[Adopted 2-8-2000 by Ord. No. 29-2000]
For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
One-half of the participant's final average monthly compensation
of the last 36 months of service to the date of retirement.
Act 205 of 1984, the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard
and Recovery Act.
Age at nearest birthday.
The eligible children are registered at an accredited institution
of higher learning and are carrying a minimum course load of seven
credit hours per semester.
[Added 6-21-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-005, approved 6-21-2007]
January 1 of each year.
A distribution option available to members who qualify and
who so voluntarily elect as provided in the Bridgeport Borough Code.
[Added 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-002, approved 2-22-2005]
A total and permanent disability which renders a participant
incapable of performing all normal police duties permanently. In determining
total and permanent "disability," the opinion of a physician selected
by the Borough shall be controlling. The condition of permanence shall
require the complete utilization of all accrued and unused sick time.
During such time the participant shall be totally, permanently and
continuously disabled. Benefits shall commence on the first day of
the month following exhaustion of sick time and the determination
of total and permanent "disability" by the selected physician.
The original effective date of the plan is January 1, 1970.
The Borough of Bridgeport, Montgomery County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
Compensation during the last 36 months of employment as a
full-time police officer of the Borough of Bridgeport, Including base
pay, holiday pay, longevity pay and overtime pay.
The Borough of Bridgeport Police Pension Fund.
Shall be defined the same way as a fatal work-related injury
is defined under the Pennsylvania Worker's Compensation Act. A fatal
injury in order to be considered as a "killed in service" injury must
be suffered in the course and scope of Bridgeport police employment
and must be causally related to the officer's job. The officer's death
must occur as a result of the officer performing official duties and
the death must have been caused by the officer's performance of his
or her duties.
[Amended 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-002, approved 2-22-2005]
Any police officer who meets the requirements set forth in § 72-33 of this article. The masculine will include the feminine.
The Borough of Bridgeport Police Pension Plan.
January 1 to December 31.
Continuous employment with the employer. All military service
shall be credited if a police officer has been employed for at least
six months before entering the military service, provided that the
officer returns to the police force within six months after the officer's
discharge.
This plan is to be funded and maintained by
any of the following methods or a combination of each:
A.
Contributions by participants. All participants shall
make contributions which shall be 5% of their total compensation but
no more than 8% of their total compensation, but which may be reduced
or eliminated if an actuarial study indicates that if such contributions
were reduced or eliminated contributions by the Borough will not be
required to keep the fund actuarially sound. Any reduction or elimination
of contributions shall be authorized on an annual basis by resolution
or ordinance of the Borough Council.
B.
State aid. Funds which are received from the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania pursuant to Act 205, which are directed to this plan
as approved by the Borough Council, may be used.
C.
Borough contributions. Contributions from the Borough
of Bridgeport as necessary, with appropriate approval by the Borough
Council, may be used.
D.
Gifts, grants, devises or bequests. The sums which
may be received by the Borough of Bridgeport in the form of gifts,
grants, devises or bequests may, to the extent authorized by law,
be contributed to said fund with the approval of the Borough Council.
E.
Any other sums received or contributed to the Borough,
to the extent authorized by law and with prior approval of the Borough
Council, may be used.
A.
Subject to the control and direction of the Borough
Council, the handling of said Police Pension Fund is hereby committed
to a Committee to be known as the "Police Pension Fund Committee."
Said Committee shall be composed of three members; namely, the Borough
Manager; a member of the Bridgeport Police Department selected by
those members of the Police Department who participate in the Police
Pension Fund; and the appointed pension plan administrator.
B.
The Police Pension Fund Committee shall have full
responsibility for administration of the plan and fund. The Committee
shall hold, invest, reinvest and distribute all funds and property
received pursuant hereto in trust for purposes of this article. The
Committee may receive at any time gifts, grants, devises or bequests
to the Police Pension Fund of any money or property, real or personal
or mixed, to be held by the Committee in trust for the benefit of
this fund and in accordance with the provisions hereof. The Committee
shall be subject to such rules and regulations as may from time to
time be adopted by the Borough Council through ordinance or resolution.
C.
The Police Pension Fund Committee shall have full
power and authority, either directly or through its designated representatives,
to do all acts, to execute, acknowledge and deliver all instruments
and to exercise for the sole benefit of the participants hereunder
any and all powers and discretions necessary to implement and effectuate
the purposes of this article, including, for purposes of illustration,
but not limited to any of the following:
(1)
To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received pursuant
to this article in such investments as may be authorized as legal
investments under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(2)
To retain any property which may at any time become
an asset of the fund, as long as the Committee may deem it advisable.
(3)
To make distribution of the moneys in the fund, in
accordance with the terms of this article.
(4)
To appoint a trustee or custodian to hold, invest
and reinvest plan funds in accordance with this article. Such trustee
or custodian may be removed or resign by giving 60 days' written notice
to the other party. The Committee shall maintain the authority to
oversee and review the performance of the trustee or custodian both
on an investment and administrative basis. Plan funds may be invested
in pooled funds designated for employee benefit trust funds.
D.
Any administrative expense which is an allowable administrative
expense under Act 600 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be
payable from the assets of the fund. If administrative expenses are
not or cannot be paid from the fund, the expense will be paid by the
Borough of Bridgeport. The Borough Council of the Borough of Bridgeport
may retain an outside administrator to perform the administrative
duties normally associated with the plan.
Each police officer of the Borough of Bridgeport
will be eligible to participate upon becoming a full-time police officer.
[Amended 4-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-001, approved 4-13-2010; 7-20-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-003, approved 7-20-2021]
A.
Any police
officer employed by the Borough of Bridgeport and hired as a full-time
officer before January 31, 2014 shall be entitled to full retirement
benefits after a minimum period of service of 25 years with the Borough
of Bridgeport and the attainment of age 50. Any police officer employed
by the Borough of Bridgeport and hired as a full-time officer after
January 31, 2014 shall be entitled to full retirement benefits after
a minimum period of service of 25 years with the Borough of Bridgeport
and the attainment of age 55.
B.
Any officer
who at the time of his retirement shall have completed 26 years of
continuous service shall receive the additional monthly sum of $100
per month, in addition to said officer's regular computed retirement
benefit. Any officer who at the time of his retirement shall have
completed 27 years of continuous service shall receive the additional
monthly sum of $200 per month, in addition to said officer's regular
computed retirement benefit.
[Added 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-002, approved 2-22-2005]
A.
Eligibility: Any member who has reached his/her normal
retirement date may elect to become a participant in the DROP.
B.
Election to participate: Election to participate in
DROP is irrevocable. The member shall make the election by using forms
and procedures as prescribed by the Pension Board trustees.
C.
DROP pension payments. Upon entry into the DROP, a
member's service and average applicable compensation shall be frozen
and his/her DROP pension payment shall be calculated as if he/she
actually retired on the date he/she entered the DROP. The monthly
DROP pension payment, plus any applicable COLA, shall be paid to an
individual DROP investment account. A third-party administrator shall
maintain the account, independent of the Borough of Bridgeport. There
shall be no additional costs to the Borough of Bridgeport under the
DROP. In the event there are additional costs or expenses to the Borough
of Bridgeport as a result of the DROP, individual DROP participants
shall indemnify the Borough and hold it harmless from additional costs,
and any and all additional costs shall be charged against the individual
DROP investment accounts of the participants.
D.
Individual DROP investment account. Each member shall
select the investments in his/her individual investment account from
an array of options as selected by the trustees. The trustees will
select a third party to provide mutual fund or other investment options,
recordkeeping and reporting to the members and the trustees. All investment
and administrative costs shall be charged against the individual DROP
investment accounts of the participants.
E.
Employee contributions. Upon entry into the DROP,
all Borough and employee contributions shall cease, with no additional
costs to the Borough.
F.
Maximum participation. The maximum period of participation
in the DROP is 36 months. Once the maximum participation has been
achieved, the member must terminate employment and separate from service.
G.
Distribution options. Commensurate with DROP participation,
a member shall make an election, on forms designated by the Pension
Board trustees, of the payout option(s) he/she wishes at the termination
of the DROP period. This election may be changed at any time prior
to termination. The distribution options are as follows:
(1)
A full and lump-sum distribution.
(2)
Rollover to another qualified retirement plan (as
permitted by law) or to an IRA.
(3)
Purchase of an annuity.
(4)
Keep the monies in the individual DROP investment
account. Monies kept in the individual DROP investment account may
be withdrawn in any manner desired by the member.
(5)
Any other distribution provided by the Pension Board
trustees/third party administrator.
H.
Beneficiary designation. Commensurate with DROP participation,
a member shall make an election, on forms designated by the Pension
Board trustees, of the beneficiary or beneficiaries he/she wishes
to receive the monies in his/her individual DROP investment account
in the event of his/her death before all monies have been distributed.
I.
Disability: A member who becomes permanently disabled
during the DROP period and retires from service shall revert to his/her
normal retirement pension and to directly receive those pension payments
which were being deposited into his/her DROP investment account. The
participant will then have access to the distributions from his/her
individual DROP investment account.
J.
If the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passes and implements
legislation governing DROP plans in this state, any plan in effect
in the Borough of Bridgeport will be brought into compliance with
such legislation when required:
[Amended 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-002, approved 2-22-2005]
A.
Every participant who shall receive an honorable discharge from the police force of the Borough of Bridgeport by reason of his or her disability shall, upon discharge (following the requirements as defined in § 72-30 and defined under the term "disability"), be paid out of the fund a monthly pension which will equal 1/2 of final salary at the date of disability.
B.
Service-connected disability benefits. If a police
officer incurs a service-connected disability performing his duties,
he or she would be entitled to receive a disability benefit of 50%
of the police officer's final salary at the date of disability.
(1)
The amount of any service-related disability benefit
shall be reduced by the amount of social security disability benefits
received for the same injury.
[Added 6-21-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-005, approved 6-21-2007]
[Amended 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-002, 6-21-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-005, approved 6-21-2007; 4-13-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-001, approved 4-13-2010]
Effective January 1, 2008, in the event of the death of a full-time police officer of the Borough of Bridgeport who is retired (on or after January 1, 2008) or eligible to receive a normal retirement benefit as set forth under § 72-34, if he or she shall be survived by a spouse, the spouse shall be entitled to receive 100% of the pension which the officer was receiving or would have received had he or she been retired at the time of his death until the date of death of the spouse. If the officer shall be survived by no spouse and shall leave surviving a child or children under the age of 18 years, or age 23 if attending college full time, then he or she would be entitled to receive 100% of the pension which the officer was receiving or would have received had he or she been retired at the time of his death until the date of death of the spouse.
A.
Any full-time police officer shall be 100% vested
after 12 years of service in the accrued benefit to the date of termination.
B.
Any member of the police force who, for any reason
whatsoever, shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having
contributed any moneys to the fund established pursuant to this article
and/or to a police pension fund of the Borough existing prior to the
effective date of this article shall be entitled to a refund of all
such moneys paid by him or her into such police pension fund, plus
interest earned on such moneys calculated at the rate to be determined
annually by the Police Pension Fund Committee. If any former police
officer who received said refund is again employed by the Borough
as a full-time police officer, he or she shall be reinstated as a
participating member of the fund and receive credit for past service
upon contributing to the fund the amount of the refund and interest,
if any, received by him or her when employed.
The pension payments herein provided for shall
not be subject to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other
legal process and shall be payable only to the participant or his
or her designated beneficiary. No participant or his or her beneficiary
shall have any right to alienate, encumber or assign any assets of
the fund held by the Police Pension Fund Committee on his or her behalf
or any of the benefits or payments or proceeds of any contract or
agreement purchased or acquired by the Borough hereunder.
[Added 10-23-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-009, approved 10-24-2007]
Upon retirement, the Borough of Bridgeport shall
include accumulated unused sick leave in the pension calculation of
the retired officer, provided that the unused sick leave was earned
during the applicable pension computation period, which is the last
36 months of his or her employment as a police officer of the Borough.
