(a) Except as provided otherwise in (b) through (e), should a firefighter, who while employed by the city, be called or enlisted in the armed service of the United States and should the person be reemployed by the city as a firefighter within one year after the date of termination of armed service, the armed service shall be credited as city service, provided the firefighter returns to the pension fund all amounts withdrawn therefrom at the time of entering, or while in, the armed service, together with regular interest thereon from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment. In case of doubt as to the period to be so credited any member, the board shall have final power to determine that period. During the period of the armed service rendered to the federal government and until reemployment by the city as a firefighter, the firefighter's contributions to the accumulated contributions account shall be suspended and the balance standing to the firefighter's credit in the fund shall be accumulated at regular interest.
(b) Effective with respect to deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2007, while a member is performing qualified military service (as defined in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code), to the extent required by § 401(a)(37) of the Internal Revenue Code, survivors of a member are entitled to any additional benefits that the pension fund would provide if the member had resumed employment and then died, such as accelerated vesting or survivor benefits that are contingent on the member's death while employed. In any event, a deceased member's period of qualified military service must be counted for vesting purposes.
(c) Effective with respect to deaths and/or disabilities occurring on or after January 1, 2007, while a member is performing qualified military service (as defined in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code), to the extent permitted by § 414(u)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, for benefit accrual purposes and in the case of death, for vesting purposes, the member shall be treated as having earned years of service for the period of qualified military service, having returned to employment on the day before the death and/or disability, and then having terminated on the date of death or disability. This provision shall be applied to all similarly situated individuals in a reasonably equivalent manner.
(d) Beginning January 1, 2009, to the extent required by § 414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code, an individual receiving differential wage payments (as defined under § 3401(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code) from an employer shall be treated as employed by that employer, and the differential wage payment shall be treated as compensation for purposes of applying the limits on annual additions under § 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This provision shall be applied to all similarly situated individuals in a reasonably equivalent manner.
(e) Effective December 12, 1994, notwithstanding any other provision of the pension fund law, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service are governed by § 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
(1957 Rev. Ords., § 2.1112; 1992 Code, § 35-92) (Ord. 34-91, passed 4-8-1991; Ord. 5-05, passed 1-10-2005; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)