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§ 2.5-23 COMPENSATION BASE FOR DETERMINING BENEFITS.
   (a)   Compensation base for determining group III member benefits for credited service earned or purchased prior to October 1, 2013.
      (1)   For group III members hired and vested prior to October 23, 2007 (not subject to the 12% earnings cap), pension, death benefits, disability pension and vested termination benefits for credited service earned or purchased prior to October 1, 2013, shall be based upon the group III member’s compensation base which shall mean the average annual earnings as defined by § 2.5-21(a) which were paid to the group III member by the city for employment with the city during any three calendar years in which the group III member had the highest annual earnings. If a group III member’s last day of employment with the city is prior to January 1, 1999, “five” shall be substituted for “three” in the preceding sentence.
      (2)   For group III members who were not vested by October 23, 2007, and for group III members hired after October 23, 2007, but prior to January 1, 2013 (subject to the 12% earnings cap), pension, death benefits, disability pension and vested termination benefits for credited service earned or purchased prior to October 1, 2013, shall be based upon the group III member’s compensation base which shall mean the average annual earnings, as defined by § 2.5-21(a) which were paid to the group III member by the city for employment with the city during any three calendar years in which the group III member had the highest annual earnings, subject to the following limitations.
         a.   The fund shall determine the four calendar years in which the group III member had the highest annual earnings. Of such four years, the year in which the group III member had the lowest annual earnings shall serve as the base year. The base year shall not be included as one of the three calendar years for purposes of the compensation base calculation.
         b.   The first annual earnings to be used in the calculation of the group III member’s compensation base shall be the actual annual earnings from the calendar year with the third highest annual earnings of the four calendar years identified in subsection (a)(2)a. above, provided that if such annual earnings are from a calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2008, the amount to be used in the calculation of the compensation base for the first year shall not exceed 112% of the annual earnings for the base year.
         c.   The second annual earnings to be used in the calculation of the group III member’s compensation base shall be the actual annual earnings from the calendar year with the second highest annual earnings of the four calendar years identified in subsection (a)(2)a. above, provided that if such annual earnings are from a calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2008, the amount to be used in the calculation of the compensation base for the second year shall not exceed 112% of the annual earnings used that are attributable to the year described in subsection (a)(2)b. above.
         d.   The third annual earnings to be used in the calculation of the group III member’s compensation base shall be the actual annual earnings from the calendar year with the highest annual earnings of the four calendar years identified in subsection (a)(2)a. above, provided that if such annual earnings are from a calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2008, the amount to be used in the calculation of the compensation base for the third year shall not exceed 112% of the annual earnings used that are attributable to the year described in subsection (a)(2)c. above.
         e.   The average of the three amounts determined in accordance with subsections (a)(2)a. through (a)(2)d. above will be the average annual earnings for purposes of the group III member’s compensation base.
   (b)   Compensation base for determining benefits for credited service earned or purchased, on or after October 1, 2013. Pension, death benefits, disability pension and vested termination benefits for credited service earned or purchased from October 1, 2013 to the date of termination shall be based upon the group III member’s average annual earnings as defined by § 2.5-21(b), which were paid to the group III member by the city for employment with the city during any five calendar years in which the group III member had the highest annual earnings. The compensation base for credited service earned or purchased on or after October 1, 2013, does not include overtime.
   (c)   If a group III member has less than three, or if applicable, five calendar years of employment. If a group III member has less than three, or if applicable, five calendar years of employment, the group III member’s compensation base shall be determined by the executive director under uniform, non- discriminatory procedures that are consistently applied.
   (d)   Lump sum payments. For compensation base purposes, any lump sum payments of earnings for any prior time period, whether awarded to the group III member by a court, administrative body or settlement agreement, shall be retroactively attributed to the calendar year in which it would otherwise have been received by the employee from the city for services rendered.
   (e)   DROP election. For purposes of computing the compensation base for a group III member who has made an effective DROP election, the group III member’s compensation base shall be calculated using the group III member’s earnings prior to the effective date of the DROP election.
(Ord. 20471-10-2012, § 2, passed 10-23-2012)