[Adopted 10-1-1984 by Ord. No. 82; amended
in its entirety 1-7-2008 by Ord. No. 240-2007]
A.
Each full-time nonuniformed employee not employed
by the Police Department shall be eligible to participate in the pension
plan on the first day of the month in which the employee is hired.
Active members of the prior pension plan on January 1, 1982, are automatically
active members of the current plan.
B.
The following persons shall be entitled to receive
pension or retirement benefits as hereinafter provided:
(1)
Beginning on January 1, 2008, and thereafter, each participant who shall have completed eight years of service and who shall have attained 62 years of age shall be eligible to receive a normal retirement benefit equal to the amount determined under § 28-2A of this chapter.
(2)
Beginning on January 1, 2008, and thereafter, each
participant who is hired after age 55 will be entitled to receive
pension or retirement benefits on the first day of the month on or
after the eighth anniversary of said participant's hiring date.
C.
"Continuous service" shall mean full-time employment
with this municipality, including periods of absence which are approved
by the governing body of this municipality or which arise by operation
of the law.
D.
An employee hired before January 1, 2018, who works
1,000 hours or more a year will be considered a full-time employee.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 312-2018]
E.
An employee hired after January 1, 2018, who works 1,440 hours or
more a year will be considered a full-time employee.
[Added 2-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 312-2018]
A.
The amount of pension payable to a participant who retires under the provisions of § 28-1B(1) of this plan shall be equal to 1.75% of the employee's average pay as reported on form W-2 of his five pay years (dates), or all his pay years (dates), multiplied by the employee's "benefit service," which is one year for each service period during which the employee has 1,440 or more hours of service, up to 30 benefit service years (maximum benefit, 30 benefit service years). The "average pay" means, on any date, the average of an employee's monthly pay for his highest five (calendar) consecutive years of wages (dates), or all his pay years (dates) if less than this number.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 312-2018]
B.
The amount of pension payable to a participant who retires under the provisions of § 28-1A(2) of this plan shall be equal to the amount determined under Subsection A, actuarially reduced to reflect early commencement of benefits.
C.
Any participant who continues full-time employment
with this municipality after his or her normal retirement date will
be eligible to receive monthly retirement income only after retirement
on the late retirement date. A participant's late retirement date
will be the first day of the month on or after the date employment
is discontinued with this municipality. However, in no case will a
late retirement date be more than 10 years after a participant's normal
retirement date.
D.
Lump sum benefits prohibited. Payment of any benefits
hereunder, except in the case of death benefits payable to the estate
of a single, unmarried plan member, in a single lump sum payment is
and shall be prohibited.
A.
Payments by participants. All participating members
of the Township of Bern nonuniformed pension fund shall pay into the
nonuniformed pension fund created by this article that percentage
of his monthly compensation as shall from time to time be established
by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Bern.
[Amended 2-6-2018 by Ord.
No. 312-2018]
B.
The municipality shall contribute all other funding
necessary for the plan to be maintained on a financially and actuarially
sound basis.
[1]
Editor's Note: In its preamble, this ordinance also provided
that said contribution of 2.5% shall begin 1-1-2010.
A.
The municipality shall be the owner of all moneys
or property paid into the fund or annuities or policies purchased
from insurance companies hereunder and the owner of any insurance
or retirement income contracts acquired hereunder, and no participant
prior to retirement shall have any rights or interest in any portion
of said moneys or property except as provided below.
B.
Termination or discontinuance of employment.
(1)
Each participant is 100% vested in his or her contributions to the plan. In the event of termination or discontinuance of employment with this municipality for reasons other than retirement or death, a participant who has completed full years of service with the municipality will retain a nonforfeitable (vested) right to the accrued benefit as defined in Subsection D derived from this municipality's contributions to the plan, as shown on the schedule below:
|
Full Years of Service
|
Percentage Vested
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Less than 8
|
0
| |
|
8 or more
|
100
|
(2)
At termination of employment for reasons other than
retirement or death, a participant shall be entitled to a refund of
his or her contributions to the plan, if any, plus earnings thereon
at 4% compounded annually.
C.
Death benefits.
(1)
If a participant dies prior to the date on which benefits
commence, his or her beneficiary shall be entitled to the greater
of the proceeds of life insurance policies, if any, purchased on the
participant's behalf or the present value of the participant's accrued
benefit.
(2)
The participant may name and change his or her beneficiary
under the plan.
(3)
If a participant dies prior to the date on which benefits
commence and after the participant is vested in the plan, then his
or her beneficiary shall be entitled to an immediate benefit equal
to 50% of the participant's accrued benefit on the date of the participant's
death.
D.
The accrued benefit shall be equal to the participant's
projected normal retirement benefit assuming the participant's current
salary would remain in effect until normal retirement age multiplied
by a reduction factor. The numerator of the reduction factor shall
be equal to the number of years the participant has actually been
covered under the plan and the denominator shall equal the number
of years the participant would have been covered under the plan if
he or she participated until normal retirement date.
A.
The nonuniformed employees pension fund shall be under
the direction of the governing body of the municipality, or such committee
or persons as the governing body of the municipality may from time
to time designate by resolution, who shall act as Trustees of the
pension fund, and such Trustees shall have full responsibility for
administration of the program established hereunder and shall hold,
invest, reinvest and distribute all funds or other property received
pursuant hereto in trust for the purposes of this chapter. The Trustees
may receive at any time, and from time to time, gifts, grants, devices
or bequests to the pension fund of any money or property, real, personal
or mixed, to be held by them in trust for the benefit of this fund
to such rules and regulations as may from time to time be adopted
by the governing body of this municipality by ordinance or resolution.
B.
The Trustees shall have full power and authority by
a majority action of its members, either directly or through their
designated representatives, to do all acts, execute, acknowledge and
deliver all instruments and to exercise, for the sole benefit of the
participants hereunder, any and all powers and discretion necessary
to implement and effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including
for purposes of illustration but not limited to any and all of the
following:
(1)
To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received pursuant
to this article in such legal investments as may be authorized as
legal investments under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
(2)
To enter into contracts or deposit agreements on behalf
of this municipality with one or more insurance companies in order
to provide the pension and other benefits herein stated, and to pay
the premiums and deposits required by the purchase of said contracts.
(3)
To retain or purchase as an investment any form of
annuity or contracts of a similar nature, and to exercise with respect
thereto any right or incident of ownership.
(4)
To retain any property which may at any time become
an asset of the fund, as long as said Trustees may deem it advisable.
(5)
To make distribution of the moneys in the fund in
accordance with the terms of this article.
A.
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 designated
beneficiary. No participant or beneficiary shall have any right to
alienate, encumber or assign any assets of the fund held by the Trustees
on his behalf, or any of the benefits, payments or proceeds on any
contract or agreement purchased or acquired by this municipality hereunder.
B.
Any contract or agreement purchased or acquired pursuant
to this article, upon the life of such participant, shall contain
a provision, in substance, that to the extent permitted by law none
of the benefits or payments or proceeds of such contract or agreement
shall be subject to any legal process by any creditor of such participant
or beneficiary of such participant.
All contracts, agreements or funds held by this
municipality for the purpose of providing pensions, annuities or retirement
income, or any of them, on any nonuniformed employee who shall be
a participant in the program herein established shall be and hereby
are transferred and assigned to the fund herein created. After such
transfer, the pension fund shall assume the liability, if any, of
continuing the payment of pensions to any employees retired prior
to such transfer in accordance with the laws and regulations under
which such employees were retired.
The expense of administering this pension fund
program, including compensation of an actuary, any custodian of the
fund and any other charges or expenses related thereto, exclusive
of the payment of pensions, shall be paid by this municipality by
appropriations made by the governing body of the municipality.
All expenses of administering the Municipal
Pension Fund for Nonuniformed Employees shall be paid by the fund.
