(a) All members of the Fire and Police Pension Plan, including the Chief of Police, Chief Engineer of the Fire Department and Port Warden if they are members of the Plan, are eligible to enter DROP no later than April 30, 2007, if they meet all other requirements. As of May 1, 2007, all members of the Fire and Police Pension Plan, except for the Chief of Police and the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, are eligible to enter DROP if they meet all other requirements.
(b) In order to enter DROP, members must be eligible for an unreduced retirement in one of the pension tiers and meet the following minimum criteria:
Tier 2: 25 years of service
Tier 3: 25 years of service and age 50
Tier 4: 25 years of service
Tier 5: 25 years of service and age 50
Tier 6: 25 years of service and age 50
(c) Effective November 1, 2008, a member must also be on active duty status on the DROP entry date. For purposes of this provision active duty status shall include members working on light-duty status, but exclude members on sick, vacation, injured-on-duty, administrative leave, and all other types of non-working status. The City Administrative Officer shall have the authority to determine which payroll codes constitute active duty status for purposes of this provision and shall notify the Board accordingly.
(d) Any member who enters DROP on or after February 1, 2019, is subject to the suspension of participation provisions of Section 4.2110 of this Chapter.
(e) Any member who elects to participate in DROP shall voluntarily and irrevocably:
(1) Determine a beginning date upon which to enter DROP, consistent with the rules set forth by the Board of Fire and Police Pension Commissioners (“Board”) and agree to terminate employment as a sworn member with the City of Los Angeles on the last day of their participation in DROP. The beginning date for DROP participation may not be backdated. Members may participate in DROP for a maximum of five (5) years, or sixty (60) months, regardless of when they enter DROP. In no event shall a member be permitted to participate in DROP more than sixty (60) consecutive months after the DROP entry date, unless the member is eligible to extend the participation period as provided in Section 4.2110(d).
(2) Cease, from and after the date the member begins participating in DROP, to accrue additional retirement benefits, either through service accruals, future pay increases, active cost of living adjustments or promotions.
(3) Agree the member’s service retirement formula, including years of service and pension base, and all other eligibility conditions, including eligibility for survivor benefits, will be frozen at the time the member enters DROP.
(a) Tier 2 Members shall purchase Lost Service Time prior to entering DROP in order for that time to be counted toward the service pension.
(4) Have an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the service retirement benefit the member would have received if the member had retired at the time of entering DROP placed in a nominal account (“DROP account”). This amount shall not include credit for any calendar month for which participation has been suspended.
(5) Receive benefits from the Fire and Police Pension Plan upon termination of City employment as a sworn member of the Fire, Police, Harbor, or Airport Department at the time and in the manner provided in this Chapter.
(6) Execute such waivers with respect to age and other discrimination in employment laws as are required by the City and the Fire and Police Pension Plan.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a member who has elected to participate in DROP and subsequently, while still participating in DROP, is appointed to the position of Chief Engineer of the Fire Department or Chief of Police shall be allowed to rescind that election in writing subject to the following:
(1) The member shall forfeit the member’s entire DROP account.
(2) The member shall not be eligible to participate in DROP in the future.
(3) The member’s service and benefits under the Plan shall be determined the same as if the member had never elected to participate in DROP.
(4) The member shall not have the right to elect to become a member of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System pursuant to Section 4.2000 (j), or otherwise, but shall remain a member of the Plan for so long as the member is employed as Chief Engineer of the Fire Department or Chief of Police.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 174,540, Eff. 5-8-02.
Amended by: Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 177,900, Eff. 9-28-06; Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 178,656, Eff. 5-4-07; Subsec. (d) added, Ord. No. 179,987, Eff. 7-3-08; Last Para. of Subsec. (b) added, Ord. No. 180,322, Eff. 11-7-08; Subsecs. (b) and (c), Ord. No. 183,163, Eff. 8-8-14; Subsecs. (b) - (f), Ord. No. 185,935, Eff. 1-23-19.