191Prior0

Prior to the adoption of TQM Code update - Ch.2 on 10/11/2004, Section 2-191 read as follows.

When a member shall retire as a matter of right, he shall be paid each month thereafter for the rest of his life an amount which is calculated as follows:

(a) For Class A members. Unless they elect to receive benefits available to Class B members as provided in section 2-189(b), the normal retirement benefit for Class A members shall be one and one-half percent (1.5%) of average monthly salary received by the member during the best three (3) consecutive years out of the ten (10) years immediately preceding retirement, multiplied by his number of years of employment.

(b) For Class B and Class C members. For members who retire under section 2-189 (c) the normal retirement benefit shall be calculated by adding the figures obtained from the calculations in subsections (1), (2) and (3) below and multiplying the total sum by the number of years of employment:

(1) One percent (1.0%) of average monthly salary received by the member during the best three (3) consecutive years out of the ten (10) years immediately preceding retirement;

(2) Six-tenths of one percent (0.6%) of such average monthly salary in excess of one thousand eighty-three dollars and thirty-three cents ($1,083.33);

(3) Six-tenths of one percent (0.6%) of such average monthly salary in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00).

The salary break points of one thousand eighty-three dollars and thirty-three cents ($1,083.33) and two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) used in these calculations shall be increased or decreased on July 1, 1988, and on every January 1st and July 1st thereafter based upon the percentage increase or decrease of the average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for all items (1967 = 100) (or successor to that Index), as published by the United States Department of Labor for the respective periods of the preceding November 1st through April 30th and May 1st through October 31st.

(c) When a member shall retire under the disability provision of section 2-189, he shall be entitled to be paid each month, for the duration of disability, a sum computed in the same manner as normal retirement under this section, except that year of service shall be deemed to be the greatest of the following:

(1) The member's years of service at the time of disability;

(2) The years of service that would have accrued to the member had he worked until age sixty-five (65), but not to exceed twenty (20) years; or

(3) The years of service that would have accrued to the member had he worked until age sixty (60).

If the number of years of service determined in subsections (c)(2) and (3) above exceed the number of the member's years of service at the time of the disability, during such period the member shall be deemed to have received the salary at the time of disability for purposes of computing monthly average salary. If the years of service determined in the immediately preceding paragraph exceed the member's years of service at the time of disability, during such period the member shall be deemed to have received his last completed year's salary for the time granted due to his disablement for purposes of computing his average monthly salary.

(d) It shall be the obligation of the member to supply the pension board with all data on Social Security necessary under any previous ordinance for the coordination of benefits in accordance with the benefit formula of such previous ordinance. Failure to supply the necessary Social Security data shall be grounds for withholding payment until the data is supplied.

(e) When a member retires under the early retirement provisions of paragraph (e) of section 2-189, his payments shall be calculated in the same manner as the normal retirement benefit except that years of employment and average monthly salary shall be determined as of the early retirement date. Such benefits shall then be reduced one-half percent (0.5%) for each month the date of early retirement precedes the date of normal retirement. Such reduced benefits, once determined, shall remain constant at the reduced figure for the life of the member.

(f) Members of the pension plan who were retired and were receiving benefits on December 28, 1976, and those Class A and Class B members who retire after that date shall be entitled to post-1984 retirement adjustments in their benefits based on the fluctuation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) as published by the United States Department of Labor.

Benefits shall be increased or decreased by the average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for all items (1967 = 100) (or the successor to that Index). On July 1, 1977, on January 1, 1978, and each six (6) months thereafter the cost of living shall be adjusted based on the respective periods of November 1st through April 30th and May 1st through October 31st. In no event shall the increase or decrease exceed one and one-half percent (1.5%) for each six (6) month period. The beginning price index shall be the average price index of the six-month period during which retirement takes place. No adjustment shall reduce the member's benefit below those earned under the standard benefit formula.

Class C members are not eligible for the post-retirement adjustments described above.

(g) A member who retires as a matter of right under section 2-189 may elect to have his or her benefits made payable in a reduced amount for life and in a lesser amount thereafter to a surviving spouse for life. Written notice of a survivor annuity of fifty percent (50%) or less must be filed upon a form prescribed by the pension board at any time prior to retirement. Written notice of a survivor annuity of more than fifty percent (50%) must be filed on a form prescribed by the pension board at least twenty-four (24) months prior to retirement. In the event of such election, the amount of benefits otherwise payable under this plan to the retired member and the amount payable to the surviving spouse shall be determined by the actuarial table in effect at the time of retirement. Such table shall be the latest approved by the city's actuarial consultant and the pension board. A member who has elected this option and has been approved by the board may revoke his election by written notice to the board up to the day of his retirement. In the event of the death of a spouse prior to the retirement of a member, such an election shall be deemed to be revoked automatically. Upon the date of retirement the election shall become irrevocable and the retired member's pension shall be in the reduced amount, henceforth, regardless of whether his spouse survives him. "Surviving spouse" shall mean that spouse living with the member at the time of retirement.

(h) Members retiring as a matter of right under section 2-189(c) or (e) may elect to have his benefits made payable on a levelized basis considering a combination of city pension and Social Security which is determined to be of equivalent value to his accrued benefit using the actuarial assumptions described in this section at the time of retirement. The purpose of this provision is to enable the member to receive, from this pension plan and under Social Security, an aggregate income in approximately level amount for life.

(i) For the purposes of this section, a member's average monthly salary shall be determined exclusive of overtime. Salary shall include merit or other bonuses received for the performance of duties, but salary shall not include special award or incentive payments such as the wellness incentive program, the employee suggestion awards program, and the like.

(j) The actuarial assumptions shall be defined as follows:

(1) Mortality assumption for a member who is not retiring under the disability provision of section 2-189 shall be the 1983 Group Annuity Mortality Table for males as described in the Internal Revenue Service's Revenue Ruling 95-25.

(2) Mortality assumption for a member who is retiring under the disability provision of section 2-189 shall be the mortality table for males who became disabled after December 31, 1994 as described in the Internal Revenue Service's Revenue Ruling 96-7.

(3) Mortality assumption for the spouse of a member shall be the 1983 Group Annuity Mortality Table for females as described in the Internal Revenue Service's Revenue Ruling 95-25.

(4) Interest assumption shall be seven and one-half (7.5%) percent per annum, compounded annually. The semi-annual cost of living adjustments for Class A and B members shall be assumed to be zero (0.0%) percent per period, compounded semi-annually.

(Ord. of 12-23-96(1), I; Ord. of 12-22-97, I; Ord. of 2-8-99)