In this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT means the equivalent in value on the basis of the actuarial factors recommended by the fund's actuary and adopted by the board.
(2) ACTUARIAL VALUATION REPORT means the report issued by the fund's actuary and adopted by the board for any relevant period. The board shall provide a copy of each actuarial valuation report to the city promptly after adoption.
(3) ACTUARIALLY REQUIRED CONTRIBUTION RATE means, for any fiscal year, a rate of contribution to the fund, expressed as a percentage of members' projected wages for such fiscal year, that is the sum of the following as determined in the actuarial valuation report for the preceding plan year:
(A) the actuarial present value of the pension plan benefits and expenses that are allocated to a valuation period by the actuarial cost method; and
(B) the contribution that will amortize the difference between the actuarial accrued liability of the fund and the actuarial value of the assets of the fund over the period of years required by generally accepted accounting principles.
(4) ACTUARY means a person with at least five years of experience as an actuary working with one or more public retirement systems; and is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, or an enrolled actuary under the Employees Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.).
(5) AVERAGE MONTHLY EARNINGS means wages paid by the city, divided by the number of months of credited service of a member or inactive member, computed for whichever of the following periods is most beneficial to the member or inactive member:
(A) For Tier A members or inactive members, the:
(i) three calendar years of credited service in which the member or inactive member was paid the highest wage;
(ii) last 6,240 hours of credited service; or
(iii) length of credited service if less than three years.
(B) For Tier B members or inactive members, the:
(i) five calendar years of credited service in which the member or inactive member was paid the highest wage;
(ii) last 10,400 hours of credited service; or
(iii) length of credited service if less than five years.
(6) BASE PENSION means the amount of retirement pension or death benefits as computed under this chapter at the time of retirement or death of a member, inactive member, or retiree.
(7) BENEFICIARY means a person who is entitled to payment of benefits under this chapter upon the death of a member, inactive member, or retiree.
(8) BOARD means the board of trustees of the employees' retirement fund of the city of Dallas.
(9) CHILD means an unmarried person whose parent is a member, inactive member, or retiree.
(10) CITY means the city of Dallas, Texas.
(11) CITY COUNCIL means the governing body of the city of Dallas, Texas.
(12) COMMUTED VALUE means the present value of a series of payments to be made in the future, the present value to be calculated using the actuarial interest assumption prescribed in Section 40A-9 as the only discounting factor.
(13) CREDITED SERVICE means any period that a person is paid as an employee of the city and contributes to the fund.
(14) CURRENT ADJUSTED TOTAL OBLIGATION RATE means, for any fiscal year, the rate recommended by the fund's actuary and adopted by the board as follows, using whichever formula is applicable:
(A) If the current total obligation rate minus the prior adjusted total obligation rate is greater than three, then the current adjusted total obligation rate for such fiscal year is equal to the lesser of:
(i) the prior adjusted total obligation rate plus one-half times the difference of the current total obligation rate minus the prior adjusted total obligation rate; or
(ii) 110 percent times the prior adjusted total obligation rate; or
(iii) 36 percent.
(B) If the difference between the current total obligation rate and the prior adjusted total obligation rate is less than three, then the current adjusted total obligation rate for such fiscal year is equal to the prior adjusted total obligation rate.
(C) If the prior adjusted total obligation rate minus the current total obligation rate is greater than three, then the current adjusted total obligation rate for such fiscal year is equal to the greater of:
(i) the prior adjusted total obligation rate minus one-half times the difference of the prior adjusted total obligation rate minus the current total obligation rate; or
(ii) 90 percent times the prior adjusted total obligation rate.
(15) CURRENT TOTAL OBLIGATION RATE means, for any fiscal year, the rate adopted by the board that is equal to the sum of the pension obligation bond credit rate for such fiscal year plus the actuarially required contribution rate for such fiscal year.
(16) DEPENDENT PARENT means a member, inactive member, or retiree's parent who is:
(A) totally and permanently disabled and who receives over half of the support for each calendar year from the member, inactive member, or retiree; or
(B) 65 years of age or older.
(17) DESIGNEE means an estate, a person, or an entity selected by:
(A) a member or inactive member to receive a refund of contributions under Section 40A-21(b);
(C) a member, inactive member, or retiree to receive the earned but unpaid portion of the final month's pension due under Section 40A-23(e).
(18) EMPLOYEE:
(A) means a person employed by the city on a permanent basis who receives regular compensation from the city; and
(B) does not mean:
(i) an elective officer or nonsalaried appointive member of an administrative board or commission;
(ii) a person retained under contract for a definite period or for the performance of a particular service;
(iii) a person given a temporary designation for the purpose of employment by the city;
(iv) a leased employee; or
(v) a police officer, firefighter, or fire alarm operator as those categories are defined in the classifications of the personnel department of the city.
(19) FISCAL YEAR means the city's fiscal year, which is the 12-month period commencing October 1 and ending the following September 30.
(20) INACTIVE MEMBER means a person:
(A) who has terminated employment with the city but who has not retired; and
(B) whose contributions to the fund have not been forfeited or withdrawn.
(21) INJURY means an accident resulting in damage or harm to the physical structure of the body.
(22) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or its successor, as amended.
(23) LEASED EMPLOYEE means an individual who is not a common law employee of the city but who provides services to the city, if:
(A) such services are performed pursuant to an agreement between the city and another person;
(B) the individual has performed such services for the city or for the city and a related person or persons on a substantially full-time basis for at least one year; and
(C) such services are performed under the primary direction or control of the city.
(24) LEAVE OF ABSENCE means:
(A) leave without pay granted by the city in accordance with a uniform and nondiscriminatory leave policy; or
(B) leave during which a member receives worker's compensation benefits or short-term disability benefits.
(25) MEMBER means an employee who is currently contributing to the retirement fund or who is on an approved leave of absence, but does not include a person establishing credited service under Section 40A-14 after termination of employment because of reduction in force.
(26) NONSERVICE DISABILITY means total and permanent disability caused by injury, sickness, or disease while not in the performance of official city duties.
(27) PARENT has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 51.02 of the Texas Family Code, as amended.
(28) PART-TIME EMPLOYEE means an employee classified as part-time by the city under Section 34-8(c) of this code, as amended.
(29) PENSION means an amount payable monthly to a person eligible to receive death or retirement benefits under the retirement fund.
(30) PENSION OBLIGATION BOND CREDIT RATE means, for any fiscal year, the rate adopted by the board that is a percentage calculated by dividing the:
(A) debt service due during such fiscal year on any pension obligation bonds, the proceeds of which have been deposited in the fund, by
(B) total members' projected wages for such fiscal year, as reported in the relevant actuarial valuation report.
(31) PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS means bonds described in Chapter 107 of the Texas Local Government Code (or any successor law that supersedes such chapter) and issued by the city.
(32) PERCENTAGE MULTIPLIER means the percentage by which the average monthly earnings of a member or inactive member is multiplied in order to compute benefits.
(33) PERMANENT BASIS means employment of an individual for an unfixed continuing period.
(34) PERSON means an individual.
(35) PLAN YEAR means the calendar year or other plan year adopted by the board.
(36) PRICE INDEX means the national Consumer Price Index of Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor, or its successor in function.
(37) PRIOR ADJUSTED TOTAL OBLIGATION RATE means, for any fiscal year, the current adjusted total obligation rate that was effective for the prior fiscal year.
(38) QUALIFIED RECIPIENT means:
(A) the spouse of a deceased member or inactive member at the time of death of the member or inactive member;
(B) the spouse of a deceased retiree, if the spouse was married to the retiree at the time of retirement and at the time of the retiree's death;
(C) each child of a deceased member, inactive member, or retiree under the age of 18, if the child was alive or had been conceived at the time of death of the member, inactive member, or retiree;
(D) each totally and permanently disabled child of a deceased member, inactive member, or retiree if the child was totally and permanently disabled before the age of 18; and
(E) a parent of a deceased member, inactive member, or retiree who was a dependent parent at the time of death of the member, inactive member, or retiree.
(39) RESTRICTED PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT means service credit for work as a permanent, full-time, paid employee of a government entity, agency, authority, or political subdivision of the United States or its states or territories, performed before employment or re-employment by the city.
(40) RETIREE means a person who was once a member but who has retired from city employment and is receiving a pension from the fund other than a death benefit.
(41) RETIREMENT means terminating city employment for a reason other than death and fulfilling all requirements for a pension under this chapter.
(42) RETIREMENT FUND or FUND means the employees' retirement fund of the city of Dallas and the program of benefits established under this chapter and any rule or regulation established by the board.
(43) SERVICE DEATH means the death of a member resulting from an injury sustained while in the performance of official city duties. A death resulting from an injury sustained while in the performance of official city duties does not include:
(A) a death caused by an act of God unless the member in the performance of official city duties was subjected to a greater hazard from an act of God than that to which the general public was subjected;
(B) a death caused by an act of a third person who causes the death of the member because of reasons personal to the third person and not for reasons of the member's employment;
(C) a death caused while the member was attempting to injure or kill another person;
(D) a suicide;
(E) a death while on leave of absence, unless the leave was granted solely because of an injury sustained in the performance of official city duties and the injury was the primary cause of death;
(F) a death while on leave for military active duty; or
(G) a death resulting from an injury in which a contributing factor was the member's ingestion of an alcoholic beverage or illegal ingestion, inhalation, or injection of a controlled substance.
(44) SERVICE DISABILITY means total and permanent disability caused by injury while in the performance of official city duties. An injury while in the performance of official city duties does not include:
(A) an injury caused by an act of God unless the member in the performance of official city duties was subjected to a greater hazard from an act of God than that to which the general public was subjected;
(B) an injury caused by an act of a third person who injures the member because of reasons personal to the third person and not for reasons of the member's employment;
(C) an injury in which a contributing factor was the member's ingestion of an alcoholic beverage or illegal ingestion, inhalation, or injection of a controlled substance;
(D) an injury caused while the member was attempting to injure or kill another person; or
(E) an injury that was self-inflicted.
(45) SPOUSE means the person to whom the member, inactive member, or retiree is married, as evidenced by the last marriage certificate or declaration of informal marriage on file with the retirement fund and verified by the administrator to be valid in the jurisdiction in which the marriage was celebrated.
(46) TIER A means:
(A) a person who was:
(i) employed by the city before January 1, 2017; or
(ii) re-employed or reinstated by the city on or after January 1, 2017, and whose credited service before January 1, 2017, has not been canceled by withdrawal or forfeiture; and
(B) a beneficiary or designee of that person.
(47) TIER B means:
(A) a person who was:
(i) employed by the city on or after January 1, 2017; or
(ii) re-employed or reinstated by the city on or after January 1, 2017, and whose prior credited service has been canceled by withdrawal or forfeiture; and
(B) a beneficiary or designee of that person.
(48) TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY means the continuing inability of a person to obtain and retain any type of employment for compensation as a result of a mental or physical impairment caused by an injury or illness. A person is not under a total or permanent disability if, with reasonable effort and safety to the person, the impairment can be diminished to the extent that the person will not be prevented by the impairment from obtaining and retaining any type of employment for compensation.
(49) TRANSITION YEAR means each of the following:
(A) the first fiscal year in which debt service payments related to pension obligation bonds are due from the city; and
(B) the first fiscal year in which no debt service payments related to pension obligation bonds are due from the city.
(50) VESTED means that a member or inactive member has accumulated sufficient credited service or age to have earned a nonforfeitable right to receive a pension benefit, payable in accordance with the terms of the plan.
(51) WAGE:
(A) means:
(i) wages of an employee as defined in Section 3401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for income tax withholding, including salary continuation payments made to an employee with a job-related injury or illness;
(ii) compensation that by special rule is excluded from Section 3401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code because of the nature or location of the services performed;
(iii) elective contributions to a plan of deferred compensation, including a plan established under Section 125, 401(k), or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code, and elective reductions in compensation for qualified transportation fringe benefits that are excluded from an employee's gross income by reason of Section 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
(iv) any lump sum payment made at termination of employment for accrued vacation leave or prorated service incentive pay; and
(B) does not mean:
(i) expense reimbursements, expense allowances, car allowances, or moving expenses;
(ii) cash or noncash fringe benefits;
(iii) welfare benefits, including, but not limited to, health benefits or life insurance benefits;
(iv) deferred compensation, unless made under a plan described in Paragraph (A)(iii) of this subsection;
(v) any lump sum payment made at retirement for accrued sick leave or attendance incentive leave;
(vi) workers compensation benefits, short-term disability benefits, or catastrophic leave benefits; or
(vii) any compensation in excess of the limits imposed by Section 401(a)(17)(A), as adjusted in accordance with Section 401(a)(17)(B), of the Internal Revenue Code. (Ord. Nos. 15414; 16886; 17713; 18181; 19470; 20960; 21582; 22345; 25695; 25818; 28739; 29644; 30162)