The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.
|
H. B. No. 628 As IntroducedAs Introduced
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
| |
Cosponsors:
Representatives McGregor, J., Harwood, Stewart, D.
A BILL
To amend sections 742.21, 742.27, and
742.45 and to
enact section 742.215 of the Revised
Code
regarding the Ohio Police and Fire Pension
Fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 742.21, 742.27, and 742.45
be
amended and section 742.215 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 742.21. (A) As used in this section and
sections
742.211 to
742.214 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Full-time service" has the meaning established by
rule
of the board of trustees of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund.
(2)
"Military service credit" means
credit for service in
the
armed
forces of the United States purchased or obtained from
the
fund,
the Cincinnati retirement system,
or
a non-uniform
retirement system.
(3) "Non-uniform retirement system" or "non-uniform system"
means the public employees retirement system, school employees
retirement system, or state teachers retirement system.
(B) Unless section 742.212 of the Revised Code applies and
except as provided
in
divisions (G) and (I) of this
section, in
computing
the
pension and benefits payable under
section 742.37 or
742.39 of
the Revised Code,
the Ohio police and
fire pension fund
shall give
a member of the fund who is in the
active service of a
police or
fire department, is not
receiving a pension or
benefit
payment
from the fund, and is not a
participant in the deferred
retirement option plan established
under section 742.43 of the
Revised Code full credit for service
credit earned for
full-time
service as a member of the Cincinnati
retirement system or
purchased or
obtained as
military service
credit if, for each
year
of
service credit, the fund receives the
sum of the
following:
(1) An amount, which shall be paid by the member, equal to
the amount withdrawn by the member
from the retirement system that
is attributable to the year of
service credit, with interest at a
rate established by the board on
that amount
from the date of
withdrawal to the date of payment;
(2) Interest, which shall be paid either
by the member or
the
Cincinnati retirement system, on the amount withdrawn by the
member
from
the
Cincinnati retirement system that is attributable
to the year of service
from
the last day of the year for which the
service credit was
earned or in which
payment was made for
military service credit
to
the date the withdrawal was made;
(3) An amount, which shall be paid by either the member
or
the
Cincinnati retirement system, equal to the lesser of the
amount
contributed by the employer to the
Cincinnati retirement
system for the
year
of service or the amount that would have been
contributed
by the
employer for the year of service had the member
been employed by
the
member's current employer as a
member of a
police or fire
department at the time the credit was
earned,
with
interest on
that amount from the last day of the year for
which
the service
credit was earned or in which payment was made for
military
service credit to the date the payment is made;
(4) If the member became a member of the fund on or after
September 16,
1998, the amount, which shall be
paid by the member,
determined pursuant to division
(I) of this section.
Interest shall be determined in accordance with division (H)
of
this section.
(C)(1) Except as provided in
divisions (G) and (I)
of this
section,
in computing the pension and benefits payable
under
section 742.37
or 742.39 of the Revised
Code, the fund shall
give
a
member of the
fund who is in the active service of a
police
or
fire department,
is not receiving a pension or
benefit payment
from the fund,
has withdrawn the member's
contributions from
a
non-uniform
retirement
system, and is not a participant in the
deferred retirement option plan established under section 742.43
of the Revised Code full credit
for service
credit earned
for
full-time service as a member of the
non-uniform system or
purchased or
obtained as military
service credit if, for each
year
of
service,
the fund receives
the sum of the following:
(a) An amount, which shall be paid by the member, equal
to
the amount withdrawn by the member
from the
non-uniform
system
that is attributable to that year of
service
credit, with
interest
at a rate established by the board on
that
amount from
the date of
withdrawal to the date of payment;
(b) If the member
is seeking credit for service under the
public employees
retirement system
or state teachers retirement
system, an amount,
which shall be paid
by the member, equal to the
amount of any employer
contributions
and interest on
employee
contributions the member received under
section 145.40
or 3307.563
of
the Revised Code;
(c) Interest, which shall be
transferred by the
non-uniform
system, on the amount withdrawn by the
member from the
non-uniform
system that is attributable
to the year of service
from
the last
day of the year for which the
service credit was
earned
or in
which payment was made for
military service credit
to
the
date the
withdrawal was made;
(d) An amount, which shall be
transferred by the
non-uniform
system, equal to the lesser
of the amount
contributed
by the
employer to the
non-uniform
system
for the year of service
or the
amount that would have
been
contributed by the employer for
the
year of service had the
member
been employed by the member's
current employer as a member of a
police
or fire department at the
time the credit was earned, with
interest on
that amount
from
the
last day
of the
year for which the service
credit was earned
or in
which
payment
was made for military
service credit to the
date the
transfer is
made;
(e) If the member became a member of the fund on or
after
September
16, 1998,
the amount, which shall be paid by the member,
determined pursuant
to division (I) of this section.
(2) On receipt of payment from the member, the fund shall
notify the
non-uniform system, and on receipt of
the
notice,
the
non-uniform system shall make the
transfer. Interest
shall be
determined in accordance with
division
(H) of this section.
(3) The amount transferred under division (C)(1) of
this
section
by the public employees retirement system
or state
teachers retirement system shall not
include any amount of
employer contributions and interest on
employee
contributions the
member received under section 145.40
or 3307.563 of
the
Revised
Code.
(D) Except as provided in
divisions (G) and (I) of
this
section,
in
computing the pension and benefits payable under
section 742.37 or
742.39 of the
Revised Code, the fund shall give
a
member of the
fund who is in the active service of a police or
fire department,
is not receiving a pension or benefit from the
fund,
has
contributions on deposit with
a
non-uniform
retirement
system, and is not a participant in the deferred
retirement option
plan established under section 742.43 of the
Revised Code
full
credit for service credit
earned
for
full-time
service as a
member
of
the non-uniform system or
service credit
purchased or
obtained
as military
service credit if both of the
following
occur:
(1) The
non-uniform system transfers to the fund,
for each
year of
service, the sum of the following:
(a) The amount, contributed by the
member or, in the case
of
military service credit, paid by the member, that is
attributable
to that service;
(b) An amount equal to the lesser
of the amount contributed
by the
employer to the
non-uniform
system for the year
of service
or the amount that would have been
contributed by the
employer for
the year of service had the member been
employed by
the
member's
current employer as a member
of a police or fire
department at the
time the credit was earned;
(c)
Interest on the amounts specified in divisions
(D)(1)(a)
and
(b) of this
section from the last day
of
the
year for which
the
service credit in the
non-uniform
system was earned or in
which
military
service credit
was purchased or obtained
to the
date
the
transfer
is made.
(2) If the member became a member of the fund on or
after
September
16, 1998, the
member pays the amount determined pursuant
to division
(I) of this section.
On receipt of a request from the member, the
appropriate
non-uniform system shall make the transfer specified
in
division
(D)(1)
of this section. Interest shall be determined in
accordance
with
division (H) of this section.
(E) Subject to board rules, a member of the fund may
choose
to purchase in any one payment only part of the credit the
member
is eligible to purchase under division (B) or (C)(1) of this
section.
(F) At the request of the fund, the
non-uniform retirement
system or Cincinnati retirement
system shall
certify to the fund a
copy of the records of the
service
and
contributions of a member
of the fund who seeks
service credit
under this section.
(G) A member of the fund is ineligible to receive
credit
under this
section for service that is used in the calculation of
any
retirement benefit currently being paid or payable in the
future
to the member
under any other retirement program,
service
rendered concurrently with any
other
period for which
service
credit has already been granted, or for service credit
that may be
transferred under section 742.214 of the Revised Code.
(H) Interest charged under
this section shall be calculated
separately for each year of
service credit. Unless otherwise
specified in this section, it
shall be calculated at the lesser of
the actuarial assumption rate
for that year of the fund or of the
system in which
the credit was earned. The interest
shall be
compounded
annually.
The board may, by rule, establish procedures for the
receipt
of service credit under this section.
(I) The amount to be paid pursuant to division
(B)(4),
(C)(1)(e), or (D)(2)
of this section or division (B)(2) or
(C)(2)(b)
of section 742.212 of the Revised Code is the sum of the
following:
(1) An amount equal to the difference
between the amount the
member paid as employee contributions for
the service and the
amount the member would have paid had the member been
employed by
the member's current employer as a
member of a police or fire
department;
(2) An amount equal to the difference
between the amount
paid
or transferred under division (B)(3),
(C)(1)(d), or
(D)(1)(b)
of
this section or division (B)(2) or
(C)(2)(b) of
section 742.212
of
the Revised Code and the amount that
would have
been
contributed
by the
employer for the service had the member
been
employed by
the member's current
employer as a member of
a
police
or fire
department;
(3) Interest, determined in accordance
with division (H) of
this
section, on the amounts specified in divisions
(I)(1) and (2)
of this section.
At the request of a member, in lieu of requiring
payment of
all or part of the amount determined under this
division the fund
may grant the member an amount of service
credit under division
(B),
(C), or (D) of this section or division (B) or (C) of
section
742.212 of the Revised Code that is less than the amount for which
the member is
eligible.
The service credit granted shall be the
same percentage of the
service credit for which the member is
eligible that the amount
the fund receives under division (B),
(C), or (D) of this section or division (B) or (C) of
section
742.212 of the Revised Code is of the total
amount it would
receive under those divisions if the full amount
determined under
this division was paid.
(J)(1) Except as provided in division (J)(2) of
this section
and notwithstanding any contrary provision of this
section, the
board shall, in computing a pension or benefit
under section
742.37 or 742.39 of the Revised
Code, give a member of the fund
who is not receiving a pension or disability benefit from the
fund
full credit for service credit purchased under this section
for
service that was less than full-time service if the member
provides
evidence satisfactory to the board that, after
receiving
written notice from the fund indicating that the
member would be
permitted to purchase service credit for service that
was less
than full-time, the member changed or ceased the
member's
employment with the understanding that the credit
identified in
the notice would be used in computing a pension or
benefit. If
the
board has
canceled service credit purchased under this section
for
service
that was less than full-time service and the member
meets
the
requirements of division (J)(1)
of this section, the
board
shall restore the service credit on
repayment to the fund of
the
amount refunded to the member at
the time of cancellation.
(2) If a member of the fund who is not receiving a
pension
or
disability benefit from the fund purchased credit
under this
section for service that was less than full-time
service and does
not meet the requirements of division
(J)(1) of this section, the
board shall refund to the member any amounts paid to purchase
the
credit, with interest at a rate determined by the board from
the
date the member purchased the credit to the date of the
refund.
(K) A member of the fund who has purchased service credit
under
this section, or the member's estate, is entitled to a
refund of the amount or
portion of the amount paid to purchase the
credit if the purchased credit or
portion of credit does not
increase a pension or benefit payable under section
742.37 or
742.39
or calculated under section 742.442 of the Revised
Code.
The refund cancels an equivalent
amount
of service credit.
(L)(K) If a member or former member of the fund who is not a
current contributor and has not received a refund of
accumulated
contributions elects to receive
credit under section 145.295,
3307.761, or
3309.73 of the Revised Code for service for
which
the
member contributed to the fund or purchased as military
service
credit, the fund shall
transfer to the
non-uniform
retirement
system the amount
specified in
division (B) of
section
145.295 of
the
Revised Code, division
(C) of section
3307.761 of
the
Revised
Code, or division (B) of
section
3309.73
of the
Revised Code.
(M)(L) The board shall adopt rules
establishing a payroll
deduction plan for the purchase of service credit under
this
section. The rules shall meet the requirements described in
section
742.56 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 742.215. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this
section, and notwithstanding any contrary provision of this
chapter, the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension
fund shall, in computing a pension or benefit under section 742.37
or 742.39 of the Revised Code, give a member of the fund who is
not receiving a pension or disability benefit
from the fund full
credit for service credit purchased or obtained
under this
chapter for service that was less than full-time
service if the
member provides evidence satisfactory to the board
that, after
receiving written notice from the fund indicating that
the member
would be permitted to purchase or obtain credit for
service that
was less than full time, the member changed or ceased
the
member's employment with the understanding that the credit
identified in the notice would be used in computing a pension or
benefit. If the board has canceled service credit purchased or
obtained under this chapter for service that was less than
full
time and the member meets the requirements of this division,
the
board shall restore the credit on repayment to the fund of the
amount refunded to the member at the time of cancellation.
(B) If a member who is not receiving a pension or disability
benefit from the fund purchased or obtained service credit under
this chapter for service that was less than full-time service and
does not meet the requirements of division (A) of this section,
the board shall refund to the member any amounts paid to purchase
the credit with interest at a rate
determined by the board from
the date the member purchased the
credit to the date of the
refund.
Sec. 742.27. (A) As used in this section, "lay off" means
to
cease to employ a person pursuant to sections 124.321 to
124.328
of the Revised Code or pursuant to any similar provisions
that
apply to the person under any of the following:
(1) A collective bargaining agreement entered into under
Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code;
(2) Any ordinance, resolution, contract, agreement,
policy,
or procedure governing employment.
(B) A member of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund who,
during employment as a member of a police
or fire department, is
removed from active pay status by being
laid off by the member's
employer, shall, in computing years
of active service under
division (C) of section 742.37 or section
742.39 of the Revised
Code, be given full credit for time for which
contributions were
not made during the period the member was
laid off, if all of the
following conditions are met:
(1) During the time the member was laid off, the member was
not
entitled to receive disability benefits from the fund.
(2) During the time the member was laid off, the member did
not render any service that is used in the calculation of any
public
or private retirement benefit, except any federal social
security
retirement benefit, currently being paid or payable in
the future
to the member.
(3) The fund receives the amount determined under division
(C) of this section from the member, the member's employer,
or the
member and the employer.
(4) At the time the fund receives the amount described in
division (B)(3) of this section, the member is not a participant
in the deferred retirement option plan established under section
742.43 of the Revised Code.
The total amount of service purchased by any member under
this section shall not exceed two years. A member may choose to
purchase only part of such credit in any one payment, subject to
board rules.
(C) The amount paid for the credit purchased under this
section shall be an amount equal to the additional liability to
the fund resulting from the purchase of the credit, as determined
by an actuary employed by the board of trustees of the fund.
(D) The board shall have final authority to determine and
fix
the amount of the payment for credit purchased under this
section.
The employer may pay all or part of the payment.
(E) A member of the fund who has purchased service credit
under this section, or the member's estate, is entitled to a
refund of the amount or portion of amount paid to purchase the
credit if the purchased credit or portion of credit does not
increase a pension or benefit payable under section 742.37 or
742.39 of the Revised Code or calculated under section 742.442 of
the Revised Code. The refund cancels an equivalent amount of
service credit.
(F) The board shall adopt rules for the
implementation of
this section.
Sec. 742.45. (A) The board of trustees of the Ohio police
and
fire pension fund may
enter into an agreement
with insurance
companies, health insuring
corporations,
or government agencies
authorized to do business in the state for issuance of a policy
or
contract of health, medical, hospital, or surgical benefits,
or
any combination thereof, for those individuals
receiving service
or disability pensions or survivor benefits subscribing to the
plan. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
policy or contract may also include coverage for any eligible
individual's spouse and dependent children and for
any of the
eligible individual's sponsored dependents as the board considers
appropriate.
If all or any portion of the policy or contract premium is
to
be paid by any individual receiving a service,
disability, or
survivor pension or benefit, the individual shall, by
written
authorization, instruct the board to deduct from the
individual's
benefit the
premium agreed to be paid by the individual to the
company,
corporation, or
agency.
The board may contract for coverage on the basis of
part or
all of the cost of the coverage to be paid from
appropriate funds
of the Ohio police and fire pension
fund. The cost
paid from the
funds of the Ohio police and fire pension
fund shall be included
in the employer's contribution
rates provided by sections 742.33
and 742.34 of the Revised
Code.
The board may provide for self-insurance of risk or level
of
risk as set forth in the contract with the companies,
corporations, or agencies, and may provide through the
self-insurance method specific benefits as authorized by the
rules
of the board.
(B) The Except as otherwise provided in this division, the
board shall, beginning the month following receipt
of satisfactory
evidence of the payment for coverage, pay monthly
to each
recipient of service, disability, or
survivor benefits
under the
Ohio police and
fire pension fund who is eligible for
medical
insurance coverage under part B of "The Social Security
Amendments
of
1965," 79 Stat. 301, 42 U.S.C.A. 1395j, as amended,
an amount
equal to the
basic premiums specified by the board or determined
pursuant to a formula established by the board that is not less
than ninety-six dollars and forty cents for such coverage, except
that the board shall not pay an amount that exceeds the amount
paid by the recipient for the coverage.
The board shall pay not more than one monthly premium under
this division to an eligible benefit recipient even if the
recipient is receiving more than one monthly benefit from the
fund. The board shall not pay a monthly premium under this
division to an eligible benefit recipient who is receiving
reimbursement for the premium from any other source.
(C) The board shall establish by rule requirements for
the
coordination of any coverage, payment, or benefit provided
under
this section
with any similar coverage, payment, or benefit
made
available to the same individual by the
public employees
retirement system, state teachers retirement system, school
employees retirement system, or state highway patrol retirement
system.
(D) The board shall make all other necessary rules
pursuant
to the purpose and intent of this section.
Section 2. That existing sections 742.21, 742.27,
and 742.45
of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
|
|