[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Franconia as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-11-2006 by Ord. No. 344[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Art. I, Police Pension Fund, adopted 12-12-1994 by Ord. No.
216.
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
Age at nearest birthday.
The member's normal retirement benefit multiplied by the
ratio of (a) over (b), where
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(a)
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=
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The aggregate years of service completed by
the member as of his termination of employment, and
| |
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(b)
|
=
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The aggregate years of service the member would
have completed if he had continued to be a full-time police officer
until his normal retirement date.
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The average of a member's monthly compensation over the last
36 months of employment.
The total compensation paid to an employee for services rendered
as a police officer, and shall exclude buy backs and severance pay
not authorized by the Department of the Auditor General of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A Deferred Retirement Option Plan of pension benefit distribution available to members who qualify and who so elect pursuant to the provisions of § 23-12.1.1.
[Added 9-15-2014 by Ord.
No. 380]
The period from the time of the commencement of the member's
(i.e., DROP participant) participation in the DROP as stated in the
DROP notice which has been approved by the Township (i.e., the commencement
date) until the member's separation from employment as a police officer
of the Township (i.e., the resignation date), which shall not exceed
36 months. Participation in the DROP does not guarantee the DROP participant's
employment by the local government during the DROP participation period.
[Added 9-15-2014 by Ord.
No. 380]
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Franconia Township Police Pension Plan Trust Fund.
All police employees who meet the requirements set forth in § 23-4 of this article. The masculine pronoun will include the feminine.
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Franconia Township Police Pension Plan. The plan's fiscal
year is the calendar year.
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This plan is to be funded and maintained by
any of the following methods, or combination of each:
A.
General fund. Contributions from the general fund
of Franconia Township which may be required after appropriate approval
of the Township Board of Supervisors.
B.
Member contributions. All members shall make contributions
which shall be 5% of their total compensation. The Board of Supervisors
may, on an annual basis, by ordinance or resolution, reduce or eliminate
contributions into the plan by members. The Township Board of Supervisors
may, but need not, have an actuarial study performed prior to reducing
or eliminating member contributions into the plan.
D.
Gifts, grants, devises or bequests. The sums which
may be received by the Township, to the extent authorized by law,
be contributed to such fund so long as prior approval of the Township
Board of Supervisors is obtained.
E.
Any other sums received or contributed to the Township
Board of Supervisors to the extent authorized by law and with prior
approval of the Township Board of Supervisors.
A.
Pension Committee.
(1)
The general administration and management of the plan
shall be under the direction of a Pension Committee ("Committee")
as appointed by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors.
(2)
The Committee shall consist of five individuals appointed
by resolution of the Township Board of Supervisors. Any member of
the Committee may resign upon written notice to the Township Board
of Supervisors and the Committee.
(3)
The Pension Committee shall have complete control
of the administration of the plan and 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 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.
B.
Trustee.
(1)
The fund shall be under the direction of a trustee
designated by resolution by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors.
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 Township Board of Supervisors
by ordinance or resolution.
(2)
The trustee 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 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 Township Board of Supervisors.
A.
Each full-time police employee (regularly working
not less than 40 hours per week during the calendar year) employed
by the employer is eligible to participate and shall be a participant
in the Franconia Township Police Pension Plan and Fund as of his or
her date of hire.
A.
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.
B.
Normal retirement date shall mean the first month
coincident with or next following the attainment of the 52nd birthday
and the completion of 25 years of aggregate service.
A.
The monthly normal retirement benefit shall equal
50% of average monthly compensation, plus a monthly service increment
equal to $100 per month for each year of service completed in excess
of 25 years, with a maximum monthly service increment of $500 per
month. The normal form of payment for an unmarried plan member is
a straight life annuity. The normal form of payment for a married
plan member is a joint and 50% survivor annuity, per Act 600.[1]
[Amended 9-17-2007 by Ord. No. 351]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767
et seq.
B.
In addition to the normal retirement benefit defined
above, there is a cost of living increase effective as of January
1 of each calendar year for members of the police for receiving retirement
benefits for a minimum period of six completed months. The cost of
living increase shall not exceed the percentage increase in the Consumer
Price Index from the year in which the police member last worked,
shall not cause the total police pension benefits to exceed 75% of
the salary for computing retirement benefits and shall not cause the
total cost of living increase to exceed 30%. No cost of living increase
shall be granted which would impair the actuarial soundness of the
Pension Fund.
C.
Subject to the limitations in the next subsequent
subsection, if the assets of the Police Pension Fund exceed the present
value of future benefits as reported in the last actuarial valuation
report filed with the Public Employee Retirement Commission under
the act of December 18, 1984 (P.L. 1005, No. 205), known as the "Municipal
Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act." A cost of living
increase for members of the police force receiving retirement benefits
for 20 or more years may be provided in excess of the limits herein
prescribed.
D.
If the total benefits to be paid to a retired member
from the Police Pension Fund exceed $10,000 a year, then the Police
Pension Fund shall not pay benefits to a retired member in excess
of 100% of the retired member's average compensation as defined in
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514,
26 U.S.C. § 415) or in any successor statute.
A.
In the event of any member's service-related total
and permanent disability, the member shall become eligible for a monthly
disability pension as set forth below. "Total and permanent disability"
shall mean a service-related physical or mental condition of a member
which precludes him from engaging in any substantially gainful employment.
Determination of disability is to be made by a duly qualified physician
selected by the employer. Such determination shall be final and conclusive.
B.
The monthly total and permanent disability pension
benefit shall be in conformity with a uniform scale and shall be equal
to 50% of the member's salary on the date the disability occurred,
reduced by the amount of Social Security disability benefits received
for the same injury. Disability pension benefits shall commence on
the first of the month coincident with or next following the date
of disability.
C.
Disability benefit payments shall cease upon recovery
from disability. The employer shall have the right to require the
disabled member to undergo medical examination at reasonable intervals.
D.
Disability benefit payments shall cease upon death.
A.
Any member who has completed 12 years of service in
this plan shall become 100% vested in his accrued benefit. Upon termination
of employment with the employer, a vested participant shall be eligible
to receive his accrued benefit, starting as a monthly annuity at his
normal retirement date under this article.
B.
However, any member who separates from service prior
to his normal retirement date for any reason other than death or service-related
total and permanent disability, shall receive a complete refund of
the total amount of his member contributions with interest, if such
refund is greater in value than the actuarial equivalent of the accrued
benefit.
A.
In the event of the death of a member of the police
force or a member who retires on pension, the surviving spouse, or
if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies,
then the child(ren) under the age of 18 or, if then attending college,
under or attaining the age of 23, shall, during his or her lifetime
in the case of a surviving spouse, or in the case of a child(ren),
until attaining the age of 18 or if then attending college, under
or attaining the age of 23, be entitled to receive a pension calculated
at 50% of the pension the member was receiving or would have been
receiving had he or she been retired at the time of his or her death.
For the purposes of this subsection, the phrase "attending college"
shall mean the eligible child(ren) is registered at an accredited
institution of higher learning and is carrying the minimum course
load of seven credits hours per semester.
B.
The surviving spouse of any member 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(ren) under the age of
18 or, if attending college, under or reaching the age of 23 of the
member 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. For the
purpose of this subsection, the phrase "attending college" shall mean
the eligible child(ren) is registered at an accredited institution
of higher learning and is carrying a minimum course load of seven
credit hours per semester.
[Amended 6-16-2014 by Ord. No. 379]
If a member is killed in service, the Chief of Police shall,
within 90 days of the date of death, submit certification of such
death to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to comply with the requirements
of 53 P.S. § 891, and to take such other action as is necessary
to allow the member's beneficiaries to collect the killed-in-service
benefit provided for by the commonwealth in 53 P.S. § 891
et seq.
The early retirement benefit shall be provided
to a member of the police force with 20 or more years of service who
terminates employment prior to the completion of superannuation retirement
age and service requirements and who files a written application for
an early retirement benefit with the governing body of the municipality.
The early retirement benefit shall become effective as of the date
the application is filed with the governing body or the date designated
on the application, whichever is later, and shall be the actuarial
equivalent of a partial superannuation retirement benefit calculated
as follows:
A.
A partial superannuation retirement benefit shall
be determined by applying the percentage that the member's years of
service bear to the years of service that the member would have rendered
had the member continued to be employed until his superannuation retirement
date to the gross pension amount calculated using the monthly average
salary during the appropriate period prior to his termination of employment.
B.
The actuarial equivalent of the partial superannuation
retirement benefit shall be determined by actuarially reducing the
partial superannuation retirement benefit to reflect that it will
commence on the effective date of the early retirement rather than
on the date on which the member would have completed superannuation
age and service requirements. The actuarial reduction shall be calculated
using the actuarial assumptions reported in the last actuarial valuation
report filed with the Public Employee Retirement Commission under
the act of December 18, 1984 (P.L. 1005, No. 205), known as the "Municipal
Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act."
A regularly appointed member of the police force
who has been employed as such for at least six months, and who enters
active military service for the United States, must receive retirement
credit for the period of active military service. To be eligible,
the member of the police force must return to employment within six
months of separation from such military service and be ineligible
to receive military retirement pay as a result of that service.
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 member or his beneficiary.
No member or his 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 or payments or agreement purchased or acquired
by the Township hereunder.
[Added 9-15-2014 by Ord.
No. 380]
B.
Election to participate. The electing member ("DROP participant")
shall make the irrevocable election to participate in the DROP by
executing the forms (including, but not limited to, the "DROP notice"
described herein) and following procedures prescribed by the Trustee.
C.
DROP notice form. The DROP notice shall include:
(1)
An irrevocable notice that the DROP participant shall resign
on a specific date no later than 36 months from the date of its execution
(the "resignation date");
(2)
A designation of beneficiary or beneficiaries (collectively
referred to as the "DROP beneficiary") to receive distribution of
DROP account (hereinafter defined) funds in the event of the DROP
participant's death prior to the distribution date (hereinafter defined).
D.
Payments to the DROP account.
(1)
Upon execution of the DROP notice (the "DROP date") and commencement
of participation in the DROP, the monthly retirement benefits that
would have been payable had the DROP participant ceased employment
and received a normal retirement benefit shall be paid into the separate
ledger account (the "DROP account") established to receive the participant's
monthly pension payments. Such account shall be an individual ledger
subaccount of the plan set up in each DROP participant's name.
(2)
While employed and a DROP participant, the DROP participant's
monthly retirement benefit shall be credited to the DROP account as
stated above and the benefit accumulation under the DROP shall be
calculated and credited in accordance with the policy set by the DROP
plan administrator. No interest shall be credited to any DROP participant's
account, except to the extent that the participant's account earns
such interest up to a maximum of 4.5%. If no interest is earned, no
interest shall be credited.
(3)
By entering into the DROP, each DROP participant holds the Township
harmless for any tax, investment, financial or other consequences
of the DROP program or the DROP participant's participation therein.
E.
Cost to participants and Township.
F.
Benefit calculation. After execution of the DROP notice, the DROP
participant shall cease earning or accruing additional years of continuous
service for pension purposes. The average compensation for pension
calculation purposes shall remain as it existed upon the DROP date,
and the member's pension benefits shall only increase as a result
of governing cost-of-living adjustments.
G.
Distribution. Upon the resignation date set forth in the DROP participant's
DROP notice, or such date as the Township otherwise separates the
DROP participant from employment (the "distribution date"), the retirement
benefits payable to the DROP participant shall no longer be paid to
the DROP participant's DROP account. Within 30 days of the distribution
date, the balance of the DROP participant's DROP account shall be
paid to the DROP participant in a lump sum, or in a manner permitted
by law and otherwise directed, in writing, by the DROP participant.
H.
Disability. The Township, association, and all DROP participants
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 experience.
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 the Township and
the Township. Accordingly, in light of those acknowledgements and
concerns:
(1)
If a DROP participant becomes temporarily disabled during his
DROP participation period, 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 still temporarily disabled and has
not returned to work as of the resignation date stated on the DROP
notice, such participant shall be required to resign on his resignation
date and shall begin to receive directly the same monthly pension
benefit payment as calculated at the beginning of the DROP participation
period. Such officer shall not be entitled to any other benefit, disability
payment, or monthly disability pension benefit from the plan or the
Township, except that the normal retirement benefit that was previously
deposited into the DROP account shall be paid directly to the DROP
participant.
(2)
If a DROP participant is determined to have a permanent disability as defined by Chapter 23, Article I, of the Franconia Township Code during the DROP participation period (whether due to a work-related or non-work-related injury), the participant shall immediately be honorably discharged from employment and shall terminate his DROP participation.
(a)
If the injury has been deemed to be work related according to
the terms of the plan, the DROP participant shall begin to receive
the service-connected disability benefit under the plan, to the extent
permitted by law, as calculated at the beginning of the DROP participation
period, and shall receive payment of his DROP account in accordance
with this agreement.
(b)
Alternatively, if the injury is deemed to be non-work related,
the DROP participant shall begin to receive directly his normal monthly
pension benefit as calculated at the beginning of the DROP participation
period, and payment of his DROP account in accordance with this agreement.
I.
Forfeiture. A member who has been convicted or pleads guilty to criminal
misconduct which constitutes a crime related to public office or public
employment, as defined by the Pennsylvania Pension Forfeiture Act,
43 P.S. 1311 through 1314, shall forfeit all rights to receive a pension,
including (without limitation) any right to receive any amount in
a DROP account.
J.
Death. If the member dies during the DROP participation period, the
DROP beneficiary designated on such DROP participant's DROP notice
shall have the same right as the DROP participant to withdraw the
balance of the DROP account according to the following provisions:
(1)
If a member dies during his DROP participation period and a
killed-in-service death benefit is determined to be payable in accordance
with Act 51 of 2009 (which amended Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel
Death Benefits Act by creating a killed-in-service benefit applicable
to municipal law enforcement officers and repealed the killed-in-service
benefit in Act 600, as amended by Act 30 of 2002) to the member's
survivors, the DROP participant's DROP election shall be revoked,
the DROP participant's named DROP beneficiary shall be entitled to
a lump-sum payment of the DROP account balance, the DROP participant's
monthly retirement benefit shall cease and there shall be no survivor's
benefit payable under the Plan.
(2)
If death occurs during the DROP participation period but the killed-in-service death benefit under Act 51 of 2009 (as defined above) is deemed to be not payable, the DROP participant's DROP election shall be revoked, the DROP participant's named DROP beneficiary shall be entitled to a lump-sum payment of the DROP account balance, and the DROP participant's surviving spouse or beneficiary as described in § 23-9 of the plan shall receive the survivor's benefit, if any, in accordance with and as permitted by the plan.
[Adopted 9-17-2007 by Ord. No. 350[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Article II, Pension Fund for Nonuniformed Personnel, adopted
12-29-1980 by Ord. No. 99, as amended.
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
An amount equal to 2% of average monthly compensation multiplied
by full and partial years of service rendered after January 1, 2019,
plus an amount equal to 1.5% of average monthly compensation multiplied
by full and partial years of service rendered after January 1, 2014,
to December 31, 2018, plus 1% of average monthly compensation multiplied
by full and partial years of service rendered prior to January 1,
2014.
[Amended 2-19-2019 by Ord. No. 402; 4-17-2023 by Ord. No. 420]
Age at nearest birthday.
The average of a member's monthly compensation over the last
five highest consecutive years of service out of the last 10 years
of service.
W-2 compensation, excluding buybacks, severance pay and lump-sum
bonuses such as longevity pay and education incentives.
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Franconia Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan Trust
Fund.
All municipal employees who meet the requirements set forth in § 23-16 of this article. The masculine pronoun will include the feminine.
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Franconia Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan. The
plan's fiscal year is the calendar year.
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any calendar year in which 1,000 or more hours of service
are performed.
This plan is to be funded and maintained by
any of the following methods, or combination of each:
A.
General fund: contributions from the general fund
of Franconia Township which may be required after appropriate approval
of the Township Board of Supervisors.
B.
Member contributions.
D.
Gifts, grants, devises or bequests: the sums which
may be received by Franconia Township, to the extent authorized by
law, and be contributed to such fund so long as prior approval of
the Township Board of Supervisors is obtained.
E.
Any other sums received by or contributed to the Franconia
Township Board of Supervisors, to the extent authorized by law, and
with prior approval of the Township Board of Supervisors.
A.
Pension Committee.
(1)
The general administration and management of the plan
shall be under the direction of a Pension Committee ("Committee")
as appointed by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors. The Committee
shall consist of five individuals appointed by resolution by the Township
Board of Supervisors. Any member of the Committee may resign upon
written notice to the Township Board of Supervisors and the Committee.
(2)
The Pension Committee shall have complete control
of the administration of the plan and shall have all powers necessary
to enable it to properly carry out its duties, including but not limited
to the power to construe the provisions of the fund, 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.
B.
Trustee.
(1)
The fund shall be under the direction of a trustee
designated by resolution by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors.
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 them
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 Township Board of Supervisors
by ordinance or by resolution.
(2)
The trustee 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 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 Township Board of Supervisors.
A.
Each full-time nonuniformed employee (regularly working not less
than 40 hours per week during the calendar year) hired prior to January
1, 2019, who has attained their 18th birthday and who is employed
by the employer is eligible to participate and shall be a member in
the Franconia Township Nonuniformed Employees' Pension Plan and Fund
as of his date of hire.
[Amended 2-19-2019 by Ord. No. 402]
B.
A member shall retain membership status until he separates
from service. Any member who separates from service shall cease to
be a member and shall, if he returns to service, requalify after completing
the eligibility requirements of this section.
C.
For the purposes of this section, "service" shall
mean the period of an employee's continuous 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)
Temporary leave of absence or layoff which shall,
if not otherwise stated, expire in six months unless sooner renewed;
(2)
Absence during which regular remuneration is paid;
and
(3)
Absence for military service under leave granted by
the employer or when required by law, provided 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 purposes of this section,
employees in similar circumstances shall be similarly treated.
A.
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.
B.
"Normal retirement date" shall mean the first of the
month coincident with or next following the attainment of the 65th
birthday.
A.
The amount of annual pension to members retiring under § 23-17 shall be equal to the accrued benefit. However, the guaranteed projected normal retirement benefits described in prior Ordinance No. 264, § 4.01, shall remain in full force and effect.
B.
The normal form of annuity under this plan is a life
annuity. 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.
Alternative options available include:
(1)
A lifetime annuity.
(2)
A joint and 50% survivor annuity. This is actuarially
equivalent to a life annuity and is for married members, unless the
member elects otherwise and the spouse consents in writing to another
form of payment.
(3)
A ten-year certain and continuous annuity.
(4)
Any other alternative form requested by the member
which is approved by the Employer.
(5)
If the actuarially equivalent lump sum value of the
benefit is $5,000 or less, the benefit can be paid as a lump sum.
C.
Notwithstanding the above, if a member retires on
a deferred retirement date, after his normal retirement date, the
benefit payable shall be the greater of the actuarial equivalent of
the normal retirement benefit or the accrued benefit at a deferred
retirement.
D.
Actuarial equivalency shall be determined using the
actuarial assumptions used to fund the plan.
A member who has reached his 55th birthday may
retire at any time at his own election. The benefit is payable on
the first of the month coincident or next following early retirement
and shall equal the accrued benefit actuarially reduced to the early
retirement date.
A.
A member shall become vested in accordance with the
following schedule:
|
Years of Service
|
Vested Percentage
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Each year
|
10%
| |
|
10 or more years
|
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.
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 with interest, if such refund is greater
in value than the actuarial equivalent of the accrued benefit.
A.
The preretirement death benefit. Upon the death of
a member prior to retirement, the actuarial equivalent of the accrued
benefit shall become fully vested and shall be payable to a married
member's spouse as a joint and 50% survivor annuity. If the member
is not married at the time of his death prior to retirement, the actuarial
equivalent of the accrued benefit shall become fully vested and shall
be payable to the unmarried member's designated beneficiary as a life
annuity or, if the lump sum value is $5,000 or less, as a lump sum.
B.
The post-retirement death benefit shall be determined
by the benefit payment elections made by the member at his retirement.
C.
The post-retirement death benefit is determined by
the form of annuity in effect.
A.
If a member becomes totally and permanently disabled,
such that he is unable to engage in any substantial employment, as
determined by a physician chosen by the employer, he will become 100%
vested in his accrued benefit payable as a life annuity.
B.
Monthly disability benefit payments shall begin on
the first day of the month coincident with or next following the date
of disability. Such payments shall continue to the date of his death
or the day following the date he is no longer totally and permanently
disabled.
The pension payments provided for herein shall
not be subject to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other
legal process and shall be payable only to the member or his designated
beneficiary. No member or his beneficiary shall have any right to
alienate, encumber or assign any assets of the fund held by the trustee
on his behalf, or any of the benefits or payments or agreement purchased
or acquired by the Township hereunder.
