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Should any member of the fire department cease to be employed as such a member, through any cause other than death or retirement or transfer to another office or department, all of his or her contributions, with interest credited thereon, shall be refunded to him or her subject to the conditions prescribed by the Board of Supervisors to govern similar terminations of employment of other members of the Retirement System. If he or she shall again become a member of the department, he or she shall redeposit in the retirement fund the amount refunded to him or her. Should a member of the fire department become an employee of any other office or department, his or her accumulated contribution account shall be adjusted by payments to or from him or her as the case may be to make the accumulated contributions credited to him or her at the time of change equal to the amount which would have been credited to him or her if he or she had been employed in said other office or department at the rate of compensation received by him or her in the fire department and he or she shall receive credit for service for which said contributions were made, according to the Charter section under which his or her membership in the Retirement System continues.
(Added November 2002)
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qualified for retirement and calculating benefits, excluding, however, any time, the contributions for which were withdrawn by said member upon termination of his or her service while he or she was a member under any other Charter section, and not redeposited upon re-entry into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 police or fire department.
(b) Time prior to January 1, 2003, during which said member was entitled to receive compensation while a member of the police or fire department under any other section of the Charter, provided that accumulated contributions on account of such service previously refunded are redeposited with interest from the date of refund to the date of redeposit, at times and in the manner fixed by the retirement board; and solely for the purpose of determining qualification for retirement under Section A8.598-3 for disability not resulting from injury received in or illness caused by performance of duty, time during which said member serves and receives compensation because of services rendered in other offices and departments.
(c) Time during which said member earned compensation as a paramedic with the fire department or department of public health, provided that the accumulated contributions on account of such service are transferred to his or her Section A8.598 account or, if previously refunded, are redeposited with interest from the date of refund to the date of redeposit, at times and in the manner fixed by the retirement board. The retirement board shall require that said member execute a waiver so that any paramedic service covered by Section A8.598 is not also covered by other pension provisions in this Charter. Members of the fire department on January 1, 2003, who are members of the Retirement System under Section A8.598, shall execute and file said waiver on or before June 30, 2003. Persons who become members of the fire department, as defined in Section A8.598-1, after January 1, 2003, shall execute and file said waiver within 90 days after their effective date of membership. Failure to file a timely waiver shall bar any application to have such paramedic service treated as safety service under this subsection.
(d) Time during which said member is absent from a status included in Subsection (a) 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 Sections A8.520 and A8.521 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 or her account.
(e) 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.
(Added November 2002; Amended by Proposition G, 11/4/2008)
All payments provided for members under Section A8.598 shall be made from funds derived from the following sources, plus interest earned on said funds:
(a) There shall be deducted from each payment of compensation made to a member under Section A8.598 a sum equal to seven percent of such payment of compensation. 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 Section A8.598-4, A8.598-5 and A8.598-8.
(b) The City and County shall contribute to the Retirement System such amounts as may be necessary, when added to the contributions referred to in Subsection (a) of this Section A8.598-11, to provide the benefits payable to members under Section A8.598. Such contributions of the City and County to provide the portion of the benefits hereunder 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 A8.598 in accordance with the provisions of Section A8.510.
(c) 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 and the City and County held by the system to provide benefits for members under Section A8.598, shall be a part of the fund in which all other assets of said system are included.
(d) Any year in which, based upon the Retirement System's annual actuarial valuation, the employer contribution rate exceeds 0%, the employee organizations representing safety members shall jointly meet and confer with City representatives to implement a cost sharing arrangement between the City and employee organizations. Such arrangement will effect a material reduction of the cost impact of employer contributions on the City's general fund.
The dollar value of the cost sharing arrangement shall not exceed the total annual cost to the Retirement System of improving the police and fire safety retirement plans to the 3% @ 55 benefit level or the total employer contribution required by the Retirement System, whichever is lesser. Such cost sharing arrangement shall not require an employee contribution in excess of the limits set elsewhere in this Charter.
The meet and confer process, including all impasse procedures under Section A8.590-1 et seq., shall be concluded not later than April 1st except by mutual agreement of the parties. The cost sharing arrangement must be finalized to permit implementation effective July 1.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section A8.598-11 or this Charter, for fiscal years beginning on July 1, 2012, the employee contribution rate set forth in Subsection (a) 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 (b). 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 A8.598, or shall be paid to said member or his or her beneficiary or estate as provided in Sections A8.598-4, A8.598-5 and A8.598-8.
The percentage increase in member contributions shall reduce, by a corresponding percentage, the City and County contributions to the Retirement System on account of said member 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 (b) for that fiscal year.
(Added November 2002; amended by Proposition G, Approved 11/4/2008; Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)
Upon the completion of the years of service set forth in Section 8.598-2 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 8.598-2, and except as provided in Section 8.598-16, nothing shall deprive said member of said right.
(Added November 2002; Amended by Proposition C, 6/3/2008)
(a) Except as provided in Section A8.511 of this Charter and in Subsection (b) of this section, no person retired as a member under Section A8.598 for service or disability and entitled to receive a retirement allowance under the Retirement System shall be employed in any capacity by the City and County, nor shall such person receive any payment for services rendered to the City and County after retirement.
(b) (1) Service as an election officer or juror, or in the preparation for, or giving testimony as an expert witness for or on behalf of the City and County before any court or legislative body shall be affected by the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The provisions of Subsection (a) shall not prevent such retired person from serving on any board or commission of the City and County and receiving the compensation for such office, provided said compensation does not exceed $100 per month.
(3) If such retired person is elected or appointed to a position or office which subjects him or her to membership in the Retirement System under Section A8.598, he or she shall re-enter membership under Section A8.598 and his or her retirement allowance shall be cancelled immediately upon his or her re-entry. The provisions of Subsection (a) of this section shall not prevent such person from receiving the compensation for such position or office. The rate of contributions of such member shall be the same as that for other members under Section A8.598. Such member's individual account shall be credited with an amount which is the actuarial equivalent of his or her annuity at the time of his or her re-entry, but the amount thereof shall not exceed the amount of his or her accumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement. Such member shall also receive credit for his or her service as it was at the time of his or her retirement.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this Charter to the contrary, should any person retired for disability engage in a gainful occupation prior to attaining the age of 55 years, the retirement board shall reduce that part of his or her monthly retirement allowance which is provided by contributions of the City and County to an amount which, when added to the amount of the compensation earnable, at the time he or she engages in the gainful occupation, by such person if he or she held the position which he or she held at the time of his or her retirement, or, if that position has been abolished, the compensation earnable by the member if he or she held the position from which he or she was retired immediately prior to its abolishment.
(Added November 2002)
Any Section or part of any Section in this Charter, insofar as it should conflict with the provisions of Section A8.598 or with any part thereof, shall be superseded by the contents of Section A8.598. Section A8.598 shall be interpreted to be consistent with all federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. If any words, phrases, clauses, sentences, subsections, provisions or portions of Section A8.598 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, subsections, provisions or portions of Section A8.598. If any words, phrases, clauses, sentences, subsections, provisions or portions of Section A8.598 are held invalid as applied to any person, circumstance, employee or category of employee, such invalidity shall not affect any application of Section A8.598 which can be given effect. Section A8.598 shall be broadly construed to achieve its stated purposes.
(Added November 2002; amended by Proposition C, Approved 11/8/2011)
Notwithstanding any provisions of this Charter to the contrary, should any member of the fire department who is a member of the Retirement System under Charter Section A8.598 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 allowance equal to the percent set forth in Section A8.598-2 opposite his or her age at retirement, for each year of service multiplied against the final compensation of said member, calculated at termination, payable beginning no earlier than age 50. No vesting retirement allowance under this section shall exceed ninety (90%) percent of the member's final compensation. The provisions of Section A8.598-15 shall not apply to any members of the Retirement System under Section A8.588 who terminated before January 1, 2003 or their continuants.
(Added November 2002)
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