Town of East Haddam, CT Chapter 84 Pension and Retirement Plans

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of East Haddam as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Employee Pension Plan

[A new plan, enacted with an effective date of July 1, 1986, is on file in the Town Clerk's office.]

Article II Volunteer Fire Pension Plan

[Adopted 12-13-1990]

§ 84-1 Purpose.

In recognition of the particular problems and unusual risks attendant upon fire-fighting duties undertaken by members of the several companies and their chief officers of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department; and in recognition that the enactment of an ordinance authorizing the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Board of Selectmen to enter into a contract for such services and directing that such payments be devoted exclusively to the establishment of a plan which confers benefits upon active volunteer firefighters following retirement would act as an inducement in attracting and retaining superior personnel and in recognition that the public interest, safety and welfare will be promoted by the authorization of such a contract and incentive plan, the Board of Selectmen, in order to give practical effect to this policy, hereby adopts the following article.

§ 84-2 Contract and plan authorized.

Pursuant to §§ 7-148(c)(2), 7-194(43) and 7-301 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the East Haddam Board of Selectmen hereby authorizes the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Board of Selectmen to enter into a contract for an indefinite term with the several companies and the chief officers of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department for the purposes of providing the Town of East Haddam with fire protection services in consideration for an annual payment, the amount of which shall be determined annually by the plan administrator, said contract to provide, inter alia:

A. That such annual sum be paid into the Volunteer Firefighters' Incentive Plan, as established herein, to be used exclusively for the purpose of funding an incentive plan for the benefit of the members of the several companies and the chief officers of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department;

B. That the amount of such annual sum be determined each year by the funding estimated to be required to offset the future benefits liability incurred for each firefighter computed at the rate stated in the plan document;

C. That said incentive plan, upon adoption by the Board of Selectmen, shall be incorporated in and become an integral part of said contract;

D. That said plan and the benefits provided thereunder shall be made available to volunteer members of the several companies and the chief officers of the East Haddam Fire Department in accordance with such criteria as the plan prescribes;

E. That said plan and the benefits provided thereunder shall be retroactively effective as to members of the several companies and the chief officers of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department who would have qualified thereunder as of July 1, 1990;

F. That said incentive plan be administered by the plan administrator as defined in the plan;

G. That said plan and Town payments into the incentive plan shall automatically terminate at such time as one or more of the several companies of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department cease to be organizations composed of volunteer firefighters who are unpaid for their fire-fighting services except for chief officer stipends, special payments for fire watches, forest firefighting and training exercises, and reimbursements for losses of personal property. Said termination shall occur when any form of compensation, such as but not limited to reimbursement for personal automobile usage (mileage allowance) for time on fire-fighting duty, and for per-call compensation, is instituted. It may otherwise be terminated by either of the parties upon 180 days' written notice of such intention to terminate;

H. That in the event of the termination of said incentive plan, the balance on hand in said plan at the time of such termination, except for the reasonable costs of administration and any funds which may be required for the payment of benefits which may have accrued or vested at the time of such termination, shall revert back to the Town of East Haddam, and neither the several companies and the chief officers of the East Haddam Fire Department nor any member thereof shall have any claim upon such balance; and

I. That said incentive plan, together with any amendments thereto, shall be consistent with the terms of this article.

§ 84-3 Delegation to plan administrator.

The adoption of this article shall constitute a specific delegation to the plan administrator, pursuant to the Board of Selectmen, to accept the responsibilities of and to perform the duties involved in the administration of said incentive plan.

§ 84-4 Waiver of competitive bidding.

Inasmuch as the services which are the subject of the contract herein described are of a hazardous and unique character and directly affect the public health, safety and welfare, competitive bidding requirements are hereby determined to be unnecessary and not for the best interests of the Town, and said competitive bidding requirements are therefore waived.

§ 84-5 Limitation on eligibility for Volunteer Firefighters' Incentive Plan.

[Added 12-28-2011]

The only individuals who are eligible to receive a benefit from or participate in the Volunteer Firefighters' Incentive Plan established by §§ 84-1 through 84-4 of this article (the "incentive plan") are those individuals who were eligible to receive a benefit from or participate in the incentive plan on December 31, 2011, or who had a vested benefit under said incentive plan on December 31, 2011. Individuals who become members of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department after December 31, 2011, shall not be eligible to receive a benefit from or participate in the incentive plan with regard to volunteer services performed by such individuals for the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department after December 31, 2011. All plan documents for the incentive plan are hereby amended to incorporate the provisions of this § 84-5.

§ 84-6 Establishment of Length of Service Award Plan.

[Added 12-28-2011]

A. Statement of purpose. In recognition that the public interest, safety, and welfare will be promoted and advanced through the retention and recruitment of volunteer members for the East Haddam Volunteer Fire Department ("the Department") and through the encouragement of active involvement by those volunteer members in the fire-fighting and prevention services which the Department provides to the Town of East Haddam ("the Town"), it is in the best interests of the Town to establish a system which will provide length of service awards to the following active volunteer members of the Department (the "eligible volunteers"):

(1) Active volunteer members of the Department who become members of the Department after December 31, 2011, and who meet the eligibility requirements for participation set forth in the plan documents for the length of service award system; and

(2) Active volunteer members of the Department who became members of the Department on or before December 31, 2011, and who have five years or less of credited service under the Volunteer Firefighters' Incentive Plan established by §§ 84-1 through 84-4 of this article (the "existing incentive plan") and who do not have a nonforfeitable interest or vested interest in any accrued benefit under the existing incentive plan and who, no later than February 1, 2012, waive all benefits and rights which they may be entitled to under the Town's existing incentive plan and who meet the eligibility requirements for participation set forth in the plan documents for the length of service award system.

B. Establishment. Pursuant to §§ 7-148(c)(5)(A) and 7-148(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Town establishes a system for providing length of service awards to the eligible volunteers, and such system (the LOSAP) is intended to be a length of service award plan as defined in §§ 457(e)(11)(A)(ii), 457(e)(11)(B), and 457(e)(11)(C) of Title 26 of the United States Code, as amended, and any successor sections.

C. The First Selectman is empowered, authorized and directed to enter into and execute on behalf of the Town a plan document for the LOSAP and such other documents and agreements as may be required to establish and maintain the LOSAP, such plan document and such other documents and agreements to become effective after approval by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance.

D. The LOSAP shall be administered by the plan administrator as defined in the plan document for the LOSAP. The adoption of this § 84-6 shall constitute a specific delegation to the plan administrator, pursuant to the Board of Selectmen, to accept the responsibilities of and to perform the duties of the plan administrator in the administration of the LOSAP and to exercise the powers and rights of the plan administrator to administer the LOSAP.

E. The Town shall enter into a trust agreement establishing a trust (the LOSAP Trust) to receive contributions from the Town to fund the length of service awards under the LOSAP. The trustee shall be a trustee approved by the plan administrator of the LOSAP. The trustee shall disburse funds from the LOSAP Trust in accordance with the provisions of the trust agreement, Connecticut law and this § 84-6.

F. The Town may periodically contribute to the LOSAP Trust such amounts of cash as may be determined and approved by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance to fund the length of service awards which have been credited under the LOSAP to the accounts of the eligible volunteers under the plan document for the LOSAP.