[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Boyertown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 29.
[Adopted 2-3-1992 by Ord.
No. 4-92]
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
- ACCRUED BENEFIT
- One-half of the participant's final average monthly compensation multiplied by the ratio of years of service to the date of determination over potential years of service to the date of retirement.
- AGE
- Age at nearest birthday.
- ANNIVERSARY DATE
- January 1 of each year.
- DISABILITY
- 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 a six-month waiting period, during the entire length of which the participant shall be totally and permanently disabled. Benefits shall commence on the first day of the month following the six-month waiting period and the determination of total and permanent "disability" by the selected physician.
- EFFECTIVE DATE
- The original effective date of the plan is October 14, 1958.
- EMPLOYER
- The Borough of Boyertown, Berks County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
- FINAL AVERAGE MONTHLY COMPENSATION
- Total monthly compensation during the last 36 months of employment
as a full-time police officer of the Borough of Boyertown including
longevity pay and night differential pay, and also including court
pay, holiday pay, overtime pay and any other remuneration, but excluding
accumulated unused sick leave payable as a lump sum.[Amended 12-30-1998 by Ord. No. 3-98; 6-3-2002 by Ord. No. 5-02]
- FUND
- The Borough of Boyertown Police Pension Plan Trust Fund.
- PARTICIPANT
- Any police officer who meets the requirements set forth in § 33-4 of this article. The masculine will include the feminine.
- PLAN
- The Borough of Boyertown Police Pension Plan.
- PLAN YEAR
- January 1 to December 31.
- SERVICE
- 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 895.101 et seq.
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. Borough Council may, on an annual basis,
by ordinance or resolution, reduce or eliminate contributions into
the plan by participants. The Borough may, but need not, have an actuarial
study performed prior to reducing or eliminating participants'
contributions into the plan.
[Amended 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 07-03]
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 Boyertown,
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 Boyertown 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 seven members; namely, a member of the Borough
Council selected by the Borough Council; the Borough Manager; a member
of the Boyertown Police Department selected by those members of the
Police Department who participate in the Police Pension Fund; and
four residents of the Borough of Boyertown, who shall be selected
by the Borough Council. Upon passage of this article, the Borough
Council shall elect the four residents who shall be members of this
Committee, one of whom shall serve for a term of one year, one for
two years, one for three years and one for four years. At the expiration
of the term of a resident member, the Borough Council shall elect
a resident member of said Committee to serve for a term of four years.
The Police Department representative shall be elected for a term of
two years. Said Committee shall be authorized to elect its own President,
Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
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 205 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 Boyertown.
Each police officer of the Borough of Boyertown will be eligible
to participate upon becoming a full-time police officer.
A.
Every full-time police officer of the Borough of Boyertown who shall
have served as such for an aggregate of 25 years in the Borough of
Boyertown and shall have attained the age of 50 years may retire from
active duty at any time thereafter. Upon such retirement, such officer
shall be paid out of the fund a monthly pension which shall equal
1/2 of the final average monthly compensation of such officer.
B.
An early retirement benefit shall be provided to a participant with
20 or more years of service who terminates employment prior to the
completion of superannuation retirement age and service requirements
and who files a written application for an early retirement benefit
with the Borough Council. The early retirement shall become effective
as of the date the application is filed with the Borough Council or
the date designated on the application, whichever is later, and shall
be the actuarial equivalent of a partial superannuation retirement
benefit calculated as follows:
(1)
A partial superannuation retirement benefit shall be determined by
applying the percentage that the participant's years of service
bear to the years of service that the participant would have rendered
had the participant continued to be employed until his superannuation
retirement date to the gross pension amount calculated using the monthly
average compensation during the thirty-six-month period prior to his
termination of employment.
(2)
The actuarial equivalent of the partial superannuation retirement
benefit to reflect that it will commence on the effective date of
the early retirement rather than on the date on which the participant
would have completed superannuation age and service requirements.
The actuarial reduction shall be calculated using the actuarial assumptions
reported in the last actuarial valuation report filed with the Public
Employee Retirement Commission under the act of December 18, 1984
(P.L. 1005, No. 205), known as the "Municipal Pension Plan Funding
Standard and Recovery Act."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 895.101 et seq.
[Amended 10-2-1995 by Ord. No. 13-95; 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 07-03]
Every participant who shall receive an honorable discharge from
the police force of the Borough of Boyertown by reason of his or her
service-related disability shall, upon such discharge (following the
required six-month waiting period), be paid out of the plan a monthly
pension which shall be calculated at a rate of 50% of the participant's
salary at the time the disability was incurred; provided, however
that any participant who receives benefits for the same injuries under
the Social Security Act, 49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et
seq., shall have his or her disability benefits received under this
section offset or reduced by the amount of such Social Security Act
benefits.
[Amended 4-5-1993 by Ord.
No. 1-93; 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 07-03; 12-3-2012 by Ord. No. 08-2012]
In the event of the death of a participant or a participant
who retires or is honorably discharged on pension, the surviving spouse,
or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently
dies, then the child(ren) under the age of 18 or, if then attending
college, under or reaching the age of 23, shall, during his or her
lifetime in the case of a surviving spouse, or, in the case of a child(ren),
until reaching the age of 18 or, if then attending college, under
or reaching the age of 23, be entitled to receive a pension calculated
at 50% of the pension the participant was receiving or would have
been receiving had he or she been retired or honorably discharged
on pension at the time of his or her death. For the purposes of this
section, the phrase "attending college" shall mean the eligible child(ren)
is registered at an accredited institution of higher learning and
is carrying a minimum course load of seven credit hours per semester.
A.
Any full-time police officer shall be one-hundred-percent 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.
C.
The surviving spouse of any participant who dies before his or her pension has vested or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, the child(ren) under the age of 18 or, if attending college, under or reaching the age of 23, of the participant shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the participant invested in the pension fund plus interest or other increases in value of the participant's investment in the pension fund unless the participant has designated another beneficiary for this purpose. For the purposes of this section, the phrase "attending college" shall have the same meaning as described in § 33-7 hereof. The benefits available to surviving spouses under this section do not apply to surviving spouses whose spouse died on or before April 17, 2002, and who were not remarried as of said date.
[Added 12-29-2003 by Ord.
No. 07-03]
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.
[Adopted 3-4-2002 by Ord.
No. 2-02]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
- CODE
- The Internal Revenue Code, as amended periodically.
- COMPENSATION
- Plan members' wages, as defined in Code Section 3401(a), for a plan year for which the municipality is required to provide the plan member a written statement under Code Sections 6041(d), 6051(a)(3) and 6052. Such 415 compensation shall include any elective deferrals defined in Code Section 402(g)(3) and all amounts contributed or deferred at the election of the plan members which are not includible in the gross income of the plan member by reason of either Code Sections 125, 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 403(b), 414(h)(2) or 457.
- MUNICIPALITY
- The political subdivision named at the top of this page.[1]
- PLAN YEAR
- The calendar year.
- REGULATION(S)
- The income tax regulations, as amended periodically.
A.
Unless the plan member otherwise elects, the payment of benefits
under the plan to the plan member will begin not later than the 60th
day after the latest of the close of the plan year in which:
B.
In the case of a plan which provides for the payment of an early
retirement benefit, a plan member who satisfied the service requirements
for such early retirement benefit, but separated from the service
(with any nonforfeitable right to an accrued benefit) before satisfying
the age requirement for such early retirement benefit, is entitled
upon satisfaction of such age requirement to receive a benefit not
less than the benefit to which he would be entitled at the normal
retirement age, actuarially reduced under regulations prescribed by
the Secretary.
C.
A plan member's benefits must commence to be paid not later
than April 1st of the calendar year following the later of the calendar
year in which the member attains age 70 1/2 or the calendar year
in which the member retires. Such distributions must equal or exceed
the required minimum distribution, and otherwise be made in a manner
consistent with the requirements of Code Section 401(a)(9) and the
regulations thereunder.
D.
Required distributions must be made over the lifetime or the life
expectancy of the plan member or the joint life times or joint life
expectancy of the plan member and the plan member's designated
beneficiary. The life expectancy of the plan member and the plan member's
spouse may be redetermined at the election of the plan member or the
plan member's spouse. Such an election is irrevocable, once made.
If no such election is made by the date benefit distributions must
commence, then the life expectancy of the plan member and the plan
member's spouse shall not be recalculated. Tables V and VI of
Regulation 1.72-9 shall be used for computing life expectancy or joint
and survivor life expectancy.
E.
All benefit distributions to a plan member or the plan member's
beneficiary shall be in accordance with the incidental death benefit
requirements of Code Section 401(a)(9)(G) and the related regulations.
The limitations and other requirements outlined below are intended
to comply with Code Section 415 and the regulations thereunder, the
terms of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference.
The maximum compensation limit and benefits limitations under the
Code are as follows:
A.
The compensation used in calculating a plan member's benefit
cannot exceed the limits of Code Section 401(a)(17), as adjusted for
cost-of-living increases, per Code Section 415(d).
B.
General rule. In no event shall the annual retirement benefit payable
to a plan member under this plan, together with retirement benefits
provided under all qualified benefit plans maintained or previously
maintained by the municipality, for any limitation year, which shall
be the calendar year, exceed the maximum benefit permitted, as adjusted
annually per Code Section 415(d), under Code Section 415(b) (including
any applicable grandfathering rules). This plan section shall be applied
in accordance with Code Section 415 and the regulations thereunder.
C.
Adjustments of limits.
(1)
Where a retirement benefit commences before age 62, the Code Section
415(b)(1)(A) dollar limit shall be reduced in accordance with Code
Section 415(b)(2)(F). This reduction shall not result in a limit that
is less than $75,000 if the benefit begins at or after age 55, or
the actuarial equivalent of $75,000 at age 55 (determined in accordance
with Code Section 415) if the benefit begins before age 55.
(2)
Where a retirement benefit commences after age 65, the Code Section
415(b)(1)(A) dollar limit shall be increased as described in Code
Section 415(b)(2)(F).
(3)
The maximum benefit limit of Code Section 415(b)(1) shall be applied
to benefits in the form of a straight life annuity (with no ancillary
benefits) without regard to benefits attributed to plan member contributions
and rollover contributions. If the form payable to a plan member is
other than a single life annuity or a Code Section 417(b) qualified
joint and survivor annuity, the plan member's benefit shall not
exceed the actuarial equivalent of the Code Section 415(b)(1) maximum
payable in the form of a single life annuity unless no such adjustment
is required under Code Section 415 and related regulations.
(4)
Notwithstanding the other rules of the plan and Code Section 415,
if the plan member has not participated in a defined contribution
plan of the municipality, the plan member's annual retirement
benefit shall not be deemed to exceed the maximum benefit limit if
it does not exceed the Code Section 415(b)(4) limit of $10,000, as
adjusted for plan participation or service of less than 10 years in
accordance with Code Section 415(b)(5).
D.
Special limitation for qualified police or firefighters. For any
plan member who is a qualified participant, as defined under Code
Section 415(b)(2)(H), the limitation under Code Section 415(b)(2)(C)
shall not be reduced to an amount less than $50,000 [as adjusted per
Code Section 415(d)] as required by Code Section 415(b)(2)(G).
E.
Order of defined benefit plan reductions. If the plan member participates
or participated in any other defined benefit plan of the municipality,
and the plan member's aggregate annual retirement benefit under
this plan and such other plan exceeds the limits permitted under Code
Section 415, such plan member's benefit shall be first reduced
under this plan.
A.
Notwithstanding the plan's vesting schedule, upon any amendment
or restatement of the plan, a plan member's vested accrued benefit
shall not be less than the vested accrued benefit immediately preceding
such amendment or restatement.
B.
Notwithstanding the plan's vesting schedule, a plan member shall
be 100% vested when the plan member completes the age and service
requirements for normal retirement at his normal retirement date under
the plan.
C.
Notwithstanding the plan's vesting schedule, a plan member shall
be 100% vested in his accrued benefit (to the extent funded) as of
the date of partial or complete plan termination.
Notwithstanding § 33-14, the plan shall recognize any qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) set forth under Code Section 414(p). Any plan member's benefits, rights or elections shall be subject to any rights afforded to the alternate payee by a QDRO. Further, a distribution to an alternate payee is permitted if authorized by a QDRO, even if the plan member involved has not separated from service and has not reached the earliest retirement age under the plan.
No plan member or beneficiary shall have any benefit subject to any type of alienation, anticipation, assignment, charge, encumbrance, pledge, sale or transfer. Further, no benefits shall be subject to or liable for any debts, contracts, engagements, liabilities or torts. The only exceptions to this section are those in § 33-15 above and those referenced in Code Sections 401(a)(13)(C) and (D).
If any portion of a plan benefit is payable to a plan member
or beneficiary at the later of the plan member's 62nd birthday
or his normal retirement age and such benefit remains unpaid solely
by reason that the municipality, after sending a registered letter,
to the last known address, return receipt requested, and after diligent
effort fails to locate the plan member or beneficiary, the actuarial
value of the benefit shall be forfeited and applied towards reducing
plan costs. If, subsequent to the forfeiture, a plan member or beneficiary
is located, the actuarial value of the forfeiture at the time it was
forfeited (no adjustments for gains or losses) shall be restored.
Forfeitures must not be applied to increase the benefits any
municipal employee would otherwise receive under the plan.
In the case of any merger or consolidation with, or transfer
of plan assets or liabilities to any other plan, each plan member
would (if the plan then terminated) receive a benefit immediately
after the merger, consolidation, or transfer which is equal to or
greater than the benefit he would have been entitled to receive immediately
before the merger, consolidation, or transfer (if the plan had then
terminated).
As required by Code Section 401(a)(25), the actuarial assumptions
used to calculate plan benefits shall not be subject to the municipality's
discretion.
A.
Distribution shall be made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee
transfer to the eligible retirement plan so specified if any distributee
of any eligible rollover distribution:
C.
Eligible rollover distribution. For purposes of this subsection,
the term "eligible rollover distribution" has the meaning given such
term by Code Section 402(f)(2)(A).
D.
Eligible retirement plan. For purposes of this subsection, the term
"eligible retirement plan" has the meaning given such term by Code
Section 402(c)(8)(B), except that a qualified trust shall be considered
an eligible retirement plan only if it is a defined contribution plan,
the terms of which permit the acceptance of rollover distributions.