Starting on July 1, 1997, the Retirement Board shall establish in the Retirement Fund a Reserve Account. Funds in this Reserve Account shall be used to provide supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments to retirement allowances in addition to cost of living adjustments now provided for in the Charter. Funds placed in this Reserve Account shall consist of all earnings of the Retirement Fund in the previous fiscal year which are in excess of the expected earnings on the actuarial value of the assets. The expected earnings are the earnings projected by the actuarial assumption for return on assets that was in place for that fiscal year. The maximum amount of funds to be placed in this Reserve Account shall not exceed the amount of funds projected to be necessary to fund benefits provided pursuant to this section for that fiscal year and the following two fiscal years.
The funds in this Reserve Account shall be used solely to provide supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments as follows:
(a) On July 1, 1997 and July 1 of each succeeding year, if there are sufficient funds in this Reserve Account, each retirement allowance or death allowance payable on account of a member who died, including retirement allowances subject to change when the salary rate of a member is changed, shall be increased by an amount equal to three percent (3%) of the allowance, less the amount of any cost of living adjustment provided pursuant to Section 8.526 and less the amount of any cost of living adjustment, payable in that fiscal year, which is the result of a change in the salary of the member.
(b) On July 1, 1997, if there are sufficient funds in this Reserve Account, each retirement allowance payable to or account of a member who was retired on or before December 31, 1979 as a member under Sections 8.507 or 8.509 or 8.584 shall be increased by a monthly amount equal to $3 for each complete year of retirement. In computing years of retirement, the Retirement System shall count completed fiscal years between the member's effective date of retirement and June 30, 1997.
(c) On and after June 30, 2003, any supplemental cost of living benefit adjustment, once paid to a member, shall not be reduced thereafter.
(d) On and after June 30, 2003, the Reserve Account set forth in this section shall be used to finance only the increase in the supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments for the next ensuing fiscal year as set forth in section (a). If there are insufficient funds in the Reserve Account to pay the increase in the supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments for the next ensuing fiscal year, then the increase in the supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments for that fiscal year shall not be paid. However, any excess earnings as defined in this section shall be accumulated until an amount sufficient to make one fiscal year's increase in the supplemental cost of living benefit adjustments is reached.
(Added November 1996; amended March 2002)