In addition to the words and phrases defined in the Fire and Police Pension Plans General Provisions in Part 3, and for the purposes of this Tier 4, the following words or phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated in the context.
(a) Member of the Fire Department. Member of the Fire Department means the Fire Chief and a person duly and regularly appointed in the Fire Department, under civil service rules and regulations or provisions of the Charter, or both, governing the making of original regular and permanent appointments which require the serving of probationary periods but not of original emergency or temporary appointments, to perform duties as a firefighter or as a paramedic or civilian ambulance employee for the City, under whatever designation such person may be described in any salary or departmental ordinance providing salaries for the members of the department, but such person shall be a member of the department only until his or her status as such shall be terminated by reason of retirement, resignation or discharge or for any other reason.
(b) Member of the Police Department. Member of the Police Department means the Chief of Police and a person duly and regularly appointed in the Police Department, under civil service rules and regulations or provisions of the Charter, or both, governing the making of original regular and permanent appointments which require the serving of probationary periods but not of original emergency or temporary appointments therein, and sworn in, as provided by law, to perform duties as a police officer for the City, under whatever designation such person may be described in any salary or departmental ordinance providing salaries for the members of the department but such person shall be a member of the department only until his or her status as such shall be terminated by reason of his or her retirement, resignation or discharge or for any other reason.
(c) Plan Member. Plan Member means a person who is a Department Member and whose pension rights and benefits are governed by this Tier 4.
(d) Qualified Surviving Spouse. Qualified Surviving Spouse means a person who is the widow or widower of a deceased Plan Member or Retired Plan Member and who has been married (1) to the Plan Member for at least one year prior to the date of his or her nonservice-connected death while a Plan Member, or (2) to the Plan Member as of the date of his or her service-connected death while a Plan Member, or (3) to the Retired Plan Member for at least one year prior to the effective date of his or her retirement upon a service pension or upon a nonservice-connected disability pension pursuant, respectively, to Section 1604 or Section 1606(b), or (4) to the Retired Plan Member as of the effective date of his or her retirement upon a service-connected disability pension pursuant to Section 1606(a).
(e) Minor Child. Minor Child means a person who is a child or an adopted child of a deceased Plan Member or a Retired Plan Member but such person shall be a Minor Child only until such person shall attain the age of 18 years or shall marry, whichever shall be earlier.
A person may further qualify for the benefits provided for a Minor Child under the provisions of this Tier 4 until he or she reaches the age of 22 years if such person is enrolled in school on a full-time basis as determined by the Board but such person’s marriage terminates entitlement to the benefits of a Minor Child.
(f) Dependent Child. Dependent Child means a person who is a child of a deceased Plan Member or a deceased Retired Plan Member, who is not married and who, while under the age of 21 years, had become disabled, either prior or after the date of death of such Plan Member or Retired Plan Member, from earning a livelihood for any cause or reason whatsoever, but such person shall be a Dependent Child only until he or she shall cease to be disabled from earning a livelihood. Should disability cease before the age of 22 years, the limitations set forth in subsection (e) shall be applicable.
(g) Dependent Parent. Dependent Parent means a person who is a parent of a deceased Plan Member or a deceased Retired Plan Member and to or for whom such deceased Plan Member or deceased Retired Plan Member, during at least one year immediately preceding his or her death, contributed one-half or more of such Dependent Parent’s necessary living expenses and who is unable to pay such expenses without the receipt of a pension but such person shall be a Dependent Parent only until he or she shall be able to pay his or her necessary living expenses.
(h) Length of Service Pay. Length of Service Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of length of service, shall be provided by ordinance.
(i) Special Pay. Special Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform special duties other than hazardous duties, shall be provided by ordinance.
(j) Hazard Pay. Hazard Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform helicopter duties, two-wheel motorcycle duties or any other hazardous duties shall be provided by ordinance.
(k) Assignment Pay. Assignment Pay means any additional gross monthly pay which, by reason of assignment to perform special duties or hazardous duties, in a higher class, position, grade, code or other title than the lowest thereof within the Plan Member’s permanent rank, shall be provided therefor by ordinance.
(l) Year. Year means a period of 12 months or, in aggregating partial years for purposes of determining Years of Service, means 365 days.
(m) Years of Service. Years of Service means and includes only those periods during or for which the Plan Member was a Department Member of the Fire Department or of the Police Department, or of both and whether prior or after his or her becoming a Plan Member and subject to the limitations contained in Section 1600 of this Tier 4:
(1) did or shall receive salary, whether in full or reduced amounts thereof;
(2) did or shall receive either a service-connected disability pension or a nonservice-connected disability pension under any Tier of the Fire and Police Pension Plans, provided, however, that he or she was or shall be restored to active duty as a Department Member and did or shall perform his or her duties as such for at least one year prior to again retiring or being retired pursuant to this Tier 4, which year shall not include any time off from work by reason of any injury or illness which had been caused by or contributed to by any injury or illness which had been sustained or suffered by him or her prior to such restoration. The restored Plan Member, upon completing one Year of Service following restoration, shall be eligible for such credit only to the extent that the length of service following restoration matches the period the disability pension was received; but upon completing three years of restored service, the restored Plan Member is eligible for credit for the entire period the disability pension was received; and provided further that a period during which a Plan Member was on a nonservice-connected disability pension may only be counted toward his or her Years of Service if the Plan Member makes contributions therefor at the rate provided in Section 1614 of this Tier 4 in accordance with the rules to be adopted by the Board;
(3) or shall become entitled, under any provision of general law or ordinance of the City, to credit toward retirement for periods of military service or military leave;
(4) did or shall receive workers’ compensation benefits for temporary disability as provided by general law on account of any injury or illness arising out of and in the course of employment but such period shall be made a part of the Plan Member’s Years of Service only if the Plan Member has made contributions to the Fire and Police Pension Plan in the manner prescribed by Board rule;
(5) is or shall become entitled pursuant to any ordinance of the City providing compensation for injury on duty; and
(6) had served as a member of the Fire and Police Pension System - Tiers 1 or 2 of this Article, without having become eligible to service retirement benefits but such prior service as a member under provisions of Tiers 1 or 2 does not entitle the Plan Member to a refund of contributions made on account of such previous service.
A Plan Member who has previously been a Plan Member and who has ceased to be such by virtue of his or her resignation or discharge and who subsequently again becomes a Plan Member, shall be entitled to service credit only if he or she has first redeposited with interest, any Plan Member contributions previously withdrawn by him or her, in the manner provided by the Board.
(n) Partial Year of Service. Partial Year of Service means any period mentioned in subsection (m) of this section which is less than 12 months. Any such Partial Year of Service shall be calculated from the end of the Plan Member’s last completed Year of Service to the end of the payroll period immediately prior to the date of his or her retirement and shall be counted as part of a Plan Member’s Years of Service for his or her retirement upon a service pension hereafter granted or for a pension hereafter granted to his or her Qualified Surviving Spouse, Minor Child or children, Dependent Child or children or Dependent Parent or parents if he or she hereafter shall die while upon a service pension hereafter granted or while eligible for a service pension.
(o) Final Average Salary. Final Average Salary means an amount equivalent to a monthly average of salary actually received during any 12 consecutive months of service as a Plan Member as designated by the Plan Member. In the absence of such designation, the last 12 consecutive months preceding the date upon which retirement would become effective shall be used as the basis for the calculation of Final Average Salary.
For Plan Members employed as paramedics or civilian ambulance employees who have formerly been members of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System, and who, pursuant to the provisions of Section 1600 of this Tier 4 have become Plan Members, the determination of Final Average Salary shall include periods of City service for which such Plan Members have elected to acquire Years of Service credit by transfer of their contributions from the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System to the Fire and Police Pension Plan – Tier 4. If a Plan Member should die before having made such election, his or her surviving spouse may make the election in place of the Plan Member.
For the purposes of determining Final Average Salary, periods during which the Plan Member receives less than full salary on account of injury or illness, pursuant to any applicable ordinance of the City, shall be included in the calculation of Final Average Salary based upon the salary, including any Length of Service Pay, Special Pay, Assignment Pay or Hazard Pay, the Plan Member would have received but for the injury or illness.
Included in the calculation of Final Average Salary shall be Length of Service Pay, Special Pay, Assignment Pay and Hazard Pay actually received during the 12 consecutive months used to determine Final Average Salary. To the extent that Hazard Pay was not received during all or any part of the 12 consecutive months used to determine Final Average Salary, then it shall be included in the calculation of Final Average Salary only if the Plan Member retires at the same rank as that occupied by him or her at a time when Hazard Pay was received during a period or periods other than the 12 months used to determine Final Average Salary, and for each such completed 12 month period during which the Plan Member served at that rank and received Hazard Pay, he or she shall be entitled to have included in the Final Average Salary 10% of the Hazard Pay which would have been payable had the hazardous duty been performed during the period for which the Final Average Salary is calculated except the total amount includable in the Final Average Salary for Hazard Pay may not exceed 100% of the amount the Plan Member would have received had he or she been entitled to Hazard Pay during the entire 12 month period utilized in the calculation of Final Average Salary.
Overtime compensation or payments of money to the member not designated as salary by an ordinance of the City shall not be considered for purposes of calculating Final Average Salary.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, if a Retired Plan Member were to be restored to active duty as a Department Member and thereby again were to become a Plan Member and if he or she again were to retire or to be retired without having performed his or her duties for at least one year subsequent to such restoration, which year shall not include any time off from work by reason of any injury or illness which had been caused by or contributed to by any injury or illness which had been sustained or suffered by him or her prior to such restoration, the Final Average Salary which shall be applicable to his or her later retirement shall be the Final Average Salary which had been applicable to his or her previous retirement.
Should a Plan Member not have completed 12 consecutive months of service as a Plan Member, then and in that event only shall the Final Average Salary be calculated as a monthly average of all consecutive calendar months completed, and, if the Plan Member has completed less than one month of total service as a Plan Member, the salary actually received shall be used to calculate its monthly equivalent.
The following provision shall be effective for Plan Members who retire on or after July 1, 2000 from the Fire Department while holding a rank no higher than Captain or from the Police Department holding a rank no higher than Lieutenant. If Hazard Pay was not received during all or any part of the 12 consecutive months used to determine Final Average Salary, then an amount equivalent to 10% of the Hazard Pay received at the time of the termination of the last assignment to hazardous duties for each year in the aggregate of the assignment to hazardous duties shall be added to the Final Average Salary, not to exceed ten years in the aggregate. The total amount of Hazard Pay included in Final Average Salary may not exceed 100% of the amount the Plan Member would have received had the Plan Member been entitled to Hazard Pay during the entire 12 month period utilized in the calculation of Final Average Salary.