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The following time shall be included in the computation of the service to be credited to a member of the Fire Department for the purposes of determining whether such member qualified for retirement and calculating benefits, excluding, however, any time, the contributions for which were withdrawn by said member upon termination of his service while he was a member under any other Charter section, and not redeposited upon re-entry into service:
(a) Time during and for which said member is entitled to receive compensation because of services as a member of the fire or police department.
(b) Time during which said member is entitled to receive compensation while a member of the Retirement System, because of service rendered in other offices and departments prior to July 1, 1949, provided that accumulated contributions on account of such service previously refunded, are redeposited, with interest from date of refund to date of redeposit, at times and in the manner fixed by the retirement board; and solely for purpose of determining qualification for retirement under Section 8.585-3 for disability not resulting from injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, time during which said member serves, after July 1, 1949, and receives compensation because of services rendered in other offices and departments.
(c) Time during which said member is absent from a status included in Subsections (a) and (b) next preceding, by reason of service in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, or by reason of any other service included in Section 8.520 of the Charter, during any war in which the United States was or shall be engaged or during other national emergency, and for which said member contributed or contributes to the Retirement System or for which the City and County contributed or contributes on his account.
(d) Time during which said member was on Unpaid Parental Leave pursuant to Charter Section A8.523, and for which said member has purchased service credit in the Retirement System.
(Amended by Proposition G, 11/4/2008)
All payments provided for members under Section A8.585 shall be made from funds derived from the following sources, plus interest earned on said funds:
(a) The normal rate of contribution for each member under Section A8.585 shall be made from funds based on his or her age taken to the next lower complete quarter year, (1) at the date he or she became a member under Section A8.568, in the case of persons who are members under that section, or (2) on his or her age at the date he or she becomes a member under Section A8.585 in the case of persons who become members on or after July 1, 1975, without credit for service counted under Section A8.585-10. The age of entrance into the fire department shall be determined by deducting the member's service credited under Section A8.585-10 as rendered prior to the date upon which his or her age is based for determination of his or her rate of contribution according to the sentence next preceding, from said age. The normal rate of contribution of each such member, to be effective from the effective date of membership under Section A8.585, shall be such as, on the average for such member, will provide, assuming service without interruption, under Section A8.585-2, one-third of that portion of the service retirement allowance to which he or she would be entitled, without continuance to dependents, upon first qualifying as to age and service for retirement under that section, which is based on service rendered after the date upon which his or her age is based for determination of his or her rate of contribution according to the first sentence in this paragraph, and assuming the contribution to be made from that date. The normal rate of contribution, however, shall not exceed seven percent.
(b) The dependent contributions for each member under this section which shall be required of each member throughout his or her membership in addition to the normal contributions, and in the same manner as normal contributions, shall be such as, on the average for such member, will provide, assuming service without interruption under Section A8.585-2, and upon his first qualifying as to age and service for retirement under that section, one-third of the portion of his or her allowance, which is to be continued under Section A8.585-5 after his or her death and throughout the life of a surviving spouse whose age at said death is three years less than the age of said member. If, at the date of retirement for service or retirement for disability resulting from injury received in performance of duty, said member has no spouse who would qualify for the continuance of the allowance to them after the death of said member, or upon retirement for disability resulting from other causes, regardless of his or her marital conditions, the dependent contributions with accumulated interest thereon, shall be paid to him or her forthwith. The dependent rate of contribution, however, shall not exceed the difference between seven percent and the member's normal rate of contribution, and said dependent rate may be taken as a flat percentage of the member's normal rate, regardless of the age of qualification for service retirement.
(c) There shall be deducted from each payment of compensation made to a member under this Section, a sum determined by applying the member's rates of contribution to such compensation payment. The sum so deducted shall be paid forthwith to the Retirement System. Said contribution shall be credited to the individual account of the member from whose salary it was deducted, and the total of said contributions, together with interest credited thereon in the same manner as is prescribed by the Board of Supervisors for crediting interest to contributions of other members of the Retirement System, shall be applied to provide part of the retirement allowance granted to, or allowance granted on account of said member, or shall be paid to said member or his or her estate or beneficiary as provided in Sections A8.585-5, A8.585-6 and A8.585-8. The individual accounts of members who purchased service credit for Unpaid Parental Leave shall also include the amount paid by the member for said purchase, plus interest.
(d) Contributions based on time included in Subsections (a), (b) and (c) of Section A8.585-10, and deducted prior to July 1, 1975, from compensation of persons who become members under Section A8.585, and standing with interest thereon, to the credit of such members on the records of the Retirement System on said date, together with contributions made by such members pursuant to the provisions of Section A8.526 and standing with interest thereon to the credit of such members on the records of the Retirement System on said date, shall continue to be credited to the individual accounts of said members and shall be combined with and administered in the same manner as the contributions deducted after said date.
(f) The City and County shall contribute to the Retirement System such amounts as may be necessary, when added to the contributions referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this Section A8.585-11, to provide the benefits payable to members under Section A8.585. Such contributions of the City and County to provide the portion of the benefits hereunder which shall be based on service rendered by each member prior to the date upon which his or her age is based for determination of his or her rate of contribution in Subsection (a) of this Section A8.585-11, shall not be less during any fiscal year than the amount of such benefits paid during said year. Such contributions of the City and County to provide the portion of the benefits hereunder which shall be based on service rendered by respective members on and after the date stated in the preceding sentence, shall be made in annual installments, and the installment to be paid in any year shall be determined by the application of a percentage to the total compensation paid during said year, to persons who are members under Section A8.585, said percentage to be the ratio of the value on July 1, 1975, or at the later date of a periodical actuarial valuation and investigation into the experience under the system, of the benefits thereafter to be paid under this Section, from contributions of the City and County, less the amount of such contributions, and plus accumulated interest thereon, then held by said systems to provide said benefits on account of service rendered by respective members after the date stated in the sentence next preceding, to the value of said respective dates of salaries thereafter payable to said members. Said values shall be determined by the actuary, who shall take into account the interest which shall be earned on said contributions, the compensation experience of members and the probabilities of separation by all causes, of members from service before retirement and of death after retirement. Said percentage shall be changed only on the basis of said periodical actuarial valuation and investigation into the experience under the system. Said actuarial valuation shall be made every even-numbered year and said investigation into the experience under the system shall be every odd-numbered year.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section A8.585-11 or this Charter, beginning on July 1, 2012, the employee contribution rate set forth in Subsection (a) for each member, shall be increased or decreased each fiscal year based on the employer contribution rate for that fiscal year calculated by the Retirement System's actuary as prescribed in Subsection (f). Said increase or decrease in the employee contribution rate shall be calculated as a percentage of compensation, as set forth below:
Employer Contribution Rate | Change In Member Contribution |
Employer Contribution Rate | Change In Member Contribution |
0% | -6.0% |
.01%-1.0% | -5.0% |
1.01%-2.5% | -4.75% |
2.51%-4.0% | -4.5% |
4.01%-5.5% | -3.5% |
5.51%-7.0% | -3.0% |
7.01%-8.5% | -2.0% |
8.51%-10.0% | -1.5% |
10.01%-11.0% | -0.5% |
11.01%-12.0% | 0% |
12.01%-13.0% | 0.5% |
13.01%-15.0% | 1.5% |
15.01%-17.5% | 2.0% |
17.51%-20.0% | 3.0% |
20.01%-22.5% | 3.5% |
22.51%-25.0% | 4.5% |
25.01%-27.5% | 4.5% |
27.51%-30.0% | 4.75% |
30.01%-32.5% | 4.75% |
32.51%-35.0% | 5.0% |
Over 35.0% | 6.0% |
The employee contribution increases shall be deducted from each payment of compensation and shall be paid forthwith to the Retirement System. Said additional contribution shall be credited to the individual account of the member from whose salary it was deducted, and the total of said contributions, together with interest credited thereon in the same manner as is prescribed by the Board of Supervisors for crediting interest to contributions of other members of the Retirement System, shall be applied to provide part of the retirement allowance granted to, or allowance granted on account of said member under Section A8.585, or shall be paid to said member or his or her beneficiary or estate as provided in Sections A8.585-4, A8.585-5, and A8.585-8.
The percentage increase in member contributions shall reduce, by a corresponding percentage, the City and County contributions to the Retirement System otherwise required for that fiscal year.
The employee contribution decreases shall be paid by the City and County at the time each member is paid compensation, such that the Retirement System receives from the member and the City and County combined, a sum equal to seven percent of the member's compensation as provided in Subsection (a). The sums so received shall be credited to the individual accounts of the member on whose behalf the contributions are made.
The percentage increase in contributions by the City and County shall be in addition to the contributions required by the City and County under Subsection (f) for that fiscal year.
(h) To promote the stability of the Retirement System through a joint participation in the result of variations in the experience under mortality, investment and other contingencies the contributions of both members of the City and County held by the system to provide the benefits under this Section, shall be a part of the fund in which all other assets of said system are included. Nothing in this Section shall affect the obligations of the City and County to pay to the Retirement System any amounts which may or shall become due under the provisions of the Charter prior to July 1, 1975, and which are represented on said effective date, in the accounts of said system by debits against the City and County.
(Amended by Proposition G, 11/4/2008; Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)
Upon the completion of the years of service set forth in Section 8.585-2 as requisite to retirement, a member of the fire department shall be entitled to retire at any time thereafter in accordance with the provisions of said Section 8.585-2, and nothing shall deprive said member of said right.
Except as otherwise provided in section 8.511 of this Charter, no person retired as a member under Section 8.585 for service or disability and entitled to receive a retirement allowance under the Retirement System shall serve in any elective or appointive position in the City and County service, including membership on boards and commissions, nor shall such person receive any payment for service rendered to the City and County after retirement, provided that service as an election officer or juror, or in the preparation for, or the giving of, testimony as an expert witness for or on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco before any court or legislative body shall not be affected by this section.
Notwithstanding any provisions of this Charter to the contrary, any person who, on or after January 1, 1981, is a member of the Fire Department, and is a member of the Retirement System under Charter Section 8.585, may become a member of the Retirement System under Charter Section 8.588 by filing in writing with the Retirement System no later than December 31, 1981, an executed waiver of all benefits which might inure to him under Charter Section 8.585. This waiver must be without right of revocation and on a form furnished by the Retirement System. The Retirement Board may require that this waiver be executed by additional parties before it becomes operative.
This transfer will be effective July 1, 1980. Those persons so electing to become members under Charter Section 8.588 shall receive service credit under Charter Section 8.588 equal to their service credit under Charter Section 8.585 as of June 30, 1980.
Those persons so electing to become members under Charter Section 8.588 shall not be subject to any of those provisions of Charter Section 8.585 as of July 1, 1980.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Charter Section 8.526, the cost of living adjustment in any given year prior to January 1, 2000 for those persons electing this transfer to Charter Section 8.588 shall not exceed the provisions of Charter Section 8.526 as they existed on July 1, 1980.
Those persons so electing to transfer membership from Charter Section 8.585 to Charter Section 8.588 shall receive a monetary consideration not to exceed $40,000 calculated at the rate of $2,500 for each year of said service credit up to 10 years and then at the rate of $1,000 for each additional year of said service credit. This monetary consideration shall be paid from said member's contribution account including any interest thereon. When said member's contribution account is depleted, the balance shall be paid from the City and County contributions held by the Retirement System.
This consideration shall be payable January 1, 1982. Alternatively, an employee may elect to receive payments according to a schedule established by the Retirement Board.
Notwithstanding any other Charter or ordinance provisions, a member transferring pursuant to this section shall be eligible to receive any benefits payable because of an increase in benefits approved by the voters for other members under Charter Section 8.588, provided, however, that said member repays with interest the monetary consideration he or she received in making this transfer, offset by the amount of said member's own account in the Retirement System under Charter Section 8.585. Interest on the repayment amount shall be charged at the rate credited to member accounts from January 1, 1981 until repayment or effective date of retirement. Members shall have the option of making said repayment either through a lump-sum payment, payroll deduction or through an actuarial offset against any benefits payable because of any increase in benefits subsequent to July 1, 1980.
The amendments to this section contained in the proposition submitted to the electorate on November 2, 1999 shall apply only to active and retired members on November 2, 1999 and constitute a prospective increase in benefits to such members subject to repayment in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Upon repayment, retirees shall have their benefits recalculated under Charter Section 8.588 as in force at the date of their retirement. These recalculated benefits shall be first payable on and after November 2, 1999. No retired member shall become eligible under said amendments for any retroactive payments. Notwithstanding the preceding sentences, the provisions in Charter Section 8.588-3 for recalculation on the date upon which said member would have qualified for service retirement ("QSR") shall use the provisions of Charter Section 8.588 at QSR.
(Amended November 1999)
Should any member of the fire department who is a member of the Retirement System under Charter section 8.585, with five years of credited service, cease to be so employed, through any cause other than death or retirement, he or she shall have the right to elect, without right of revocation and within 90 days after termination of said service, to allow his or her accumulated contributions including interest to remain in the retirement fund and to receive a retirement benefit calculated at termination, defined as that proportion of the normal service retirement benefit that his or her accrued service credit bears to 25 years, payable beginning at age 50.
Any member of the fire department convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed in connection with his or her duties as a member of the fire department shall, upon termination of his or her employment pursuant to the provisions of this Charter, forfeit all right to any benefits under this section except refund of his or her accumulated contributions.
Every retirement or death allowance payable to or on account of any member under section 8.585-15 shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of section 8.585-6 provided that if the member's accrued service credit is less than 25 years the section 8.585-6 adjustment 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.
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