(a) The following words or phrases, as used in this article, shall have the following meaning:
Actuarial equivalence or actuarially equivalent. Any benefit payable under the terms of this plan in a form other than the normal form of benefit shall have the same actuarial present value on the date payment commences as the normal form of benefit. For purposes of establishing the actuarial present value of any form of payment, all future payments shall be discounted for interest and mortality by using 8% interest and the 1983 Group Annuity Mortality Table, blending 80% males and 20% females, with ages set ahead five years in the case of disability retirees.
Average final compensation. The average total remuneration received by a police officer during the best five years of service with the city within the last ten. F.S. Ch. 185, Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances Section 18-168, as amended by Ord. No. 0 00-18 and 00-004.
Compensation or salary. The total cash remuneration including lump sum payments for accumulated sick and vacation leave and “overtime” paid by the primary employer to a police officer for services rendered, but not including any payments for extra duty or a special detail work performed on behalf of a second party employer paid directly to the police officer by the second party employer and amounts paid to a police officer after December 31, 2008 as differential wages during any period of active duty military service lasting more than 30 days. This definition also excludes severance pay and other similar payments which are not for services rendered. The member’s compensation or salary contributed as employee-elective salary reductions or deferrals to any salary reduction, deferred compensation, or tax-sheltered annuity program authorized under the Internal Revenue Code shall be deemed to be the compensation or salary the member would receive if he or she were not participating in such program and shall be treated as compensation for retirement purposes under this article. For any person who first becomes a member in any Plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, compensation for any Plan year shall not include any amounts in excess of section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code limitation (as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), which limitation of $150,000 shall be adjusted as required by federal law for qualified government plans and shall be further adjusted for changes in the cost of living in the manner provided by section 401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. For any person who first became a member prior to the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, the limitation on compensation shall be not less than the maximum compensation amount that was allowed to be taken into account under the plan as in effect on July 1, 1993, which limitation shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living since 1989 in the manner provided by section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code. F.S. Ch. 185.
Creditable service or credited service. The aggregate number of years of service and fractional parts of years of service of any police officer, omitting intervening years and fractional parts of years when such police officer may not have been employed by the municipality subject to the following conditions:
(1) No police officer will receive credit for years or fractional parts of years of service if he or she has withdrawn his or her contributions to the fund for those years or fractional parts of years of service, unless the police officer repays into the Fund the amount he or she has withdrawn, plus interest as determined by the board in accordance with Section 18-172.
(2) A police officer may voluntarily leave his or her contributions in the fund for a period of five years after leaving the employ of the police department, pending the possibility of his or her being rehired by the same department, without losing credit for the time he or she has participated actively as a police officer. If he or she is not reemployed as a police officer with the same department within five years, his or her contributions shall be returned to him or her without interest.
(3) In determining the creditable service of any police officer, credit for up to five years of the time spent in the military service of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be added to the years of actual service, if:
a. The police officer is in the active employ of the municipality prior to such service and leaves a position, other than a temporary position, for the purpose of voluntary or involuntary service in the Armed Forces of the United States.
b. The police officer is entitled to reemployment under the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
c. The police officer returns to his or her employment as a police officer of the municipality within one year from the date of his or her release from such active service except that effective January 1, 2007, police officers who die or become disabled while serving on active duty military service shall be entitled to the rights of this section even though such member was not re-employed by the city as a policy officer. Members who die or become disabled while on active duty military service shall be treated as through re-employed as a police officer the day before the member became disabled or died, and then considered for entitlement for a death or disability benefit. If the member’s death or disability arises out of the member’s active service in the military, then the member is entitled to a duty death or duty disability benefit. If the death or disability occurs while the member is serving on active duty military service but does not arise out of such service, then the member, if vested, is entitled to a non-duty disability benefit.
(4) Continuous service with the employer shall not be broken in the event of:
a. Absence on an approved leave of absence;
b. Absence from work because of occupational injury or disease incurred in employment for which a police officer is entitled to Workers’ Compensation payments;
c. Absence due to service in the Armed Forces of the United States provided the officer shall re-enter employment with the city within one year of discharge.
Beneficiary. Any natural person, who is entitled to receive a pension benefit payable from the Boynton Beach Police Officers’ Pension Fund upon the death of a member or participant. F.S. Ch. 185. A member’s trust may only be a beneficiary of the DROP Account. If there is no named beneficiary eligible to receive the remaining DROP, member refund of contributions, or the remainder of the 10 year certain period, the benefit can be paid to the member’s estate.
Fund or Police Officers’ Pension Fund. The Boynton Beach Police Officers’ Pension Fund. F.S. Ch. 185.
Plan year. The fiscal year commencing October 1 and ending the following September 30. Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances Section 18-171, Ord. No. 90-23, § 1, 8-7-90.
Police officer. Any person who is elected, appointed or employed full time by the City of Boynton Beach, who is certified or required to be certified as a law enforcement officer in compliance with F.S. Section 943.1395, who is vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic or highway laws of the state. This definition includes all certified supervisory and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part-time law enforcement officers or auxiliary law enforcement officers as the same are defined in F.S. Section 943.10(6) and (8). F.S. Ch. 185.
Retiree or retired police officer. A police officer who has entered retirement status. For the purposes of the deferred retirement option plan (DROP), a police officer who enters the DROP shall be considered a retiree for all purposes of the plan. F.S. Ch. 185.
Retirement. A police officer’s separation from city employment with immediate eligibility for receipt of benefits under the plan. For purposes of the DROP, retirement means the date a police officer enters the DROP. F.S. Ch. 185.
(b) The masculine gender includes the feminine and words of the singular with respect to persons include plural and vice versa.
(Ord. 10-005, § 2, 2-2-10; Ord. No. 20-010, § 3, 5-19-20)