(a) Applicable Law. The Plan shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State in which such documents have been executed except to the extent that such laws have been specifically preempted by the Act or other Federal legislation.
(b) Incapacity of Recipient of Benefits. If any person entitled to receive benefits shall be physically or mentally incapable of receiving or acknowledging receipt of any payment of benefits, the Board of Trustees, upon the receipt of satisfactory evidence that such incapacitated person is so incapacitated and that another person or institution is maintaining him or her and that no guardian or committee has been appointed for him or her, may provide for the payment of benefits hereunder to such person or institution so maintaining him or her, and any such payments so made shall be deemed for every purpose to have been made to such incapacitated person.
(c) Employment Rights Not Affected by the Plan. Participation in this Plan shall not give any right to any employee to be retained in the employ of the employer nor shall it interfere with the right of the employer to discharge any employee and to deal with him or her without regard to the existence of this Plan and without regard to the effect that such treatment might have upon him or her as a participant in this Plan.
(d) Ownership of Plan Assets. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to give any participant or his or her beneficiary any interest in any specific property of the Plan or any right except to receive such distributions as are expressly provided for in this Plan.
(e) Alienation of Benefits and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders.
(1) Subject to the exceptions provided below, no benefit which shall be payable out of the Plan to any person (including a participant or his or her survivor) shall be subject in any manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, or charge. Any attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell, transfer, assign, pledge, encumber, or charge the same shall be void. Also no such benefit shall in any manner be liable for, or subject to, the debts, contracts, liabilities, engagements, or torts of any such person, nor shall it be subject to attachment or legal process for or against such person, and the same shall not be recognized by the Board, except to such extent as may be required by law.
(2) This provision shall not apply to the extent a participant or survivor is indebted to the Plan, for any reason, under any provisions of this agreement. At the time a distribution is to be made to or for a participant's or survivor's benefit, such proportion of the amount distributed equal to such indebtedness shall be paid by the Board, to apply against or discharge such indebtedness. Prior to making a payment, however, the participant or beneficiary must be given written notice by the Board that such indebtedness is to be so paid in whole or part from his or her participant's accrued benefits. If the participant or beneficiary does not agree that the indebtedness is a valid claim against his or her vested accrued benefit, he or she shall be entitled to a review of the validity of the claim in accordance with procedures as provided by the Board.
(3) This provision shall not apply to those other domestic relations orders which must be recognized by the Board pursuant to State law.
(f) Indemnification of Fiduciaries. To the extent permitted by the Act and regulations issued thereunder, the employer shall indemnify and hold harmless the Board of the Plan, as defined in the Act, whether or not named fiduciaries, and indemnify the same, against any and all claims or liabilities which may be asserted against any of them by reason of any action or omission in the administration or operation of the Plan, except in the case of any criminal liability, fraud or willful wrongdoing.
(g) Funding Policy. The employer shall make contributions to the Plan in accordance with Section 288.03(a) and the Plan funds shall be invested in accordance with the terms of the Plan and the Act.
(h) Meaning of Certain Words. As used herein each gender shall include all other genders and the singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular in all cases where such meaning would be appropriate.
(i) Information to be Furnished by the Employer. The employer shall furnish to the Board such information in the employer's possession as the Board requires from time to time to perform its duties under the Plan.
(j) Other City Funds Not Liable. Payment of pensions and allowances as provided under this Plan shall not be a charge on any other fund of the employer or under its control other than the fund related to the Firefighters' Pension Plan established hereunder.
(k) Firefighters' Reserve. Every member retired under the Plan shall be subject to service, from time to time, as a firefighters' reserve in cases of emergency until unfitted for such service, at which time he or she shall be finally discharged by reason of age and/or disability.
(l) Service of Process. The Board is the designated agent of the Plan for the service of process in connection with all matters affecting the Plan.
(Ord. 02-02. Passed 4-8-02.)