Fort Walton Beach Ordinance — 1837 - Restate Fire Fighters Pension Trust Fund — reading text

If the Member recovers from disability and re- enters service as a Member with the City, his service shall be deemed to have been continuous, but the period beginning with the first month for which he received a disability retirement income payment and ending with the date he re- entered the service of the City shall not be considered as Credited Service for the purposes of the Plan. The Board shall have the power and authority to make the final decisions regarding all disability claims. Disability Payments. The monthly benefit to which a Member is entitled in the event of his disability retirement shall be payable on the first day of the first month after the Board of Trustees determines such entitlement. However, the monthly retirement income shall be payable as of the date the Board determined such entitlement, and any portion due for a partial month shall be paid together with the first payment. The last payment shall be: A. If the Member recovers from the disability prior to his nannal retirement fie, the payment due next preceding the date of such recovery, or B. If the Member dies without recovering from his disability or attains normal retirement date while still dimb the payment due next preceding I his death or the 120th monthly payment, whichever is later. A disability retiree may select, at any time prior to the date benefit payments begin, an optional form of benefit as described in Section 10, subsection LB., which shall be the actuarial equivalent of the normal form of disability benefit, SECTION 9. VESTING. If a Member terminates his employment with the Fire Department, either voluntarily or by discharge, and is not eligible for any other benefits under this Plan, he shall be entitled to the following: 1. If the Member has less than ten ( 10) years Credited Service upon termination, the Member shall be entitled to a refund of his accumulated contribution or he may leave it deposited with the Fund. 2. If the Member has more than ten ( 10) years of Credited Service upon termination, the Member shall be entitled to a monthly retirement benefit equal to two and one -half percent 2. 50 %) of his Average Final Compensation for each year of Credited Service payable commencing at his otherwise Normal Retirement Date, or as reduced for Early Retirement as provided in Section 6 of this Ordinance, provided he does not elect to withdraw his accumulated contributions and provided he survives to his normal retirement date. SECTION 10. OPTIONAL FORMS OF BENEFITS. 1. In lieu of the amount and form of retirement income payable in the event of normal or early retirement as specified herein, a Firefighter, upon written request to the Board of Trustees, may elect to receive a retirement income or benefit of equivalent actuarial value payable in accordance with one of the following options: Page 15 of 53 Pages  A. A retirement income of a monthly amount payable to the Firefighter for his lifetime only. B. A retirement income of a modified monthly amount, payable to the Firefighter during the lifetime of the Firefighter and following the death of the Firefighter, 100 %, 75 %, 66. 66% or 50% of such monthly amount payable to a joint pensioner for his lifetime. Except where the Retiree' s joint pensioner is his spouse, the payments to the joint pensioner as a percentage of the payments to the Retiree shall not exceed the applicable percentage provided for in the applicable table in the Treasury regulations. ( See Q & A -2 of 1. 401( a)( 9) -6) C. If a Member retires prior to the time at which social security benefits are payable, he may elect to receive an increased retirement benefit until such time as social security benefits shall be assumed to commence and a reduced benefit thereafter in order to provide, to as great an extent as possible, a more level retirement allowance during the entire period of retirement. The amounts payable shall be as recommended by the actuaries for the system, based upon the social security law in effect at the time of the Member's retirement. 2. The Member, upon electing any option of this Section, will designate the joint pensioner or beneficiary ( or beneficiaries) to receive the benefit, if any, payable under the Plan in the event of the Member's death, and will have the power to change such designation from time to time. Such designation will name a joint pensioner or one or more primary beneficiaries where applicable. A Member may change his Beneficiary at any time. If a Member has elected an option with ajoint pensioner or beneficiary and the Member's retirement income benefits have commenced, the Member may thereafter change his designated joint pensioner or beneficiary, but only if the Board consents to such change; provided however, in no event may a Member change his or her joint pensioner or designated beneficiary more than twice after retirement benefits have commenced. In the absence ofproof of good health ofthe joint pensioner being replaced, the actuary will assume that the joint pensioner has deceased for purposes of calculating the new payment 3. The consent of a Firefighter's joint pensioner or beneficiary to any such change shall not be required. The rights of all previously- designated beneficiaries to receive benefits under the Plan shall thereupon cease. 4. Upon change of a Member's beneficiary or joint pensioner in accordance with this section, the Board shall adjust the Member's monthly benefit by application ofactuarial calculations to insure that the benefit paid is the actuarial equivalent of the Member's then -current benefit. Any such Member shall pay the actuarial recalculation expenses and shall make repayment of any overage of previously -paid pension benefits as a result of said recalculations. Each request for a change will be made in writing on a form prepared by the Board of Trustees and on completion will be filed with the Board of Trustees. In the event that no designated beneficiary survives the Firefighter, such benefits as are payable in the event of the death ofthe Firefighter subsequent to his retirement shall be paid as provided in Section 11. 5. Retirement income payments shall be. made under the option elected in accordance with the provisions of this Section and shall be subject to the following limitations: A. If a Firefighter dies prior to his normal retirement date or early retirement date, whichever first occurs, no retirement benefit will be payable under the option to any person, but the benefits, if any, will be determined under Section 7. Page 16 of 53 Pages  B. If the designated beneficiary (or beneficiaries) or joint pensioner dies before the Firefighter's retirement under the Plan, the option elected will be canceled automatically and a retirement income of the normal form and amount will be payable to the Firefighter upon his retirement as if the election had not been made, unless a new election is made in accordance with the provisions of this Section or a new beneficiary is designated by the Firefighter prior to his retirement and within ninety (90) days after the death of the beneficiary. C. Ifboth the retired Firefighter and the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) designated by Member die before the full payment has been effected under any option providing for payments for a period certain and life thereafter, made pursuant to the provisions of Subsection 1, the Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, direct that the commuted value ofthe remaining payments be paid in a lump sum and in accordance with Section 11. D. If a Firefighter continues beyond his normal retirement date pursuant to the provisions of Section 6, subsection 1, and dies prior to his actual retirement and while an option made pursuant to the provisions of this Section is in effect, monthly retirement income payments will be made, or a retirement benefit will be paid, under the option to a beneficiary ( or beneficiaries) designated by the Firefighter in the amount or amounts computed as if the Firefighter had retired under the option on the date on which his death occurred. E. The Member's benefit under this Section must begin to be distributed to the Member no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the later of the calendar year in which the Member attains age seventy and one -half (70'/ 2) or the calendar year in which the Member terminates employment with the City. 6. A Firefighter may not change his retirement option after the date of cashing or depositing his first retirement check. 7. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Board in its discretion, may elect to make a lump sum payment to a Member or a Member's Beneficiary in the event that the total commuted value of the monthly income payments to be paid do not exceed one thousand dollars 1, 000). Any such payment made to any person pursuant to the power and discretion conferred upon the Board by the preceding sentence shall operate as a complete discharge of all obligations under the System with regard to such Member and shall not be subject to review by anyone, but shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons. SECTION 11. BENEFICIARIES. 1. Each Member or Retiree *nay, on a form provided for that purpose, signed and filed with the Board-of h ' -trstecs, designate a Beneficiary (or Beneficiaries) to receive the benefit, if any, which may be payable in the event of his death. - md Each designation may be revoked or changed by such Member or Retiree by signing and filing with the Board off a new designation -of- beneficiary form. Upon such change, the rights of all previously designated Beneficiaries to receive any benefits under the System shall cease. 2. Ifa deceased Member or Retiree fails to name a Beneficiary in the manner prescribed in subsection 1, or if the Beneficiary ( or Beneficiaries) named by a deceased Member or Retiree predecease the Member or Retiree, the death benefit, if any, which may be payable under the Plan with respect to such deceased Member or Retiree nr ry shall be paid, in the discretion of the Bo Page 17 of53 Pages of Trustees, either to the estate of the Member or Retiree and the Board, in its discretion, may