282.30 NORMAL RETIREMENT
Each participant shall be entitled to normal retirement benefits provided he/she retires on or after his/her normal retirement date. Each participant who is receiving disability benefits under this plan shall have his/her benefit determined under this Article IV, in lieu of the benefit payable under Article VI, as of his/her normal retirement date.
282.31 NORMAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS
(a) Each participant entitled to normal retirement benefits pursuant to Section 282.30 shall receive during his/her lifetime a monthly retirement income equal to fifty percent of his/her final monthly average salary.
(b) Provided, however, that payment of benefits upon retirement shall be conditioned upon a participant’s being subject to service from time to time as a police reserve in cases of riot, tumult or preservation of the public peace until unfitted for such service, at which time he/she shall be finally discharged by reason of age or disability upon written notice from the Board of Commissioners.
282.32 SERVICE INCREMENT BENEFIT
In addition to the pension benefit provided in Section 282.31, a service increment benefit shall be payable to a participant who retires under this Article IV if he/she has completed twenty-six or more years of aggregate service with the employer. The amount of the increment shall be twenty dollars ($20.00) per month for each full completed year of aggregate service in excess of twenty-five years. The maximum amount of service increment benefit shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) per month.
282.33 COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS
A cost of living increase shall be provided annually for all officers retiring on or after January 1, 1985. The increase shall apply as of each January 1 and shall equal the increase in the consumer price index for the previous year. The increase for January 1 following the date of retirement shall be pro-rated based on the number of full months the officer was retired divided by twelve. No cost of living increase will be granted which will result in an officer’s pension benefit exceeding seventy-five percent of the officer’s salary used in computing retirement benefits, nor in any case will the cumulative cost of living increase percentages since retirement exceed thirty percent. No cost of living increase shall be granted which would impair the actuarial soundness of the pension plan.
282.34 LATE RETIREMENT
If a participant who has met the requirements of Section 282.30 continues to work beyond his/her normal retirement date, there shall be no retirement benefits paid until his/her employment ceases and retirement begins. The retirement benefit of a participant who retires after his/her normal retirement date shall be calculated on the basis of his/her final monthly average salary as of his/her actual date of retirement.
282.35 PAYMENT OF BENEFITS
(a) (1) Retirement payments shall be payable as of the first day of the month coincident with or next following the participant’s retirement date and the first day of each month thereafter during his/her lifetime.
(2) In the event the participant retires on a day which is not the first day of the month, the participant’s first retirement check shall include a partial payment for the month of actual retirement.
(3) The partial payment shall equal the regular monthly payment multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of the fraction shall equal the number of days from the day after retirement to the end of the month and the denominator shall equal the total number of days in the month.
(b) Small Amounts. If the Plan Administrator determines that the value of a participant’s accrued benefit is so small as to make monthly pension payments administratively impractical, the Plan Administrator may cause such payments to be made at such other periodic intervals as are administratively practical, but no less frequently than annually.
282.36 MAXIMUM BENEFIT LIMITATIONS
Notwithstanding any provision of this plan to the contrary, no benefit provided under this plan attributable to contributions of the employer shall exceed, as an annual amount, the amount specified in Code Section 415(b)(1)(A) as adjusted pursuant to Code Section 415(d), assuming the form of benefit shall be a straight life annuity (with no ancillary benefits). The limitations described in this section shall be governed by the following conditions and definitions:
(a) Benefits paid or payable in a form other than a straight life annuity (with no ancillary benefits) or where the employee contributes to the plan or makes rollover contributions shall be adjusted on an actuarially equivalent basis in accordance with applicable regulations to determine the limitation contained herein;
(b) In the case of a benefit which commences prior to the attainment of age sixty-two by the participant, the limitation herein shall be adjusted on an actuarially equivalent basis to the amount determined pursuant to this section commencing at age sixty-two; however, in the case of a qualified participant (a participant with respect to whom a period of at least fifteen years of service, including applicable military service, as a full-time employee of a police or fire department is taken into account in determining the amount of benefit), the limitation contained herein shall not apply;
(c) In the case of a benefit which commences after attainment of age sixty-five by the participant, the limitation herein shall be adjusted on an actuarially equivalent basis in accordance with applicable regulations to the amount determined commencing at age sixty-five;
(d) Benefits paid to a participant which total less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) from all defined benefit plans maintained by the employer expressed as an annual benefit shall be deemed not to exceed the limitation of this section provided that the employer has not at any time maintained a defined contribution plan in which the participant has participated; however, in the case of a participant who is not receiving a disability retirement benefit pursuant to Section 282.56 or a survivor benefit pursuant to Section 282.66, with fewer than ten years of participation the limitation expressed in this subsection shall be reduced by one-tenth for each year of participation less than ten but in no event shall this limitation be less than one thousand dollars ($1,000);
(e) The limitations expressed herein shall be based upon plan years for calculation purposes, shall be applied to all defined benefit plans maintained by the employer as one defined benefit plan and to all defined contribution plans maintained by the employer as one defined contribution plan, and shall be applied and interpreted consistent with Code Section 415 and regulations thereunder as applicable to government plans in general and this plan in particular, and
(f) In the case of a survivor benefit under Section 282.66 or a disability retirement benefit under section 282.56, the adjustment under subsection (b) hereof shall not apply and the applicable limitation shall be the limitation contained herein without regard to the age of the benefit recipient.
282.37 REQUIRED CONTRIBUTIONS
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the plan to the contrary, distributions shall not commence later than the later of April 1 following the calendar year in which the participant attains age seventy and one-half; or April 1 following the calendar year in which the employee retires.
(b) Distributions Beginning before Death. Notwithstanding any provision of the plan to the contrary, if the participant dies after distribution of his/her interest has begun, the remaining portion of his/her interest shall continue to be distributed at least as rapidly as under the method of distribution in effect prior to the participant’s death.
(c) (1) Distribution Beginning after Death
(A) If the participant dies before distribution of his/her interest in the plan commences, distribution of the participant’s entire interest shall be completed by December 31 of the calendar year containing the fifth anniversary of the participant’s death, unless paragraph (c)(1)B. hereof applies.
(B) If the designated beneficiary is the participant’s surviving spouse, the date distributions are required to begin shall not be earlier than the later of December 31 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the participant died; or December 31 of the calendar year in which the participant would have attained age seventy and one-half.
(2) For purposes of this section, if the surviving spouse dies after the participant but before benefit payments to such spouse commence, the provisions of this section (excepting paragraph (c)(1)(B). hereof) shall be applied as if the surviving spouse were the participant.
282.38 ASSIGNMENT
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, his/her survivors, or his/her designated beneficiary, and shall not be subject to assignment or transfer.
282.39 EARLY RETIREMENT BENEFIT
(a) A participant who shall complete at least twenty years of aggregate service may retire and commence payment of an early retirement benefit. Such a participant must make application in writing to the Board of Commissioners to receive such a benefit.
(b) The early retirement benefit shall become effective as of the date the application is filed with the Board or the date designated on the application, whichever is later. The benefit shall be in an amount equal to the actuarial equivalent of the participant’s accrued benefit. The actuarial equivalent of the participant’s accrued benefit shall be determined by actuarially reducing the accrued benefit to reflect that it will commence on the effective date of the participant’s early retirement rather than on the date which would have been the date on which the participant would attain normal retirement date if the participant continued in employment to such date. The actuarial assumptions reported in the last valuation report filed with the Public Employee Retirement Commission under the Act shall be the actuarial assumptions used to calculate the actuarial equivalent of the participant’s accrued benefit. The accrued benefit hereunder shall be the participant’s normal retirement benefit multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the years of aggregate service completed by the participant and the denominator of which shall be the years of aggregate service the participant would complete if the participant remained in employment until the date on which the participant would attain normal retirement date.