Article 165 CITY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT AND PENSION FUND

Article 165
CITY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT AND PENSION FUND

Sections:

165.01 Creation of fund and board.

165.02 Board composition – Duties and investments.

165.03 Pension entitlement – Retirement and service increment allowances.

165.04 Contributions to fund – Refunds and determination of continuous service.

165.05 Optional contribution of laborers on per diem wage.

165.06 Mandatory retirement age.

165.07 Department heads to certify records to board.

165.08 Annual appropriation by city.

165.09 Persons entitled to benefits – Definitions.

165.10 Computation of time of service.

165.11 Pension not subject to attachment or assignment.

165.12 Compensation or pension involving other political subdivisions.

165.13 Beneficiaries prohibited from city employment.

165.14 Eligible persons to indicate total acceptance of coverage.

165.15 Benefit payments chargeable only to pension fund.

165.16 Severability – Validity of remaining provisions.

165.17 Deferred vested benefit.

165.18 Exclusion of employees and officials after May 21, 2014.

165.19 Defined contribution provisions.

165.20 Retirement window for long-serving employees – AFSCME members.

165.21 Retirement window for long-serving employees – Not members of bargaining unit.

165.01 Creation of fund and board.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Act of May 23, 1945 (P.L. 903), as amended, (53 P.S. Section 39371 et seq.), and the provisions of the Optional Third Class City Charter Law (53 P.S. Section 41101 et seq.), there is hereby created an employees pension fund and pension board. (Ord. 2745 § 1, 1970)

165.02 Board composition – Duties and investments.

The pension board shall consist of the city manager, city controller, finance director and two employees to be chosen by the employees contributing to the pension fund. It shall be the duty of the board to register all persons employed by the city and to administer the collection and distribution of the fund herein provided for, and to make such reasonable rules in the premises as the board may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this article. It shall be the duty of the pension board to receive and retain and when deemed advisable, to invest the funds in accordance with the provisions of this article and by such methods as are authorized under and pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania for fiduciaries, and including mortgages of one or more individuals or corporations, securing bonds or other obligations; such mortgages shall be a first lien upon improved real estate within this commonwealth and shall not exceed two-thirds of the fair value of such real estate. Such mortgage shall be payable not more than five years after the date thereof, or the date of any renewal or extension thereof, or it shall be amortized in installments totaling in each year not less than three percent per annum of the face amount of the bond or other obligations secured thereby, over a period not exceeding 20 years from the date thereof, or the date of any renewal or extension thereof. (Ord. 2745 § 2, 1970)

165.03 Pension entitlement – Retirement and service increment allowances.*

(A) Every person now or hereafter elected or appointed to an office of or employed by the city who has attained the age of 60 years or over and who has served as an officer or employee for a period of 20 years or more shall, upon application to the board, be retired from service, and shall during the remainder of his life receive the compensation fixed by this article, subject to such qualifications as are hereinafter contained.

If any person has served 20 years and voluntarily retires, he shall be entitled to the compensation provided in this article at the age of 60 years. During the lifetime of any such person, he shall be entitled to receive as compensation annually from the fund set aside for the purpose, 50 percent which would constitute the highest average annual salary of wages which he earned during any five years of his service to the city, or which would be determined by the rate of the monthly pay of such person at the date of retirement, whichever is the higher. Such compensation shall be paid in monthly payments.

(B) Where an officer or employee has served for 12 years or more and has attained the age of 60 years, and his tenure of office or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action before the expiration of 20 years of service, he shall, in such event, during the remainder of his life, be entitled to receive such portion of the full compensation as the period of his service, up to date of his termination, bears to the full 20-year period of service. Where an officer or employee has served for 12 years or more and has not attained the age of 60 years, and his tenure of office or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action before the expiration of 20 years of service, he shall, in such event, during the remainder of his life, after attaining the age of 60 years, be entitled to receive such portion of the full compensation as the period of his service up to the date of his termination, bears to the full 20-year period of service. Where an officer or employee has served for 20 years or more and his tenure of office or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action, he shall be entitled to full compensation for the remainder of his life, after attaining the age of 55 years, conditioned upon his continuing his contributions into the fund at the same rate as when he was dismissed until he attains the age of 55 years.

(C) In addition to the retirement allowance which is authorized to be paid from the pension fund by this article and notwithstanding the limitations therein placed upon such retirement allowances and upon contributions, every officer or employee who becomes entitled to the retirement allowance as provided under this article shall also be entitled to the payment of a service increment under the following conditions:

(1) Service increment shall be the sum obtained by computing the number of whole years after having served 20 years, required by this article, during which a contributor has been employed by the city and multiplying such number of years so computed by an amount equal to one-fortieth of the retirement allowance which has become payable to such contributor in accordance with the provisions of this article. In computing this service increment, no employment after the contributor reached the age of 65 years shall be included.

(2) Each contributor who so chooses to become entitled to the service increments provided by this article shall pay into the retirement fund a monthly sum, in addition to his retirement contribution, which shall be equal to one-half percent of his salary. However, such service increment contribution shall not be paid after a contributor has reached the age of 65 years.

(3) Service increment contributions shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as retirement contributions, and may be withdrawn in full without interest, by persons who leave the employment of the city, subject to the same conditions by which retirement contributions may be withdrawn, or by persons who retire before becoming entitled to any service increment.

(4) Every contributor who chooses to become entitled to the service increment and is presently employed by the city shall be required to make a contribution to the fund in accordance with the rates and terms hereinbefore specified. However, such payment shall be made by the contributor retroactively from October 19, 1967, or from the date of employment if employed after October 19, 1967.*

(D) Spousal Benefits – Entitlement to Allowance for Spouse or Children – Eligibility and Termination. From and after the effective date of this amendment, the surviving spouse of a city employee who retires on pension after attaining age 60 and 20 years of completed service and who dies (or who is eligible for such retirement) shall, during such spouse’s lifetime or for so long as he or she does not remarry, be entitled to receive the pension the employee was receiving or would have been receiving had the employee been retired at the time of his or her death. Upon remarriage, a spouse drawing such pension shall immediately notify the city of such remarriage. If no spouse survives or survives and subsequently dies or remarries, then the children of such employee under the age of 18 years shall, until reaching the age of 18 years, be entitled to receive such pension.

(E) Disability and Early Death Benefits – Benefits for Death or Total Disability Not in the Line of Duty. Any city employee who is a member of the pension fund and who is totally disabled due to injuries or mental incapabilities sustained or arising other than in the line of duty and who is unable to perform the duties of his or her city office or position as the result thereof shall be entitled to a pension in accord with the following schedule:

(1) One-eighth of his or her annual compensation if such employee has less than five years of completed service at the time of his or her death or disability; or

(2) One-fourth of his or her annual compensation if such employee has less than 10 but more than five years of completed service at the time of his or her death or disability;

(3) One-half of his or her annual compensation if such employee has more than 10 years of completed service at the time of his or her death or disability.

The disability pension hereby shall continue for the duration of the total disability of the disabled employee and, should such disability continue for the balance of the life of such employee, shall continue during such employee’s life. Payment of such pension shall commence immediately as of the date such total disability is established. Proof of such total disability shall consist of a sworn statement of three practicing physicians, designated by the board, that the employee is in the condition of health which would totally disable him from performing the duties of his position or office. Such person shall thereafter be subject to physical examination at any reasonable time upon order of the board, and upon his refusal to submit to any such examination, his compensation shall cease.

Any pension which would be payable under the terms of this section to a city employee in the event of a total disability shall be payable to the surviving spouse of any city employee who dies; provided, that such spouse is not entitled to benefits under subsection (D) of this section. If any such spouse shall die or remarry, the pension payable under the terms of this section shall be payable to the child or children of the deceased employee until such child or children attain the age of 18 years. In all events, the spousal pension provided herein shall end upon the death or remarriage of the surviving spouse or upon the date on which the youngest of the deceased employee’s children shall attain 18 years of age.

(F) Return of Contributions. If a person entitled to pension benefits under this article shall be dismissed from city employment or for any other reason ceases to be an employee of the city before he or she becomes entitled to a pension hereunder, the total amount of the contribution paid into the fund by such person shall, upon his or her request, be refunded in full, without interest.

In the event of the death of such person before he or she becomes entitled to the pension herein provided for, the total of the contributions paid into the fund by such person shall be paid, without interest, to his or her spouse, if living; otherwise in equal shares to his or her children, if any, otherwise to his or her estate.

(G) Employee Contribution. In consideration of the grant of the spousal and disability benefits required by this article, each employee shall pay to the pension fund a special assessment equal to one percent of the gross compensation of such employee from city employment. Such contribution shall be made by payroll deduction.

(H) In-Service Disability Benefit. A member who has completed at least 15 years of service and who is totally disabled due to injuries or mental incapacities sustained in the line of duty and who is unable to perform the duties of his or her city office or position as the result thereof, shall be entitled to a pension in the amount of one-half of his or her annual compensation.

*Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 3728 adds Section 165.18 to the code excluding employees and elected officials hired, elected or appointed after May 21, 2014, from participating in the defined benefit provisions of the City of Meadville employees’ retirement and pension fund.

165.04 Contributions to fund – Refunds and determination of continuous service.

(A) Except as has been heretofore (and may hereafter from time to time be) otherwise provided in an applicable labor relations agreement approved by the city council of the City of Meadville, each officer and employee of the city shall contribute to the fund monthly during his employment by the city until retirement a sum equal to five percent of such officer’s or employee’s monthly wage, salary or such other compensation due to any such employee. The city treasurer, or such person as he or she may designate, is hereby authorized to deduct such sum from the pay, salary or compensation of each officer and employee required to make payment hereunder and to pay the same over to the treasurer of the city employees’ retirement and pension fund, to be applied to the purposes of this article.

(B) Said sums shall be inclusive of all required payments of the fund pursuant to any and all provisions of this section.

(C) If for any cause a person contributing to the fund has served less than 12 years and ceases to be in the service of the city, he shall become entitled to the total amount of the contributions paid into the fund by him, with simple interest at five percent per annum if he is not a member of a bargaining unit or without interest if he is a member of a bargaining unit.

(D) If for any cause any person contributing to the fund ceases to be in the service of the city before he has become entitled to any compensation (including for this purpose failure of a member to timely file a notice to vest), the total amount of the contributions paid by him into the fund shall be refunded, in full, with five percent simple interest per annum if he is not a member of a bargaining unit or without interest if he is a member of a bargaining unit. However, if any person has the amount contributed returned to him as aforesaid, and shall afterward re-enter the service of the city, he shall not be entitled to the compensation designated, unless he returns to the fund the amount withdrawn, in which event the required period of service under this article shall be computed from the time he first entered the service of the city omitting only the time absent from city employment, otherwise, the date of his period of service shall commence upon his re-entering city service. In the event the reason for leaving the city employment is due to service in the armed forces of the United States by enlistment or otherwise, and if upon honorable discharge from the service, an employee returns to city employment, upon payment into the fund of the same contributions he would have been required to make for the period of his time spent in the armed forces, and provided such service is not in excess of six years, the period of service shall be included in his period of service of the city for pension purposes. The required contributions for time spent in the armed forces shall be calculated at the same rate paid by other employees during the same period and calculated on the rate of pay drawn by such employee at the time of leaving city employment, time spent in the service of the United States armed forces and return to city employment shall be continuous, except that a period of 30 days after discharge from the armed forces and return to city employment may be considered as continuous time.

(E) In the event of the death of any person after he becomes entitled to the compensation and has not elected to retire, the total amount of contributions paid into the fund by him shall be paid over to his widow first, if she survives him; if his widow does not survive him then to his children equally; and if there be no widow or children, then to his estate with interest at five percent simple interest per annum if he was not a member of a bargaining unit or without interest if he was a member of a bargaining unit.

(F) In the event of the death of any person after he becomes entitled to the compensation herein and after he has commenced receiving retirement payments hereunder, the total amount of his contributions paid into the fund less the retirement benefits paid to him shall be paid over to his widow first, if she survives him; if she does not survive him, then to his children equally; and if there be no widow or children, then to his estate with five percent simple interest per annum if he was not a member of a bargaining unit or without interest if he was a member of a bargaining unit. It is the intent of this section that an employee, whether dying before or after he has commenced to receive retirement benefits, be entitled to a return of all the contributions made by him to the fund. This section shall also be applicable insofar as a return of the employee’s service increment contribution is concerned.

(G) Unused accumulated sick leave of up to a maximum of 110 days for which the member does not receive compensation may be credited as continuous service for purposes of calculating years of service under the plan at a rate of one day of continuous service for every two days of unused accumulated sick leave. (Ord. 3656 § 1, 2008; Ord. 3633 §§ 1 – 4, 2006; Ord. 3440 § 2, 1996; Ord. 3341 § 3, 1993; Ord. 3173 § 1, 1988; Ord. 2745 § 7, 1970)

165.05 Optional contribution of laborers on per diem wage.

No person holding a position in the city as a laborer, at a per diem wage, shall be compelled to pay or contribute toward the fund herein provided for, but he shall have the option or choice of so doing, and shall only, upon electing to contribute to the fund, become entitled to the compensation provided by this article. However, he shall be required to contribute three percent of his wages and the same percentage upon any amount of compensation he receives after his retirement. (Ord. 2361 § 5, 1954)

165.06 Mandatory retirement age.

Repealed by Ord. 3758. (Ord. 2361 § 6, 1954)

165.07 Department heads to certify records to board.

The head of every department and office, employing persons entitled under the provisions of this article to receive compensation, shall certify from department or office records to the board all persons so employed, the amount of salary or wages which is paid to such employee, together with dismissals, resignations or terminations of service, and such other relative information as the board may require. (Ord. 2361 § 7, 1954)

165.08 Annual appropriation by city.

Council shall annually set aside, apportion and appropriate out of the taxes and income of the city and give over to the board a sum sufficient to maintain the compensation due under this article. (Ord. 2745 § 8, 1970)

165.09 Persons entitled to benefits – Definitions.

The benefits conferred by this article shall apply to all persons employed in any capacity, by or holding positions in the city, in accordance with the provisions of this article and in following and keeping with the definitions set forth as follows:

(A) “Person” means an officer or employee of the city.

(B) “Employee” means a person in the service of the city, who is either or not now adequately protected under all circumstances by pension authorized by the laws of this commonwealth and in force at the time of the passage of this article (May 25, 1954).

(D) “Board” means the officers’ and employees’ retirement board.

(E) “Fund” means the officers’ and employees’ retirement fund.

(F) “Joint coverage member” means an officer or employee of the city who is a member of the retirement system or fund and who has filed with the board a written statement that he elects Social Security coverage under an agreement with the Federal Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare entered into by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(G) “Involuntary retirement” means a retirement without the voluntary action of the employee, including but not limited to a dismissal by the city or a loss of an election, but does not include a retirement because of disability nor a retirement caused by the willful misconduct of an employee. (Ord. 2745 § 9, 1970)

165.10 Computation of time of service.

The time of service herein specified shall be computed from the time of the first or original service to the city, and need not be continuous. (Ord. 2361 § 10, 1954)

165.11 Pension not subject to attachment or assignment.

The pension herein provided shall not be subject to attachment or execution, and shall be payable only to the beneficiary designated by this article, and shall not be subject to assignment or transfer. (Ord. 2361 § 11, 1954)

165.12 Compensation or pension involving other political subdivisions.

Any person holding a position in the city, whether elective or appointed, who receives salaries or wages from other political subdivisions shall be entitled to the same provisions of this article as though they received all of their salaries or wages from the City of Meadville; provided, that they contribute or pay into the fund monthly an amount equal to three percent of their combined salaries or wages, or, if they so choose, only on that portion of their salary or wages paid by the city, in which case they shall be entitled to receive the benefits provided by this article, based on that portion only. If they receive a pension from another political subdivision they shall be entitled to receive the benefits provided herein only on that portion of their salary or wages paid by the City of Meadville. (Ord. 2361 § 12, 1954)

165.13 Beneficiaries prohibited from city employment.

Repealed by Ord. 3599. (Ord. 2361 § 13, 1954)

165.14 Eligible persons to indicate total acceptance of coverage.

By the passage of this article the city elects to establish a retirement system and agrees to accept the provisions of law covering such retirement system as is provided for herein. It is hereby ordained that all persons defined as being eligible to be covered by this retirement system shall so elect in writing to become covered by this retirement system and shall indicate in writing that they thereby elect to accept and agree to the terms of this article in its entirety. (Ord. 2361 § 14, 1954)

165.15 Benefit payments chargeable only to pension fund.

Payments for pension and allowances hereunder shall not be a charge on any other fund of the city treasury or of any fund under its control, except the fund as provided for herein. (Ord. 2361 § 15, 1954)

165.16 Severability – Validity of remaining provisions.

The provisions of this article shall be severable and if any section or subsection is held to be unconstitutional or invalid, the decision shall not be construed to affect the validity of any of the remaining sections or subsection. It is hereby declared as the intent of council that this article would have been adopted as if such unconstitutional or invalid provisions had not been included herein. (Ord. 2361 § 16, 1954)

165.17 Deferred vested benefit.

Members who satisfy the following conditions shall be eligible for the deferred vested benefits described herein:

(A) Where a member shall have served for 12 years, or more, and shall have not attained the age of 60 years, and his tenure of office or employment shall be terminated without his voluntary action before the expiration of 20 years of service, after attaining the age of 60 years (pension entitlement date), the member shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits subject to the conditions described in subsection (D) of this section.

(B) Where a member who has served for 20 years or more and his tenure of office or employment shall be terminated, then the member:

(1) After attaining the age of 55 years when his employment termination was not voluntary (pension entitlement date); or

(2) After attaining the age of 60 years, when his employment termination was voluntary (pension entitlement date); and

(3) Conditioned upon his continuing his contributions into the fund at the same rate as when he was last employed until he attains the age of 55 years;

shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits subject to the conditions described in subsection (D) of this section.

(C) A member who voluntarily terminated his employment after 12 years of service without entitlement to a deferred vested benefit pursuant to subsections (A) or (B) of this section and before reaching the date which would have been the member’s normal retirement date (as defined in subsection (F) of this section), the member shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits subject to the conditions described in subsection (D) of this section.

(D) The deferred vested pension benefits described in subsections (A), (B) and (C) of this section are specifically conditioned upon the following:

(1) The member must file with the city employees’ retirement and pension board a written notice of his intent to vest;

(2) The member must include in the notice the date he intends to terminate his service as an employee;

(3) The termination date shall be at least 30 days later than the date of notice to vest;

(4) The member must be in good standing with the city on the date of notice to vest; and

(5) The city employees’ retirement and pension board shall indicate on the notice to vest the member’s compensation (as defined in subsection (G) of this section).

(E) Upon reaching the member’s pension entitlement date in the case of member’s qualifying under subsections (A) or (B) of this section or upon reaching the date which would have been the member’s normal retirement date had the member continued his employment with the city, the member shall notify the city employees’ retirement and pension board, in writing, that the member desires to collect his pension. The amount of retirement benefits the member is entitled to receive shall be computed as follows:

(1) The initial determination of the member’s base retirement benefits shall be computed on the compensation indicated on the notice to vest; and

(2) In the case of a member qualifying under subsection (A) of this section, the portion of the base retirement benefits due the member shall be determined by applying to the base amount the percentage that his years of service bears to 20 years of service;

(3) In the case of a member qualifying under subsection (B) of this section, the member shall be entitled to the base retirement benefit;

(4) In the case of members qualifying under subsection (C) of this section, the portion of the base retirement benefits due the member shall be determined by applying to the base amount the percentage that his years of service actually rendered bears to 20.

(F) Normal Retirement Date. For the purposes of this section, “normal retirement date” shall be the later of 20 years of service or reaching 60 years of age.

(G) Compensation. For the purposes of this section, “compensation” shall mean the rate of the monthly pay of the member as of the date of the notice to vest or the highest average annual salary which the member received during any five years of service preceding said date, whichever is higher. (Ord. 3633 § 5, 2006; Ord. 3489 §§ 1, 2, 1998; Ord. 3454 §§ 1, 2, 3, 1997)

165.18 Exclusion of employees and officials after May 21, 2014.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in MMC 165.01 through 165.17, no person, including but not limited to an appointed official, elected official or a non-uniformed employee of the City of Meadville who is hired, appointed or elected on or after May 21, 2014, shall have any rights and/or be entitled to any benefits under MMC 165.01 through 165.17. The previous sentence does not apply to those employees who are members of a bargaining unit at the city. (Ord. 3728 § 1, 2014)

165.19 Defined contribution provisions.*

DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN

(A) Eligibility for Participation in Defined Contribution (DC) Features. In general, this section applies only to non-uniformed persons on the first day of employment; provided, that all prerequisites to participation under the plan have been fulfilled, including, but not limited to, completion of any probationary status and grant of regular full-time (at least 35 hours per week) employee status on or after May 21, 2014, and completion of any forms required by the plan administrator. Such persons shall be referred to as participants. Any participant who participates in the defined contribution provisions of this section shall not be eligible to participate in the defined benefit features of this article for the same period of service.

(B) Definitions.

“Account balance” means the balance of a participant’s account held under this section. A participant’s account balance shall be composed of all amounts allocated under this section (including the employer contribution participant account, the employee pre-tax and post-tax contribution participant account) and all related earnings thereon net of expenses thereon.

“Administrator” or “plan administrator” means the individual or firm appointed by the city to administer the plan. ICMA Retirement Corporation is appointed plan administrator. If ICMA shall resign or otherwise fail to serve, the administrator shall be the city manager.

“Normal retirement” means termination of employment of a participant after age 60.

“Plan year” means the calendar year.

“Trustee” means the individual or entity selected by the city to hold the assets of this section in trust for the participants. Unless and until another appointment is made, the city shall be trustee of the assets of the plan.

“Valuation date” means the last day of the calendar year and any other date selected by the city. However, to the extent any assets are invested with an insurance or other investment company, valuation dates shall be determined in accordance with the investment contract or arrangement.

(1) Employer. For each calendar year, the city as employer shall make a contribution to the plan that will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subsection (D) of this section.

(2) Employee. Participants shall make a mandatory contribution of five percent of base salary into the employee pre-tax contribution participant account. Participants may also make voluntary contributions into employee post-tax contribution participant account up to 10 percent of base salary or such lesser amount as may be permitted under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). All mandatory employee contributions designated as such made on or after the first payroll after this plan is adopted shall be paid or “picked up” by the employer in lieu of contributions by the employees and thereafter treated as employer contributions for federal income taxation purposes within the meaning of Section 414(h)(2) of the Code. The contributions may be paid or picked up by a reduction in the cash salary, by an offset against future salary increases or a combination of both. Affected employees shall not have the option of choosing to receive the picked up contributions directly in lieu of having them paid by the employer to the plans. Notwithstanding the foregoing, contributions so picked up shall continue to be treated as employee contributions for all purposes of state and local law in the same manner and to the same extent as employee contributions made prior to the date of the pick up, including, by way of illustration and not limitation, being treated as part of the affected employee’s compensation for both Pennsylvania and local income tax laws and for purposes of computing any benefits under the affected employee’s pension plan.

(D) Allocation of Contributions.

(1) Separate Accounts. The administrator shall maintain a separate participant account for each participant setting forth the participant’s account balance. The administrator shall make the allocations among such participant accounts as set forth in this section.

(2) Employer contributions (made under subsection (C) of this section) shall be allocated as of each allocation date among the employer contribution participant accounts of eligible participants in the amount of seven percent of the base salary that was paid to each such participant since the previous allocation date. The last day of the plan year and any interim date chosen by the city and the administrator shall be allocation dates. The amount of the employer contribution may be amended or stopped all together subject to any collective bargaining requirements.

In order for an employer contribution for a calendar year to be allocated to a participant account, the participant must not have accrued any other benefit under this article for the same period of time.

(E) Vesting. A participant who ceases to be an employee in employment for any reason other than death, total and permanent disability, or normal retirement, and who has completed the following years of service shall vest in his employer contribution participant account balance in accordance with the following schedule. A participant who renders 12 full months in employment with the city shall have recorded a year of service.

Years of Service	Percentage Vested
Less than 5 Years	0%
5 Years or More	100%

Employee contributions are always 100 percent vested.

A participant shall immediately vest upon death, total and permanent disability or normal retirement.

Any portion of a participant’s account balance which is not vested upon termination of employment for a reason other than death, disability or normal retirement shall be forfeited. Forfeitured amounts shall be held in a suspense account until used to reduce the employer’s contributions.

If a participant terminates employment and is later rehired, his years of service shall begin upon his rehire date.

(F) Allocation of Gain or Loss.

(1) General Pooled Assets. As of each valuation date, the administrator shall determine the fair market value of all assets in the plan that are not held in suspense accounts, segregated accounts or insurance contracts. Any gain or loss on such assets since the previous valuation date shall be allocated among all participant accounts (except those accounts held in segregated accounts) in proportion to account balances as of the previous valuation date.

(2) Segregated Accounts (Including Participant-Directed Investment Accounts). As of each valuation date, the administrator shall determine the market value of all assets held in each segregated account. A separate allocation of gain or loss shall be made for each segregated account. If there is more than one participant account within a segregated account, the gain or loss since the previous valuation date for that segregated account shall be allocated in proportion to the account balances as of the previous valuation date.

(3) Holding Account. Contributions made between allocation dates (under subsection (D) of this section) shall be allocated to a holding account which shall also hold any related earnings all of which shall be allocated to participant accounts pursuant to the process established by the administrator and the city.

(4) Investment Contracts. Notwithstanding subsections (F)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, if any plan assets are invested through any arrangement with an insurance company or other investment organization, accounts shall be valued and gains, losses, costs, and expenses shall be allocated (but not less frequently than annually) in accordance with the terms of the applicable investment contract or arrangement.

(G) Participant-Directed Investments. Notwithstanding the provisions or the other sections of this section, if the administrator establishes such a policy, any participant, beneficiary, or alternate payee with an account balance under this article may direct how to invest all, or a certain portion, of his participant account. The city or administrator shall have sole discretion to determine what investment options will be made available to the participants. All contributions, expenses, income or losses shall be allocated in accordance with the policies established under this section. To the extent that the participants do not exercise their rights under this section, the allocation of expenses, income or losses may be made pursuant to subsection (F) of this section or such other provisions set forth by the plan administrator and the city and the investment of their accounts may be made pursuant to subsection (F) of this section or such other provisions set forth by the plan administrator and the city. To the extent permitted by law, the trustee and administrator shall be relieved of any fiduciary responsibility for investment decisions made pursuant to this section; provided, however, that the plan administrator or trustee has followed the instructions of the participant and that said instructions are in accordance with applicable law. Upon the death or incapacity of the participant, the powers granted to the participant under this section shall inure to the benefit of the participant’s beneficiary, trustee or legal representative.

(H) Distributions.

(1) Applicability. This section governs the distribution of vested account balances. Furthermore, distributions are subject to the requirements of the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as set forth in this plan document.

(2) General Rule. Distribution of a participant’s vested account balance shall be made in a lump sum as soon as it is administratively feasible to make distribution following a participant’s termination of employment with the employer and subject to such limitations and conditions utilized by the administrator. A participant’s account balance shall be valued as of the valuation date coincident with or immediately preceding the date of distribution.

(3) Annuity Option. Notwithstanding subsection (H)(2) of this section, if a participant has a vested account balance in excess of $5,000 and the participant desires to convert his lump-sum benefit into an annuity, he may do so under the rules and conditions established by the city and the administrator. This annuity shall be purchased from a third-party insurance firm selected by the city or the administrator.

(4) Death Benefit. Each participant shall complete a beneficiary designation form designating the person to whom his account balance shall be paid upon his death. If no beneficiary form has been completed, the participant’s account balance shall be paid to his spouse, or if no spouse to his estate. All payments shall be made in a lump sum payment.

(5) Loans and Hardship Distributions. Loans and hardship distributions of plan assets are not permitted.

(I) Administration.

(1) Powers of the Employer. The employer shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To appoint and remove, with or without cause, the plan administrator;

(b) To amend or terminate the plan;

(d) To decide all questions or eligibility (i) for plan participation, and (ii) upon appeal by an participant, employee or beneficiary, for the payment of benefits;

(e) To engage professionals with regard to plan matters and plan’s operation;

(f) To take all actions and to communicate to the plan administrator in writing all necessary information to carry out the terms of the plan and trust; and

(g) To notify the plan administrator in writing of the termination of the plan.

(2) Duties of the Plan Administrator. The plan administrator shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To construe and interpret the provisions of the plan;

(b) To maintain and provide such returns, reports, schedules, descriptions, and individual account statements, as are required by law within the times prescribed by law; and to furnish to the employer, upon request, copies of any or all such materials, and further, to make copies of such instruments, reports, descriptions, and statements as are required by law available for examination by participants and such of their beneficiaries who are or may be entitled to benefits under the plan in such places and in such manner as required by law;

(d) To determine the amount, manner, and time of payment of benefits hereunder;

(e) To appoint and retain such agents, counsel, and accountants for the purpose of properly administering the plan;

(f) To distribute assets of the trust to each participant and beneficiary in accordance with the terms of this section;

(g) To pay expenses from the trust; and

(h) To do such other acts reasonably required to administer the plan in accordance with its provisions or as may be provided for or required by law.

(3) Protection of the Employer. The employer shall not be liable for the acts or omissions of the plan administrator, but only to the extent that such acts or omissions do not result from the employer’s failure to provide accurate or timely information as required or necessary for proper administration of the plan.

(4) Protection of the Plan Administrator. The plan administrator may rely upon any certificate, notice or direction purporting to have been signed on behalf of the employer which the plan administrator believes to have been signed by a duly designated official of the employer.

(5) Resignation or Removal of Plan Administrator. The plan administrator may resign at any time effective upon 60 days’ prior written notice to the employer. The plan administrator may be removed by the employer at any time upon 60 days’ prior written notice to the plan administrator. Upon the resignation or removal of the plan administrator, the employer may appoint a successor plan administrator; failing such appointment, the employer shall assume the powers and duties of plan administrator. Upon the resignation or removal of the plan administrator, any trust assets invested by or held in the name of the plan administrator shall be transferred to the trustee in cash or property, fair market value, except that the return of trust assets invested in a contract issued by an insurance company shall be governed by the terms of that contract.

(6) No Termination Penalty. The plan administrator shall have no authority or discretion to impose any termination penalty upon its removal.

(7) Decisions of the Plan Administrator. All constructions, determinations, and interpretations made by the plan administrator pursuant to this section or by the employer pursuant to this section shall be final and binding on all persons participating in the plan, given deference in all courts of law to the greatest extent allowed by applicable law, and shall not be overturned or set aside by any court of law unless found to be arbitrary or capricious, or made in bad faith.

(J) Miscellaneous.

(1) Nonguarantee of Employment. Nothing contained in this plan shall be construed as a contract of employment between the employer and any employee, or as a right of an employee to be continued in the employment of the employer, as a limitation of the right of the employer to discharge any of its employees, with or without cause.

(2) Rights to Trust Assets. No employee or beneficiary shall have any right to, or interest in, any assets of the trust upon termination of his/her employment or otherwise, except as provided from time to time under this plan, and then only to the extent of the benefits payable under the plan to such employee or beneficiary out of the assets of the trust. All payments of benefits as provided for in this plan shall be made solely out of the assets of the trust and none of the fiduciaries shall be liable therefor in any manner.

(3) Nonalienation of Benefits. Except as provided in subsections (J)(4) and (6) of this section, benefits payable under this plan shall not be subject in any manner to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, charge, garnishment, execution, or levy of any kind, either voluntary or involuntary, prior to actually being received by the person entitled to the benefit under the terms of the plan; and any attempt to anticipate, alienate, sell, transfer, assign, pledge, encumber, charge or otherwise dispose of any right to benefits payable hereunder, shall be void. The trust shall not in any manner be liable for, or subject to, the debts, contracts, liabilities, engagements or torts of any person entitled to benefits hereunder.

(4) Qualified Domestic Relations Order. Notwithstanding subsection (J)(3) of this section, amounts may be paid with respect to a participant pursuant to a domestic relations order, but if and only if the order is determined to be enforceable under state law.

(5) Nonforfeitability of Benefits. Subject only to the specific provisions of this plan, nothing shall be deemed to deprive a participant of his/her right to the nonforfeitable interest to which he/she becomes entitled in accordance with the provisions of the plan.

(6) Incompetency of Payee. In the event any benefit is payable to a minor or incompetent, to a person otherwise under legal disability, or to a person who, in the sole judgment of the employer, is by reason of advanced age, illness, or other physical or mental incapacity incapable of handling the disposition of his/her property, the employer may apply the whole or any part of such benefit directly to the care, comfort, maintenance, support, education, or use of such person or pay or distribute the whole or any part of such benefit to:

(a) The parent of such person;

(b) The guardian, committee, or other legal representative, wherever appointed, of such person;

(d) Any person having the care and control of such person; or

(e) Such person personally.

The receipt of the person to whom any such payment or distribution is so made shall be full and complete discharge therefor.

(7) Inability to Locate Payee. Anything to the contrary herein notwithstanding, if the employer is unable, after reasonable effort, to locate any participant or beneficiary to whom an amount is payable hereunder, such amount shall be forfeited and held in the trust for application against the next succeeding employer contribution or contributions required to be made hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, such amount shall be reinstated, by means of an additional employer contribution, if and when a claim for the forfeited amount is subsequently made by the participant or beneficiary or if the employer receives proof of death of such person, satisfactory to the employer. To the extent not inconsistent with applicable law, any benefits lost by reason of escheat under applicable state law shall be considered forfeited and shall not be reinstated.

(8) Mergers, Consolidations, and Transfer of Assets. The plan shall not be merged into or consolidated with any other plan, nor shall any of its assets or liabilities be transferred into any such other plan, unless each participant in the plan would (if the plan then terminated) receive a benefit immediately after the merger, consolidation, or transfer that is equal to or greater than the benefit he/she would have been entitled to receive immediately before the merger, consolidation, or transfer (if the plan had then terminated).

(9) Employer Records. Records of the employer as to an employee’s or participant’s period of service, termination of service and the reason therefor, leaves of absence, reemployment, earnings, and salary will be conclusive on all persons, unless determined to be incorrect.

(10) Gender and Number. The masculine pronoun, whenever used herein, shall include the feminine pronoun, and singular shall include the plural, except where the context requires otherwise.

(11) Applicable Law. The plan shall be construed under the laws of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, except to the extent superseded by federal law. The plan is established with the intent that it meets the requirements under the code. The provisions of this plan shall be interpreted in conformity with these requirements.

In the event of any conflict between the plan and a policy or contract issued hereunder, the plan provisions shall control; provided, however, no plan amendment shall supersede an existing policy or contract unless such amendment is required to maintain qualification under Section 401(a) and 414(d) of the Code.

(K) Trust. A trust is hereby created to hold all the assets under this section for the exclusive benefit of participants and beneficiaries, except that expenses and taxes may be paid from the trust including investment expenses and reasonable compensation of plan administrator and reimbursement of reasonable expenses of plan administrator.

The trustee or the plan administrator acting as agent for the trustee shall have all such powers of a trustee as are permitted under the laws of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(L) Document Coordination. The defined contribution provisions of this section shall be construed in conformance with the provisions of City Ordinance 3700 of 2012 (additional code provisions, MMC 160.14 and 160.15); City Ordinance 3693 of 2011 (Heart Act, MMC 160.13); and City Ordinance 3655 of 2008 (code provisions, Article 160 MMC) including the rollover provisions of these ordinances associated with rollover out of the plan. No rollovers are permitted into the defined contribution fund or participant accounts.

MAINTENANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

(M) The provisions of the plan shall be maintained for the exclusive benefit of eligible employees and their beneficiaries.

(N) The employer hereby executes the declaration of trust of VantageTrust, intending this execution to be operative with respect to the provisions of plan codified in subsections (A) through (L) of this section established by the employer associated with the assets of the plan that are to be invested in the VantageTrust.

(O) The employer hereby agrees to serve as trustee under the provisions of the plan and to invest funds held thereunder in the VantageTrust.

(P) The city manager shall be the coordinator for the plan administration; shall receive reports, notices, etc. from the ICMA Retirement Corporation or the VantageTrust; shall cast, on behalf of the employer, any required votes under the VantageTrust; may delegate any administrative duties relating to the plan administration to appropriate departments.

(Q) The employer hereby authorizes the city manager to execute all necessary agreements with the ICMA Retirement Corporation incidental to the administration of the plan. References to any entity hereunder shall include successors of such entity. (Ord. 3730 §§ 1 – 6, 2014)

*Code reviser’s note: Ordinance 3730 adds the provisions of this section as Section 165.18. The section has been editorially renumbered to prevent duplication of numbering.

165.20 Retirement window for long-serving employees – AFSCME members.

Those actively employed plan participants who are members of AFSCME and who have at least 30 years of service and 90 or more points (points for this purpose being the combination of years of age and years of service) as of January 15, 2019 (window eligible participants), who elect before May 15, 2019, and retire before May 31, 2019, may elect to receive either A or B below:

A. Full (unreduced) normal retirement benefits; or

B. One hundred dollars a month supplement for a maximum of 24 months beginning at age 60 (or retirement, if later) and stopping after the earlier of 24 months or death.

Those window eligible participants must elect to retire and execute a waiver and release agreement before May 15, 2019, and retire before May 31, 2019.

In order to qualify for the window benefit, a window eligible participant must complete a window election form as well as an age discrimination in employment waiver agreement and general release and return both to Debbie L. Oldakowski, finance director, before May 15, 2019. The electing window eligible participant must then terminate employment with the city and retire before May 31, 2019. The May 15, 2019, election date and May 31, 2019, retirement date are the “election time requirements” to qualify for the window retirement benefit. (Ord. 3775 § 1, 2019)

165.21 Retirement window for long-serving employees – Not members of bargaining unit.

Those actively employed plan participants who are not members of a bargaining unit and who are at least age 60 and who have at least 83 or more points (points for this purpose being the combination of years of age and years of service) as of December 15, 2020 (window eligible participants), who elect before March 16, 2021, and retire before April 15, 2021, may elect to receive:

A $200.00-a-month supplement for a maximum of 12 months beginning at retirement and stopping after the earlier of 12 months or death.

Those window eligible participants must elect to retire and execute a waiver and release agreement before March 16, 2021, and retire before April 5, 2021.

In order to qualify for the window benefit, a window eligible participant must complete a window election form as well as an age discrimination in employment waiver agreement and general release and return both to Debbie L. Oldakowski, finance director, before March 16, 2021. The electing window eligible participant must then terminate employment with the city and retire before April 5, 2021. The March 16, 2021, election date and April 5, 2021, retirement date are the “election time requirements” to qualify for the window retirement benefit. (Ord. 3786 § 1, 2021)