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Should any change or error in the records result in any member, retirant or beneficiary receiving from the Firefighters' Pension Fund more or less than he or she would have been entitled to receive had the records been correct, the board shall correct the error and as far as is practicable shall adjust the payment of the benefit in a manner that the actuarial equivalent of the benefit to which the member, retirant or beneficiary was correctly entitled shall be paid.
(1957 Rev. Ords., § 2.1137; 1992 Code, § 35-117; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
(a) The board of trustees of the Firefighters' Pension Fund shall provide annual post-retirement redetermination of pensions. The redetermined amount shall not be less than the amount of pension otherwise payable. Any provision of this subchapter which limits the amount of pension shall not apply to the operation of this section in redetermining the amount of pension. The application of any provision redetermining pension amounts may be restricted to pensions having an effective date of payment either prior to or subsequent to a specified date. Any post-retirement redetermination of one or more pensions within a pension fund shall be prefunded and may not bring the pension fund into noncompliance with the provisions of § 39.339(c).
(b) Pursuant to division (a) above, the pension upon which redeterminations of pension are made shall be increased once on January 1, 1986, by 0.5% for each year of retirement based on the current pension for each person retiring on or before December 31, 1974, and 0.5% for each year of retirement based on the original pension for each person retiring after December 31, 1974.
(c) (1) Starting January 1, 1991, on the first of the month following the thirty- sixth full month of retirement, the board shall redetermine the pensions of those retirants and beneficiaries whose pensions were effective 36 full months prior to the date of redetermination, and the pensions shall be increased as provided in this section effective on the first of the month following the thirty- sixth full month of retirement. On January 1, 1991, and thereafter on each January 1, the board shall redetermine the pensions of all retirants and beneficiaries and the pensions shall be increased as provided in this section. The pension shall be increased by an amount equal to the current forecast base times the pension increase percentage. The pension increase percentage shall be equal to the percentage increase, to a maximum of 3%, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, as computed by the United States Department of Labor, for the year ending in the month of June preceding the January 1 redetermination date.
(2) Any transfer of funds and calculation of benefits required in this section shall be made effective as of the dates mentioned in this section, and the actual transfers and calculation of benefits may be made on a later date. Changes in amounts paid to retirants and beneficiaries shall be paid as soon as practicable after the end of the calendar year.
(1957 Rev. Ords., § 2.1141; 1992 Code, § 35-119) (Ord. 2696, passed 7-27-1970; Ord. 108-85, passed 12-2-1985; Ord. 96-87, passed 11-16-1987; Ord. 110-89, passed 10-16-1989; Ord. 110-90, passed 12-3-1990; Ord. 83-93, passed 11-22-1993; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
No change may be made in employee contribution levels of this Firefighters' Pension Fund or present or future benefits of this pension fund, by ordinance or otherwise, without an affirmative vote by both the council and the membership of the pension fund.
(1992 Code, § 35-120) (Ord. 108-85, passed 12-2-1985; Ord. 36-95, passed 3-6-1995; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
(a) The administrative cost of the plan during the year;
(b) The actuarially determined cost of future benefits accruing to members during the year; and
(c) An amount sufficient to amortize any unfunded liability of the pension fund over a period not to exceed 40 years on the basis of reasonable and generally accepted actuarial assumptions.
(1992 Code, § 35-121) (Ord. 108-85, passed 12-2-1985; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
No benefits, present or future, may be changed or modified in any manner unless the pension fund's actuaries have prepared an actuarial statement showing the effect of those changes on the pension fund. No benefits, present or future, may be changed or modified if the change or modifications will bring the pension fund into noncompliance with the provisions of § 39.338.
(1992 Code, § 35-122) (Ord. 108-85, passed 12-2-1985; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
The city shall maintain records with respect to each employee sufficient to determine benefits due under this subchapter or which may become due to the employee. The city shall furnish to the pension fund administrator any information necessary for the administrator to make reports required under the provisions of this subchapter.
(1992 Code, § 35-123) (Ord. 108-85, passed 12-2-1985; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
(a) As permitted by law, in addition to pension payments payable under this subchapter, the pension fund shall pay from the pension fund one-half of the premium for the retirant's and beneficiary's group health insurance plan participated in by the city. Effective after final termination and distribution of the 401(h) group health insurance fund, this premium will instead be paid from the OPEB 115 Trust Fund Agreement.
(b) As permitted by law, if a retirant or beneficiary is covered by a group insurance plan participated in by the city and is permitted to and elects to continue the coverage as a retirant, the retirant or beneficiary may authorize the board to have deducted from all retirement allowances the payments required to continue coverage under the group insurance plan.
(c) The benefits described in this section shall apply to any retired employee or officer who retires prior to January 1, 2014, and is entitled to a retirement allowance and who shall have participated at least five years, immediately preceding separation from city employment in the group health insurance plan participated in by the city.
(d) All contributions from the retirement allowances for purposes of the retirant's and/or beneficiary's group insurance fund shall be reasonable and ascertainable.
(e) Contributions to fund the retirant's and beneficiary's 401(h) group health insurance plan must be subordinate to the contributions to the city's Firefighters' Pension Fund for retirement benefits. At no time shall the aggregate actual contributions to the 401(h) group health insurance fund (when added to actual contributions for life insurance protection under the plan, if any) be in excess of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total aggregate actual contributions made to the Firefighters' Pension Fund (not including contributions to fund past service credit, if applicable). The Board shall annually determine whether the twenty-five percent (25%) test has been met. If at any time the 401(h) group health insurance fund (plus any life insurance contribution) would exceed the twenty-five percent (25%) test, the excess amount of contributions shall be transferred to the firefighters' Pension Fund for retirement benefits.
(f) Forfeitures from the group health insurance fund shall not be allocated to individual accounts, but shall be used for account expenses.
(g) At no time prior to the satisfaction of all liabilities under the 401(h) group health insurance fund or termination of the Firefighters' Pension Fund shall any assets for purposes of group health insurance be used for, or diverted to, any purpose other than the providing of payment of the Firefighters' Pension Fund portion of the monthly retiree health insurance premium benefit in this section, and the payment of administrative expenses.
(h) The provisions of § 401(h)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code shall apply upon the satisfaction of all liabilities under law.
(i) Effective December 31, 2016, the 401(h) group health insurance fund shall be terminated. After satisfaction of all liabilities under the 401(h) group health insurance fund to provide certain retiree medical benefits, any amounts remaining in this fund must be returned to the city, pursuant to § 401(h)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(j) Effective January 1, 2017, the OPEB Trust shall be created and effective pursuant to § 39.006. The OPEB 115 Trust Fund Agreement will be used to make the payments described in (a) of this section as soon thereafter as is administratively reasonable in the Board's judgment.
(1992 Code, § 35-124) (Ord. 96-87, passed 11-16-1987; Ord. 26-98, passed 3-2-1998; Ord. 24-13, passed 5-7-2013; Ord. 118-16, passed 12-20-2016)
Surviving spouses whose pension benefits under this subchapter have terminated or whose future pension benefits are subject to termination because of remarriage will have their surviving spousal pension benefits reinstated as of the effective date of the ordinance from which this section derives. The reinstatement of surviving spousal benefits will not be retroactive and will not include post-retirement redetermination benefit increases granted since termination of benefits, but pension benefits will begin again based on their last calculated benefit. They will be eligible under the same regulations as other retirants for future post-retirement redetermination increases.
(1992 Code, § 35-124.1) (Ord. 110-89, passed 10-16-1989)
In the event of termination of this plan, the rights of all affected participants to benefits then accrued shall thereupon become 100% vested and nonforfeitable to the extent then funded or the amounts credited to the employees’ accounts are nonforfeitable.
(1992 Code, § 35-124.2) (Ord. 5-05, passed 1-10-2005)
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