire at a later date, and the retirement benefit will equal
the accrued benefit at actual retirement.
A.
The basis for determining the amount of monthly pension to members retiring under § 43-17 shall be 1.10% of average monthly compensation multiplied by the number of years of service at the member's normal retirement date, with a maximum of 35 years of service.
B.
The normal form of annuity under this plan is a life
annuity for nonmarried members and a joint and fifty-percent survivor
annuity for married members. However a member may elect to receive
benefits in a form different from the normally prescribed annuity
form. Any such alternative form must be the actuarial equivalent of
the normal form of annuity. Actuarial equivalence shall be based on
the actuarial assumptions used to fund this plan. Alternative options
available include:
(1)
A lifetime annuity.
(2)
A joint and fifty-percent survivor annuity, whereby
the annuity is continued to the member's spouse after the death of
the retired member as 50% of the annuity being paid while the member
survived.
(3)
Any other alternative form requested by the member
which is approved by the employer.
C.
Any time a member selects to receive monthly benefits
which do not include joint and fifty-percent survivor benefits for
a spouse, the spouse must sign a waiver approving the option.
A member who has attained his 55th birthday
and has completed six years of service may retire at his own election.
The accrued benefit is payable at early retirement and shall be reduced
by 6 2/3%, for each year (or portion thereof) up to five years
and 3 1/3% for years (or portions thereof) between five and 10
years for benefit payments commencing prior to the member's 65th birthday.
A.
A member shall become vested in accordance with the
following schedule:
|
Years of Service
|
Vested Percentage
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Less than 2
|
0%
| |
|
2 but less than 3
|
20%
| |
|
3 but less than 4
|
40%
| |
|
4 but less than 5
|
60%
| |
|
5 but less than 6
|
80%
| |
|
6 or more
|
100%
|
B.
Upon termination of employment, a vested member shall
be eligible to receive his monthly vested accrued benefit, payable
on his normal retirement date. However, if the actuarially equivalent
lump-sum value of the benefit is $5,000 or less, the benefit may be
paid as a lump sum.
C.
However, any member who separates from service prior
to his normal retirement date for any reason other than death or early
retirement shall receive a complete refund of the total amount of
his member contributions, if any, with 5% interest, if such refund
is greater in value than the actuarial equivalent of the accrued benefit.
A.
The preretirement death benefit is payable to the
spouse upon death of a member while fully or partially vested, provided
that the member has been continuously married to the spouse throughout
the one-year period ending on the member's date of death. Benefits
begin on the first day of the month coincident with or next following
the date of the member's death. The amount of the benefit is equal
to the amount payable had the member terminated employment on the
date of death, survived to early retirement age, retired with a joint
and fifty-percent survivor annuity and then died the next day. If
the member is unmarried on the date he dies, the actuarial equivalent
of the member's accrued benefit shall be payable to the member's beneficiary.
B.
The postretirement death benefit is determined by
the form of annuity in effect.
The transfer value is the amount allocated to
the member from the former defined contribution plan as of December
31, 1988, including interest at 5.0% per annum. The transfer value
acts as a minimum benefit amount for all distributions.
This plan is intended to be tax-qualified under
the applicable provisions of Section 401 (a) of the Internal Revenue
Code, as amended, and shall be construed in a manner consistent with
such intent. The attached addendum to the Upper Pottsgrove Township
Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan and Trust is hereby incorporated
to be part of this article.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The addendum is on file in
the Township offices.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent
with the provisions of this article are hereby repealed insofar as
they are inconsistent with this article, except for any ordinance
provisions mandated by the Internal Revenue Service.
