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(a) Subject to Section A8.590-5(g), disputes or controversies pertaining to wages, hours, benefits or terms and conditions of employment which remain unresolved after good faith negotiations between the City and County of San Francisco, its departments, boards and commissions and a recognized employee organization representing Firefighters, Police Officers or Deputy Sheriffs shall be submitted to a three-member Board of Arbitrators upon the declaration of an impasse either by the authorized representative of the City and County of San Francisco or by the recognized employee organization involved in the dispute.
(b) No later than January 20 of any year in which bargaining on an MOU takes place, representatives designated by the City and County of San Francisco and representatives of the recognized employee organization involved in the dispute shall each select and appoint one arbitrator to the Board of Arbitrators. The third member of the Arbitration Board shall be selected by agreement between the City and County of San Francisco and the employee organization, and shall serve as the neutral arbitrator and Chairperson of the Board. In the event that the City and County of San Francisco and the recognized employee organization involved in the dispute cannot agree upon the selection of the neutral arbitrator within ten (10) days from the date that either party has notified the other that it has declared an impasse, either party may then request the State Mediation and Conciliation Service of the State of California Department of Industrial Relations to provide a list of seven (7) persons who are qualified and experienced as labor arbitrators. If the City and County and the employee organization cannot agree within three (3) days after receipt of such list on one of seven (7) persons to act as the neutral arbitrator, they shall alternately strike names from the list of nominees until one name remains and that person shall then become the neutral arbitrator and Chairperson of the Arbitration Board.
(c) Any arbitration proceeding convened pursuant to this article shall be conducted in conformance with, subject to, and governed by Title 9 of Part 3 of the California Code of Civil Procedure. The Arbitration Board shall hold public hearings, receive evidence from the parties and cause a transcript of the proceedings to be prepared. The Arbitration Board, in the exercise of its discretion, may meet privately with the parties, mediate or arbitrate the issues in dispute. The Arbitration Board may also adopt such other procedures that are designed to encourage an agreement between the parties, expedite the arbitration hearing process, or reduce the costs of the arbitration process.
(d) In the event no agreement is reached prior to the conclusion of the arbitration hearings, the Arbitration Board shall direct each of the parties to submit, within such time limit as the Arbitration Board may establish, a last offer of settlement on each of the remaining issues in dispute. The Arbitration Board shall decide each issue by majority vote by selecting whichever last offer of settlement on that issue it finds most nearly conforms to those factors traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of public and private employment, including, but not limited to: changes in the average consumer price index for goods and services; the wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of employment of employees performing similar services; the wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of other employees in the City and County of San Francisco; and the formulas provided for in this Charter for the establishment and maintenance of wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of employment. The impartial Arbitration Board shall also consider the financial condition of the City and County of San Francisco and its ability to meet the costs of the decision of the Arbitration Board.
(e) After reaching a decision, the Arbitration Board shall mail or otherwise deliver a true copy of its decision to the parties. The decision of the Arbitration Board shall not be publicly disclosed and shall not be binding until ten (10) days after it is delivered to the parties. During that ten (10) day period the parties shall meet privately, attempt to resolve their differences, and by mutual agreement amend or modify the decision of the Arbitration Board. At the conclusion of the ten (10) day period, which may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties, the decision of the Arbitration Board, as it may be modified or amended by the parties, shall be publicly disclosed. Except as limited by Section A8.590-7, the arbitration decision, as it may be modified or amended by the parties, shall supersede any and all other relevant formulas, procedures and provisions of this Charter relating to wages, hours, benefits and terms and conditions of employment; and it shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute, including the City and County of San Francisco, its commissions, departments, officers and employees. No other actions or procedural steps to confirm or approve the decision of the Arbitration Board shall be permitted or required; provided, however, that the City and County of San Francisco, its designated officers, employees and representatives and the recognized employee organization involved in the dispute shall take whatever action that is necessary to carry out and effectuate the decision of the Arbitration Board.
(f) The expenses of any arbitration proceedings convened pursuant to these Charter sections, including the fee for the services of the chairperson of the Arbitration Board, the costs of preparation of the transcript of the proceedings and other costs related to the conduct of the proceedings, as determined by the Arbitration Board, shall be borne equally by the parties. All other expenses which the parties may incur are to be borne by the party incurring such expenses.
(g) The impasse resolution procedures set forth in Section A8.590-5 shall not apply to:
1. any dispute or controversy concerning the San Francisco Police Department's crowd control policies;
2. any procedures or practices relating to the processing and disposition of complaints handled by the Office of Citizens' Complaints; or matters relating to disciplinary procedures that apply to disciplinary actions involving members of the San Francisco Police Department and Fire Department covered by these sections; or matters covered by Charter section A8.343; and
3. any rule, policy, procedure, order or practice which relates or pertains to the purpose, goals or requirements of a consent decree, or which is necessary to ensure compliance with Federal, State or local anti-discrimination laws, ordinances or regulations.
In the event the City acts on a matter it has determined relates to or pertains to a consent decree, or in the event the City acts to ensure compliance with Federal, State, or local anti-discrimination laws, ordinances or regulations, and the affected employee organization disputes said determination, that determination or action shall not be subject to arbitration.
(h) An agreement reached between the designated representatives for the City and the representatives of a recognized employee organization that is submitted to the Board of Supervisors on or before May 15, or a decision of the Arbitration Board that is submitted to the Board of Supervisors on or before May 10, or May 15 if the parties waive the 10-day period between the Board's decision and public disclosure of the decision, shall be effective on July 1 of the same calendar year upon adoption by the Board of Supervisors. An agreement submitted to the Board of Supervisors after May 15, or a decision of the Arbitration Board that is submitted to the Board of Supervisors after May 10, or May 15 if the parties waive the 10-day period between the Board's decision and public disclosure of the decision, shall become effective no earlier than July 1 of the next calendar year upon approval of the Board of Supervisors. But an agreement reached during the term of an existing memorandum of understanding that results in a net reduction, or results in no net increase, in the cost to the City, during the current fiscal year, of existing economic provisions in the existing memorandum of understanding may become effective at any time upon approval by the Board of Supervisors. Economic provisions include, but are not limited to, wages, premium pay rates, overtime, any employer pickup of the employees' retirement contribution, paid time off, and other compensation.
(Amended March 2004; Proposition A, Approved 11/5/2009)
No agreement reached by the parties and no decision of the arbitration board shall reduce the vested retirement benefits of retirees or employees of the fire department, police department or of the sheriff department. Retirement and death allowances shall continue to be set and adjusted pursuant to Chapter Five of this Article, except that the amount to which said allowances are set and adjusted for uniformed employees of the police department and fire department shall not be less than the amount said allowances would be if the salaries of the uniformed forces in the police and fire departments continued to be set pursuant to Charter Section 8.405. Any agreement or decision of the arbitration board altering vested retirement benefits shall be subject to the written approval of the individual beneficiaries thereof.
(Amended March 2004)
(a) Sections A8.590-1 through A8.590-7, in their entirety, shall be subject to and limited by Charter section A8.500 and any ordinances enacted pursuant thereto. Sections A8.590-1 through A8.590-7 shall be effective only to the extent that benefits authorized by or authorized pursuant to those sections do not have an adverse consequence on the tax treatment of benefits provided to any employee of the City and County.
(b) Any agreement reached by the parties or any decision of the arbitration board which authorizes a modification of any aspect of the Retirement System or of any aspect of the provision for or delivery of retirement benefits shall not become effective until the following occur:
(1) The retirement board, acting in its fiduciary capacity, forwards to the Board of Supervisors certification that implementation of the modifications presents no risk to the tax-qualified status of the Retirement System. Such certification shall be based upon the advice of the general manager, the actuary of the Retirement System, and any outside consultants that they may in their discretion retain; and,
(2) After having received the certification referred to in the previous paragraph and after having made its own independent finding based on clear and convincing evidence that implementation of the modifications presents no risk to the tax-qualified status of the Retirement System and will not increase the taxes of City and County employees, the Board of Supervisors, by a three-quarters vote, enacts an ordinance making the modifications effective.
(c) Costs of any outside consultants retained by the City and County pursuant to this section shall be borne equally by the City and County and by the bargaining units concerned.
(Amended March 2004)
Notwithstanding any other provision of Charter Sections A8.590-1 through A8.590-7, the provisions and operation of the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund, including employee contributions to the fund, shall be determined pursuant to Charter Sections 12.204 and A8.432, and shall not be subject to the dispute resolution procedure's contained in Charter Section A8.590-5. Nothing in this section shall prevent the City and County of San Francisco and a recognized employee organization from agreeing to, or an arbitration panel formed pursuant to A8.590-5 from awarding, an adjustment in employee contributions into the Retiree Health Care Trust Fund that results in contributions greater than the contributions required under A8.432 for any and all City employees. In no event shall the City and County of San Francisco and a recognized employee organization agree to, or an arbitration panel formed pursuant to A8.590-5 award any, reduction in contributions below the minimum level of contributions required under A8.432.
(Added by Proposition B, Approved 6/3/2008; amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/5/2009; Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)
It is the intent of the voters that officers and employees of the City and County of San Francisco who are not members of the San Francisco Employees' Retirement System negotiate cost-sharing provisions that produce comparable savings and costs to the City and County as are produced through the Charter's employee contribution rate adjustment formulae. Notwithstanding any other provision of Charter Sections A8.590-1 through A8.590-8, for any officer or employee who is not a member of the Retirement System, the parties in any proceeding under Section A8.590-5 may make proposals, to the extent allowable by law, to effect this principle of equitable participation. If no agreement on this issue is reached, in deciding whichever last offer of settlement should be selected, in addition to the other factors specified by Section A8.590-5, the Arbitration Board shall consider (i) the additional amounts such officers and employees would pay to the Retirement System, or the reduction in the rate of their employee contribution which would apply, if they were members of the Retirement System for the term of the agreement; and (ii) the cost of the City and County's contracts with the Public Employees' Retirement System of the State of California compared to the cost of providing retirement benefits for similarly situated officers and employees through the San Francisco Employees' Retirement System.
Charter Section A8.590-9 shall be interpreted to be consistent with all federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. If any words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or provisions of Charter Section A8.590-9 are held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a final judgment of a court, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or provisions of Charter Sections A8.590-9. If any words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or provisions of Charter Section A8.590-9 are held invalid as applied to any person, circumstance, employee or category of employee, such invalidity shall not affect any application of Charter Section A8.590-9 which can be given effect. Charter Section A8.590-9 shall be broadly construed to achieve its stated purpose.
(Added by Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)
A8.595 MEMBERS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON JANUARY 1, 2003 WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM UNDER CHARTER SECTION A8.559
Members of the police department on January 1, 2003 who are members of the Retirement System under Section A8.559 may elect to be members of the Retirement System under Section A8.595 instead of Section A8.559. Any such election must be exercised in writing, on a form furnished by the Retirement System, and filed at the office of said system not later than the close of business on December 31, 2002.
Those persons who elect to be members under Section A8.595 as provided in the preceding paragraph, shall be members of the system subject to provisions of Sections A8.595 through Section A8.595-14 (which shall apply only to members under Section A8.595) in addition to the provisions contained in Sections 12.100 to 12.103 and Sections A8.500, A8.510 and A8.520 of this Charter, notwithstanding the provisions of any other section of this Charter, and shall not be subject to any of the provisions of Section A8.559 of this Charter.
The provisions of Section A8.595 shall not apply to any member of the Retirement System under Section A8.559 who separated from service, retired or died before January 1, 2003, or to his or her continuant; provided, however, that the provisions of section A8.595-2 shall apply to the adjustment required in Sections A8.559-3, A8-559-4 and A8.559-5 for a retired member or his or her surviving spouse or continuant when the retired member would not have completed at least twenty-five (25) years of service in the aggregate and attained the age of fifty (50) years until after January 1, 2003.
(Added November 2002)
"Retirement allowance," "death allowance" or "allowance," shall mean equal monthly payments, beginning to accrue upon the date of retirement, or upon the day following the date of death, as the case may be, and continuing for life unless a different term of payment is definitely provided by the context.
"Compensation," as distinguished from benefits under the Workers' Compensation Insurance and Safety Act of the State of California, shall mean the remuneration payable in cash, by the City and County, without deduction except for absence from duty, for time during which the individual receiving such remuneration is a member of the police department, but excluding remuneration paid for overtime.
For retirement purposes, any increase in compensation attached to a rank which is based solely upon the possession of a POST certificate, compared to the equivalent rank without a POST certificate, shall be subject to the following limitations:
(a) for possession of the intermediate POST certificate, no more than 4% shall be included in compensation,
(b) for possession of the advanced POST certificate, no more than an additional 2% over the maximum provided in subsection (a), above, shall be included in compensation,
These limits shall apply to any pay increments which are solely attributable to the possession of a POST certificate, including but not limited to premiums or special ranks which may be established in the future and which are solely attributable to the possession of a POST certificate.
"Compensation earnable" shall mean the compensation which would have been earned had the member received compensation without interruption throughout the period under consideration and at the rates of remuneration attached at that time to the ranks or positions held by him or her during such period, it being assumed that during any absence, he or she was in the rank or position held by him or her at the beginning of the absence, and that prior to becoming a member of the police department, he or she was in the rank or position first held by him or her in such department.
"Benefit" shall include "allowance," "retirement allowance," "death allowance" and "death benefit."
"Final compensation" shall mean the monthly compensation earnable by a member at the time of his or her retirement, or death before retirement, as the case may be, at the rate of remuneration attached at that time to the rank or position which said member held, provided that said member has held said rank or position for at least one year immediately prior to said retirement or death; and provided, further, that if said member has not held said rank or position for at least one year immediately prior to said retirement or death, "final compensation," as to such member, shall mean the monthly compensation earnable by such member in the rank or position next lower to the rank or position which he or she held at the time of retirement or death at the rate of remuneration attached at the time of said retirement or death to said next lower rank or position; provided, however, that in the case of a member's death before retirement as the result of a violent traumatic injury received in the performance of his or her duty, "final compensation," as to such member shall mean the monthly compensation earnable by such member at the rate of remuneration attached on the date he or she receives such injury to the rank or position held by such member on that date.
For purposes of calculation of final compensation, any increase in pay solely attributable to possession of a POST certificate shall be included only if the member possesses the qualifying POST certificate for a period of not less than four (4) years prior to his or her retirement date; provided, however, that should a member possess the qualifying POST certificate for a period of time less than four (4) years prior to retirement, final compensation shall be calculated based upon the monthly compensation in the next lower rank not requiring possession of the qualifying POST certificate.
For the purpose of Sections A8.595 through A8.595-14, the terms "member of the police department," "member of the department," or "member" shall mean any officer or employee of the police department, who was a member of the police department on January 1, 2003 and a member of the Retirement System under Section A8.559 and who elected to be a member of Section A8.595 as provided in Section A8.595.
Any police service performed by such members of the police department outside the limits of the City and County and under orders of a superior officer of any such member, shall be considered as City and County service, and any disability or death incurred therein shall be covered under the provisions of the Retirement System.
"Retirement system" or "system" shall mean San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System as created in Section A8.500 of the Charter.
"Retirement board" shall mean "retirement board" as created in Section 12.100 of the Charter.
"Charter" shall mean the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco.
Words used in the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter gender, words used in the feminine gender shall include the masculine and neuter gender, and singular numbers shall include the plural and the plural the singular.
"Interest" shall mean interest at the rate adopted by the retirement board.
(Added November 2002)
Any member of the police department who completes at least twenty-five (25) years of service in the aggregate and attains the age of fifty (50) years, said service to be computed under Section A8.595-10, may retire for service at his or her option. A member retired after meeting the service and age requirements in the preceding sentence, shall receive a retirement allowance equal to the percent of the final compensation of said member, as defined in Section A8.595-1, set forth below opposite his or her age at retirement, taken to the preceding quarter year, for each year of service, as computed under Section A8.595-10:
Retirement Age | Percent for Each Year of Credited Service |
Retirement Age | Percent for Each Year of Credited Service |
50 | 2.400 |
50.25 | 2.430 |
50.5 | 2.460 |
50.75 | 2.490 |
51 | 2.520 |
51.25 | 2.550 |
51.5 | 2.580 |
51.75 | 2.610 |
52 | 2.640 |
52.25 | 2.670 |
52.5 | 2.700 |
52.75 | 2.730 |
53 | 2.760 |
53.25 | 2.790 |
53.5 | 2.820 |
53.75 | 2.850 |
54 | 2.880 |
54.25 | 2.910 |
54.5 | 2.940 |
54.75 | 2.970 |
55+ | 3.000 |
In no event, however, shall such a retirement allowance exceed ninety (90) percent of a member's final compensation.
If, at the date of retirement for service, or retirement for disability resulting from an injury received in the performance of duty, said member has no spouse, children or dependent parents, who would qualify for the continuance of the allowance after the death of said member, or with respect to the portion of the allowance which would not be continued regardless of dependents, or upon retirement for disability resulting from other causes, with respect to all of the allowance and regardless of dependents at retirement, a member retired under this section, or Section A8.595-3, may elect before the first payment of the retirement allowance is made, to receive the actuarial equivalent of his or her allowance or the portion which would not be continued regardless of dependents, as the case may be, partly in a lesser allowance to be received by him or her throughout his or her life, and partly in other benefits payable after his or her death to another person or persons, provided that such election shall be subject to all the conditions prescribed by the Board of Supervisors to govern similar election by other members of the Retirement System, including the character and amount of such other benefits.
(Added November 2002)
Any member of the police department who becomes incapacitated for the performance of his or her duty by reason of any bodily injury received in, or illness caused by the performance of his or her duty, shall be retired. If he or she is not qualified for service retirement, he or she shall receive a retirement allowance in an amount which shall be equal to the same percentage of the final compensation of said member, as defined in Section A8.595-1, as his or her percentage of disability is determined to be. The percentage of disability shall be as determined by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board of the State of California upon referral from the retirement board for that purpose; provided that the retirement board may, by five affirmative votes, adjust the percentage of disability as determined by said appeals board; and provided, further, that such retirement allowance shall be in an amount not less than 50 percent nor more than 90 percent of the final compensation of said member, as defined in Section A8.595-1. Said allowance shall be paid to said member until the date upon which said member would have qualified for service retirement had he or she lived and rendered service without interruption in the rank held by the member at retirement, and after said date the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance said member would have received if retired for service on said date based on the final compensation, as defined in Section A8.595-1, he or she would have received immediately prior to said date, had he or she lived and rendered service as assumed, but such allowance shall not be less than 55 percent of such final compensation.
If, at the time of retirement because of disability, he or she is qualified as to age and service for retirement under Section A8.595-2, he or she shall receive an allowance equal to the retirement allowance which he or she would receive if retired under Section A8.595-2, but not less than 55 percent of said final compensation. Any member of the police department who becomes incapacitated for performance of his or her duty, by reason of a cause not included under the provisions of the immediately preceding sentences, and who shall have completed at least 10 years of service in the aggregate, computed as provided in Section A8.595-10, shall be retired upon an allowance of one and one-half percent of the final compensation of said member as defined in Section A8.595-1 for each year of service, provided that said allowance shall not be less than 331/3 percent of said final compensation; provided, however, that if such member has completed at least 25 years of service in the aggregate, computed as provided in Section A8.595-10, but has not yet attained the age of 50 years, he or she shall receive an allowance equal to the retirement allowance he or she would have received if he or she had attained the age of 50 years and retired under Section A8.595-2 as of the date of retirement for such incapacity. The question of retiring a member under this section may be brought before the retirement board on said board's own motion, by recommendation of the police commission, or by said member or his or her guardian. If his or her disability shall cease, his or her retirement allowance shall cease, and he or she shall be restored to the service in the rank he or she occupied at the time of his or her retirement.
(Added November 2002)
If a member of the police department shall die before or after retirement by reason of an injury received in, or illness caused by the performance of his or her duty, a death allowance, in lieu of any allowance payable under any other section of the Charter or by ordinance, on account of death resulting from injury received in or illness caused by the performance of duty, shall be paid, beginning on the date next following the date of death, to his or her surviving spouse throughout his or her life or until his or her remarriage. If the member, at the time of death, was qualified for service retirement, but had not retired, the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance which the member would have received if he or she had been retired for service on the day of death, but such allowance shall not be less than 55 percent of the final compensation earnable by said member immediately preceding death. If death occurs prior to qualification for service retirement, the allowance payable shall be equal to the final compensation of said member at the date of death, until the date upon which said member would have qualified for service retirement, had he or she lived and rendered service without interruption in the rank held by the member at death, and after said date the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance said member would have received if retired for service on said date, based on the final compensation he or she would have received immediately prior to said date, had he or she lived and rendered service as assumed, but such allowance shall not be less than 55 percent of such monthly final compensation. If he or she had retired prior to death, for service or for disability resulting from injury received in, or illness caused by the performance of duty, the allowance payable shall be equal to the retirement allowance of the member, except that if he or she was a member under Section 5.595 and retirement was for such disability, and if death occurred prior to qualification for the service retirement allowance, the allowance continued shall be reduced upon the date at which said member would have qualified for service retirement, in the same manner as it would have been reduced had the member not died. If there is no surviving spouse entitled to an allowance hereunder, or if he or she dies or remarries before every child of such deceased member attains the age of 18 years, then the allowance which the surviving spouse would have received had he or she lived and not remarried shall be paid to his or her child or children under said age, collectively, to continue until every such child dies or attains said age, provided that no child shall receive any allowance after marrying or attaining the age of 18 years. Should said member leave no surviving spouse and no children under the age of 18 years, but leave a child or children, regardless of age, dependent upon him or her for support because partially or totally disabled and unable to earn a livelihood or a parent or parents dependent upon him or her for support, the child or children and the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving spouse otherwise would have received, during such dependency. No allowance, however, shall be paid under this section to a surviving spouse following the death of a member unless he or she was married to the member prior to the date of the injury or onset of the illness which results in death.
(Added November 2002)
Upon the death of a member of the police department resulting from any cause, other than an injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty;
(a) if his or her death occurred after qualification for service retirement, under Section A8.595-2 or after retirement for service or because of disability which resulted from any cause other than an injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, three-fourths of his or her retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled if he or she had retired for service at the time of death or three-fourths of the retirement allowance as it was at his or her death, as the case may be, shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage to his or her surviving spouse; or
(b) if his or her death occurred after the completion of at least 25 years of service in the aggregate but prior to the attainment of the age of 50 years, three-fourths of the retirement allowance to which he or she would have been entitled under Section A8.595-2 if he or she had attained the age of 50 years on the date of his or her death shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage to his or her surviving spouse; or
(c) if his or her death occurred after retirement for disability by reason of injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty, his or her retirement allowance as it was at his or her death shall be continued throughout life or until remarriage, to his or her surviving spouse, except that, if death occurred prior to qualification for service retirement allowance, the allowance continued shall be adjusted upon the date of which said member would have qualified for service retirement, in the same manner as it would have been adjusted had the member not died; or
(d) if his or her death occurred after completion of at least 10 years of service in the aggregate, computed as provided in Section A8.595-10, an allowance in an amount equal to the retirement allowance to which the member would have been entitled pursuant to Section A8.595-3 if he or she had retired on the date of death because of incapacity for performance of duty resulting from a cause other than bodily injury received in, or illness caused by performance of duty shall be paid throughout life or until remarriage to his or her surviving spouse.
If there is no surviving spouse entitled to an allowance hereunder, or if he or she dies or remarries before every child of such deceased member attains the age of 18 years, then the allowance which the surviving spouse would have received had he or she lived and not remarried shall be paid to his or her child or children under said age, collectively, to continue until every such child dies or attains said age, provided that no child shall receive any allowance after marrying or attaining the age of 18 years. Should said member leave no surviving spouse and no children under age of 18 years, but leave a child or children, regardless of age, dependent upon him or her for support because partially or totally disabled and unable to earn a livelihood or a parent or parents dependent upon him or her for support, the child or children and the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving spouse otherwise would have received, during such dependency. No allowance, however, shall be paid under this section to a surviving spouse unless he or she was married to the member prior to the date of the injury or onset of the illness which results in death if he or she had not retired, or unless he or she was married to the member at least one year prior to his or her death if he or she had retired.
As used in this section and Section A8.595-4, "surviving spouse" shall mean and include a surviving spouse, and shall also mean and include a spouse who has remarried since the death of the member, but whose remarriage has been terminated by death, divorce or annulment within five years after the date of such remarriage and who has not thereafter again remarried.
The surviving spouse, in the event of death of the member after qualification for but before service retirement, may elect before the first payment of the allowance, to receive the benefit provided in Section A8.595-A8, in lieu of the allowance which otherwise would be continued to him or her under this section. If there is no surviving spouse, the guardian of the eligible child or children may make such election, and if there are no such children, the dependent parent or parents may make such election. "Qualified for service retirement," "Qualification for service retirement" or "Qualified as to age and service for retirement," as used in this section and other sections to which persons who are members under Section A8.595 are subject, shall mean completion of 25 years of service and attainment of age 50, said service to be computed under Section A8.595-10.
(Added November 2002)
Every retirement or death allowance payable to or on account of any member under Section A8.595 shall be increased or decreased as of January 1, 2003, and thereafter on the effective date of any legislation fixing the rates of compensation for police officers under section A8.590-1 et seq. of this Charter by an amount equal to 50 percent of any increase or decrease, respectively, in the rate of remuneration attached to the rank or position upon which such retirement or death allowance was based; provided, however, that no allowance shall be reduced below the amount being received by a member or his or her beneficiary on January 1, 2003, or on the date such member or beneficiary began to receive the allowance, whichever is later.
(Added November 2002)
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