§ 35.095. CONTRIBUTIONS OF PARTICIPANT AND CITY.

(A)

Participant's Contribution Account.

(1)

[Tax-Deferred Contributions.] For the purpose of this Section "Participant's Contribution Account" will consist of tax deferred participant contributions. Effective the first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1989, employee contributions will be picked up by the City and shall be treated as employer contributions for tax purposes. However, for all purposes of determining benefits under the plan, they will be considered participant contributions.

(2)

Participants' Contributions. Each participant will contribute toward the cost of the plan an amount equal to three (3) percent of the first four thousand eight hundred dollars ($4,800.00) of his basic annual compensation, and six (6) percent of basic annual compensation in excess of four thousand eight hundred dollars ($4,800.00) until the beginning of the first pay period after September 25, 1984. Beginning with the first pay period after September 25, 1984, each participant will contribute toward the cost of the plan an amount equal to six (6) percent of basic compensation. Effective as of the first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1989, participant contributions will be equal to four and one-half (4½) percent of basic compensation on a tax-deferred basis. Beginning with the first pay period after September 1, 1999, participants shall not be required to contribute to the plan, except those participants described in paragraph (4) of this Section. Beginning with the first pay period after September 30, 2003, participants who are not included in the bargaining unit specified in paragraph (4) shall contribute two (2) percent of basic compensation. Beginning with the first pay period after November 1, 2004, participants who are not included in the bargaining unit specified in Paragraph (4) shall contribute two and one-half (2.5) percent of basic compensation. Beginning with the first pay period after October 6, 2010, participants who are not included in a bargaining unit shall contribute three and five one-hundredths (3.05) percent of basic compensation.

(3)

[Total Benefits Payable.] Anything in the plan to the contrary notwithstanding, the total benefits payable under the plan to, or with respect to, a participant shall not be less than the benefits that can be provided by the participant's contributions, and further provided, if a participant, who is terminated, elects to withdraw participant contributions, the participant will be entitled to the return of participant contributions with interest, in lieu of all other benefits payable under the plan. Effective September 1, 1999, if a participant has ten (10) or more years of credited service under the plan a noncompounded simple interest rate of five (5) percent per year shall be applied to the principal balance of the participant's contribution as accrued on December 31 of each year. Effective September 1, 1999, if a participant has less than ten (10) years of credited service under the plan a noncompounded simple interest rate of three (3) percent shall be applied to the principal balance of the participant's contribution as accrued on December 31 of each year. Participant contributions cannot be withdrawn while a participant remains in the employ of the City or after the payment of benefits under the plan has commenced.

(4)

Applicability to Bargaining Unit Employees. Participants who are members of the bargaining unit represented by the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers shall not be required to contribute to the plan unless a written actuarial valuation indicates that contributions are required to properly fund the plan in an actuarially sound manner. If an actuary selected by the Retirement Committee determines that additional contributions are required to properly fund the plan, the City and bargaining unit members shall equally share such contributions on a percentage of payroll basis; provided that no member shall be required to contribute more than four and one-half (4½) percent of basic compensation unless the City and union agree to a greater participant contribution. Notwithstanding the foregoing, effective November 13, 2004, employees who are members of the bargaining unit represented by the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers shall contribute two and one-half (2½) percent of their gross pay to fund the City's defined benefit pension plan. If an actuary selected by the Pension Board determines that additional monies are required to properly fund the plan, employees shall contribute at the same rate as all other nonrepresented employees who are participants of the defined benefit pension plan. However, in no event shall employees contribute less than two and one-half (2½) percent nor more than four and one-half (4½) percent of their gross pay, unless the union and the City bargain for a lesser or greater percentage. Notwithstanding the foregoing, employees who are included in a bargaining unit shall contribute three and five one-hundredths (3.05) percent of basic compensation upon implementation of this change through the collective bargaining process.

(5)

Effective September 24, 2010, each participant shall continue to contribute to the plan until the earliest to occur of the following dates:

(a)

Date the participant retires under the plan.

(b)

Date of death of the participant.

(c)

Date of termination of the participant's employment with the City.

(d)

Date the participant attains thirty (30) years of credited service under the plan. Any participant who attained thirty (30) years of credited service under the plan on or after September 24, 2010 shall receive a refund of participant contributions for the period commencing on the date the participant attained thirty (30) years of credited service.

(B)

City's Contributions.

(1)

The City intends to make contributions as are required, together with contributions of participants and earnings on investment of fund assets, to maintain the Trust Fund established for the purposes of the plan on a sound actuarial basis, as determined by the actuary employed by the City in accordance with Section 35.105(e) of this subchapter.

(2)

The City shall have no right, title, or interest in the Trust Fund or in any part thereof, and no contributions made thereof shall revert to the City except that part of the Trust Fund, if any, which remains therein after the satisfaction of all liabilities to persons entitled to benefits under the plan, as described in Section 35.106(E) of this subchapter with respect to termination of the plan.

(Code 1980, §§ 18-93, 18-94, 18-96; Am. Ord. No. 67-84, passed 9/25/84; Am. Ord. No. 48-89, passed 8/8/89; Am. Ord. No. 78-93, passed 12/7/93; Am. Ord. No. 30-99, passed 8/17/99; Ord. No. 17-02, § 1, passed 6/4/02; Ord. No. 36-03, § 1, passed 9/23/03; Ord. No. 61-04, § 1, passed 10/19/04; Ord. No. 81-04, § 1, passed 1/4/05; Ord. No. 33-10, § 2, passed 10/5/10; Ord. No. 22-13, § 1, passed 9/17/13; Ord. No. 45-17 , § 4, passed 12/5/17)