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If a person who is a member under Sections 8.559, 8.585, 8.586 or 8.588 of the Charter shall cease to be a member of the Police or Fire Department and shall be a member under any other section of the Charter; or, if the reverse be true; then the accumulated contributions standing to his credit or redeposited by him shall remain in his individual account.
(Bill No. 1125, Ord. No. 4.073(C.S.), Sec. 33; amended by Ord. 326-00, File No. 001921, App. 12/28/2000)
The Retirement Board shall certify to the head of the proper office or department and the Controller the normal rate of contribution for each member provided for by Charter or this Code, and the amount of contributions provided for in Section 16.50 and Section 16.70-1 of this Code. The head of such office or department or the Controller shall apply such rate of contribution to all of his compensation to determine the amount to be contributed by each member, and shall furnish immediately to the Retirement Board a copy of each and every such payroll.
Each of such amounts shall be deducted by the Controller and shall be deposited by the Retirement Board in the Retirement Fund and shall be credited by the Retirement Board, together with regular interest, to the individual account of the member for whom the contribution was made. The Retirement Board, however, may accept cash payments by any member of amounts necessary to correct or adjust the contribution account of such member, the amount so accepted to be deposited and credited in the same manner as if deducted on a payroll and the Controller to be notified of such payment.
Every member shall be deemed to consent and agree to the contribution made and provided for by this Article, and shall receipt in full for his salary or compensation, and payment less such contribution shall be a full and complete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands whatsoever for the services rendered by such person during the period covered by such payment, except his claims to the benefits to which he may be entitled under the provisions of this Article.
(Amended by Ord. 65-65, App. 3/19/65; Ord. 326-00, File No. 001921, App. 12/28/2000)
Any member, except persons who are members under Sections 8.540 and 8.565 of the Charter, may elect to contribute at rates in excess of those provided in this Article for the purpose of providing additional benefits, but the exercise of this privilege by a member shall not place on the City and County any additional financial obligation. The provisions of Section 16.54 of this Code shall apply also to additional contributions. The Retirement Board, upon application, shall furnish to such member information concerning the nature and amount of additional benefits to be provided by such additional contribution.
(Bill No. 1125, Ord. No. 4073(C.S.), Sec. 36)
(a) As used in Sections 16.55-1 to 16.55-4, inclusive, “public service” means:
(1) Service rendered as an employee or officer of an agency of the government of the United States, including both civilian and military service;
(2) Service rendered as an employee or officer of the State of California; and
(3) Service rendered as an employee or officer of a public agency in the State of California which, with respect to such service, maintained a locally administered defined benefit plan or was entitled to participate in the Public Employees’ Retirement System of the State of California under a contract between such public agency and the Public Employees’ Retirement System.
(b) For purposes of this Section 16.55-1, a person shall be considered as being in public service only while they were receiving compensation from the public agency of which they were an employee or officer.
(c) “Public service,” as used in this Section 16.55-1, does not include service as defined in subsections (a)(1), (2), or (3) with respect to which a person became a member of any other retirement system supported wholly or in part by public funds and with respect to which they continue to receive credit in such other system or with respect to which they are entitled to receive a retirement allowance under such other system.
(Added by Ord. 171-70, App. 5/28/70; amended by Ord. 308-08, File No. 080379, App. 12/16/2008; Ord. 104-23, File No. 230375, App. 6/2/2023, Eff. 7/3/2023)
Any member of the Retirement System under Sections A8.509, A8.584 or A8.587 of the Charter who was in public service prior to becoming a member of this Retirement System shall have the right to elect to make contributions pursuant to Section 16.55-3 of this Code and to receive credit in this system as miscellaneous City and County service for all or any part of the time they were in such public service; provided, that a member so electing must elect to receive credit for no less than six months of such public service or all of their public service where the total period of their public service is less than six months.
Said election shall be made in writing on a form provided by the Retirement System. Said election may be made at any time before the date the member files the application to retire or the effective date of their retirement, whichever is later.
The time period and amount of public service for which a member elects to contribute and the fact that they are not entitled to receive credit in another retirement system by virtue of such service must be certified to by an officer of the public agency to which they rendered such public service and by an officer of the retirement system of which they were a member with respect to such service, or must otherwise be established to the satisfaction of the Retirement Board.
(Added by Ord. 171-70, App. 5/28/70; amended by Ord. 308-08, File No. 080379, App. 12/16/2008; Ord. 104-23, File No. 230375, App. 6/2/2023, Eff. 7/3/2023)
Any member of the Retirement System under Sections A8.509, A8.584 and A8.587 of the Charter, who elects, pursuant to Section 16.55-2, to make contributions and receive credit as miscellaneous City and County service for all or any part of the time they were in public service, shall contribute to the Retirement Fund an amount equal to the product of:
(a) the monthly compensation earnable by said member on the date they make a lump sum payment to purchase the prior public service credit or deliver to the Retirement System a signed installment payment agreement to purchase the prior public service credit, multiplied by
(b) the normal cost percentage of the applicable miscellaneous plan as published in the most recent actuarial valuation adopted by the Retirement Board, multiplied by
(c) the number of months of prior public service being purchased.
(d) In addition, members who make payment by other than lump sum payment shall pay interest on the unpaid balance of the amount payable into the Retirement Fund under this Section, commencing on the date of the member’s election to make such contributions, at the rate of interest currently being used from time to time under the Retirement System.
Payment of the contributions required by this Section shall be made in a lump sum or by installment payments. Installment payments shall be made at times and in a manner fixed by the Retirement Board; provided, that the period for completion of such payments shall not exceed five years. All payments required by this Section must be received by the Retirement System before the date the member files the application to retire or the effective date of the member’s retirement, whichever is later.
Any member who elects to purchase credit for prior public service by installment payments may, at any time during the period for making such installment payments, complete the purchase by lump sum payment.
Except as prohibited by the Internal Revenue Service, any member who elects to purchase credit for prior public service by installment payments may, at any time prior to completion of payment for such purchase, revoke their election. Such revocation shall be in writing and shall be effective only if filed with the Retirement System. Upon such revocation of election, the member shall have the option to receive a refund of all of the contributions which they have made pursuant to such election or to receive credit for the prior public service purchased up to the date of the revocation. If said member elects to receive a refund, then they shall thereafter not have the right to elect to receive credit for the public service which was the subject of said revoked election.
All contributions made pursuant to this Section, and the interest thereon shall be considered to be and shall be administered as contributions of the member; provided that only the share of said contributions representing the member’s contributions, including interest, shall be considered when calculating benefits payable pursuant to Sections A8.509(f), A8.584-6 and A8.587-6 of the Charter.
(Added by Ord. 171-70, App. 5/28/70; amended by Ord. 308-08, File No. 080379, App. 12/16/2008; Ord. 104-23, File No. 230375, App. 6/2/2023, Eff. 7/3/2023)
Upon completion of payment of contributions in the amount specified in Section 16.55-3, the member shall be credited with miscellaneous City and County service in the amount of public service for which they have elected to receive credit as miscellaneous City and County service pursuant to Section 16.55-2. The miscellaneous City and County service with which the member is so credited shall be credited as current service.
(Added by Ord. 171-70, App. 5/28/70; amended by Ord. 308-08, File No. 080379, App. 12/16/2008; Ord. 104-23, File No. 230375, App. 6/2/2023, Eff. 7/3/2023)
This Section shall extend the following rights in the Retirement System to members of any other public agency retirement system (hereinafter “reciprocal system”) which adopts similar reciprocal provisions in their retirement ordinances or plans pursuant to Sections 20042, 20043, 31840.2 and 45310.5 of the Government Code, and who by contract agree to extend the benefits thereof to the Retirement System; provided that such member enters employment and becomes a member under the Retirement System of the reciprocal system within six months of terminating their employment under such other reciprocal system or the Retirement System.
(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of the Retirement System or a reciprocal system plan in the matter of vesting, any member subject to Charter Sections 8.509, 8.559, 8.584, 8.585, 8.586 and 8.588 whose movement between systems occurs as herein specified shall have the right to elect to leave their accumulated contributions on deposit irrespective of the amount of such contributions or length of service. Interest on said accumulated contributions shall accrue at plan rates. If a member does not vest or qualify for a reciprocal benefit the member shall receive a refund of contributions plus interest.
(b) The average monthly salary during any period of service as a member of a reciprocal system shall be considered compensation earned or earnable by a member of the Retirement System for purposes of computing final average compensation for such member according to the applicable Charter provisions, provided the member retires concurrently under both systems and is credited with such period of service under one reciprocal system at the time of retirement.
(c) For the sole purpose of meeting minimum service qualifications for benefits and retirement allowances under the Retirement System, service shall also include service rendered as an officer or employee of a reciprocal system if the salary for such service constitutes compensation earned or earnable by a member of this system. For police and fire members of the Retirement System subject to Charter Sections 8.559, 8.585, 8.586 and 8.588, if Retirement System service is less than 25 years at the time of retirement, the member shall receive a pro rata portion of the benefit for 25 years of service.
Police and fire members of the Retirement System subject to Charter Sections 8.559, 8.585, 8.586 and 8.588, with 25 or more years of service credit with the Retirement System, shall receive benefits based on Retirement System service only as defined by Charter Sections 8.559, 8.585, 8.586 and 8.588.
(d) Any retirement or death allowance payable to or on account of a police or fire member of the Retirement System subject to Charter Sections 8.559 and 8.585 shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of Charter Sections 8.559-6 and 8.585-6, provided that any increase or decrease shall be related to the rank or position that said member held for at least one year immediately prior to terminating City service and provided further that if the member's accrued service credit is less than 25 years, the Charter Section 8.559-6 and 8.585-6 adjustments will be multiplied by a fraction where the denominator is 25 and the numerator is equal to the member's accrued service credit at the date of termination of City service.
(e) A member shall be retired for disability and receive a retirement allowance based on the service credited to the member at the time of retirement during any period in which they receive a disability retirement allowance under a reciprocal system; provided, that such allowance shall not exceed an amount which when added to the allowance paid under the reciprocal system equals the allowance which would be paid for a non-service connected disability if all the member’s service had been credited under the reciprocal system; and provided further, that such allowance shall in no event be less than an annuity which is the actuarial equivalent of the member’s contributions, whether or not the disability is for service connected reasons. The minimum allowance provisions of the City Charter will not be applied if the member has less than 10 years of credited service under the Retirement System. In such a case, the disability allowance paid by the Retirement System shall be based on San Francisco service only.
(f) The death benefit for a member who dies from non-industrial causes as a member of a reciprocal system shall not exceed an amount which when added to the death benefit paid for such member under the reciprocal system equals the death benefit payable under that system had all reciprocal service been rendered under that system; provided, however, that such death benefit shall be at least the amount of the member's accumulated contributions in the Retirement System. If death is caused by industrial injury or disease in the reciprocal system, the death benefit shall be the amount of the member's accumulated contributions in the Retirement System. For a member of the Retirement System who dies from non-industrial causes, the minimum allowance provisions will not be applied if the member needs service rendered in a reciprocal system to meet mini-mum service qualification for a survivor allowance. In such a case, the allowance paid by the Retirement System shall be based on San Francisco service only.
(g) The Retirement Board shall on the request of a reciprocal system supply information and data necessary for administration of such system as it is affected by membership in and service credited under the Retirement System.
(h) Interpretation of this Section shall be made consistent with the City Charter and with reference to interpretations that have been made relative to the reciprocal benefit provisions of the Public Employees' Retirement System and 1937 County Employees' Retirement Act upon which this Section is based and which this Section is intended to implement. This Section shall not apply to members who transfer solely within the Retirement System between miscellaneous, police and fire plans.
(i) These provisions shall apply only to a member whose termination and entry into employment resulting in a change in membership from the Retirement System to such other reciprocal system or from such other reciprocal system to the Retirement System occurred after such acceptance by the Board of Supervisors or after the effective date specified in the agreement; provided, however, that provisions relating to computation of final compensation shall apply to any other member if such provision would have applied had the termination and entry into employment occurred after such acceptance or determination by a system's governing board.
(j) Reciprocal rights under this Section shall be modified as necessary to conform to amendments to the Public Employees' Retirement Law or the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 as provided in Government Code Section 20042.
(Added by Ord. 275-88, App. 6/29/88; amended by Ord. 371-90, App. 11/13/90; Ord. 104-23, File No. 230375, App. 6/2/2023, Eff. 7/3/2023)
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