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As Passed by the Senate
123rd General Assembly
Regular Session
1999-2000 | Sub. H. B. No. 275 |
REPRESENTATIVES VESPER-SULZER-WINKLER-BOYD-MAIER-JERSE-
HARTNETT-METELSKY-WILLAMOWSKI-BARRETT-O'BRIEN-CLANCY-
D.MILLER-PATTON-PADGETT-BEATTY-SCHULER-DePIERO-YOUNG-
KRUPINSKI-HOUSEHOLDER-CALLENDER-BENDER-PRINGLE-TERWILLEGER-
OGG-SCHURING-FLANNERY-JOLIVETTE-ROMAN-ALLEN-FERDERBER-
SULLIVAN-EVANS-OPFER-VERICH-FORD-TAYLOR-BRADING-BARNES-SMITH-
VANVYVEN-GRENDELL-ASLANIDES-OLMAN-PERRY-METZGER-GARDNER-
SUTTON-HAINES-HARRIS-JORDAN-MOTTLEY-DISTEL-PETERSON-
DAMSCHRODER-CORBIN-MYERS-WILSON-CAREY-J.BEATTY-BUCHY-
NETZLEY-HOLLISTER-A.CORE-LOGAN-CALVERT-REDFERN-HOOPS-
GOODMAN-TRAKAS-GERBERRY-WOMERBENJAMIN-JACOBSON-HEALY-
AUSTRIA-SALERNO-BRITTON-GOODING-
SENATOR SBLESSING-MUMPER-
DiDONATO-McLIN-JOHNSON-SPADA-NEIN-GARDNER-LATTA-OELSLAGER-
PRENTISS-ARMBRUSTER-CUPP-WATTS-WHITE-HAGAN-MALLORY
A BILL
To amend sections 742.37, 742.3711, 742.3715, 742.3717, and 742.3718
of the
Revised Code
to increase benefits paid to certain surviving spouses of members of the Ohio
Police and
Fire Pension Fund (OPFPF) and
to eliminate the eligibility
limits for cost-of-living allowances that apply to certain OPFPF
members.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 742.37, 742.3711, 742.3715, 742.3717, and
742.3718 of
the
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 742.37. The board of trustees of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund shall
adopt rules for the
management of the fund and for the disbursement of benefits and
pensions as set forth in this
section and section 742.39 of the Revised Code. Any
payment of a benefit
or pension under this section is subject to the provisions of
section 742.461 of the Revised Code. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, no pension or benefit paid or
determined under division (B) or (C) of this section or section 742.39
of the Revised Code shall exceed
the limit established by section 415 of the "Internal Revenue
Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as amended.
(A) Persons who were receiving benefit or pension payments
from a police relief and pension fund established under former
section 741.32 of the Revised Code, or from a firemen's relief and pension
fund established under former
section 521.02 or
741.02 of the Revised Code, at the time the assets of the
fund
were transferred to the Ohio police and fire pension fund, known
at that time as the police and firemen's disability and
pension fund, shall receive benefit and pension payments from the
Ohio police and
fire pension fund in
the same
amount and subject to the same conditions as such payments
were
being made from the former fund on the date of
the transfer.
(B) A member of the fund who, pursuant to law, elected to
receive benefits and pensions from a police relief and pension
fund established under former section 741.32 of the Revised
Code, or from a firemen's relief and
pension fund established
under former section 741.02 of the Revised Code, in accordance
with the rules of the fund governing the granting of
benefits or
pensions therefrom in force on April 1, 1947, shall receive
benefits and pensions from the Ohio police and fire
pension
fund in accordance with such rules; provided, that
any member of the fund who is not receiving a benefit or pension
from the fund on August 12, 1975, may, upon application for a
benefit or pension to be received on or after August 12, 1975,
elect to receive a benefit or pension in accordance with division
(C) of this section.
(C) Members of the fund who have not elected to receive
benefits and pensions from a police relief and pension fund or a
firemen's relief and pension fund in
accordance with the rules of
the fund in force on April 1, 1947, shall receive pensions
and benefits in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) A member of the fund who has completed twenty-five
years of active service in a police or fire department and has
attained forty-eight years of age may, at the member's
election, retire
from the police or fire department, and upon notifying the board
in writing of the election, shall receive an annual
pension,
payable in twelve monthly installments, in an amount equal to a
percentage of the member's average annual salary. The
percentage shall
be the sum of two and one-half per cent for each of the first
twenty years the member was in the active service of the
department,
plus two per cent for each of the twenty-first to twenty-fifth
years the member was in the active service of the
department, plus one
and one-half per cent for each year in excess of twenty-five
years the member was in the active service of the
department. The annual pension shall not exceed seventy-two per cent of the
member's average annual salary.
A member who completed twenty-five years of active
service, has resigned or been discharged, and
has left the
sum deducted from the member's salary on deposit in the pension fund
shall, upon attaining
forty-eight years of age, be
entitled to receive a normal service pension benefit computed and
paid under division (C)(1) of this section.
(2) A member of the fund who has served fifteen or more
years as an active member of a police or fire department and who
voluntarily resigns or is discharged from the department
for any
reason other than dishonesty, cowardice, intemperate habits, or
conviction of a felony, shall receive an annual pension, payable
in twelve monthly installments, in an amount equal to one and
one-half per cent of the member's average annual salary
multiplied by the
number of full years the member was in the active service of
the department. The pension payments shall not commence
until the
member has attained the age of forty-eight years and until
twenty-five years have elapsed from the date on which the
member became a
full-time regular police officer or
firefighter in the department.
(3) A member of the fund who has completed fifteen or more
years of active service in a police or fire department and who
has attained sixty-two years of age, may retire from the
department and, upon notifying the board in writing of the
election to retire, shall receive an annual pension, payable in
twelve monthly installments, in an amount equal to a percentage
of the member's average annual salary. The percentage
shall be the sum of two and one-half per cent for each of the first twenty
years
the member was in the active service of the department,
plus
two per cent for each of the twenty-first to twenty-fifth years
the member was in
the active service of the department, plus one and one-half
per
cent for each year in excess of twenty-five years the member
was in the
active service of the department. The
annual pension shall not
exceed seventy-two per cent of the member's average annual
salary.
(4) With the exception of those persons who may make
application
for benefits as provided in section 742.26 of the Revised Code,
no person receiving a pension or other benefit under division (C)
of this section on or after July 24, 1986, shall be entitled to
apply for any new, changed, or different benefit.
If a member covered by division (C) of this section or section 742.38
of the Revised Code dies
prior to the time the member has received a payment and
leaves a
surviving spouse or dependent child, the surviving
spouse or dependent child shall receive a pension under division
(D) or (E) of this section.
(D)(1) Except as provided in division (D)(2)
of this section, a surviving spouse of a deceased member of the fund
shall receive a monthly pension
as follows:
(a) For the period beginning
July 1, 1999, and ending
June 30, 2000, five hundred
fifty dollars;
(b) For the period beginning
July 1, 2000, and the first day
of July of each year thereafter
and continuing for the following twelve months, an amount equal
to the monthly amount paid during the prior twelve-month period
plus an amount determined
by multiplying five hundred
fifty dollars by the average percentage change in the consumer
price index, not exceeding three per cent, as determined each
year by the board under section 742.3716 of the
Revised
Code.
(2) A surviving spouse of a deceased member of the fund
shall receive a monthly pension
of four hundred ten dollars if one of the following is the
case:
(a) At the time of death, the deceased
member had been awarded a pension under this chapter based on
age and service;
(b) The THE surviving spouse is eligible
for a benefit under section 742.3714 or division
(B) or (D) of section 742.63 of the
Revised Code. If the surviving spouse ceases to be eligible
for a benefit under division (B) or (D) of section 742.63 of
the Revised
Code, the pension shall be
increased, effective the first day of the first month following
the day on which the surviving spouse ceases to be eligible for the benefit,
to the amount it would be under division (D)(1) of this section had
the spouse never
been eligible for a benefit under division (B) or (D) of
section 742.63 of the
Revised
Code.
(3) A pension paid under this division shall
continue
during the natural life of the surviving spouse.
Benefits to a deceased member's surviving
spouse that
were terminated under a former version of this section that
required termination due to remarriage and were not resumed
prior to September
16, 1998, shall resume on
the first day of the month immediately following receipt by the
board of an application on a form provided by the board.
(E) Each surviving child of a deceased member
of the fund
shall receive a monthly pension
of one hundred fifty dollars
until the child attains the age of eighteen years, or
marries,
whichever event occurs first. A pension under this
division,
however, shall continue to be payable to a child under age
twenty-two who is a student in and attending an institution of
learning or training pursuant to a program designed to complete
in each school year the equivalent of at least two-thirds of the
full-time curriculum requirements of the institution, as
determined by the board. If any surviving
child, regardless
of age at the time of the member's death, because of physical
or mental disability, is totally dependent upon the
deceased
member for support at the time of death, the
child shall receive a monthly
pension under this
division during the
child's natural life or until the child has recovered
from the disability.
(F) If a deceased member of the fund leaves no surviving
spouse or surviving children, but leaves two parents dependent
upon the deceased member for support, each parent shall be
paid a monthly pension
of one hundred dollars. If there is only one
parent dependent upon the member for support, the parent
shall be paid a monthly
pension of two hundred dollars. The
pensions provided for in this division shall be paid during the natural
life of the surviving parents, or until dependency ceases, or
until remarriage, whichever event occurs first.
(G) Subject to the provisions of section 742.461 of the
Revised Code, a member of the fund who voluntarily
resigns or is removed from active service in a police or fire
department is entitled to receive an amount equal to the sums
deducted from the member's salary and credited to
the member's account in the fund, except that a member receiving a
disability benefit or service pension is not entitled to receive any return of
contributions to the fund.
(H) On and after January 1, 1970, all pensions shall be
increased in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) A member of the fund who retired prior to January 1,
1967, has attained age sixty-five on January 1, 1970, and was
receiving a pension on December 31, 1969, pursuant to division
(B) or (C)(1) of this section
or former division (C)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section,
shall have the pension increased by ten per cent.
(2) The monthly pension payable to eligible surviving
spouses under division (D) of this section shall be increased by
forty dollars for each surviving spouse receiving a pension on
December 31, 1969.
(3) The monthly pension payable to each eligible child
under division (E) of this section shall be increased by ten
dollars for each child receiving a pension on December 31, 1969.
(4) The monthly pension payable to each eligible dependent
parent under division (F) of this section shall be increased by
thirty dollars for each parent receiving a pension on December
31, 1969.
(5) A member of the fund, including a survivor of a
member, who is receiving a pension in accordance with the rules
governing the granting of pensions and benefits in force on April
1, 1947, that provide an increase in the original pension
from
time to time pursuant to changes in the salaries of active
members, shall not be eligible for the benefits provided in this
division.
(I) On and after January 1, 1977, a member of the fund who
was receiving a pension or benefit on December 31, 1973, under
division (A), (B), (C)(1), or former division
(C)(2) or (7) of this section shall have
the pension or benefit increased as follows:
(1) If the member's annual pension or benefit is less than
two
thousand seven hundred dollars, it shall be increased to three
thousand dollars.
(2) If the member's annual pension or benefit is two
thousand seven
hundred dollars or more, it shall be increased by three hundred
dollars.
The following shall not be eligible to receive increased
pensions or benefits as provided in this division:
(a) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit in accordance with the rules in force on April 1, 1947,
governing the granting of pensions and benefits, which provide an
increase in the original pension or benefit from time to time
pursuant to changes in the salaries of active members;
(b) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit under division (A) or (B) of this section, based on
funded volunteer or funded part-time service, or off-duty
disability, or partial on-duty disability, or early vested
service;
(c) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension under
division (C)(1) of this section, based on funded volunteer or
funded part-time service.
(J) On and after July 1, 1977, a member of the fund who
was receiving an annual pension or benefit on December 31, 1973,
pursuant to division (B) of this section, based upon partial
disability, off-duty disability, or early vested service, or
pursuant to former division (C)(3), (5), or (6) of this section, shall
have such annual pension or benefit increased by three hundred
dollars.
The following are not eligible to receive the increase
provided by this division:
(1) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit in accordance with the rules in force on April 1, 1947,
governing the granting of pensions and benefits, which provide an
increase in the original pension or benefit from time to time
pursuant to changes in the salaries of active members;
(2) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit under division (B) or (C)(2) of this section or
former division (C)(3), (5), or (6) of
this section based on volunteer or part-time service.
(K)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division,
every person who on July 24, 1986, is receiving an age and
service or disability pension, allowance, or benefit pursuant to
this chapter in an amount less than thirteen thousand dollars a
year that is based upon an award made effective prior to February
28, 1984, shall receive an increase of six hundred dollars a year
or the amount necessary to increase the pension or benefit to
four thousand two hundred dollars after all adjustments required
by this section, whichever is greater.
(2) Division (K)(1) of this section does not apply to the
following:
(a) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit in accordance with rules in force on April 1, 1947, that
govern the granting of pensions and benefits and that provide an
increase in the original pension or benefit from time to time
pursuant to changes in the salaries of active members;
(b) A member of the fund who is receiving a pension or
benefit based on funded volunteer or funded part-time service.
(L) On and after July 24, 1986:
(1) The pension of each person receiving a pension under
division (D) of this section on July 24, 1986, shall be increased
to three hundred ten dollars per month.
(2) The pension of each person receiving a pension under
division (E) of this section on July 24, 1986, shall be increased
to ninety-three dollars per month.
Sec. 742.3711. (A) On application for retirement as
provided in section 742.37 of the Revised Code, a member of the
fund may elect to receive a retirement allowance payable
throughout the member's life, or may elect, on the
application for retirement, to receive the actuarial
equivalent of the member's
retirement
allowance in a lesser amount payable for life and continuing
after death to a surviving designated beneficiary under one
of the following optional plans, provided the amount payable to
the beneficiary shall not exceed the amount payable to the
retiring member of the fund, and is certified by the actuary
engaged by the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund to be the actuarial equivalent of the member's
retirement allowance and is approved by the board.
(1) Option 1. The member's lesser retirement allowance
shall
be paid for life to the sole beneficiary designated at the
time of the member's retirement.
(2) Option 2. One-half or some other portion of the
member's
lesser retirement allowance shall be paid for life to the
sole
beneficiary designated at the time of the member's
retirement.
(3) Option 3. Upon the member's death before the
expiration of a
certain period from the retirement date and elected by the
member and
approved by the retirement board, the member's lesser
retirement allowance shall be continued for the remainder of
that period to the
beneficiary the member has nominated by written designation
and filed
with the retirement board.
Should the nominated beneficiary designated in writing
become deceased prior to the expiration of the guarantee period,
then for the purpose of completing payment for the remainder of
the guarantee period, the present value of such payments shall be
paid to the estate of the beneficiary last receiving.
(B)(1) On or after February 28, 1980, the death of a
spouse nominated as beneficiary or the death of any other
nominated beneficiary following retirement shall cancel any
optional plan of payment to provide continuing lifetime benefits
to such nominated beneficiary and return the member of the fund
to the member's single lifetime benefit equivalent, as
determined by the
board, to be effective the month following receipt by the board
of notice of the death.
(2) On divorce, annulment, or marriage dissolution, a
member receiving a retirement allowance under a plan that
provides for continuation of all or part of the allowance after
death for the lifetime of the member's surviving
spouse may, with the written consent of the spouse or pursuant to an order of
the
court with jurisdiction over the termination of the marriage,
elect to cancel the plan and receive the member's single
lifetime benefit
equivalent as determined by the board. The election
shall be made on a form provided by the board and shall be
effective the month following its receipt by the board.
(C) Following marriage or remarriage, a member of the fund
may elect not later than one year after the date of marriage or
remarriage a new optional plan of payment based on the actuarial
equivalent of the member's single lifetime benefit as
determined by the
board. The plan and the member's lesser retirement allowance shall
become effective on the date the election is made
on a form approved by the board.
(D)(1) Unless one of the following occurs, an application for
retirement by a married person shall be considered an election of
a benefit under option 2 as provided for in division (A)(2) of
this section under which one-half of the lesser retirement
allowance payable during the life of the retirant will be paid
after death to the retirant's spouse for life as
sole beneficiary:
(a) The retirant selects an optional plan under division
(A) of this section providing for payment after death to
the retirant's
spouse for life as sole beneficiary of more than one-half of the
lesser retirement allowance payable during the life of the
retirant;
(b) The retirant submits to the retirement board a written
statement signed by the spouse attesting that the spouse consents to the
retirant's election
to receive a single lifetime
retirement allowance or a payment under an optional benefit plan
under which after the death of the retirant the surviving spouse
will receive less than one-half of the lesser retirement
allowance payable during the life of the retirant.
(2) An application for
retirement shall include an
explanation of all of the following:
(a) That, if the member is married, unless the
spouse consents to another plan of payment, the member's
retirement allowance will be paid under "option 2" and consist
of the actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement allowance
in a lesser amount payable for life and one-half of the
lesser allowance continuing after death to the surviving spouse for the
life of the spouse;
(b) A description of the alternative plans of
payment available with the consent of the spouse;
(c) That the spouse may consent to another plan of
payment and the procedure for giving consent;
(d) That consent is irrevocable once notice of consent is filed
with the board.
Consent shall be valid only
if it is signed, in writing, and witnessed by an employee of the board or a
notary public.
(3) If the retirant does not select an optional plan as
described in division (D)(1)(a) of this section and the board does
not receive the written statement provided for in division
(D)(1)(b)
of this section, it shall determine and pay the retirement
allowance in accordance with division (A)(2) of this section,
except that the board may provide by rule for waiver by the board
of the statement and payment of the allowance other than in
accordance with division (A)(2) of this section if the retirant
is unable to obtain the statement due to absence or incapacity of
the spouse or other cause specified by the board.
(E) A member of the fund who has elected an optional plan
under this section or section 742.3715 of the Revised Code may,
with the consent of the designated beneficiary, cancel the
optional plan and receive the retirement allowance payable
throughout life the member would have received had
the member not elected the
optional plan, if the member makes a request to cancel the
optional plan
not later than one year after the later of September 9, 1988, or
the date on which the member first receives a payment under this
section or section 742.3715 of the Revised Code. Cancellation of
the optional plan shall be effective the month after acceptance
of the request by the trustees of the fund. No payment or
adjustment shall be made in the retirement allowance payable
throughout the member's life to compensate for the lesser
allowance the member received under the optional plan.
The request to cancel the optional plan shall be made on a
form provided by the fund and shall be valid only if the
completed form includes a signed statement of the designated
beneficiary's understanding of and consent to the cancellation. The signature
shall be verified by the trustees of the fund prior
to their acceptance of the cancellation.
(F) Any option elected and payments made under this
section shall be in addition to any benefit payable under
divisions (D), (E), and (F) of section 742.37 of the Revised
Code.
(G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, a A
person is eligible to receive an additional A benefit
INCREASE under this
division if the person is receiving a retirement allowance or
benefit
under an optional plan elected under this section or section
742.3715 of the Revised Code based on an award made prior to July
24, 1986, and it is the case that, had the member who elected the
optional plan elected instead to receive a retirement allowance
payable throughout the member's life, the amount of that
retirement
allowance would be less than the amount specified in division
(G)(2) of this section. A person is not eligible to receive an
additional benefit INCREASE under this section
DIVISION if the person is
receiving a
pension or benefit in accordance with rules in force on April 1,
1947, that govern the granting of pensions and benefits and that
provide an increase in the original pension or benefit from time
to time pursuant to changes in the salaries of active members.
(2) In 1988, the amount used to determine eligibility
under division (G)(1) of this section shall be eighteen thousand
dollars. Each year thereafter, the amount shall be the prior
year's amount plus five hundred dollars.
(3) On or before the fifteenth day of April of each year,
the board shall determine the average percentage change in the
consumer price index prepared by the United States bureau of
labor statistics (U.S. city average for urban wage earners and
clerical workers: "all items 1982-84=100") for the
twelve-month
period prior to the first day of January over the next preceding
twelve-calendar-month period, as reported by the bureau. On a
determination by the board that this change is
an increase or that the change plus the
accumulation
described in THIS division (G)(3) of this section is an
increase, the
board shall increase all benefits
payable under this section or section 742.3715 of the Revised
Code to eligible persons by the actuarial equivalent of an amount determined
by multiplying
twelve thousand dollars by the percentage of the increase in the consumer
price index, or that percentage plus the accumulation, except that
the percentage shall not exceed three per cent and no benefit shall
exceed the limit established by section 415 of the "Internal
Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as
amended.
Any percentage of change in the consumer price index in any
year that is in excess of three per cent shall be accumulated and
used to determine increases under this
section in succeeding years. Any percentage of
change in the consumer price index accumulated by an
eligible person prior to
September 27, 1996, shall be used in
determining any future increases under this section. The
first additional benefit INCREASE is payable to all eligible
persons on July 1, 1988. The additional benefit INCREASE is
payable for
the ensuing twelve-month period or until the next increase is
granted under this section, whichever is later.
The date of the first additional benefit INCREASE payable under
this
section shall be the anniversary date for future additional
benefits INCREASES.
Sec. 742.3715. (A) A member of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund who retired under section 742.37 of
the Revised Code before February 28, 1980, may elect to receive
the actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement
allowance in a lesser
amount payable for the remainder of the member's life and
continuing after death to the member's spouse
under one of the optional plans described
under division (A)(1) or (2) of section 742.3711 of the Revised
Code, provided the amount payable under the optional plan elected
is certified by the actuary engaged by the board of trustees of the
Ohio police
and fire pension fund to be the
actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement allowance
and is approved
by the board FUND. The election shall be made as follows:
(1) Not later than ninety days after September 26, 1984,
the member shall file with the board FUND a
notice that the member wishes
to be eligible to make the election authorized by this
section. The board FUND shall advise the member with respect to
the choices
available under the optional plans and have a determination made
of the monthly benefits payable under the optional plan elected
by the member for inclusion in the statement to be filed under
division (A)(2) of this section.
(2) Not later than one year after September 26, 1984, the
member shall file a statement, on a form provided by the board
FUND,
that the member elects to receive benefits under the optional
benefit plan specified in the statement.
A request or form that is mailed to the board shall be
considered to have been filed on its postmark date.
(B) A member of the fund who retired under section 742.37 of
the Revised
Code prior to
September 16, 1998, was married
at the time of retirement AND IS CURRENTLY MARRIED TO THE SAME SPOUSE,
and did not elect one of the
optional plans under section 742.3711 of the
Revised
Code may elect to receive the
actuarial equivalent of the member's retirement allowance in a
lesser amount payable for the remainder of the member's life and
continuing after death to the member's spouse under one of the
optional plans described in division
(A)(1) or (2) of section
742.3711 of the Revised
Code, provided the amount
payable under the optional plan elected is certified by the
actuary engaged by the board FUND to be the actuarial equivalent
of
the member's retirement allowance and is approved by the
board FUND.
Not later than thirty days after December 21, 1998, the
board FUND shall
provide to all members described
in this division written notice of the election
available under this division. The notice shall state that a
member's failure to elect an optional plan under this division
will result in the member's spouse, at the time of the member's
death, being eligible only for a benefit under division
(D) of section 742.37 of the
Revised
Code.
The election shall be made as follows:
(1) Not later than one hundred twenty days after December
21,
1998, the member shall file with the
board FUND a notice that the member wishes to make the election
authorized by this section. The board FUND shall advise the
member
with respect to the choices available under the optional plans
and have a determination made of the monthly benefits payable
under the optional plan elected by the member for inclusion in
the statement to be filed under division
(B)(2) of this section.
(2) Not later than one year after December 21, 1998,
the member
shall file a statement, on a form
provided by the board FUND, that the member elects to receive
benefits under the optional plan specified in the statement. A
request or form that is mailed to the board FUND'S PRINCIPAL PLACE
OF BUSINESS shall be considered
to have been filed on its postmark date. Benefits under the
optional plan shall begin on the first day of the first month
following the date the statement is filed with the board FUND.
(C)(1) The death of the member's spouse shall cancel any
plan elected pursuant to this section and return the member to
the member's single lifetime benefit equivalent, as
determined by the
board FUND, to be effective the month following receipt by the
board FUND
of notice of the death.
(2) On divorce, annulment, or marriage dissolution, a
member receiving a retirement allowance under a plan that
provides for continuation of all or part of the allowance after
death for the lifetime of the member's surviving
spouse may, with the
written consent of the spouse or pursuant to an order of the
court with jurisdiction over the termination of the marriage,
elect to cancel the plan and receive the member's single
lifetime benefit
equivalent as determined by the board FUND. The election
shall be made on a form provided by the board FUND and shall be
effective the month following its receipt by the board FUND.
(D) If the member remarries after cancellation under
division (C)(1) or (2) of this section of an optional plan,
the
member may elect not later than one year after the date of
remarriage a new optional plan based on the actuarial
equivalent of
the member's single lifetime benefit as determined by the
board FUND. The
plan and the member's lesser retirement allowance shall become
effective on the date the election is made on a form approved by
the board FUND.
(E) Any option elected and payments made under this
section shall be in addition to any benefit payable under
division (D) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 742.3717. (A)(1) Except as provided in
division (A)(2) of this section, as used in this
section, "eligible retirant PERSON" means
a person who meets all BOTH of the following conditions:
(a) The person is receiving an annual pension or benefit
under division (A), (B), or (C) of section 742.37 or
division (C)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of former section
742.37 of the Revised Code based on an award made prior to July 24,
1986.
(b) The person has not elected under section 742.3711 of
the Revised Code to receive a retirement allowance under an
optional benefit plan.
(c) The amount of the annual pension or benefit is less
than the amount specified in division (B) of this section.
(2) A person is not an eligible retirant PERSON if the person
is
receiving a pension or benefit in accordance with rules in force
on April 1, 1947, that govern the granting of pensions and
benefits and that provide an increase in the original pension or
benefit from time to time pursuant to changes in the salaries of
active members.
(B) In 1988, the amount used to determine eligibility
under division (A)(1)(c) of this section shall be eighteen
thousand dollars. Each year thereafter, the amount shall be the
prior year's amount plus five hundred dollars.
(C)(1) On or before the fifteenth day of April of each year,
the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund shall determine the average percentage change in the
consumer price index prepared by the United States bureau of
labor statistics (U.S. city average for urban wage earners and
clerical workers: "all items 1982-84=100") for the
twelve-month
period prior to the first day of January over the next preceding
twelve-calendar-month period, as reported by the bureau. Upon a
determination by the board that this change is
an
increase or that the change plus the accumulation
described in division (C)(B)(2) of this section is an
increase, the
board shall increase all benefits
payable to eligible persons by
an amount determined by multiplying twelve thousand dollars by the
percentage of the increase in the consumer price index, or that percentage
plus the accumulation, except that the percentage shall not exceed
three per cent and no benefit shall exceed the limit
established by section 415 of the "Internal Revenue Code of
1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 415, as amended.
(2) Any percentage of change in the consumer price index in any
year that is in excess of three per cent shall be accumulated and
used to determine increases under this
section in succeeding years. Any percentage of
change in the consumer price index accumulated by an
eligible person prior to
September 27, 1996, shall be used in
determining any future increases under this section. The
first additional benefit INCREASE is payable to all eligible
retirants PERSONS on July 1, 1988. The additional
benefit INCREASE is payable for
the ensuing twelve-month period or until the next increase is
granted under this section, whichever is later.
The date of the first additional benefit INCREASE payable under
this
section shall be the anniversary date for future additional
benefits INCREASES.
Sec. 742.3718. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
division, each person who on
September 9, 1988, is receiving a pension or benefit
of less than five thousand
dollars annually under division (A) or (B) of section 742.37 of
the Revised Code on the basis of disability or service of
twenty-five years or more, under division (C)(1) of that section,
or under division (C)(2) or (5) of
former section 742.37 of the Revised Code shall have the pension or benefit
increased to
five thousand dollars a year, effective July 1, 1988. This
division does not apply to any person receiving a pension or
benefit based on funded volunteer or funded part-time service.
(B) On and after July 1, 1988:
(1) The pension of each person receiving a pension or
benefit under division (D) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code
shall be increased to four hundred ten dollars a month.
(2) The pension of each person receiving a pension or
benefit under division (E) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code
shall be increased to one hundred eighteen dollars a month.
(C) Notwithstanding any average annual salary
limitation in section 742.37 of the
Revised
Code, each person who on
July 1, 1999, is receiving an annual pension
or benefit described in division (A),
(B), or
(C)(1) or (3) of that
section of less than six thousand six hundred dollars shall have
the pension increased to that amount, effective
July 1, 1999.
The increase granted
under this division shall be included
in a person's base for the purpose of determining future
increases under section 742.3716 of the
Revised Code.
(D)(1) This division applies to the following persons who are
receiving a pension under division
(D) of section 742.37 of the
Revised
Code:
(a) On July
1, 1999, the person is the
surviving spouse of a deceased member of
the fund and is not receiving a benefit under division (B) or
(D) of section 742.63 of the Revised Code.
(b) No later than one year after July 1, 1999, the
person is the
surviving
spouse of a deceased member of the fund who was retired under section 742.37
of the Revised Code with an effective date of retirement before September 16,
1998.
(2) The EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN DIVISION (D)(2) OF THIS
SECTION, THE monthly pension of each person WHO IS THE SURVIVING SPOUSE
OF A DECEASED MEMBER OF THE FUND AND ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AMENDMENT
IS RECEIVING A PENSION OF LESS THAN THE AMOUNT described in
division (D)(1) of this section 742.37 OF THE
REVISED CODE
shall be increased as follows:
(a) For the period beginning
July 1, 1999 ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH FOLLOWING THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AMENDMENT, and ending
June 30, 2000, to five hundred
fifty dollars;
(b) For the period beginning
July 1, 2000, and the first day
of July of each year thereafter
and continuing for the following twelve months, to an amount
equal to the GREATER OF FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS OR THE monthly
amount paid during the prior twelve-month
period plus an amount determined
by multiplying five
hundred fifty dollars by the average percentage change in the
consumer price index, not exceeding three per cent, as
determined each year by the board of trustees of the Ohio
police and
fire pension fund under section
742.3716 of
the Revised
Code.
(3) If (2) AN INCREASE UNDER DIVISION (D)(1) OF
THIS SECTION SHALL NOT BE PAID TO a person who is receiving a pension
under division
(D)(2) of section 742.37 of the
Revised
Code and a benefit under
division (B) or
(D) of section 742.63 of the
Revised
Code UNTIL THE PERSON ceases to be eligible for
a benefit under division (B) or
(D) of section 742.63 of the
Revised
Code, the. THE person's
monthly pension shall be
increased, effective the first day of the first month following
the date on which the person ceases to be eligible for the benefit, to the
amount it would be under division (D)(2)(1) of this section
had the
person never been eligible for a benefit under division (B) or
(D) of section 742.63 of the
Revised Code.
(E) The monthly pension of each person receiving a
pension under division (E) of
section 742.37 of the Revised
Code shall be increased
to one hundred fifty dollars effective July 1, 1999.
(F) Effective July 1, 1999, the monthly
pension of each person receiving a pension under division
(F) of section 742.37 of the
Revised
Code shall be increased
as follows:
(1) If there are two dependent parents, to one hundred dollars;
(2) If there is one dependent parent, to two hundred dollars.
Section 2. That existing sections 742.37, 742.3711, 742.3715,
742.3717, and
742.3718 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Not later than the first day of the second month after
this act's effective date, the Police and Fire
Pension Fund shall make a one-time payment in accordance with this
section.
(A) To each person who became a surviving spouse after December
21, 1998, and is eligible for the pension increase provided under
Am. Sub. H.B. 194 of the 122nd General Assembly that took effect
July 1, 1999, the payment shall be one hundred forty dollars
for each month the person was eligible to receive a pension during
the period beginning December 22, 1998, and ending June
30, 1999.
(B) To each person who is eligible to receive the pension
increase provided under division (D) of section 742.3718 of the
Revised Code, as amended by this act, and is not eligible for the
pension increase provided under Am. Sub. H.B. 194 of the 122nd
General Assembly that took effect July 1, 1999, the payment shall be an amount
equal to the difference between the amount the surviving spouse of a deceased
member of the fund received under division (D) of section 742.37 of the
Revised Code and the amount the surviving spouse would have received under
section 742.3718 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, had this act
gone into effect on July 1, 1999.
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