[1]
Editor's Note: This resolution also repealed
former Art. I, Police Pension Plan, adopted 12-26-1979 by Ord. No.
5-1979, as amended.
A.
AGE
ANNIVERSARY DATE
AVERAGE APPLICABLE COMPENSATION
(1)
(2)
BOARD
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
EARLY RETIREMENT DATE
EFFECTIVE DATE
EMPLOYEE
FUND
MEMBER
NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE
PLAN
PLAN YEAR
SALARY
(1)
(2)
SERVICE
TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY
TOWNSHIP
TRUST AGREEMENT
TRUSTEE
Definitions. As used in this article, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
The age attained by the employee at his or her last birthday.
Any January 1 after the effective date.
The average monthly earnings of the member at any time of
reference computed over the last 36 months (or such shorter period
as represents the member’s total period of continuous employment
by the Township prior to such date of reference). For purposes of
computing average applicable compensation, actual monthly earnings
shall be based on W-2 earnings in which all forms of earnings are
derived from the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment
with the exception of the following:
[Amended 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 3-2006[1]]
Officers who decline the hospitalization insurance
provided by the Township are eligible to receive 50% of the monthly
premium for the category [single, single with child(ren), married,
and family] the officer was enrolled in at the time the officer opted
out of the hospitalization plan. Officers shall receive the payment
monthly through payroll;however, this income is not pension eligible
and shall not be included in the officer’s thirty-six-month
averaging for pension determination.
Upon retiring, the Township shall compensate
the officer for any accrued compensatory time to the maximum permitted
under federal law. However, only a maximum of 72 hours shall be included
in determining the officer’s thirty-six-month averaging for
final pension determination.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Willistown.
The person who has primary responsibility for the execution
of the administrative affairs of this pension plan, or the designee
of that person.
The first day following the date on which the member completes
20 years of service.
January 1, 2003.
Any sworn police officer in the full-time employ of the Township
Police Department whose customary employment is for not less than
40 hours a week.
All assets held by the trust under the trust agreement relating
to this Police Pension Plan.
Any sworn police officer in the full-time employ of the Township Police Department who has satisfied the eligibility requirements established in § 35-2 hereof and who is, at the time of reference, or has prior to their elimination been making such contributions as may be required pursuant to § 35-3A hereof.
The first day following the date on which the member completes
25 years of service, and the date on which the member attains age
50.
The Police Pension Plan for the Township of Willistown, as
herein set forth and as the same may hereafter be amended.
A period of 12 consecutive months commencing on any January
1 and ending on the following December 31.
Based on W-2 earnings in which all forms of earnings are
derived from the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment
with the exception of the following:
[Amended 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 3-2006[2]]
Officers who decline the hospitalization insurance
provided by the Township are eligible to receive 50% of the monthly
premium for the category [single, single with child(ren), married,
and family] the officer was enrolled in at the time the officer opted
out of the hospitalization plan. Officers shall receive the payment
monthly through payroll; however, this income is not pension eligible.
Upon retiring, the Township shall compensate
the officer for any accrued compensatory time to the maximum permitted
under federal law. However, only a maximum of 72 hours shall be included
for pension purposes.
The aggregate of a member's total periods of employment as
a full-time employee of the Township. If a member enters military
service, either voluntarily or by conscription, after he has been
employed for at least six months, such time spent in the Armed Forces
of the United States during a period of wartime or general military
conflict shall be counted as service for purposes of the plan, provided
that such member returns to police service with the Township within
six months after his discharge or release from such active duty in
the Armed Forces of the United States. The time spent in military
service due to voluntary extension of such military service during
a period or peacetime shall not be included as service for the purposes
of this plan. Time spent on Reserve or National Guard training shall
be included as service for purposes of this plan.
Any condition arising from service-connected illness or injury
which precludes an employee from performing the duties associated
with the normal occupational requirements of a police officer as certified
by a physician designated by the Township.
The Township of Willistown, Chester County, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The contract between the township and the trustee establishing
the terms by which and under which the fund is invested, distributed,
accounted for and terminated, as the same now exists and as it may
hereafter be amended.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Willistown or
any other agency or person appointed by such to serve in that capacity
as set forth in the trust agreement.
B.
Word usage. Wherever applicable as used herein, unless
the context specifically provides otherwise, the singular and plural
shall be interchangeable, and the masculine and feminine pronouns
shall include either sex.
A.
Contributions by members.
(1)
Members shall pay into the fund at the rate of 5% of salary. "Salary" for this purpose shall be as defined in § 35-1 of the plan. The Board may, on an annual basis, by ordinance or resolution, reduce or eliminate payments into the fund by members. Individual records of contributions by members shall be maintained, including all interest credited to his individual account. Interest to be credited shall be 5% compounded annually.
(2)
Interest shall be credited from the end of the plan
year in which paid to the last day of the month after which a refund
becomes payable.
B.
Refund of member's contributions. Any member who for
any reason shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having made
contributions shall be entitled to a refund of his individual account
balance; such refund is payable immediately upon discontinuance of
his employment with the police force or within a reasonable time (not
more than 45 days after discontinuance). If such discontinuance is
due to death, then such refund shall be paid to his designated beneficiary
or, in the absence thereof, to his estate. If the disabled or retired
member is receiving a benefit by reason of disability or retirement,
then the refund payable to the beneficiary is equal to the individual
account balance at the date of disability or retirement, less any
pension payments made to the member.
C.
Deposits. Contributions by members shall be remitted
to the trustee monthly.
D.
State aid. The portion of the payments made by the State Treasurer to the Township and designated by the Board to be allocated to the Police Pension Fund from money received from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance companies for purposes of pension retirement or disability benefits for policemen shall be used as follows: to reduce the unfunded liability; or, after such liability has been full funded, to apply against the annual obligation of the Township for future service costs; or, to the extent that the payment may be in excess of such obligations, to reduce member contributions pursuant to Subsection A hereof.
E.
Township contributions. Subject to the provisions
and limitations set forth in other sections of this plan, the Township
shall contribute the amounts certified to be necessary by the fund's
actuary to provide the benefits provided by this plan.
F.
Nonintervening military buy back.
(1)
The plan provides full service credit for each year
of military service or fraction thereof, not to exceed five years,
to a member who was not employed by the Township prior to such military
service, payable by the member.
(2)
The member shall pay the amount for the purchase of
credit for military service other than intervening military service
which shall be computed by applying the average normal cost rate for
the plan as certified by the Public Employee Retirement Study Commission,
but not to exceed 10 per centum, to the member's average annual rate
of compensation over the first three years of service and multiplying
the result by the number of years and fractional part of a year of
creditable nonintervening military service being purchased, together
with interest at the rate of 4 3/4 per centum compounded annually
from the date of initial entry into service to the date of payment.
(3)
A member of the plan shall be eligible to receive
service credit for intervening or nonintervening military service,
provided that he is not entitled to receive, eligible to receive then
or in the future, or is receiving retirement benefits for such service
under a retirement system administered and wholly or partially paid
for by any other governmental agency, with the exception of a member
eligible to receive or is receiving military retirement pay earned
by a combination of active duty and non-active duty with a Reserve
or National Guard component of the armed forces which retirement pay
is payable only upon the attainment of a specified age and period
of service under 10 U.S.C. Ch 67 (relating to retired pay for non-regular
service).
G.
Other contributions. The fund shall be authorized
to receive by gift, grant, devise or bequest, any money or property,
real, personal or mixed, in trust for the benefit of the fund. The
trustee of the fund shall be subject to such directions not inconsistent
with this plan as the donors of such funds and property may prescribe.
A.
Normal retirement.
(1)
Each member may retire on or at any time after his
normal retirement date. Any member so retiring shall be entitled to
receive a monthly pension commencing as of the first day following
his date of actual retirement and ending with the payment made as
of the first day of the month in which his death occurs. The monthly
pension to which such retired member shall be entitled to under this
plan shall be equal to 50% of such member's average applicable compensation.
(2)
In addition to the monthly retirement benefit described
above, each member who has completed 26 years of service shall receive
an additional monthly pension benefit equal to a maximum of $100 per
month.
B.
Early retirement benefit. Each member may retire on or at any time after his early retirement date. Upon termination, the member must file with the Secretary of the Township, a written notice of his intention to elect an early retirement benefit. This benefit shall become effective as of the date of the notice or the date designated in the notice, whichever is later. The amount of the early retirement benefit shall be the actuarial equivalent of a vested retirement benefit as computed in § 35-6A. The actuarial equivalent of the vested retirement benefit shall be determined by actuarially reducing the vested retirement benefit to reflect that it will commence on the effective date of the early retirement rather than on the member's normal retirement date. The actuarial reduction shall be calculated using the actuarial assumptions reported in the last actuarial valuation report filed with the Public Employee Retirement Commission.
C.
Postponed retirement. An employee shall be allowed to continue as an employee beyond his normal retirement date. In such case, the employee shall remain a member of the plan until he actually retires or ceases to be an employee. Any contributions required pursuant to § 35-3A hereof shall continue.
D.
Disability benefit. If a member retires because of
a total and permanent disability, he shall be entitled to receive
a pension benefit equal to 65% of his salary at the time the disability
was incurred, offset by any social security disability benefits received
by the member for the same injury. The benefit will commence on the
first day of the month following the month in which he retires and
will continue until what would have been his normal retirement date,
at which time the percentage shall be reduced to 50%. The Board reserves
the right to require disabled member to present evidence of total
and permanent disability and of the continuance of such condition
from time to time and either reserves the right to require members
to submit to medical examinations by practitioner(s) selected by the
Board as a precondition to the continued payment of benefits.
E.
Cost of living adjustment. There shall be a cost of
living adjustment provided to all members who retire on or after January
1, 1997; provided, however, that such cost of living increase shall
not exceed the percentage increase in the All Urban Consumers CPI
for the Philadelphia area from the year in which the police officer
last worked; provided, further, that in no case shall the total police
pension benefits exceed 75% of the salary for computing retirement
benefits; provided, further that the total cost of living increase
shall not exceed 10%. Any member who retires on or after January 1,
2000, the total cost of living increase shall not exceed 30%. No cost
of living increases(s) shall be granted which would impair the actuarial
soundness of the plan. All adjustments shall be made in January and
calculated on the twelve-month-percentage change in the consumer price
index as of the previous October.
A.
Death benefit if no surviving spouse nor dependent
children. If a member dies prior to the commencement of pension benefits,
then his designated beneficiary shall be entitled to a refund of his
accumulated member's contributions with credited interest. If no beneficiary
survives, then the refund is payable to the member's estate.
B.
Pension benefit to surviving spouse and dependent
children.
(1)
If a member dies survived by a spouse or dependent
children, after having become eligible to receive a pension benefit,
i.e., he was eligible because he was already receiving a pension or
he met the age and service requirements, but he had not yet retired,
then a monthly pension benefit shall be provided.
(2)
The amount of the monthly pension benefit shall be
50% of the pension the member was receiving or would have been entitled
to receive if he had been retired at the time of his death. Any member
who retires on or after January 1, 2003, the amount of the monthly
pension benefit shall be 65% of the pension the member was receiving
or would have been entitled to receive if he had been retired at the
time of his death.
(3)
In the event a member dies after completing 12 or more years of service but was not yet eligible for normal retirement or preretirement survivor benefits, the surviving spouse shall act on behalf of the member in selecting the alternative addressed in § 35-6A(1). If a vested benefit is selected, the surviving spouse shall receive 65% of the member's vested monthly benefit commencing on the first day of the month following the member's normal retirement date.
(4)
In the event a member dies after completing 20 or more years of service but was not yet eligible for normal retirement or preretirement survivor benefits, the surviving spouse shall act on behalf of the member in selecting the alternative addressed in § 35-4B. If an early retirement benefit is selected, the surviving spouse shall receive 65% of the member's monthly early retirement benefit commencing on the first day of the month following the election of this benefit.
(5)
The monthly pension benefit is payable to the surviving
spouse until death or then to surviving dependent children under the
age of 18 years or, if attending college, under or attaining the age
of 23 years. Attending college shall mean 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.
Dependent children shall include stepchildren, adopted children, and
any child conceived before the time of the member's death and thereafter
born to the member's spouse.
C.
Preretirement survivor benefit. The preretirement survivor benefit is repealed due to the enactment of Act 51 of 2009. In the event that the preretirement survivor benefit provided under Act 51 of 2009 is repealed, then the preretirement survivor benefit previously provided under § 35-5C of the Police Pension Plan shall be reinstated. In the event that the preretirement survivor benefit provided under Act 51 of 2009 is otherwise modified, then the preretirement survivor benefit previously provided under § 35-5C shall be reinstated to the extent it does not provide benefits which are duplicative to those benefits provided by the modified version of Act 51.
[Amended 4-22-2013 by Ord. No. 2-2013]
A.
If a member leaves the employ of the township or ceases to be a member, whether by reason of his transfer, resignation or discharge, or by reason of disability or retirement other than after becoming eligible for benefits pursuant to § 35-4 or 35-5 of this plan, he shall be entitled to a refund of all contributions made by him and then on deposit in the trust fund, plus interest thereon, computed at the rate described in § 35-3A. However, a member who has completed 12 or more years of service may elect either A(1) or A(2) as described below:
(1)
He may elect to leave his contributions, plus interest, in the fund so as to receive a vested pension benefit to start at his normal retirement date. He must file with the Secretary of the Township, within 90 days of the date he ceases to be a full-time police officer, a written notice of his intention to vest. The amount of the vested pension benefit shall be (x) divided by (y) where (x) is the number of years of service at date of termination and (y) is the number of years of service which the member would have had if he worked until the normal retirement date, multiplied by the benefits described in § 35-4A. Years of service shall be measured in years and completed months.
(2)
He may elect to receive a refund of all contributions made by him and then on deposit in the trust fund, plus interest thereon, computed at the rate described in § 35-3A. If he elects to receive the refund of his contributions plus interest, he would forfeit the pension benefit as outlined in Subsection A(1).
B.
The normal form of all benefits payable hereunder shall be a pension for the life of the member commencing on the date specified and ending with a payment made on the first day of the month in which the member dies, subject, however, to the payment of a death benefit calculated pursuant to § 35-5B.
A.
It is the duty of the trustee to pay the benefits to members and their beneficiaries, as provided in §§ 35-4, 35-5 and 35-6, in accordance with the instructions received from the Board; provided, however, that the duty of the trustee to make such payments is wholly contingent upon the sufficiency of the fund for such purposes.
B.
The Board may employ an actuary, investment advisors,
counsel or other professional consultants from time to time in connection
with the operation of the fund or of this plan. Such persons or entities
shall be compensated by the Township at such rates as may be agreed
upon by the Board. Such compensation may be paid from the fund.
C.
The board may, by an instrument in writing, appoint
one or more persons as investment manager and may delegate to an investment
manager, from time to time, the power to manage and control the investment
of any plan asset.
(2)
Each investment manager shall acknowledge in writing
that it is a fiduciary with respect to the plan. The Board shall enter
into an agreement with each investment manager specifying the duties
and compensation of such investment manager and other terms and conditions
under which such investment manager shall be retained. The Board shall
not be liable for any act or omission of any investment manager and
shall not be liable for following the advice of any investment manager
with respect to any duties delegated to the investment manager.
(3)
The Board shall have the power to determine the amount
of fund assets to be invested pursuant to the direction of a designated
investment manager and to set investment objectives and guidelines
for the investment manager.
D.
The trustee shall make an annual determination of
the fair market value of the fund as of the anniversary date and as
of such additional dates as the Board may direct. The fair market
value of the fund shall be reported to the actuary who shall calculate
the amount to be contributed to the fund by the Township with respect
to each plan year in accordance with the assumptions most recently
adopted by the Board for the purpose of such computations; provided,
however, that the liability of the Township to make such contributions
is subject to all of the conditions and limitations set forth elsewhere
in this plan.
A.
The plan shall be administered by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Willistown.
B.
The Board shall keep all data, records and documents pertaining to the administration of the plan and shall execute all documents necessary to carry out the provision of the plan and shall provide all such data, records and documents to the trustee, the actuary and other professionals whose services are employed pursuant to § 35-7.1B of this plan.
C.
The Board shall construe the plan, shall determine
any questions or fact arising under the plan and shall make all decisions
required of it under the plan. Decisions and actions taken thereon
in good faith shall be final and conclusive. It may correct any defect
or supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in such manner
and to such extent as it shall deem expedient to carry the plan into
effect, and it shall be the sole judge of such expediency. The Board
shall act uniformly with respect to matters coming before it concerning
employees in similar circumstances.
D.
The members of the Board, and each of them, shall
be free of all liability for any act or omission except by willful
misconduct or gross negligence, and each of them shall be fully indemnified
by the Township against all judgments not involving findings of their
respective personal or collective willful misconduct or gross negligence
and against all cost, including counsel fees, incurred in defense
of actions brought against them.
E.
The Board shall make available to members, retired
members and terminated members and to their beneficiaries, for examination
during business hours, such records as pertain to the person examining.
F.
To enable the Board to perform its function, the Township
administration shall supply full and timely information to it on all
matters relating to the pay of all members, their retirement, death,
termination of employment and such other pertinent facts as the Board
may require.
G.
The Board shall enact such rules and regulations for
the conduct of its business and for the administration of the plan
as it may consider desirable, provided that the same shall not be
in conflict with any of the provisions of the plan. All actions of
the Board shall be taken at meetings at which at least two members
shall be present, or by written resolutions, concurred in by not less
than two of its members shall be the action of the entire Board. Written
minutes shall be kept of the meetings and actions of the Board.
H.
The Secretary, acting on behalf of the Board, shall
have the power to execute all documents necessary to carry out the
actions of the Board, and any person, partnership, corporation or
government agency shall accept such documents over such signature
or signatures as if executed by the Board.
A.
It is the expectation of the Township that it will
continue this pension plan indefinitely and will from time to time
contribute to the fund such amounts as may be needed to provide the
benefits set forth in the plan.
B.
The provisions of any ordinance establishing, amending,
or maintaining the plan shall not be a charge on any other fund in
the treasury of the Township or under its control, save the Uniformed
Employee's Pension Fund herein provided for.
C.
Nothing contained in the plan shall be held or construed
as a contract or guaranty of employment nor to create any liability
upon the Township to retain any person in its service. The Township
reserves the full right to discontinue the service of any person without
any liability, except for salary or wages that may be due and unpaid,
whenever, in its judgment, its best interests so require, and such
discontinuance shall be without regard to this plan.
A.
The Township may amend this plan from time to time
as is necessary to maintain its actuarial soundness and to incorporate
changes in plan benefits or entitlements. However, no amendment shall
be made which will, in any manner, divert any part of the fund to
any purpose other than the exclusive benefit of members or their beneficiaries
(except that, upon termination, such diversion may be made after all
of the fixed and contingent liabilities to members and their beneficiaries
have been met); nor shall any amendment be made at any time which
will in any manner divest any benefit then vested in a member or reduce
or eliminate a benefit to which a member has been given an expectation
by virtue of pension ordinance or pension calculations for retiring
officers who retired during the member's participation in this plan.
B.
In the event of termination of this plan, the Board
shall allocate the assets then remaining in the fund as follows:
(1)
Sufficient funds shall be maintained to provide the pension benefits prescribed in § 35-3 for all members who have retired prior to termination or who are eligible for retirement at the time of the termination of this fund.
(2)
Contributions with interest at a rate established by the Board as provided in § 35-5 shall be refunded to any and all members who terminate service at the time of the termination of the fund.
A.
Assignment or encumbrance of benefits.
(1)
No benefit under this plan shall be subject in any
manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge
or encumbrance, nor to seizure, attachment or other legal process
for the debts of any member or member's beneficiary.
(2)
This provision shall not apply to a qualified domestic
relations order defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 414(p) and
those other domestic relations orders permitted to be so treated by
the Board under the provisions of the Retirement Equity Act of 1984.
The Township shall establish a written procedure to determine the
qualified status of domestic relations orders to administer distributions
under such qualified orders. Further, to the extent provided under
a qualified domestic relations order, a former spouse of a participant
shall be treated as the spouse or surviving spouse for all purposes
under this plan.
B.
Any person dealing with the Township may rely upon
a copy of this plan and any amendments thereto certified to be true
and correct by the trustee.
C.
In no circumstances, whether upon amendment or termination
of this plan or otherwise, shall any part of the fund be used or diverted
to any purpose other than the exclusive benefit of members or their
beneficiaries until all of the actuarial obligations to such member
or member's beneficiaries have been met.
D.
If the Board deems any person incapable of receiving
benefits to which he is entitled by reason of minority, illness, infirmity
or other incapacity, it may make payment directly for the benefit
of such person, to the guardian or trustee for said person, whose
receipt shall be complete acquittance therefor. Such payment shall,
to the extent therefor, discharge all liability of the Township or
the fund.
E.
Should any provision of this plan be determined to
be void by any court, the plan will continue to operate and, to the
extent necessary, will be deemed not to include the provision determined
to be void.
F.
Headings and captions provided herein are for convenience
only and shall not be deemed part of the plan.
G.
This plan shall be construed and applied under the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where not in conflict with
federal laws which shall prevail.
H.
This article repeals all other ordinances prior to
the date of its enactment.
