[Adopted as Art. 143 of the 1965 Codified
Ordinances]
A.
There is established a retirement system for officers
and employees of the City in the manner and under the conditions and
subject to the qualifications provided by the Act of 1945, May 23,
(P.L. 903), as amended,[1] and subject to future amendment; such retirement system to be subject to all the definitions as set forth in the aforesaid Act of Assembly, and to provide for the payment of pension benefits as set forth in the aforesaid act, subject to the amendments and additions thereto as set forth in this article, including but not limited to the membership limitations as set forth in § 110-31.
[Amended 9-28-1983 by Ord. No. 2725]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 39371
et seq.
B.
Every officer or employee covered by the retirement system established by Subsection A hereof and by the Act of 1945, May 23, P.L. 903, excepting those persons covered by the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law set forth in § 110-31, of the age of 55 and upwards and who shall have so served as an officer or employee for a period of 20 years or more shall, upon application to the Easton Officers' and Employees' Retirement Board, be retired from service and shall, during the remainder of their lives, receive the compensation fixed by this act, subject to such other qualifications as may be set forth in the Act of Assembly and elsewhere in this article.
[Amended 7-28-1982 by Ord. No. 2665]
[Amended 8-23-1995 by Ord. No. 3380; 3-23-2011 by Ord. No.
5303]
There is established a board to be known as
the Easton Officers’ and Employees' Retirement Board, composed
as provided by the Act of 1945, May 23 (P.L. 903), and with the powers
and duties therein provided, except that the Chairman of the Finance
Committee of City Council, or his designee from City Council, shall
serve as a member of the Board.
[Amended 9-24-1964 by Ord. No. 1837]
The retirement system herein created and adopted
shall be effective as of January 1, 1948, as to all officers and employees
of the City who are not protected by pensions authorized by ordinance
in force as of December 31, 1947.
[Amended 9-24-1964 by Ord. No. 1837]
The two employee members of the Easton Officers'
and Employees' Retirement Board required by the Act of 1945, May 23
(P.L. 903), to be chosen by employees contributing to the retirement
fund shall be chosen and shall serve on such Board as follows:
A.
Terms. Employee memberships on the Board shall be
for a six-year term, beginning on the first Monday of February 2012.
Board membership shall be held until the successors are elected and
enter upon their duties.
[Amended 3-23-2011 by Ord. No. 5303]
B.
Elections. The full membership of the Board shall
conduct elections for each vacancy during the January immediately
preceding the expiration of any term. Not less than 14 days prior
to the last day available for such election, the Board shall conduct
a meeting, at a time and place convenient to employees contributing
to the retirement fund, for the purpose of receiving nominations to
the employee membership on the Board. At such meeting, the Board shall
determine and announce the date and hours for the receiving of election
ballots. The Board shall promptly, upon conclusion of the nomination
meeting, post notices in conspicuous places in City Hall stating the
date and hours fixed for election and the names of all employees placed
in nomination at such meeting. The Chairman or Acting Chairman of
the Board shall assign tellers for the election.
C.
Vacancy. Any employee membership on the Board which
becomes vacant for any reason shall be filled for the unexpired term
by an election to be conducted promptly by the Board, consistent with
the provisions for regular elections herein stated.
[Amended 9-24-1964 by Ord. No. 1837]
A.
Members of the Board shall serve without compensation
but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses.
B.
No person shall suffer loss of salary or wages by
reason of service on the Board.
C.
The Board shall keep a record of its proceedings,
which shall be open to public inspection.
D.
All property and money contributed to or otherwise
acquired by the Board shall be kept in its name on deposit or in bank
vaults in such banks as are used by the City for its own funds.
E.
All property and accounts of the Board shall be subject
to annual or special audits in the same manner as City property and
accounts are subject to audit.
[Amended 9-24-1964 by Ord. No. 1837; 3-23-2011 by Ord. No.
5303]
The proper officers of the City are authorized
and directed to deduct from salary and wages of officers and employees
participating in the retirement system, at each payroll period, the
amount as may from time to time be provided by law as the contribution
required of such officers and employees. Amounts so deducted shall
be immediately deposited in the Board treasury, and the Director of
Finance shall transmit to the Board, monthly, a detailed statement
of all amounts so deducted and deposited.
A.
The widow or widower of an officer or employee of
the City who retires on pension or being eligible for pension but
is still employed full time and dies or is killed in the service on
or after January 1, 1960, shall, during his or her lifetime or so
long as he or she does not remarry, be entitled to receive a pension
calculated at the rate of 50% of the pension the officer or employee
was receiving or would have been receiving had he or she been retired
at the time of his or her death.
[Amended 4-9-1970 by Ord. No. 2063]
B.
The widow or widower of an officer or employee who, having died on or after January 1, 1960, while still in the full-time employment of the City after having served for 12 years or more, regardless of the age of such officer or employee at the time of his or her death, shall during the remainder of such widow or widower's life, so long as he or she does not remarry, be entitled to receive 50% of the portion of compensation as the period of service up to the date of death of the officer or employee bears to the full twenty-year period of service. This Subsection B shall have retroactive effect so as to provide compensation as above provided to widows and widowers of officers and employees within the above category dying after January 1, 1960, except that, where refunds of contributions have been made, such refunded amount shall be deducted from the compensation to be paid and, further, that such retroactive compensation shall be payable without interest.
[Amended 7-27-1977 by Ord. No. 2417]
C.
Each officer and employee of the City shall pay an
additional contribution of 1% of his or her salary or wages to the
Easton Officers' and Employees' Retirement Fund to provide sufficient
funds for payment to widows and widowers of members retired on pension
or killed in the service of the City. Council shall set aside and
appropriate an additional amount, if deemed necessary, to provide
sufficient funds for payments to widows or widowers of members retired
on pension or killed in the service of the City.
[Amended 5-22-1969 by Ord. No. 2037]
D.
The widow or widower of an officer or employee of the City who is retired on disability pension shall, during his or her lifetime or so long as he or she does not remarry, be entitled to receive a pension calculated at the rate of 50% of the pension the officer or employee was receiving at the time of his or her death. This Subsection D shall have retroactive effect to January 1, 1960.
[Amended 10-12-1977 by Ord. No. 2428]
Every contributor to the Easton Officers' and
Employees' Retirement Fund, in addition to the retirement allowance
which is authorized under the provisions of the Act of 1945, May 23
(P.L. 903), may be entitled to the payment of a service increment
in accordance with and subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth.
A.
Service increment shall be the sum obtained by computing
the number of whole years after having served 20 years, required by
this article, during which a contributor has been employed by such
City and paid out of the City treasury and multiplying the number
of years, and fraction of year, so computed by an amount equal to
1/40 of the retirement allowance which has become payable to such
contributor in accordance with the provisions of this article. In
computing the service increment, no employment after the contributor
has reached the age of 65 years shall be included.
[Amended 1-12-2011 by Ord. No. 5299]
B.
Each contributor who so chooses to become entitled
to the service increments provided by this article shall, from and
after the effective date of this subsection, pay into the retirement
fund a monthly sum in addition to his or her retirement contribution
which shall be equal to 1/2 of 1% of his or her salary, provided that
such service increment contribution shall not be paid after a contributor
has reached the age of 65 years.
C.
Persons who are contributors on the effective date
of this subsection who have already reached the age of 65 years shall
have his or her service increment computed on the years and fraction
of year of employment, prior to the date of reaching his or her 65th
birthday.
[Amended 1-12-2011 by Ord. No. 5299]
D.
Service increment contributions shall be paid at the
same time and in the same manner as retirement contributions and may
be withdrawn in full, without interest, by persons who leave the employment
of the City, subject to the same conditions by which retirement contributions
may be withdrawn, or by persons who retire before becoming entitled
to any service increment.
[Amended 3-28-1973 by Ord. No. 2203]
A.
As of the effective date of this section, membership
in the Officers' and Employees' Retirement Pension System shall be
closed and all officers and employees not members as of that date
shall be ineligible for membership. Officers and employees hired on
or after the effective date of this section shall be bound by the
provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law, as set forth
hereafter.[1]
[Amended 12-13-1978 by Ord. No. 2474]
B.
Easton City (the City), being member municipality of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System (the System), hereby elects to amend its Municipal Pension Plan administered by the System in accordance with Article IV of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law, 53 P.S. § 881.101 et seq. (Retirement Law), and does hereby agree to be bound by all the requirements and provisions of the Retirement Law and the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act, 53 P.S. § 895.010 et seq., and to assume all obligations, financial and otherwise, placed upon member municipalities.
[Amended 10-10-2012 by Ord. No. 5376[2]]
[2]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance, which provided an effective
date of 1-1-2013, also repealed Ord. No. 3280, adopted 10-13-1993.
C.
As part
of this section, the City agrees that the System shall administer
and provide the benefits set forth in the amended Municipal Pension
Plan Contract entered into between the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement
Board and the City, effective January 1, 2013 (the Contract).[3]
[Amended 10-10-2012 by Ord. No. 5376]
(1)
The
City Administrator, or his/her designee, shall serve as the Chief
Administrative Officer of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System
Pension Plan.
[Added 9-11-2013 by Ord. No. 5430]
[3]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. 143.09(d), which previously followed
this subsection, was repealed 9-23-1987 by Ord. No. 2908.
D.
The passage
and adoption of this section by the City is an official acceptance
of the Contract and the financial obligations resulting from the administration
of the Contract.
[Amended 10-10-2012 by Ord. No. 5376]
E.
Payment
for any obligation established by the adoption of this section and
the Contract shall be made by the City in accordance with the Retirement
Law and the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act.
The City hereby assumes all liability for any unfundedness created
due to the benefit structure set forth in the Contract.
[Amended 10-10-2012 by Ord. No. 5376]
[Amended 6-27-1979 by Ord. No. 2505]
Should an officer or employee become so permanently
disabled as to render him unable to perform the duties of his position
or office after 12 years of service but prior to 15 years of service,
regardless of the age of such officer or employee, he shall be entitled
to receive such portion of the full compensation as the period of
his service up to the date of its termination bears to the full fifteen-year
period of service.
[Amended 7-28-1982 by Ord. No. 2665]
The provisions of the Act of 1945, May 23 (P.L.
903) notwithstanding, where an officer or employee shall have served
for 12 years or more and his tenure of office or employment shall
be terminated for any reason before the expiration of 20 years of
service, he shall, in such event, during the remainder of his life
after attaining the age of 55 years, be entitled to receive such portion
of the full compensation as the period of his service up to the date
of its termination bears to the full twenty-year period of service,
provided that such officer or employee has continued his contributions
into the Easton Officers' and Employees' Retirement Fund at the same
rate as when his employment was terminated until he attains age 55.
[Amended 9-28-1983 by Ord. No. 2725]
A.
Any member
of the Officers' and Employees' Retirement Fund who is a contributor,
and who served in the armed forces of the United States subsequent
to September 1, 1940, and who was not a member of the Officers' and
Employees' Retirement Fund prior to such military service, shall be
entitled to have full credit for each service year or fraction thereof,
not to exceed five years of service, upon his payment to the Officers'
and Employees' Retirement Fund of an amount equal to that which he
would have paid had he been a member during the period for which he
desires credit and his payment to such fund of an additional amount
as the equivalent of the contributions of the City on account of such
military service.
B.
Requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment
Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).
[Added 10-26-2011 by Ord. No. 5331]
(1)
The rights of any returning veteran who resumes employment with the
City on or after December 12, 1994, shall be modified as set forth
in this subsection. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this subsection
shall not apply if the returning veteran is not entitled to benefits
under this plan but is instead entitled to benefits under the Pennsylvania
Municipal Retirement System.
(2)
QUALIFIED MILITARY SERVICE
RETURNING VETERAN
UNIFORMED SERVICES
The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this subsection:
Any service (either voluntary or involuntary) by an individual
in the uniformed services if such individual is entitled to reemployment
rights with the City with respect to such service. An individual's
qualified military service shall include any absence from employment
necessitated by service in the uniformed services, including absences
required to prepare for service or to recuperate from injuries sustained
in active duty.
A former employee of the City who on or after December 12,
1994, returns from qualified military service to employment by the
City within the period of time during which his/her reemployment rights
are protected by law.
The armed forces, the Army National Guard and Air National
Guard (when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training,
or full-time National Guard duty), the Commissioned Corps of Public
Health Service, and any other category of persons designated by the
President of the United States in time of war or emergency.
(3)
A returning veteran who was participating in the plan immediately
prior to his/her qualified military service shall be deemed to have
continued participating in the plan throughout his/her qualified military
service. A returning veteran who would have become eligible to participate
in the plan during the period of his/her qualified military service,
but for the resulting absence from employment, shall be deemed to
have commenced participation in the plan as of the date he/she would
have commenced participation in the plan if he/she had not entered
into qualified military service.
(5)
A returning veteran's benefit under the plan will be increased to reflect his/her period of qualified military service once he/she has made the contributions required under §§ 110-28, 110-29C, and 110-36 in an amount equal to those which he/she would have made during his/her period of qualified military service.
(6)
For purposes of determining the amount of a participant's compensation, and for applying the limits of § 110-33, a participant's compensation during any period of qualified military service shall be deemed to equal either:
(a)
The compensation he/she would have received but for such qualified
military service, based on the rate of pay he/she would have received
from the City; or
(b)
If the amount described in Subsection B(6)(a) above is not reasonably certain, his/her average compensation from the City during the twelve-month period immediately preceding the qualified military service (or, if shorter, the period of employment immediately preceding the qualified military service). Such amount shall be adjusted as necessary to reflect the length of the participant's qualified military service.
(7)
If a returning veteran received a distribution of all or a portion
of his/her benefit as a result of his/her qualified military service,
he/she shall be permitted to repay the amount of such distribution,
plus interest. Such repayment shall be made during the period that
begins with his/her reemployment with the City and ends with the expiration
of a period of five years, or, if shorter, a period of three times
the period of qualified military service, and may only be made while
the returning veteran is an employee of the City.
(8)
The City shall establish such rules and procedures as it deems necessary
or desirable to implement the provisions of this article, provided
that they are not in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, any regulations thereunder, or
any other applicable law.
C.
Effective January 1, 2007, notwithstanding any provision of the plan
to the contrary, in the case of a participant who dies while performing
qualified military service, the survivors of the participant are entitled
to any additional benefits (other than benefit accruals relating to
the period of qualified military service) provided under the plan
had the participant resumed then terminated employment on account
of death. This provision shall be applied in accordance with guidance
issued under Section 401(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue Code.
[Amended 3-11-1992 by Ord. No. 3201]
The Board of the Officers' and Employees' Pension
Fund shall administer the timely payment of moneys due from vested
members. Payments shall be on a quarterly basis or may be paid in
advance. Failure to make payments as billed shall be treated as an
election to withdraw from the pension fund, resulting in Board action
to return contributions and to terminate the right to receive pension
benefits.
[Amended 1-5-2004 by Ord. No. 4452]
A.
The Board
of Officers' and Employees' Pension Fund shall permit any contributing
officer or employee to receive pension compensation without the reduction
as provided in Subsection C, Section 4 of the Act of 1945, May 23
(P.L. 903) where such an officer or employee has agreed to pay to
the fund 1/5% of salary or wages. In order to prevent the reduction
of the pension payment by 40%, the election must be made by the time
of retirement, and payment for any deficiency must be paid no later
than the latter of the following: at the time of retirement or on
the date of receipt by the employee of his/her final paycheck. "Paycheck"
would include payment of salary, accumulated, accrued and unused vacation,
longevity or terminal leave payments, but not pension payments. Retirement
commences the first day after the last day of employment.
B.
A member
of the pension who has more then 30 years of service and is at least
50 years of age may purchase the years of service needed for the normal
minimum age of 55 years for drawing a pension. The pension will be
based on current salary at the age of retirement plus years of service
worked.
[Added 1-12-2011 by Ord. No. 5299]
