(A) A member may elect to retire on or after the day of attainment of age 47, age 50 for firefighters hired after May 27, 2014, and the completion of 20 years of continuous service or attainment of age 55 and the completion of ten years of continuous service. However, employees who are eligible to, and become, members as of the effective date of this system shall be eligible to retire on the attainment of age 47 regardless of the number of years of continuous service. A police officer Member who attains 25 years of continuous service prior to attaining 47 years of age may elect to purchase, at the Member's sole expense, a normal retirement age and unreduced normal benefit commencing the first of the month following or coincident with completion of 25 years of continuous service. In order to purchase this earlier normal retirement age, the police officer Member must pay to the Fund the full actuarial cost of the earlier normal retirement age, as determined by the Fund's actuary. Payment shall be made by cash lump sum payment, direct transfer or rollover of an eligible rollover distribution from a qualified or eligible plan in accordance with Section 34.0602 herein, or a combination of both. Additionally, a firefighter member who was hired after March 1, 2015, who has attained the age of 55 and completed six or more years of continuous service as of August 1, 2021, may elect, no later than July 31, 2021, to retire on August 1, 2021. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentences, members who were active firefighters on October 1, 2022 or were hired on or after October 1, 2022, may elect to retire upon the completion of 20 years of continuous service or the attainment of age 47 with seven years of continuous service.
(B) Any employee with 18 or more years of credited service as a member of this system or a total of 18 or more years of combined credited service as a member of this system and of the general employees retirement system as of May 1, 1984, whose position is eliminated may, if approved by the City Commission, be paid his/her normal retirement benefit projected for all purposes as though employment continues until the normal retirement date.
(‘58 Code, § 11.43) (Ord. 72-59, passed 8-15-72; Am. Ord. 73-11, passed 1-3-73; Am. Ord. 77-49, passed 6-21-77; Am. Ord. 84-71, passed 6-26-84; Am. Ord. 85-23, passed 2-5-85; Am. Ord. 2001-71, passed 7-10-01; Am. Ord. 2002-41, passed 3-12-02; Am. Ord. 2008-54, passed 7-8-08; Am. Ord. 2015-19, passed 1-13-15; Am. Ord. 2021-80, passed 7-27-21; Ord. 2023-10, passed 11-8-22)