Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-22-11 regular — reading text

ti of a Member who has or have been designated in writing by the Member and filed with the Board. M 00 If no such designation is in effect, or if no person so designated is living, at the time of death of the Member, the beneficiary shall be the estate of the Member. O r Board means the Board of Trustees, which shall administer and manage the Plan herein a provided and serve as Trustees of the Fund. E s v Child means natural or legally adopted children of a Member. ac City means City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and any subsequent laws. Credited Service means the total number of years and fractional parts of years of service as a Firefighter aix# inrg with Member contributions, when required, omitting intervening years or fractional parts of years when such Firefig Member was not be employed by the City as a Firefighter. except as provided in Section 23. A Member may voluntarily leave his Accumulated Page 2 of53 Pages Contributions in the Fund for a period of five (5) years after leaving the employ of the City pending the possibility of being reemployed as a Firefighter, without losing credit for the time that he was a Member of the Plan. If a vested Member leaves the employ of the City, the Accumulated Contributions will be returned only upon written request. If a former Member who is not vested is not reemployed as a Firefighter with the City within five (5) years, his Accumulated Contributions, if one -thousand dollars ($ 1, 000. 00) or less, shall be returned. If a Member who is not vested is not reemployed within five (5) years, his Accumulated Contributions, if more than one -thousand dollars 1, 000. 00), will be returned only upon the written request of the Member and upon completion of a written election to receive a cash lump sum or to rollover the lump sum amount on forms designed by the Board. Upon return of a Member' s Accumulated Contributions, all rights and benefits under the Plan are forfeited and terminated. Upon any reemployment, a Member shall not receive credit for the years and fractional parts of years of service for which Accumulated Contributions were withdrawn from the Fund, unless the Member repays into the Fund the withdrawn contributions, with interest as determined by the Board, within ninetv ( 90) days after reemployment. The years or fractional parts of a year that a Member performs " Qualified Military Service" consisting of voluntary or involuntary "service in the uniformed services" as defined in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) ( P.L. 103 -353 separation from employment as a Firefighter with the City to perform training or service, s added to his years of Credited Service for all purposes, including vesting, provided that: A. The Member is entitled to reemployment under the provisions of USERRA. B. The Member returns to his employment as a Firefighter within one ( 1) year from the earlier of the date of his military discharge or his release from active service, unless otherwise required by USERRA. C. The maximum credit for military service pursuant to this paragraph shall be five ( 5) years. D. This paragraph is intended to satisfy the minimum requirements ofUSERRA. To the extent that this paragraph does not meet the minimum standards of USERRA, as it may be amended from time to time, the minimum standards shall apply. In the event a Member dies on or after January 1, 2007, while performing USERRA ified Military Service, the beneficiaries of the Member are entitled to any benefits ( other than fit accruals relating to the period of qualified military service) as if the Member had resumed Firefighter means any person employed solely in the Fire Department of the City who is certified as a Firefighter as a condition of employment in accordance with the provisions of §633. 35 Florida Statutes, and whose duty it is to extinguish fires, to protect life and to protect property. The term includes all certified, supervisory, and command personnel whose_duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management responsibilities offull -time firefighters, Dart -time firefighters, or auxiliary firefighters but does not include part-time firefighters or auxiliary firefighters. Member means an actively employed Firefighter who fulfills the prescribed participation requirements. Page 3 of53 Pages  Plan means the City of Fort Walton Beach Municipal Firefighters' Pension Trust Fund as contained herein and all amendments thereto. Salary means the total cash compensation for services rendered to the City as a Firefighter, reportable on the Member's W -2, including amounts " picked up" by the City pursuant to § 414( h) of the Code-of49$6 and any other tax deferred, tax exempt or tax exempt items of income derived from elective employee payroll deductions or salary reductions, but excluding unused accumulated sick leave pay and vacation pay received as a lump sum payment upon termination of employment. Compensation in excess of the limitations set forth in Section 401( a)( 17) of the Code as of the first day of the Plan Year shall be disregarded for any purpose, including employee contributions or any benefit calculations. The annual compensation of each Member taken into account in determining benefits or employee contributions for any Plan Year beginning on or after January 1, 2002, may not exceed $ 200, 000, as adjusted for cost -of-living increases in accordance with Code Section 401( a)( 17)( B). Compensation means compensation during the fiscal year. The cost -of-living adjustment in effect for a calendar year applies to annual compensation for the determination period that begins with or within such calendar year. If the determination period consists of fewer than 12 months, the annual compensation limit is an amount equal to the otherwise applicable annual compensation limit multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months in the short determination period, and the denominator of which is 12. If the compensation for any prior determination period is taken into account in determining a Member's contributions or benefits for the current Plan Year, the compensation for such prior determination period is subject to the applicable annual compensation limit in effect for that prior period. shall not be less than the The limitation on compensation for an " eligible employee" shall not be less than the amount which was allowed to be taken into account hereunder as in effect on July 1, 1993. " Eligible employee" is an individual who was a Member before the first Plan Year beginning after December 31, 1995. Spouse means the lawful wife or husband of a Member at the time of pre- retirement death or retirement. 2. Masculine Gender. The masculine gender, where used herein, unless the context specifically requires otherwise, shall include both the feminine and masculine genders. r SECTION 2. MEMBERSHIP. T r v ti 1. Conditions of Eligibility M co r A. Effective Bate December 31, 1986, and all future All Firefighters as of __-= a Firefighters, shall become Members of this plan as a condition of O employment. a E B. All future Members shall be required to complete a medical examination as s v prescribed by the Board. Based upon medical evidence of any pre -existing adverse health condition, resulting from the prescribed examination or other records or medical history, the Board may declare *any Member ineligible for disability benefits hereunder, as related to such pre -existing condition. However, in such cases, as regards Members as of the Effective Date, a disability benefit equal in amount to that which would have been payable under Chapter 175 shall be payable hereunder in lieu of all other disability benefits provided for in this Ordinance. Page 4 of 53 Pages  A Member may be declared ineligible for disability benefits only at the time of the Board's acceptance of membership in the Plan, or at a later date if the Board establishes that a condition existed at the time of the Member's employment, and such declaration shall be recorded on the Member's record of membership, a copy of which shall be provided to the Member. Each declaration must also be reflected in the Minutes of the meeting of the Board at which such declaration was formally adopted or established by the Board. The procedures followed, and ruling made, regarding this matter shall be on a uniform, non -discriminatory basis, with all Members, in similar situations being treated alike. 2. Membership Each Member shall complete a form prescribed by the Board providing the following information: c 0 A. Acknowledgment of