[Adopted 12-11-2006 by Ord. No. 344]
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
AGE
Age at nearest birthday.
ACCRUED BENEFIT
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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=
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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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COMPENSATION
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.
DROP
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]
DROP PARTICIPATION PERIOD
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]
EMPLOYER
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
FUND
Franconia Township Police Pension Plan Trust Fund.
MEMBER
All police employees who meet the requirements set forth in §
23-4 of this article. The masculine pronoun will include the feminine.
MUNICIPALITY
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PLAN
Franconia Township Police Pension Plan. The plan's fiscal
year is the calendar year.
TOWNSHIP
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.
C. State aid received pursuant to the Municipal Pension
Plan Funding Standard And Recovery Act (Act 205).
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.
[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]
A. Eligibility. Following the effective date of this section, any member (as defined by Code Chapter
23, Article
I, §
23-1) who has reached normal retirement date as defined by the plan may elect to become a participant in the DROP set forth in this section.
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.
(1)
The original costs for starting the DROP, as well as the costs
of administering the DROP program as a whole, will be paid by the
Township and/or the plan, as decided by the Township.
(2)
Any costs incurred by an individual DROP participant's DROP
account will be paid by the DROP participant.
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]
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
ACCRUED BENEFIT
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
Age at nearest birthday.
AVERAGE MONTHLY COMPENSATION
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.
COMPENSATION
W-2 compensation, excluding buybacks, severance pay and lump-sum
bonuses such as longevity pay and education incentives.
EMPLOYER
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
FUND
Franconia Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan Trust
Fund.
MEMBERS
All municipal employees who meet the requirements set forth in §
23-16 of this article. The masculine pronoun will include the feminine.
MUNICIPALITY
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
PLAN
Franconia Township Nonuniformed Employees Pension Plan. The
plan's fiscal year is the calendar year.
TOWNSHIP
Franconia Township, Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
YEAR OF SERVICE
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.
C. State aid received pursuant to the Municipal Pension
Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act (Act 205).
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 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.
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.