Article III. Employee's Retirement System. 1

 

Notes

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----------    *Editor’s note—2011 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 4, which is effective October 10, 2011, states:    Collective bargaining.    (a)   It is the policy of Montgomery County that all County employees should have a multi-tier service- connected disability retirement system which includes a:       (1)   partial incapacity service-connected disability retirement benefit for any injury or illness that prevents an employee from continuing in the employee’s current position but does not prevent the employee from engaging in other substantial gainful employment; and       (2)   total incapacity service-connected disability retirement benefit for any injury or illness that prevents an employee from engaging in any other substantial gainful employment.    (b)   It is also the policy of the County that disability benefits are a mandatory subject of collective bargaining with each appropriate certified employee representative.    (c)   Notwithstanding any County law to the contrary, the County Executive may separately negotiate the terms of an appropriate multi-tier service-connected disability retirement system with the certified employee representative for the police bargaining unit and the certified representative for the OPT and SLT bargaining units, in each case not later than March 1, 2012. If in either case the parties are unable to reach agreement on an appropriate multi-tier system, the parties may submit this issue for resolution through the applicable impasse procedures under the County’s police labor relations law and the County collective bargaining law as a separate matter, not part of or linked to any other collective bargaining procedure. The impasse neutral for the police bargaining unit and the mediator/arbitrator for the OPT and SLT bargaining units must choose the final offer of either party after considering equally the following factors:       (1)   service-connected disability retirement systems for similar employees of other public employers in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Maryland;       (2)   best practices for service-connected disability retirement systems for similar employees in the United States;       (3)   the interest and welfare of the public; and       (4)   the long-term ability of the employer to finance a disability retirement system, and the effect of the cost of the system on the normal standard of public services provided by the employer.    (d)   The Executive must submit the results of any collective bargaining process regarding this issue to the Council for legislative action not later than April 1, 2012.    1993 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 2, as amended by 1994 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1, states: Retirement Incentive Program.    (a)   Policy. A Retirement Incentive Program is established in the Retirement System of Montgomery County to facilitate the restructuring and downsizing of County Government, and to achieve net budget savings.    (b)   Definitions. The definitions in Section 33-35 apply to this Section.    (c)   Eligibility.       (1)   A member of the Employee’s Retirement System may participate in the Retirement Incentive Program if the member:          (A)   has at least 10 years of actual County service;          (B)   is eligible for normal or early retirement on July 1, 1993;          (C)   is not an elected or appointed County official;          (D)   files a completed application and participates in an individual counseling session for the Retirement Incentive Program between August 1, 1993 and October 31, 1993, except that this period is extended to January 1, 1995 for any member who is a sworn police officer;          (E)   receives the Chief Administrative Officer’s approval of the application; and          (F)   retires on a date set by the Chief Administrative Officer between November 1, 1993 and November 30, 1994, except that this period is extended to June 30, 1995 for any member who is a sworn police officer.       (2)   An employee of a participating agency or political subdivision may participate in the Retirement Incentive Program if the agency or political subdivision executes a participation agreement in a form prepared by the Chief Administrative Officer under terms comparable to subsection (c)(1).    (d)   Benefit. A member who participates in the Retirement Incentive Program is entitled to receive, in addition to the normal or early retirement benefit, an amount equal to 100% of the member’s final annual earnings. The incentive must be paid from the assets of the Retirement System. The member must elect to receive the incentive payment:       (1)   in a lump sum paid to the member on retirement;       (2)   in a lump sum paid on the member’s retirement directly to the trustee of:          (A)   another tax-qualified retirement plan;          (B)   an Individual Retirement Account or Individual Retirement Annuity; or          (C)   a tax-qualified annuity plan; or       (3)   as an annuity in the form provided under Section 33-44(a)(3).       Cost-of-living adjustments and the limits in Section 33-42(f) do not apply to this benefit.    (e)   Administration.       (1)   The Chief Administrative Officer must administer the Retirement Incentive Program.       (2)   The Chief Administrative Officer must limit the number of members permitted to participate in the Retirement Incentive Program as follows:          (A)   Sworn police officers      78;          (B)   Sworn fire/rescue personnel   40;          (C)   MCGEO/Local 400      150; and          (D)   Other employees      75.       (3)   The Chief Administrative Officer, in his sole discretion may approve or disapprove a member’s application for the Retirement Incentive Program, except that the County Council Staff Director may approve or disapprove an application from a member employed by the Legislative Branch. The Chief Administrative Officer should consider the following when approving or disapproving a member’s application for the Program:          (A)   the policy goals in subsection (a);          (B)   minimizing disruption of County Government service delivery; and          (C)   the member’s years of credited service in the County retirement system.       (4)   A member who participates in the Retirement Incentive Program must not be reemployed by the County, either on a permanent, temporary, or contractual basis, unless:          (A)   the Chief Administrative Officer (or the County Council Staff Director for a member reemployed by the Legislative Branch) determines that the member’s reemployment is necessary to complete a specific project on which the member worked before retirement; and          (B)   the member’s reemployment is limited to a maximum of 6 months immediately following the member’s retirement. If the County reemploys a member who participates in the Retirement Incentive Program, the member’s salary from the reemployment is limited to an amount equal to 120% of the maximum salary for the position less the member’s County pension. The member must not receive any other compensation or benefits from the reemployment.       (5)   The County Executive must report to the County Council on implementation of the Retirement Incentive Program, including:          (A)   how the Program is achieving its states policy goals;          (B)   actual costs/savings of the Program;          (C)   any members who participate in the Program and are reemployed (on a permanent, temporary or contractual basis) by the County after retirement;          (D)   any effect on delivery of County services; and          (E)   the relationship of the Program to the County Government’s long-range strategic fiscal plan.    The reports must be made quarterly between October 1, 1993 and October 1, 1994, and annually thereafter through October 1, 1998.    Cross reference—Pension of judges and spouses of deceased judges, § 12-10; police relief and retirement fund, § 35-14 et seq.