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S. B. No. 340 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Senators Niehaus, Kearney
A BILL
To amend sections 171.04, 742.01, 742.04, 742.10,
742.14, 742.16, 742.30, 742.301, 742.31, 742.32,
742.33, 742.34, 742.35, 742.37, 742.3711,
742.3716, 742.38, 742.39, 742.44, 742.442,
742.443, 742.444, 742.45, 742.63, and 742.64; to
enact sections 742.012, 742.013, and 742.161; and
to repeal section 742.011 of the Revised Code to
revise the law governing the Ohio Police and Fire
Pension Fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 171.04, 742.01, 742.04, 742.10,
742.14, 742.16, 742.30, 742.301, 742.31, 742.32, 742.33, 742.34,
742.35, 742.37, 742.3711, 742.3716, 742.38, 742.39, 742.44,
742.442, 742.443, 742.444, 742.45, 742.63, and 742.64 be amended
and sections 742.012 and 742.161 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 171.04. The Ohio retirement study council shall:
(A) Make an impartial review from time to time of all laws
governing the administration and financing of the pension and
retirement funds under Chapters 145., 146., 742., 3307., 3309.,
and 5505. of the Revised Code and recommend to the general
assembly any changes it may find desirable with respect to the
allowances and benefits, sound financing of the cost of benefits,
the prudent investment of funds, and the improvement of the
language, structure, and organization of the laws;
(B) Make an annual report to the governor and to the general
assembly covering its evaluation and recommendations with respect
to the operations of the state retirement systems and their funds;
(C) Study all changes in the retirement laws proposed to the
general assembly and report to the general assembly on their
probable costs, actuarial implications, and desirability as a
matter of public policy;
(D) Review semiannually the policies, objectives, and
criteria adopted under sections 145.11, 742.11, 3307.15, 3309.15,
and 5505.06 of the Revised Code for the operation of the
investment programs of the state retirement systems, including a
review of asset allocation targets and ranges, risk factors, asset
class benchmarks, time horizons, total return objectives, relative
volatility, and performance evaluation guidelines. The council
shall, not later than thirty days after completing a review,
submit to the governor and the general assembly a report
summarizing its findings.
(E) Have prepared by an independent actuary, at least once
every ten years, an actuarial review of the annual actuarial
valuations and quinquennial actuarial investigations prepared
under sections 145.22, 742.14, 3307.20, 3309.21, and 5505.12 of
the Revised Code, including a review of the actuarial assumptions
and methods, the data underlying the valuations and
investigations, and the adequacy of each system's employee and
employer contribution rates to amortize its unfunded actuarial
pension liability, if any, and to support the payment of benefits
authorized by Chapter 145., 742., 3307., 3309., or 5505. of the
Revised Code. The council shall submit to the governor and the
general assembly a report summarizing the review.
(F) Have conducted by an independent auditor at least once
every ten years a fiduciary performance audit of each of the state
retirement systems.
All costs associated with an audit conducted pursuant to
division (F) of this section shall be paid by the retirement
system audited.
(G) Provide each member of the council with copies of all
proposed rules submitted to the council pursuant to sections
145.09, 742.10, 3307.04, 3309.04, and 5505.04 of the Revised Code
and submit any recommendations to the joint committee on agency
rule review.
Sec. 742.01. As used in this chapter:
(A)(1) "Police department" means the police department of a
municipal corporation.
(2) "Member of a police department" means any of the
following:
(a) Any person who receives an original appointment as a
full-time regular police officer in a police department from a
duly established civil service eligible list or pursuant to
section 124.411 of the Revised Code, or who is described in
section 742.511 of the Revised Code, or who transfers from the
public employees retirement system to the Ohio police and fire
pension fund pursuant to section 742.513 of the Revised Code, or
who is appointed pursuant to section 737.15 or 737.16 of the
Revised Code as a full-time regular police officer and is paid
solely out of public funds of the employing municipal corporation;
(b) Any person who, on October 1, 1965, was contributing four
per cent of the person's annual salary to a police relief and
pension fund established under former section 741.32 of the
Revised Code;
(c) Any person who commences employment on or after September
16, 1998, as a full-time police officer with a police department
in a position in which the person is required to satisfactorily
complete a peace officer training course in compliance with
section 109.77 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) "Fire department" means a fire department of the state
or an instrumentality of the state or of a municipal corporation,
township, joint fire district, or other political subdivision.
(2) "Member of a fire department" means all of the following:
(a) Any person who commences employment after November 8,
1990, as a full-time firefighter with a fire department, in a
position in which the person is required to satisfactorily
complete or have satisfactorily completed a firefighter training
course approved under former section 3303.07 or section 4765.55 or
conducted under section 3737.33 of the Revised Code;
(b) Any person who has elected under section 742.515 of the
Revised Code to be transferred from the public employees
retirement system to the Ohio police and fire pension fund;
(c) Any full-time firefighter who, on November 8, 1990, is a
member of the Ohio police and fire pension fund.
(C) "Employee" means any person who is a member of a police
department or a member of a fire department.
(D) "Employer" means the government entity by which an
employee is employed and paid.
(E) "Member of the fund" means any person, except an other
system retirant as defined in section 742.26 of the Revised Code,
who is contributing a percentage of the person's annual salary to
the Ohio police and fire pension fund or who is receiving a
disability benefit or pension from the fund as a result of service
in a police or fire department. A person, other than an other
system retirant, who is contributing a percentage of the person's
annual salary to the fund and is dismissed, resigns, or is granted
a leave of absence from a police or fire department shall be
considered a "member of the fund" for a period of twelve months
after the first day of the dismissal, resignation, or leave of
absence, provided the sum deducted from the person's salary and
credited to the person's account in the fund remains on deposit in
the fund.
A member of the Ohio national guard, the Ohio military
reserve, the Ohio naval militia, or a reserve component of the
armed forces of the United States who is absent from employment
due to active military duty because of an executive order issued
by the president of the United States or an act of congress shall
be considered a member of the fund for the duration of the active
military duty.
(F) "Year," for the purpose of determining benefits, means
any twelve consecutive calendar months of active service as a
member of the fund, or, in the case of a member whose salary is
paid weekly or biweekly, fifty-two consecutive weeks of active
service as a member.
(G) "Average annual salary" means the highest average annual
salary of a member of the fund during any three of the number of
years of contributions specified in section 742.37 or 742.39 of
the Revised Code, as appropriate, and determined by dividing the
member's total salary as an employee during the those years by
three that number.
For the purpose of determining average annual salary for
members who, as of July 1, 2013, have fifteen or more years of
service credit, "salary" has the same meaning as in division
(L)(2) of this section, except that it does not include any
amounts that exceed the salary benchmark, determined as follows:
(1) Divide by three the total of the member's salaries for
the contiguous three-year period immediately preceding the
contiguous three-year period immediately prior to the member's
effective date of retirement under section 742.37 or effective
date of participation in a deferred option retirement plan under
section 742.44 of the Revised Code;
(2) Multiply the amount determined under division (G)(1) of
this section by one hundred ten per cent;
(3) Multiply the amount determined under division (G)(2) of
this section by one hundred ten per cent;
(4) Multiply the amount determined under division (G)(3) of
this section by one hundred ten per cent;
(5) The amount determined under division (G)(4) of this
section is the salary benchmark.
(H) "Normal service pension benefit" means the pension
benefit payable to a member of the fund under division (C)(1) of
section 742.37 of the Revised Code upon attaining age forty-eight
attainment of the applicable age listed in that section.
(I) "Retirement allowance" means the total pension benefit or
disability benefit to which a member of the fund may be entitled
under division (C) of section 742.37 or section 742.39 of the
Revised Code.
(J) "Fiduciary" means a person who does any of the following:
(1) Exercises any discretionary authority or control with
respect to the management of the system, or with respect to the
management or disposition of its assets;
(2) Renders investment advice for a fee, direct or indirect,
with respect to money or property of the system;
(3) Has any discretionary authority or responsibility in the
administration of the system.
(K) "Terminal pay" Except as provided in rules authorized by
section 742.013 of the Revised Code, "terminal pay" means the
following payments made by an employer to an employee on
termination of employment regardless of whether the payments are
made before or after termination:
(1) Payments for accrued but unused leave, including sick
leave, vacation, personal leave, and compensatory time;
(2) Payments deferred more than one year compensating the
employee for holidays worked or for longevity;
(3) Payments for overtime worked that are not included
either
in the payroll for the period in which the overtime is worked or
for the next subsequent payroll for any period ending not later
than sixty days after the overtime is worked;
(4) Other payments that are not compensation for services
rendered in the last pay period in which services were rendered
and are designated as terminal pay by rule of the board of
trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund. The board shall
not designate as terminal pay payments deferred one year or less
compensating an employee for holidays worked or for longevity.
(L)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this division or in
rules authorized by section 742.013 of the Revised Code, "salary"
means all compensation, wages, and other earnings paid to an
employee by reason of employment, but without regard to whether
compensation, wages, or other earnings are treated as deferred
income for federal income tax purposes. "Salary" includes payments
for overtime that are made not later than the payroll following
the payroll period in which the included in the payroll for the
period in which the overtime is worked or the payroll for any
period not later than sixty days after the overtime is worked.
(2) "Salary" does not include any of the following:
(a) Compensation for services outside the scope of an
employee's regular employment;
(b) Reimbursement of expenses;
(d) Payments for accrued but unused sick leave or personal
leave, or vacation pay covering periods for which salary,
compensation, or benefits are paid;
(e) Payments made under division (B), (C), or (E) of section
5923.05 of the Revised Code, Section 4 of Substitute Senate Bill
No. 3 of the 119th general assembly, Section 3 of Amended
Substitute Senate Bill No. 164 of the 124th general assembly, or
Amended Substitute House Bill No. 405 of the 124th general
assembly;
(f) Payments made to or on behalf of an employee that are in
excess of the annual compensation that may be taken into account
by the fund under division (a)(17) of section 401 of the "Internal
Revenue Code of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 401(a)(17), as
amended.
(3) The board shall determine by rule whether any
compensation, wages, or earnings not enumerated in this division
is salary, and its decision shall be final.
(M) "Actuary" means an individual who satisfies all of the
following requirements:
(1) Is a member of the American academy of actuaries;
(2) Is an associate or fellow of the society of actuaries;
(3) Has a minimum of five years' experience in providing
actuarial services to public retirement plans.
Sec. 742.012. Contributions made to the Ohio police and fire
pension fund for salary that exceeds the salary benchmark
calculated under division (G) of section 742.01 of the Revised
Code shall be refunded in accordance with rules adopted by the
trustees of the board under section 742.10 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 742.013. The board may, by rule adopted under section
742.10 of the Revised Code, establish definitions of "terminal
pay" and "salary" that differ from those in divisions (K) and (L)
of section 742.01 of the Revised Code. In establishing the
definitions, the board may use elements of the compensation
provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code and the
Internal Revenue Code form W-2, as those provisions are
interpreted by the internal revenue service of the United States
department of treasury.
Sec. 742.04. As used in this section, "county" means the
county of residence of an individual who signs a nominating
petition.
Election of the employee members, firefighter retirant
member, and police retirant member of the board of trustees of the
Ohio police and fire pension fund shall be under the supervision
and direction of the board in accordance with rules adopted under
section 742.045 of the Revised Code.
Nominating petitions for candidates for an employee member of
the board elected by police officers shall be signed by at least
one hundred police officers, with at least twenty signers from
each of at least five counties of the state, and certified in
accordance with rules adopted under section 742.045 of the Revised
Code.
Nominating petitions for candidates for an employee member of
the board elected by firefighters shall be signed by at least one
hundred firefighters, with at least twenty signers from each of at
least five counties of the state, and certified in accordance with
rules adopted under section 742.045 of the Revised Code.
Nominating petitions for candidates for an employee member of
the board shall be filed in the office of the board not later than
four p.m. on the first Monday in April preceding the date of the
expiration of the term of the employee member of the board whose
successor is to be elected.
The board shall cause ballots to be prepared for the election
of employee members of the board which shall contain the names of
all candidates for whom certified nominating petitions have been
filed with the board.
A police officer or firefighter is eligible to vote in an
election if the police officer or firefighter is a member of the
fund on the thirty-first
Monday in March day of January preceding
the date of the expiration of the term of the employee member of
the board whose successor is to be elected. The board shall
determine whether a member of the fund is eligible to vote at an
election and its decision shall be final.
On or before the first Monday in May preceding the date of
the expiration of the term of the employee member of the board
whose successor is to be elected, the board shall cause ballots to
be sent to each member of the fund who is eligible to vote at such
election to the address of such member as shown on the records of
the board.
Ballots shall be returned to the board not later than the
third Tuesday in May following the date that the ballots were
mailed to the members of the fund eligible to vote at such
election.
On certification of the election results in accordance with
rules adopted under section 742.045 of the Revised Code, the
person receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected as
an employee member of the board for a term of four years beginning
on the first Monday in June following such election.
Nominating petitions for candidates for the police retirant
member of the board shall be signed by at least fifty police
retirants, with at least ten signers from at least five counties
of the state, and certified in accordance with rules adopted under
section 742.045 of the Revised Code.
Nominating petitions for candidates for the firefighter
retirant member of the board shall be signed by at least fifty
firefighter retirants, with at least ten signers from at least
five counties of the state, and certified in accordance with rules
adopted under section 742.045 of the Revised Code.
Nominating petitions for candidates for the retirant members
of the board shall be filed in the office of the board not later
than four p.m. on the first Monday in April preceding the date of
the expiration of the term of the retirant member of the board
whose successor is to be elected.
The board shall cause ballots to be prepared for the election
of these board members which shall contain the names of all
candidates for whom certified nominating petitions have been filed
with the board.
A retirant is eligible to vote in an election if the retirant
is a police retirant or firefighter retirant on the
thirty-first
Monday in April day of January preceding the date of the
expiration of the term of the retirant member of the board whose
successor is to be elected. The board shall determine whether a
police retirant or firefighter retirant is eligible to vote at an
election and its decision shall be final.
On or before the first Monday in May preceding the date of
the expiration of the term of a retirant member of the board whose
successor is to be elected, the board shall cause ballots to be
sent to each person who is eligible to vote in the election to the
address of the person as shown on the records of the board.
Ballots shall be returned to the board not later than the
third Tuesday in May following the date that the ballots were
mailed to the persons eligible to vote in the election.
On certification of the election results in accordance with
rules adopted under section 742.045 of the Revised Code, the
person receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected as
the police retirant member or the firefighter retirant member of
the board for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday
in June following the election.
Sec. 742.10. The board of trustees of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded,
contract and be contracted with, employ and fix the compensation
of employees, and adopt rules for the proper administration and
management of the fund.
Effective ninety days after the effective date of this
amendment September 15, 2004, the board of trustees may not employ
a state retirement system investment officer, as defined in
section 1707.01 of the Revised Code, who does not hold a valid
state retirement system investment officer license issued by the
division of securities in the department of commerce.
If the Ohio retirement study council establishes a uniform
format for any report the board is required to submit to the
council, the board shall submit the report in that format.
The attorney general shall prescribe procedures for the
adoption of rules authorized under this chapter, consistent with
the provisions of section 111.15 of the Revised Code under which
all rules shall be filed in order to be effective. Such procedures
shall establish methods by which notice of proposed rules is given
to interested parties and rules adopted by the board published and
otherwise made available. When it files a rule with the joint
committee on agency rule review pursuant to section 111.15 of the
Revised Code, the board shall submit to the Ohio retirement study
council a copy of the full text of the rule, and if applicable, a
copy of the rule summary and fiscal analysis required by division
(B) of section 127.18 of the Revised Code.
All rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, prior to August
20, 1976, shall be published and made available to interested
parties by January 1, 1977.
Sec. 742.14. (A) The board of trustees of the Ohio police
and fire pension fund shall have prepared annually triennially by
or under the supervision of an actuary an actuarial valuation of
the pension assets, liabilities, and funding requirements of the
Ohio police and fire pension fund as established pursuant to
sections 742.01 to 742.61 of the Revised Code. The actuary shall
complete the valuation in accordance with actuarial standards of
practice promulgated by the actuarial standards board of the
American academy of actuaries and prepare a report of the
valuation. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) A summary of the benefit provisions evaluated;
(2) A summary of the census data and financial information
used in the valuation;
(3) A description of the actuarial assumptions, actuarial
cost method, and asset valuation method used in the valuation,
including a statement of the assumed rate of payroll growth and
assumed rate of growth or decline in the number of members of the
fund contributing to the pension fund;
(4) A summary of findings that includes a statement of the
actuarial accrued pension liabilities and unfunded actuarial
accrued pension liabilities;
(5) A schedule showing the effect of any changes in the
benefit provisions, actuarial assumptions, or cost methods since
the last annual actuarial valuation;
(6) A statement of whether employee and employer
contributions to the pension fund are expected to be sufficient to
satisfy the funding objectives established by the board.
The board shall submit the first triennial report shall be
made not later than November 1, 2013, to the Ohio retirement study
council and the standing committees of the house of
representatives and the senate with primary responsibility for
retirement legislation not later than the first day of November
following the year for which the valuation was made and thereafter
triennially, not later than the first day of November.
(B) The board shall annually thereafter have prepared by an
actuary a report showing the adequacy of the rate of the police
officer employers' contribution provided for by section 742.33 of
the Revised Code, and the adequacy of the rate of the firefighter
employers' contribution provided for by section 742.34 of the
Revised Code.
(C) At such times as the board determines, and at least once
in each quinquennial period, the board shall have prepared by or
under the supervision of an actuary an actuarial investigation of
the mortality, service, and other experience of the members of the
fund and of other system retirants, as defined in section 742.26
of the Revised Code, who are members of a police department or a
fire department to update the actuarial assumptions used in the
actuarial valuation required by division (A) of this section. The
actuary shall prepare a report of the actuarial investigation. The
report shall be prepared and any recommended changes in actuarial
assumptions shall be made in accordance with the actuarial
standards of practice promulgated by the actuarial standards board
of the American academy of actuaries. The report shall include all
of the following:
(1) A summary of relevant decrement and economic assumption
experience observed over the period of the investigation;
(2) Recommended changes in actuarial assumptions to be used
in subsequent actuarial valuations required by division (A) of
this section;
(3) A measurement of the financial effect of the recommended
changes in actuarial assumptions;
(4) If the investigation required by this division includes
the investigation required by division (F)(E) of this section, a
report of the result of that investigation.
The board shall submit the report to the Ohio retirement
study council and the standing committees of the house of
representatives and the senate with primary responsibility for
retirement legislation not later than the first day of November
following the last fiscal year of the period the report covers.
(D)(C) The board shall have prepared by or under the
supervision of an actuary an actuarial analysis of any introduced
legislation expected to have a measurable financial impact on the
pension fund. The actuarial analysis shall be completed in
accordance with the actuarial standards of practice promulgated by
the actuarial standards board of the American academy of
actuaries. The actuary shall prepare a report of the actuarial
analysis, which shall include all of the following:
(1) A summary of the statutory changes that are being
evaluated;
(2) A description of or reference to the actuarial
assumptions and actuarial cost method used in the report;
(3) A description of the participant group or groups included
in the report;
(4) A statement of the financial impact of the legislation,
including the resulting increase, if any, in the employer normal
cost percentage; the increase, if any, in actuarial accrued
liabilities; and the per cent of payroll that would be required to
amortize the increase in actuarial accrued liabilities as a level
per cent of covered payroll for all active members of the fund
over a period not to exceed thirty years;
(5) A statement of whether the scheduled contributions to the
system after the proposed change is enacted are expected to be
sufficient to satisfy the funding objectives established by the
board.
Not later than sixty days from the date of introduction of
the legislation, the board shall submit a copy of the actuarial
analysis to the legislative service commission, the standing
committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
primary responsibility for retirement legislation, and the Ohio
retirement study council.
(E)(D) The board shall have prepared annually triennially a
report giving a full accounting of the revenues and costs relating
to the provision of benefits under section 742.45 of the Revised
Code. The first triennial report shall be made as of December 31,
1997 2013, and the thirty-first day of December of each year
triennially thereafter. The report shall include the following:
(1) A description of the statutory authority for the benefits
provided;
(2) A summary of the benefits;
(3) A summary of the eligibility requirements for the
benefits;
(4) A statement of the number of participants eligible for
the benefits;
(5) A description of the accounting, asset valuation, and
funding method used to provide the benefits;
(6) A statement of the net assets available for the provision
of the benefits as of the last day of the fiscal year;
(7) A statement of any changes in the net assets available
for the provision of benefits, including participant and employer
contributions, net investment income, administrative expenses, and
benefits provided to participants, as of the last day of the
fiscal year;
(8) For the last six consecutive fiscal years, a schedule of
the net assets available for the benefits, the annual cost of
benefits, administrative expenses incurred, and annual employer
contributions allocated for the provision of benefits;
(9) A description of any significant changes that affect the
comparability of the report required under this division;
(10) A statement of the amount paid under division (B) of
section 742.45 of the Revised Code.
The board shall submit the report to the Ohio retirement
study council and the standing committees of the house of
representatives and the senate with primary responsibility for
retirement legislation not later than the thirtieth day of June
following the year for which the report was made.
(F)(E) At least once in each quinquennial period, the board
shall have prepared by or under the supervision of an actuary an
actuarial investigation of the deferred retirement option plan
established under section 742.43 of the Revised Code. The
investigation shall include an examination of the financial
impact, if any, on the fund of offering the plan to members.
The actuary shall prepare a report of the actuarial
investigation. The report shall include a determination of whether
the plan, as established or modified, has a negative financial
impact on the fund and, if so, recommendations on how to modify
the plan to eliminate the negative financial impact. If the
actuarial report indicates that the plan has a negative financial
impact on the fund, the board may modify the plan or cease to
allow members who have not already done so to elect to participate
in the plan. The firefighter and police officers employers'
contributions shall not be increased to offset any negative
financial impact of the plan.
If the board ceases to allow members to elect to participate
in the plan, the rights and obligations of members who have
already elected to participate shall not be altered.
The board may include the actuarial investigation required
under this division as part of the actuarial investigation
required under division (C)(B) of this section. If the report of
the actuarial investigation required by this division is not
included in the report required by division (C)(B) of this
section, the board shall submit the report required by this
division to the Ohio retirement study council and the standing
committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
primary responsibility for retirement legislation not later than
the first day of November following the last fiscal year of the
period the report covers.
Sec. 742.16. The board of trustees of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund shall establish a period of not more than thirty
years to amortize the Ohio police and fire pension fund's unfunded
actuarial accrued pension liabilities. The board shall adopt a
plan that specifies how it proposes to meet the thirty-year
amortization period not later than December 31, 2006. If in any
year the period necessary to amortize the unfunded actuarial
accrued pension liability exceeds thirty years, as determined by
the annual actuarial valuation required by section 742.14 of the
Revised Code, the board, not later than ninety days after receipt
of the valuation, shall prepare and submit to the Ohio retirement
study council and the standing committees of the house of
representatives and the senate with primary responsibility for
retirement legislation a report that includes the following
information:
(A) The number of years needed to amortize the unfunded
actuarial accrued pension liability as determined by the annual
actuarial valuation;
(B) A plan approved by the board that indicates how the board
will reduce the amortization period of unfunded actuarial accrued
pension liability to not more than thirty years;
(C) Whether the board has made any progress in meeting the
thirty-year amortization period.
Sec. 742.161. The board may, by rule adopted under section
742.10 of the Revised Code, increase the age and years of service
credit required to receive a pension or benefit under division (C)
of section 742.35 of the Revised Code if, in consultation with its
actuary, the board determines that an increase is necessary to
meet the amortization period requirement of section 742.16 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 742.30. (A) The employer's accrued liability, as
determined pursuant to former section 742.29 of the Revised Code,
shall be paid to the Ohio police and fire pension fund. Payments
shall be credited to the police officers' pension reserve fund, or
to the firefighters' pension reserve fund, in accordance with the
relief and pension fund from which the liability for such payment
arises, until such time as the employer's accrued liability on
account of pensioners and other benefit recipients on the rolls of
the particular police relief and pension fund or firemen's relief
and pension fund is satisfied. Thereafter, payments shall be
credited to the police officers' contribution fund or the
firefighters' contribution fund, in accordance with the relief and
pension fund from which the liability for such payments arises,
until such time as the employer's accrued liability on account of
deductions made from the compensation of police officers or
firefighters under the particular police relief and pension fund
or firemen's relief and pension fund is satisfied. Thereafter,
payments shall be credited to the police officer employers'
contribution fund, or firefighter employers' contribution fund, in
accordance with the relief and pension fund from which the
liability for such payments arises, until such time as the
employer's total accrued liability under the particular police
relief and pension fund or firemen's relief and pension fund is
satisfied.
(B) That part of the employer's accrued liability remaining
unpaid on January 1, 1969, shall be paid by the employer at not
less than the following rates per year: two per cent in 1969, two
per cent in 1970, three per cent in 1971, four per cent in 1972,
and five per cent per annum beginning in 1973 and each year
thereafter for sixty-two years. Except as provided in division (C)
of this section, payments shall be fixed annually and paid on
dates fixed by the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund.
(C) The board may enter into an agreement with a municipal
corporation or township for a single payment by the municipal
corporation or township of the employer's accrued liability. The
agreement may provide for a reduction in the amount of the accrued
liability based on the value to the fund of receiving a single
payment. A municipal corporation or township that has made payment
in accordance with such an agreement shall have no further
obligation to make payments under this section.
(D) The board shall report every two three years to the
general assembly during its first regular session on the condition
of the retirement system, with particular emphasis upon the
payment of the employer's accrued liability, and make such
recommendations, upon the advice of its actuary, as it considers
necessary for the proper funding of the liabilities.
Sec. 742.301. (A) Each employer shall promptly pay the amount
due on the accrued liability on the dates fixed by the board of
trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund. Upon
certification by the board that payment of an employer's accrued
liability has not been paid within thirty days following the date
a payment is due, a penalty of five per cent of the amount due
shall be assessed against such employer. If the payment and
penalty have not been paid within ninety days following the date a
payment is due, annual interest at six per cent shall be assessed
against the payment and penalty from the date that the payment is
due.
(B) Upon certification by the board to the superintendent of
liquor control or the county auditor of an amount due from any
employer who is subject to this chapter by reason of such
employer's delinquency in making payments on the accrued
liability, the amount due shall be withheld from the employer from
liquor control permit fees to be distributed to that employer
according to Chapter 4301. of the Revised Code or from the local
government fund allocated for distribution to that employer by the
county budget commission in accordance with Chapter 5739. of the
Revised Code. Upon receipt of the certification from the board,
the superintendent or county auditor shall provide for payment
against such funds in favor of the Ohio police and fire pension
fund for the certified amount due and any penalty and interest
thereon.
(C) If the payments under divisions (A) and (B) of this
section are insufficient to pay the Ohio police and fire pension
fund any amounts due the fund from an employer, the fund may seek
payment through the office of budget and management. On
certification by the board to the director of budget and
management of any such amount due, the director shall withhold
from the employer any amount available, not to exceed the amount
certified as due the fund, from any amounts under the director's
control that are payable or due the employer. The director shall
pay the amount withheld to the fund.
Sec. 742.31. (A) Each employee shall contribute an amount
equal to ten per cent a percentage of the employee's salary to the
Ohio police and fire pension fund. The according to the following
schedule:
(1) For salary earned in pay periods beginning not later than
July 1, 2013, ten per cent;
(2) For salary earned in pay periods beginning not earlier
than July 2, 2013, but not later than July 1, 2014, ten and
three-quarters per cent;
(3) For salary earned in pay periods beginning not earlier
than July 2, 2014, but not later than July 1, 2015, eleven and
one-half per cent;
(4) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, for
salary earned in pay periods beginning not earlier than July 2,
2015, twelve and one-quarter per cent.
(B) Not earlier than July 2, 2015, the board may, by rule,
increase the employee contribution rates to the fund if the board,
in consultation with its actuary, determines that an increase is
necessary to meet the amortization requirements of section 742.16
of the Revised Code.
(C) The amount shall be deducted by the employer from the
employee's salary as defined in division (L) of section 742.01 of
the Revised Code for each payroll period, irrespective of whether
the minimum compensation provided by law for the employee is
reduced thereby. Every employee shall be deemed to consent to the
deductions, and payment to the employee less the deductions is a
complete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands for
the services rendered by the employee during the period covered by
such payment.
Sec. 742.32. (A) The fiscal officer of each employer shall
transmit monthly to the secretary of the board of trustees of the
Ohio police and fire pension fund a report of employee deductions
in such form as the board requires. The report shall show all
deductions for the fund made pursuant to section 742.31 of the
Revised Code and shall be accompanied by payments covering the
total of such deductions. The report shall also include the name
of each member for whom deductions were made and the portion of
the payment attributed to that member. Separate payments shall be
so transmitted for that portion of such deductions made from the
salaries of members of the police department and for that portion
of such deductions made from the salaries of members of the fire
department. The report and payment are due the last day of the
month following the last business day of the reporting period. A
(B) A penalty determined under section 742.352 of the Revised
Code shall be assessed if any of the following occur:
(A)(1) The report is received by the board after the due date
or is not in the form required by the board.
(B)(2) Payments to cover the total amount due from the
salaries of all employees of the employer are received by the
board after the due date.
The penalty shall be added to and collected on the next
succeeding regular employer billing. If the penalty is not paid
within sixty days after it is added to the regular employer
billing, interest at a rate determined by the board may be charged
on the total amount due and the amount of the penalty from the
date the amount is due to the date of payment.
(C) The secretary of the board, after making a record of all
such receipts and crediting each employee's individual account
with the amount deducted from the employee's salary, shall deposit
the receipts with the treasurer of state for use as provided by
this chapter. Where an employer fails to deduct contributions for
any employee and transmit such amounts to the fund, the board may
make a determination of the employee's liability for contributions
and certify to the employer the amounts due for collection in the
same manner and subject to the same penalties as payments due the
employer's contributions funds.
Sec. 742.33. (A) Each employer shall pay quarterly monthly,
on such dates as the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund requires, from its general fund, or from a levy
imposed pursuant to division (J) or (W) of section 5705.19 of the
Revised Code, to the fund an amount known as the "police officer
employers' contribution," which shall be nineteen and one-half per
cent of the salaries as defined in division (L) of section 742.01
of the Revised Code of the members of the police department of the
employer.
(B) The taxing authority of each municipal corporation in
which there was a police relief and pension fund on October 1,
1965, shall annually, in the manner provided for making other
municipal levies and in addition to all other levies authorized by
law, levy a tax of three-tenths of one mill upon all the real and
personal property as listed for taxation in the municipal
corporation for the purpose of paying the police officer
employers' contribution and the municipal corporation's accrued
liability for its former police relief and pension fund and
interest thereon, and of defraying the current operating expenses
of the municipal corporation. The annual revenues derived from the
tax shall be used in the following order:
(1) First, to pay the current police officer employers'
contribution and any interest related thereto;
(2) Second, to pay any accrued liability chargeable to the
municipal corporation during the current calendar year for its
former police relief and pension fund and any interest related
thereto;
(3) Third, to defray the current operating expenses of the
municipal corporation.
Sec. 742.34. (A) Each employer shall pay quarterly monthly,
on such dates as the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund requires, from its general fund, or from a levy
imposed pursuant to division (I) or (W) of section 5705.19 of the
Revised Code, to the fund an amount known as the "firefighter
employers' contribution," which shall be twenty-four per cent of
the salaries as defined in division (L) of section 742.01 of the
Revised Code of the members of the fire department of the
employer.
(B) The taxing authority of each municipal corporation in
which there was a firemen's relief and pension fund on October 1,
1965, shall annually, in the manner provided for making other
municipal levies and in addition to all other levies authorized by
law, levy a tax of three-tenths of one mill upon all the real and
personal property as listed for taxation in the municipal
corporation for the purpose of paying the firefighter employers'
contribution and the municipal corporation's accrued liability for
its former firemen's relief and pension fund and interest thereon,
and of defraying the current operating expenses of the municipal
corporation. The annual revenues derived from the tax shall be
used in the following order:
(1) First, to pay the current firefighter employers'
contribution and any interest related thereto;
(2) Second, to pay any accrued liability chargeable to the
municipal corporation during the current calendar year for its
former firemen's relief and pension fund and any interest related
thereto;
(3) Third, to defray the current operating expenses of the
municipal corporation.
Sec. 742.35.
As used in this section, "calendar quarter"
means the three-month period ending on the last day of March,
June, September, or December.
Each employer shall pay its annual police officer employers'
contribution and firefighter employers' contribution in
four equal
installments promptly
monthly payments as provided in sections
742.33 and 742.34 of the Revised Code.
If an employer fails to
make a payment on or before the date that is sixty days after the
last day of the calendar quarter The employer shall make each
payment not later than the last day of the month after the month
for which the police officer or firefighter employee contributions
were withheld. If an employer fails to make the payment
installment by the date it is due, a penalty determined under
section 742.352 of the Revised Code shall be assessed against the
employer. In addition, interest on past due accounts and penalties
may be charged at a rate determined by the board from the date the
installment payment is due to the date of payment.
Upon certification by the board to the county auditor of an
amount due from any employer within the county who is subject to
this chapter, by reason of such employer's delinquency in making
employer contribution payments to the fund for past months, such
amount shall be withheld from such employer from any funds in the
hands of the county treasurer for distribution to such employer.
Upon receipt of such certification, the county auditor shall draw
a warrant against such funds in favor of the fund for the amount.
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 Unless the board acts under section 742.161 of
the Revised Code, 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 credit and has
attained forty-eight years of the requisite age may, at the
member's election, elect to retire
from the police or fire
department.
Upon The requisite age is forty-eight for a member
whose membership began before July 2, 2013, and fifty-two for a
member whose membership began on or after that date.
Upon notifying the board in writing of the election, the
member 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 If, as of July 2, 2013, the member had
fifteen or more years of service credit, the average annual salary
shall be determined using three years of contributions. If, as of
that date, the member had less than fifteen years of service
credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using five
years of contributions.
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
of service of the department credit, plus two per cent for each of
the twenty-first to twenty-fifth years
the member was in the
active
of service of the department credit, plus one and one-half
per cent for each year in excess of twenty-five years
the member
was in the active
of service of the department credit. The annual
pension shall not exceed seventy-two per cent of the member's
average annual salary.
A member who completed has twenty-five years of active
service credit, 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 the requisite age,
be entitled to receive a normal service pension benefit computed
and paid under division (C)(1) of this section.
While participating in the deferred retirement option plan
established under section 742.43 of the Revised Code, a member
shall not be considered to have elected retirement under division
(C)(1) of this section. On notifying the board under division
(B)(1) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code of the member's
election to terminate active service, a member described in
division (B) of that section shall receive an annual pension under
division (C)(1) of this section calculated in accordance with
section 742.442 of the Revised Code and rules that shall be
adopted by the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund.
(2) A member of the fund who has served fifteen or more years
as an active member of a police or fire department service credit
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 of the member was in
the active member's service
of the department credit. The If, as
of July 2, 2013, the member had fifteen or more years of service
credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using three
years of contributions. If, as of that date, the member had less
than fifteen years of service credit, the average annual salary
shall be determined using five years of contributions.
If a member's membership began before July 2, 2013, 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.
Pension
payments shall not commence for a member whose membership began on
or after July 2, 2013, until the member has attained the age of
fifty-two years and until twenty-five years have elapsed from the
date on which the member became a full-time regular police officer
or firefighter.
(3) A member of the fund who has completed fifteen or more
years of active service in a police or fire department credit 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. If, as of July 2, 2013, the
member had fifteen or more years of service credit, the average
annual salary shall be determined using three years of
contributions. If, as of that date, the member had less than
fifteen years of service credit, the average annual salary shall
be determined using five years of contributions. 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 of service of the
department credit, plus two per cent for each of the twenty-first
to twenty-fifth years
the member was in the active of service of
the department credit, plus one and one-half per cent for each
year in excess of twenty-five years the member was in the active
of service of the department credit. The annual pension shall not
exceed seventy-two per cent of the member's average annual salary.
(4) A member of the fund whose membership began on or after
July 2, 2013, and who has twenty-five years of service credit and
has attained forty-eight years of age may elect to retire. Upon
notifying the board in writing of the election, the member shall
receive an annual pension, payable in twelve monthly installments,
in an amount determined under division (C)(1) of this section
except that the amount shall be reduced to be the actuarial
equivalent, as determined by the fund's actuary, of the amount
payable had the member retired at fifty-two years of age.
(5) 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 or a surviving
spouse described in division (D)(4) of this section 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 ending June
30, 2002, five hundred fifty dollars 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 was annually determined by the board under former section
742.3716 of the Revised Code as that section existed on January
31, 2002;
(c) For the period beginning July 1, 2002, and the period
beginning 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
sixteen dollars and fifty cents.
(2) A surviving spouse of a deceased member of the fund shall
receive a monthly pension of four hundred ten dollars if the
surviving spouse is eligible for a benefit under 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.
(4) A surviving spouse of a deceased member of or contributor
to a fund established under former Chapter 521. or 741. of the
Revised Code whose benefit or pension was terminated or not paid
due to remarriage shall receive a monthly pension under division
(D)(1) of this section.
The pension shall commence on the first day of the month
immediately following receipt by the board of a completed
application on a form provided by the board and evidence
acceptable to the board that at the time of death the deceased
spouse was a member of or contributor to a police or firemen's
relief and pension fund established under former Chapter 521. or
741. of the Revised Code and that the surviving spouse's benefits
were terminated or not granted due to remarriage.
(E)(1) Each surviving child of a deceased member of the fund
shall receive a monthly pension 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.
(2) An eligible surviving child shall receive a monthly
pension as follows:
(a) For the period beginning July 1, 2001, and ending June
30, 2002, a monthly pension of one hundred fifty dollars plus the
cost of living increase provided for in that was determined under
former section 742.3720 of the Revised Code;
(b) For the period beginning July 1, 2002, and ending June
30, 2003, one hundred sixty-three dollars and fifty cents;
(c) For the period beginning July 1, 2003, and the period
beginning the first day of each July thereafter and continuing for
the following twelve months, an amount equal to the monthly amount
paid during the prior twelve-month period plus four dollars and
fifty cents.
(F)(1) If a deceased member of the fund leaves no surviving
spouse or surviving children, but leaves one or two parents
dependent upon the deceased member for support, each parent shall
be paid a monthly pension. 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.
(2) Each eligible surviving parent shall be paid a monthly
pension as follows:
(a) For the period ending June 30, 2002, one hundred six
dollars for each parent or two hundred twelve dollars for a sole
dependent parent;
(b) For the period beginning July 1, 2002, and ending June
30, 2003, one hundred nine dollars for each parent or two hundred
eighteen dollars for a sole dependent parent;
(c) For the period beginning July 1, 2003, and the first day
of each July thereafter and continuing for the following twelve
months, an amount equal to the monthly amount paid during the
prior twelve-month period plus three dollars for each parent or
six dollars for a sole dependent parent.
(G)(1) 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.
(2) A member described in division (G)(1) of this section who
is married at the time of application for payment and would be
eligible for age and service retirement under this section or
section 742.39 of the Revised Code but for a forfeiture ordered
under division (A) or (B) of section 2929.192 of the Revised Code
shall submit with the application a written statement by the
member's spouse attesting that the spouse consents to the payment
of the member's accumulated contributions. Consent shall be valid
only if it is signed and witnessed by a notary public. The board
may waive the requirement of consent if the spouse is
incapacitated or cannot be located, or for any other reason
specified by the board. Consent or waiver is effective only with
regard to the spouse who is the subject of the consent or waiver.
(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 designated in writing filed with the retirement
board.
Should the nominated beneficiary member's designated in
writing become deceased beneficiary die 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.
(4) Option 4. The member's lesser retirement allowance or a
portion of the lesser retirement allowance shall be paid for life
to two, three, or four surviving beneficiaries designated at the
time of the member's retirement, in such portions as specified at
retirement. If the member elects this plan as required by a court
order issued under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the Revised Code
or the laws of another state regarding the division of marital
property and compliance with the court order requires the
allocation of a portion less than ten per cent to any beneficiary,
the member shall allocate a portion less than ten per cent to that
beneficiary in accordance with that order. In all other
circumstances, no portion allocated under this plan of payment
shall be less than ten per cent. The total of the portions
allocated shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the member's
lesser allowance.
(B)(1) The death of a spouse
nominated designated as
beneficiary or the death of any other
nominated designated
beneficiary following a member's retirement or election under
section 742.44 of the Revised Code to participate in the deferred
retirement option plan shall cancel the portion of the optional
plan of payment providing continuing lifetime benefits to the
deceased nominated designated beneficiary. The member of the fund
shall receive the actuarial equivalent of the member's single
lifetime benefit, as determined by the board, based on the number
of remaining beneficiaries, with no change in the amount payable
to any remaining beneficiary. The change shall 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 portion of the plan providing continuing lifetime benefits to
that spouse. The member shall receive the actuarial equivalent of
the member's single lifetime benefit as determined by the board
based on the number of remaining beneficiaries, with no change in
amount payable to any remaining beneficiary. 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)(1) Following marriage or remarriage, both of the
following apply:
(a) A member of the fund receiving a retirement allowance
under section 742.37 or 742.39 of the Revised Code 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.
(b) If a member is receiving a retirement allowance pursuant
to a plan of payment providing for payment to a former spouse
pursuant to a court order described in division (D)(1)(c) of this
section and the board has received a copy of the order described
in that division, the member may elect a new plan of payment under
"option 4" based on the actuarial equivalent of the retirant's
single lifetime retirement allowance as determined by the board if
the new plan of payment elected does not reduce the payment to the
former spouse.
(2) A plan elected under this division and the member's
lesser retirement allowance shall become effective on the date of
receipt by the board of an application 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;
(c) A plan of payment providing for payment in a specified
amount continuing after the retirant's death to a former spouse is
required by a court order issued prior to the effective date of
the retirant's retirement under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the
Revised Code or the laws of another state regarding division of
marital property.
(d) If a retirant is subject to division (D)(1)(c) of this
section and the board has received a copy of the order described
in that division, the board shall accept the retirant's election
of a plan of payment under this section only if the retirant
complies with both of the following:
(i) The retirant elects a plan of payment that is in
accordance with the order described in division (D)(1)(c) of this
section.
(ii) If the retirant is married, the retirant elects "option
4" and designates the retirant's current spouse as a beneficiary
under that plan unless that spouse consents in writing to not
being designated a beneficiary under any plan of payment or the
board waives the requirement that the current spouse consent.
(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 or there is a court order
dividing marital property issued under section 3105.171 or 3105.65
of the Revised Code or the laws of another state regarding the
division of marital property that provides for payment in a
specified amount, 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) A person is eligible to receive 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. A person is not eligible to receive an increase
under this 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.
The board shall annually increase all benefits payable under
this section or section 742.3715 of the Revised Code to eligible
persons by the actuarial equivalent of three hundred sixty
dollars, except that 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.
The first increase is payable to all eligible persons on July
1, 1988. The 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 increase payable under this section
shall be the anniversary date for future increases.
If payment of a portion of a benefit is made to an alternate
payee under section 742.462 of the Revised Code, increases under
this division granted while the order is in effect shall be
apportioned between the alternate payee and the benefit recipient
in the same proportion that the amount being paid to the alternate
payee bears to the amount paid to the benefit recipient.
If payment of a portion of a retirement allowance is made to
one or more beneficiaries under "option 4" under division (A)(4)
of section 742.3711 of the Revised Code, each increase under this
division granted while the plan of payment is in effect shall be
divided among the designated beneficiaries in accordance with the
portion each beneficiary has been allocated.
Sec. 742.3716. (A)(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Eligible person" means a person who meets all of the
following conditions:
(i) Has been receiving a pension or benefit under this
chapter for one year or more based on an award made on or after
July 24, 1986;
(ii) Has not made the election provided for in division (B)
of this section;
(iii) Is not the spouse or survivor of a person who has made
the election provided for in division (B) of this section;
(iv) Is receiving a benefit in accordance with division (A),
(B), or (C) of section 742.37, division (C)(2), (3), (4), or (5)
of former section 742.37, section 742.3711, or section 742.39 of
the Revised Code.
(b) "Recalculated average annual salary" means the highest
average annual compensation of a member of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund during any three years of contributions,
including amounts included in terminal pay attributable to such
three years, determined by dividing the member's total earnings as
an employee during such years by three.
(2) In the case of a member participating in the deferred
retirement option plan established under section 742.43 of the
Revised Code or a member described in division (B) of section
742.444 of the Revised Code, the period of one year or more
described in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section begins on the
effective date of the member's election under section 742.44 of
the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Notwithstanding section 742.37 or 742.39 of the
Revised Code, a member of the fund who is not receiving a pension
or benefit under this chapter and who on January 1, 1989, has
completed fifteen or more years of active service in a police or
fire department may elect to have any future benefit or pension
paid to the member or the member's spouse or survivors under this
chapter calculated on the basis of the member's recalculated
average annual salary rather than the member's average annual
salary. The election shall be made by the member prior to or at
the time of making an election under section 742.3711 of the
Revised Code. This division does not apply to a member of the fund
who elected to participate in the deferred retirement option plan
established under section 742.43 of the Revised Code unless the
member's participation has terminated pursuant to division (C) of
section 742.444 or to section 742.445 of the Revised Code.
(2) If the member eligible to make the election under
division (B)(1) of this section dies prior to making the election
and at the time of death is eligible to retire and receive a
pension or benefit under division (C)(1) or (3) of section 742.37
of the Revised Code, the person entitled to receive a benefit
under section 742.3714 of the Revised Code may make the election
provided for in division (B)(1) of this section.
(3) The election under division (B)(1) or (2) of this section
shall be made on forms provided by the trustees of the fund. Once
received by the fund, the election shall be irrevocable and shall
bind the member and any other person who receives a pension or
benefit based on the member's service. No person who receives a
pension or benefit calculated in accordance with division (B) of
this section is eligible to receive a cost-of-living allowance
under this section. If the person making the election receives a
benefit under section 742.3714 of the Revised Code, that person is
not eligible to receive a cost-of-living allowance under section
742.3711 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) The, "consumer price index" means the index, as
determined by the United States bureau of labor statistics (U.S.
city average for urban wage earners and clerical workers: all
items 1982-84=100), or, if that index is no longer published, a
generally available comparable index.
(B)(1) Except as provided in division (D) of this section,
the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund
shall annually increase all benefits payable to eligible persons
by three per cent as follows, except that 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.;
(a) By three per cent for each person who on the effective
date of this amendment is receiving a pension or disability
benefit in accordance with division (A), (B), or (C) of section
742.37, division (C)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of former section
742.37, section 742.3711, or section 742.39 of the Revised Code
that is based on an award made on or after July 24, 1986, and each
person who, although not receiving a pension or benefit, has
fifteen or more years of service credit as of July 1, 2013;
(b) By the lesser of three per cent or the percentage
increase, if any, in the consumer price index for the twelve-month
period ending on the thirtieth day of September of the immediately
preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one
per cent, for each person who becomes a member of the fund on or
after July 2, 2013, or has less than fifteen years of service
credit as of July 1, 2013, and is not receiving a pension or
disability benefit under any of the sections listed in division
(B)(1)(b) of this section.
The first Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
increase is payable to all eligible persons who on July 1, 1988,
have been receiving a pension or benefit for twelve months or
longer and have attained the age of fifty-five. For persons
receiving a benefit under division (D)(1) of section 742.38 of the
Revised Code, the first increase is payable to all eligible
persons who have been receiving a benefit for twelve months or
longer, regardless of age. The 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 increase paid under this section shall
be the anniversary date for future increases. The pension or
benefit used in the first calculation of an increase under this
section shall remain as the base for all future increases paid
under this section, unless a new base is established by law.
In
the case of a
A member who has, prior to the effective date of this
section, elected to participate in the deferred retirement option
plan established under section 742.43 of the Revised Code
or a
member described in division (B) of section 742.444 of the Revised
Code, the shall be eligible to receive an increase under this
section while participating in the deferred retirement option plan
on attaining the age of fifty-five and having participated in the
plan twelve months or longer. The pension amount used in the first
calculation of an increase under this section shall be the amount
calculated under section 742.442 of the Revised Code unless the
member's participation has terminated pursuant to division (C) of
section 742.444 or to section 742.445 of the Revised Code.
(2) Increases paid in years subsequent to the year of the
first increase paid under this section shall be paid to all
eligible persons who, on the date that the increase is authorized
by the board, have been receiving a pension or benefit for twelve
months.
(E)(C) If payment of a portion of a benefit is made to an
alternate payee under section 742.462 of the Revised Code,
increases under this section granted while the order is in effect
shall be apportioned between the alternate payee and the benefit
recipient in the same proportion that the amount being paid to the
alternate payee bears to the amount paid to the benefit recipient.
If payment of a portion of a retirement allowance is made to
one or more beneficiaries under "option 4" under division (A)(4)
of section 742.3711 of the Revised Code, each increase under this
section granted while the plan of payment is in effect shall be
divided among the designated beneficiaries in accordance with the
portion each beneficiary has been allocated.
(D) As used in this division, "recalculated average annual
salary" means the highest average annual compensation of a member
of the Ohio police and fire pension fund during any three years of
contributions, including amounts included in terminal pay
attributable to those three years, determined by dividing the
member's total earnings as an employee during those years by
three.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, section
742.37, or section 742.39 of the Revised Code, a member of the
fund who is not receiving a pension or benefit under this chapter
and who on January 1, 1989, had fifteen or more years of service
credit under this chapter may elect to have any future benefit or
pension paid to the member or the member's spouse or survivors
under this chapter calculated on the basis of the member's
recalculated average annual salary rather than the member's
average annual salary as determined under section 742.37 or 742.39
of the Revised Code. The election shall be made by the member
prior to or at the time of making an election under section
742.3711 of the Revised Code.
If the member eligible to make the election under this
division dies prior to making the election and at the time of
death is eligible to retire and receive a pension or benefit under
division (C)(1) or (3) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code, the
person entitled to receive a benefit under section 742.3714 of the
Revised Code may make the election provided for in this division.
The election shall be made on forms provided by the fund.
Once received by the fund, the election is irrevocable and binds
the member and any other person who receives a pension or benefit
based on the member's service. No person who receives a pension or
benefit calculated in accordance with this division is eligible to
receive an increase under this section. If the person making the
election receives a benefit under section 742.3714 of the Revised
Code, that person is not eligible to receive an increase under
division (G) of section 742.3711 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 742.38. (A)(1) The board of trustees of the Ohio police
and fire pension fund shall adopt rules establishing minimum
medical testing and diagnostic standards or procedures to be
incorporated into physical examinations administered by physicians
to prospective members of the fund. The standards or procedures
shall include diagnosis and evaluation of the existence of any
heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory disease. The
rules shall specify the form of the physician's report and the
information to be included in it.
The board shall notify all employers of the establishment of
the minimum standards or procedures and shall include with the
notice a copy of the standards or procedures. The board shall
notify all employers of any changes made to the standards or
procedures. Once the standards or procedures take effect,
employers shall cause each prospective member of the fund to
submit to a physical examination that incorporates the standards
or procedures.
(2) Division (A)(2) of this section applies to an employee
who becomes a member of the fund on or after the date the minimum
standards or procedures described in division (A)(1) of this
section take effect. For each employee described in division
(A)(2) of this section, the employer shall forward to the board a
copy of the physician's report of a physical examination that
incorporates the standards or procedures described in division
(A)(1) of this section. If an employer fails to forward the report
in the form required by the board on or before the date that is
sixty days after the employee becomes a member of the fund, the
board shall assess against the employer a penalty determined under
section 742.353 of the Revised Code.
(B) Application for a disability benefit may be made by a
member of the fund or, if the member is incapacitated as defined
in rules adopted by the board, by a person acting on the member's
behalf. Not later than fourteen days after receiving an
application for a disability benefit from a member or a person
acting on behalf of a member, the board shall notify the member's
employer that an application has been filed. The notice shall
state the member's position or rank. Not later than twenty-eight
days after receiving the notice or filing an application on behalf
of a member, the employer shall forward to the board a statement
certifying the member's job description and any other information
required by the board to process the application.
If the member applying for a disability benefit becomes a
member of the fund prior to the date the minimum standards or
procedures described in division (A)(1) of this section take
effect, the board may request from the member's employer a copy of
the physician's report of the member's physical examination taken
on entry into the police or fire department or, if the employer
does not have a copy of the report, a written statement certifying
that the employer does not have a copy of the report. If an
employer fails to forward the report or statement in the form
required by the board on or before the date that is twenty-eight
days after the date of the request, the board shall assess against
the employer a penalty determined under section 742.353 of the
Revised Code. The board shall maintain the information submitted
under this division and division (A)(2) of this section in the
member's file.
(C) For purposes of determining under division (D) of this
section whether a member of the fund is disabled, the board shall
adopt rules establishing objective criteria under which the board
shall make the determination. The rules shall include standards
that provide for all of the following:
(1) Evaluating a member's illness or injury on which an
application for disability benefits is based;
(2) Defining the occupational duties of a police officer or
firefighter;
(3) Providing for the board to assign competent and
disinterested physicians and vocational evaluators to conduct
examinations of a member;
(4) Requiring a written report for each disability
application that includes a summary of findings, medical opinions,
including an opinion on whether the illness or injury upon which
the member's application for disability benefits is based was
caused or induced by the actual performance of the member's
official duties, and any recommendations or comments based on the
medical opinions;
(5) Providing for the board to consider the member's
potential for retraining or reemployment.
(D) This division does not apply to members of the fund who
have elected to receive benefits and pensions in accordance with
division (A) or (B) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code or from
a police relief and pension fund or a firemen's relief and pension
fund in accordance with the rules of that fund in force on April
1, 1947.
(1) As used in this division (D)(1) of this section:
(a) "Totally disabled" means a member of the fund is unable
to perform the duties of any gainful occupation for which the
member is reasonably fitted by training, experience, and
accomplishments. Absolute helplessness is not a prerequisite of
being totally disabled.
(b) "Permanently disabled" means a condition of disability
from which there is no present indication of recovery.
(1) A member of the fund who is permanently and totally
disabled as the result of the performance of the member's official
duties as a member of a police or fire department shall be paid
annual disability benefits in accordance with division (A) of
section 742.39 of the Revised Code. In determining whether a
member of the fund is permanently and totally disabled, the board
shall consider standards adopted under division (C) of this
section applicable to the determination.
(2) A member of the fund who is permanently and partially
disabled as the result of the performance of the member's official
duties as a member of a police or fire department shall, if the
disability prevents the member from performing those duties and
impairs the member's earning capacity, receive annual disability
benefits in accordance with division (B) of section 742.39 of the
Revised Code. In determining whether a member of the fund is
permanently and partially disabled, the board shall consider
standards adopted under division (C) of this section applicable to
the determination.
(3) A member of the fund who is permanently disabled as a
result of heart disease or any cardiovascular or respiratory
disease of a chronic nature, which disease or any evidence of
which disease was not revealed by the physical examination passed
by the member on entry into the department or another examination
specified in rules the board adopts under section 742.10 of the
Revised Code, is presumed to have incurred the disease while
performing the member's official duties, unless the contrary is
shown by competent evidence. The board may waive the requirement
that the absence of disease be evidenced by a physical examination
if competent medical evidence of a type specified in rules adopted
under section 742.10 of the Revised Code is submitted documenting
that the disease was not evident prior to or at the time of entry
into the department.
(4) A member of the fund who has completed five or more years
of active service in a police or fire department credit and has
incurred a permanent disability not caused or induced by the
actual performance of the member's official duties as a member of
the department, or by the member's own negligence, shall if the
disability prevents the member from performing those duties and
impairs the member's earning capacity, receive annual disability
benefits in accordance with division (C) of section 742.39 of the
Revised Code. In determining whether a member of the fund is
permanently disabled, the board shall consider standards adopted
under division (C) of this section applicable to the
determination.
(5) The board shall notify a member of its final action
awarding a disability benefit to the member within thirty days of
the final action. The notice shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested. Not later than ninety days after receipt
of notice from the board, the member shall elect, on a form
provided by the board, either to accept or waive the disability
benefit award. If the member elects to waive the disability
benefit award or fails to make an election within the time period,
the award is rescinded. A member who later seeks a disability
benefit award shall be required to make a new application, which
shall be dealt with in accordance with the procedures used for
original disability benefit applications.
A person is not eligible to apply for or receive disability
benefits under this division, section 742.39 of the Revised Code,
or division (C)(2), (3), (4), or (5) of former section 742.37 of
the Revised Code unless the person is a member of the fund on the
date on which the application for disability benefits is submitted
to the fund.
With the exception of persons who may make application for
increased benefits as provided in division (D)(2) or (4) of this
section or division (C)(3) or (5) of former section 742.37 of the
Revised Code on or after July 24, 1986, or persons who may make
application for benefits as provided in section 742.26 of the
Revised Code, no person receiving a pension or benefit under this
section or division (C) of former section 742.37 of the Revised
Code may apply for any new, changed, or different benefit.
Sec. 742.39. (A) A member of the Ohio police and fire
pension fund determined to be eligible for a disability benefit
under division (D)(1) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code shall
be paid annual disability benefits, payable in twelve monthly
installments, in an amount equal to seventy-two per cent of the
member's average annual salary. If, as of July 2, 2013, the member
had fifteen or more years of service credit, the average annual
salary shall be determined using three years of contributions. If,
as of that date, the member had less than fifteen years of service
credit, the average annual salary shall be determined using five
years of contributions.
(B) A member of the fund determined to be eligible for a
disability benefit under division (D)(2) of section 742.38 of the
Revised Code shall be paid annual disability benefits, payable in
twelve monthly installments. If the member has fewer than
twenty-five years of active service in a police or fire department
credit, the benefit shall be in an amount fixed by the board of
trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund. The board may
increase or decrease the benefit whenever the board determines
that the impairment of the member's earning capacity warrants an
increase or decrease based on the standards adopted under division
(C) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code applicable to the
determination, but in no event shall the benefit exceed sixty per
cent of the member's average annual salary.
A member who has completed twenty-five or more years of
active service in the department credit shall receive annual
disability benefits, 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
of service of the department credit, plus two per cent for
each of the twenty-first to twenty-fifth years the member was in
the active
of service of the department credit, plus one and
one-half per cent for each year in excess of twenty-five years the
member was in the active of service of the department credit. The
annual disability benefit shall not exceed seventy-two per cent of
the member's average annual salary.
In calculating a benefit under this division, a member's
average annual salary shall be determined using three years of
contributions if, as of July 2, 2013, the member had fifteen or
more years of service credit. If, as of that date, the member had
less than fifteen years of service credit, the average annual
salary shall be determined using five years of contributions.
(C) A member of the fund determined to be eligible for a
disability benefit under division (D)(4) of section 742.38 of the
Revised Code shall be paid annual disability benefits, payable in
twelve monthly installments, in an amount to be fixed by the
board. The board may increase or decrease the benefits whenever
the board determines that the impairment of the member's earning
capacity warrants an increase or decrease based on the standards
adopted under division (C) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code
applicable to the determination, but in no event shall a benefit
paid to the member exceed sixty per cent of the member's average
annual salary.
(D) Each of the following persons who on July 1, 1999, is
receiving annual benefits of less than six thousand six hundred
dollars shall have the benefits increased to that amount effective
July 1, 1999:
(1) A person receiving annual benefits described in division
(A) of this section;
(2) A person receiving annual benefits described in division
(C) of this section based on an award made prior to September 16,
1998.
(E) Benefits payable under this section continue until death
unless adjusted under division (D)(5) of section 742.38 of the
Revised Code or adjusted or terminated under division (C)(3) of
section 742.40 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 742.44. Except as provided in section 742.14 of the
Revised Code, at any time prior to filing an application for
retirement under division (C)(1) of section 742.37 of the Revised
Code, a member who has attained the requisite age and is eligible
to retire under that division may elect to participate in the
deferred retirement option plan established under section 742.43
of the Revised Code.
To make an election, an eligible member shall complete and
submit to the Ohio police and fire pension fund a form prescribed
by the fund. At this time the member may, but is not required to,
elect under section 742.3711 of the Revised Code to have the
member's monthly pension calculated as a retirement allowance
payable throughout the member's life or a retirement allowance
under option 2 in division (A) of section 742.3711 of the Revised
Code. Unless rescinded during a period specified in rules adopted
under section 742.43 of the Revised Code, the The election is
irrevocable from the date it is received by the fund until the
employee ceases to participate in the plan as provided in section
742.444 of the Revised Code unless the member is required to
select a plan of payment providing for payment in a specified
amount continuing after the member's death to a former spouse
pursuant to a court order issued prior to the effective date of
the member's retirement under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the
Revised Code or the laws of another state regarding division of
marital property.
A member is not required to specify the number of years or
portion of a year the member will participate in the plan but must
agree to terminate active service in a police or fire department
and begin receiving the member's pension not later than the date
that is eight years after the effective date of the election to
participate in the plan or be subject to the forfeiture provisions
of division (C) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code.
The effective date of an election made under this section is
the first day of the employer's first payroll period immediately
following the board's receipt of the notice of election.
Sec. 742.442. For each member who elects to participate in
the deferred retirement option plan, the Ohio police and fire
pension fund shall determine under division (C)(1) of section
742.37 of the Revised Code the monthly pension amount that would
be payable to the member had the member elected to receive a
pension under that division. In determining the pension amount,
the fund shall use the member's total service credit and average
annual salary as of the last day of the employer's payroll period
immediately prior to the effective date of the member's election
to participate in the plan. The pension amount shall be calculated
as a retirement allowance payable for the member's life, except
that, if at the time of electing to participate in the plan the
member selected the plan of payment in option 2 of division (A) of
section 742.3711 of the Revised Code, the pension shall be
calculated using that plan of payment.
A member who participates in the plan is not eligible to make
an election under division (B)(D) of section 742.3716 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 742.443. (A) During the period beginning on the
effective date of an election to participate in the deferred
retirement option plan and ending on the date participation
ceases, a member's monthly pension amount determined under section
742.442 of the Revised Code shall accrue to the member's benefit.
To If the member is eligible for increases under section 742.3716
of the Revised Code, to this amount shall be added any benefit
increases the member would be eligible for under
division (C) of
section 742.3716 of the Revised Code that section had the member,
on the effective date of the member's election, retired under
division (C)(1) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) The amounts contributed under section 742.31 of the
Revised Code by a member participating who, before July 2, 2013,
elects to participate in the deferred retirement option plan shall
accrue to the member's benefit as follows:
(a) During the period beginning on the first day of the first
payroll period after the election's effective date and ending on
the earlier of the date that is two years thereafter or the date
the member ceases participation in the plan, fifty per cent of the
member's contributions for that period;
(b) During the period beginning on the date that is two years
and one day after accruals begin under this division and ending on
the earlier of the date that is three years thereafter or the date
the member ceases participation in the plan, seventy-five per cent
of the member's contributions for that period;
(c) During the period beginning on the date that is three
years and one day after accruals begin under this section and
ending on the date the member ceases participation in the plan,
one hundred per cent of the member's contributions for that
period.
(2) The amounts contributed under section 742.31 of the
Revised Code by a member who, on or after July 2, 2013, elects to
participate in the deferred retirement option plan shall accrue to
the member's benefit as follows:
(a) During the period beginning on the first day of the first
payroll period after the election's effective date and ending on
the earlier of the date that is three years thereafter or the date
the member ceases participation in the plan, fifty per cent of the
member's contributions for that period;
(b) During the period beginning on the date that is three
years and one day after accruals begin under this division and
ending on the earlier of the date that is five years thereafter or
the date the member ceases participation in the plan, seventy-five
per cent of the member's contributions for that period;
(c) During the period beginning on the date that is five
years and one day after accruals begin under this section and
ending on the date the member ceases participation in the plan,
one hundred per cent of the member's contributions for that
period.
(3) The Ohio police and fire pension fund shall credit the
portion of a member's contributions that are not accrued to the
member's benefit under division (B)(1) or (2) of this section to
the police officers' contribution fund or firefighters'
contribution fund, as appropriate.
(C) During the period beginning on the election's effective
date and ending on the day before the date distributions under
division (B)(3) of section 742.444 of the Revised Code are
completed, the amounts described in divisions (A) and (B)(1) of
this section shall earn interest at an annual rate established by
the board of trustees of the fund and compounded annually using a
method established by rule adopted under section 742.43 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 742.444. (A) A member's participation in the deferred
retirement option plan ceases on the occurrence of the earliest of
the following:
(1) Termination of the member's active service in a police or
fire department;
(2) The last day of the eight-year period that begins on the
effective date of the member's election to participate in the
plan;
(3) Acceptance by the member of a disability benefit awarded
by the board of trustees of the Ohio police and fire pension fund,
unless the acceptance is revoked by the member in accordance with
rules adopted by the board;
(B) If a member terminates active service in a police or fire
department not later than eight years after the effective date of
the member's election to participate in the plan, all of the
following apply:
(1) The member shall notify the Ohio police and fire pension
fund of the date of termination on a form prescribed by the fund.
The member is not eligible to make another election under section
742.44 of the Revised Code.
(2) If the member's termination of active service occurs on
or after the date that is the first day of the fourth year after
the effective date of the election to participate the member has
completed five years of participation in the plan, the entire
amount that has accrued to the member's benefit under the deferred
retirement option plan shall be distributed to the member pursuant
to the member's selection under division (B)(3) of this section.
If the member's termination of active service occurs before the
date that is four years after the effective date of the election
to participate member has completed five years of participation,
the member shall forfeit the total amount of the interest credited
under division (C) of section 742.443 of the Revised Code.
(3) The member shall select one of the following as the
method of distribution of the amount to be distributed to the
member:
(b) Periodic payments as determined by the board.
The fund shall retain amounts accrued to the benefit of a
member under the plan until a form specifying the method of
distribution selected is filed with the fund by the member or an
authorized representative of the member.
The board shall afford a member who selects periodic payments
the opportunity at least once during each calendar year to change
the member's selection.
(4) Distribution of the amount accrued to a member's benefit
under the deferred retirement option plan shall not commence until
the member has completed five years of participation, which shall
be the date that is the first day of the fourth sixth year after
the effective date of the election.
(5) The member shall select a plan of payment under section
742.3711 of the Revised Code for the pension payable to the member
under division (C) of section 742.37 of the Revised Code, unless
the member selected a plan of payment at the time of electing to
participate in the plan. The pension shall commence not later than
the first day of the second month following the date the employee
ceases to participate in the plan.
(C) If, at the end of the eight-year period that begins on
the effective date of a member's election to participate in the
plan, the member has failed to terminate active service in a
police or fire department, all of the following apply:
(1) No further amounts shall accrue to the member's benefit,
and the member shall forfeit all amounts that have accrued to the
member's benefit under section 742.443 of the Revised Code. The
amounts forfeited shall be treated as if the member had continued
in the active service of a police or fire department and not
elected to participate in the plan.
(2) The member shall be granted service credit for the period
the member was participating in the plan, and when the member's
pension is calculated under section 742.37 of the Revised Code,
the calculation shall be made as though the member had never
participated in the plan.
(3) Further contributions, and service credit for those
contributions, shall be credited as provided in sections 742.31
through 742.34 of the Revised Code.
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) 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 medicare program
established under Title XVIII of "The Social Security Amendments
of 1965," 79 Stat. 301 (1965), 42 U.S.C.A. 1395j, as amended, an
amount 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.
Sec. 742.63. The board of trustees of the Ohio police and
fire pension fund shall adopt rules for the management of the Ohio
public safety officers death benefit fund and for disbursements of
benefits as set forth in this section.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Member" means all of the following:
(a) A member of the Ohio police and fire pension fund,
including a member of the fund who has elected to participate in
the deferred retirement option plan established under section
742.43 of the Revised Code or a member of or contributor to a
police or firemen's relief and pension fund established under
former Chapter 521. or 741. of the Revised Code;
(b) A member of the state highway patrol retirement system,
including a member who is participating in the deferred retirement
option plan established under section 5505.50 of the Revised Code;
(c) A member of the public employees retirement system who at
the time of the member's death was one of the following:
(i) A county sheriff or deputy sheriff;
(ii) A full-time regular police officer in a municipal
corporation or township;
(iii) A full-time regular firefighter employed by the state,
an instrumentality of the state, a municipal corporation, a
township, a joint fire district, or another political subdivision;
(iv) A full-time park district ranger or patrol trooper;
(v) A full-time law enforcement officer of the department of
natural resources;
(vi) A full-time department of public safety enforcement
agent;
(vii) A full-time law enforcement officer of parks, waterway
lands, or reservoir lands under the control of a municipal
corporation;
(viii) A full-time law enforcement officer of a conservancy
district;
(ix) A correction officer at an institution under the control
of a county, a group of counties, a municipal corporation, or the
department of rehabilitation and correction;
(x) A state university law enforcement officer;
(xi) An investigator, as defined in section 109.541 of the
Revised Code, or an investigator commissioned as a special agent
of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.
(xii) A drug agent, as defined in section 145.01 of the
Revised Code.
(d) A member of a retirement system operated by a municipal
corporation who at the time of death was a full-time law
enforcement officer of parks, waterway lands, or reservoir lands
under the control of the municipal corporation.
(2) Notwithstanding section 742.01 of the Revised Code, "fire
or police department" includes a fire department of the state or
an instrumentality of the state or of a municipal corporation,
township, joint fire district, or other political subdivision, the
state highway patrol, a county sheriff's office, the security
force of an institution under the control of the department of
rehabilitation and correction, the security force of a jail or
workhouse under the control of a county, group of counties, or
municipal corporation, the security force of a metropolitan,
county, or township park district, the security force of lands
under the control of the department of natural resources,
department of public safety enforcement agents, the security force
of parks, waterway lands, or reservoir lands under the control of
a municipal corporation, the security force of a conservancy
district, the police department of a township or municipal
corporation, and the police force of a state university.
(3) "Firefighter or police officer" includes a state highway
patrol trooper, a county sheriff or deputy sheriff, a correction
officer at an institution under the control of a county, a group
of counties, a municipal corporation, or the department of
rehabilitation and correction, a police officer employed by a
township or municipal corporation, a firefighter employed by the
state, an instrumentality of the state, a municipal corporation, a
township, a joint fire district, or another political subdivision,
a full-time park district ranger or patrol trooper, a full-time
law enforcement officer of the department of natural resources, a
full-time department of public safety enforcement agent, a
full-time law enforcement officer of parks, waterway lands, or
reservoir lands under the control of a municipal corporation, a
full-time law enforcement officer of a conservancy district, and a
state university law enforcement officer.
(4) "Correction officer" includes, in addition to any
correction officer, any correction corporal, sergeant, lieutenant,
or captain, and the equivalents of all such persons.
(5) "A park district ranger or patrol trooper" means a peace
officer commissioned to make arrests, execute warrants, and
preserve the peace upon lands under the control of a board of park
commissioners of a metropolitan, county, or township park
district.
(6) "Metropolitan, county, or township park district" means a
park district created under the authority of Chapter 511. or 1545.
of the Revised Code.
(7) "Conservancy district" means a conservancy district
created under the authority of Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code.
(8) "Law enforcement officer" means an officer commissioned
to make arrests, execute warrants, and preserve the peace upon
lands under the control of the governmental entity granting the
commission.
(9) "Department of natural resources law enforcement officer"
includes a forest officer designated pursuant to section 1503.29
of the Revised Code, a preserve officer designated pursuant to
section 1517.10 of the Revised Code, a wildlife officer designated
pursuant to section 1531.13 of the Revised Code, a park officer
designated pursuant to section 1541.10 of the Revised Code, and a
state watercraft officer designated pursuant to section 1547.521
of the Revised Code.
(10) "Retirement eligibility date" means the last day of the
month in which a deceased member would have first become eligible,
had the member lived, for the retirement pension provided under
section 145.33, Chapter 145., 521., or 741., division (C)(1) of
section 742.37, or division (A)(1) of section 5505.17 of the
Revised Code or provided by a retirement system operated by a
municipal corporation.
(11) "Death benefit amount" means an amount equal to the full
monthly salary received by a deceased member prior to death, minus
an amount equal to the benefit received under section 145.45,
742.37, 742.3714, or 5505.17 of the Revised Code or the benefit
received from a retirement system operated by a municipal
corporation, plus any increases in salary that would have been
granted the deceased member.
(12) "Killed in the line of duty" means either of the
following:
(a) Death in the line of duty;
(b) Death from injury sustained in the line of duty,
including heart attack or other fatal injury or illness caused
while in the line of duty.
(B) A spouse of a deceased member shall receive a death
benefit each month equal to the full death benefit amount,
provided that the deceased member was a firefighter or police
officer killed in the line of duty and there are no surviving
children eligible for a benefit under this section. The spouse
shall receive this benefit during the spouse's natural life until
the deceased member's retirement eligibility date, on which date
the benefit provided under this division shall terminate.
(C)(1) If a member killed in the line of duty as a
firefighter or police officer is survived only by a child or
children, the child or children shall receive a benefit each month
equal to the full death benefit amount. If there is more than one
surviving child, the benefit shall be divided equally among these
children.
(2) If the death benefit paid under this division is divided
among two or more surviving children and any of the children
become ineligible to continue receiving a portion of the benefit
as provided in division (H) of this section, the full death
benefit amount shall be paid to the remaining eligible child or
divided among the eligible children so that the benefit paid to
the remaining eligible child or children equals the full death
benefit amount.
(3) Notwithstanding divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section,
all death benefits paid under this division shall terminate on the
deceased member's retirement eligibility date.
(D) If a member killed in the line of duty as a firefighter
or police officer is survived by both a spouse and a child or
children, the monthly benefit provided shall be as follows:
(1)(a) If there is a surviving spouse and one surviving
child, the spouse shall receive an amount each month equal to
one-half of the full death benefit amount and the child shall
receive an amount equal to one-half of the full death benefit
amount.
(b) If the surviving spouse dies or the child becomes
ineligible as provided in division (H) of this section, the
surviving spouse or child remaining eligible shall receive the
full death benefit amount.
(2)(a) If there is a surviving spouse and more than one
child, the spouse shall receive an amount each month equal to
one-third of the full death benefit amount and the children shall
receive an amount, equally divided among them, equal to two-thirds
of the full death benefit amount.
(b) If a spouse and more than one child each are receiving a
death benefit under division (D)(2)(a) of this section and the
spouse dies, the children shall receive an amount each month,
equally divided among them, equal to the full death benefit
amount.
(c) If a spouse and more than one child each are receiving a
benefit under division (D)(2)(a) of this section and any of the
children becomes ineligible to receive a benefit as provided in
division (H) of this section, the spouse and remaining eligible
child or children shall receive a death benefit as follows:
(i) If there are two or more remaining eligible children, the
spouse shall receive an amount each month equal to one-third of
the full death benefit amount and the children shall receive an
amount each month, equally divided among them, equal to two-thirds
of the full death benefit amount;
(ii) If there is one remaining eligible child, the spouse
shall receive an amount each month equal to one-half of the full
death benefit amount, and the child shall receive an amount each
month equal to one-half of the full death benefit amount.
(d) If a spouse and more than one child each are receiving a
benefit under division (D)(2)(a) of this section and all of the
children become ineligible to receive a benefit as provided in
division (H) of this section, the spouse shall receive the full
death benefit amount.
(3) Notwithstanding divisions (D)(1) and (2) of this section,
death benefits paid under this division to a surviving spouse
shall terminate on the member's retirement eligibility date. Death
benefits paid to a surviving child or children shall terminate on
the deceased member's retirement eligibility date unless earlier
terminated pursuant to division (H) of this section.
(E) If a member, on or after January 1, 1980, is killed in
the line of duty as a firefighter or police officer and is
survived by only a parent or parents dependent upon the member for
support, the parent or parents shall receive an amount each month
equal to the full death benefit amount. If there is more than one
surviving parent dependent upon the deceased member for support,
the death benefit amount shall be divided equally among the
surviving parents. On the death of one of the surviving parents,
the full death benefit amount shall be paid to the other parent.
(F)(1) The following shall receive a monthly death benefit
under this division:
(a) A surviving spouse whose benefits are terminated in
accordance with division (B) or (D)(3) of this section on the
deceased member's retirement eligibility date, or who would
qualify for a benefit under division (B) or (D) of this section
except that the deceased member reached the member's retirement
eligibility date prior to the member's death;
(b) A qualified surviving spouse of a deceased member of or
contributor to a police or firemen's relief and pension fund
established under former Chapter 521. or 741. of the Revised Code
who was a firefighter or police officer killed in the line of
duty.
(2) The monthly death benefit shall be one-half of an amount
equal to the monthly salary received by the deceased member prior
to the member's death, plus any salary increases the deceased
member would have received prior to the member's retirement
eligibility date. The benefit shall terminate on the surviving
spouse's death. A death benefit payable under this division shall
be reduced by an amount equal to any allowance or benefit payable
to the surviving spouse under section 742.3714 of the Revised
Code.
(3) A benefit granted to a surviving spouse under division
(F)(1)(b) of this section shall commence on the first day of the
month immediately following receipt by the board of a completed
application on a form provided by the board and any evidence the
board may require to establish that the deceased spouse was killed
in the line of duty.
(G)(1) If there is not a surviving spouse eligible to receive
a death benefit under division (F) of this section or the
surviving spouse receiving a death benefit under that division
dies, a surviving child or children whose benefits under division
(C) or (D) of this section are or have been terminated pursuant to
division (C)(3) or (D)(3) of this section or who would qualify for
a benefit under division (C) or (D) of this section except that
the deceased member reached the member's retirement eligibility
date prior to the member's death shall receive a monthly death
benefit under this division. The monthly death benefit shall be
one-half of an amount equal to the monthly salary received by the
deceased member prior to the member's death, plus any salary
increases the member would have received prior to the member's
retirement eligibility date. If there is more than one surviving
child, the benefit shall be divided equally among the surviving
children.
(2) If two or more surviving children each are receiving a
benefit under this division and any of those children becomes
ineligible to continue receiving a benefit as provided in division
(H) of this section, the remaining eligible child or children
shall receive an amount equal to one-half of the monthly salary
received by the deceased member prior to death, plus any salary
increases the deceased member would have received prior to the
retirement eligibility date. If there is more than one remaining
eligible child, the benefit shall be divided equally among the
eligible children.
(3) A death benefit, or portion of a death benefit, payable
to a surviving child under this division shall be reduced by an
amount equal to any allowance or benefit payable to that child
under section 742.3714 of the Revised Code, but the reduction in
that child's benefit shall not affect the amount payable to any
other surviving child entitled to a portion of the death benefit.
(H) A death benefit paid to a surviving child under division
(C), (D), or (G) of this section shall terminate on the death of
the child or, unless one of the following is the case, when the
child reaches age eighteen:
(1) The child, because of physical or mental disability, is
unable to provide the child's own support, in which case the death
benefit shall terminate when the disability is removed;
(2) The child is unmarried, under age twenty-two, and 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 trustees of
the fund.
(I) Acceptance of any death benefit under this section does
not prohibit a spouse or child from receiving other benefits
provided under the Ohio police and fire pension fund, the state
highway patrol retirement system, the public employees retirement
system, or a retirement system operated by a municipal
corporation.
(J) No person shall receive a benefit under this section if
any of the following occur:
(1) The person fails to exercise the right to a monthly
survivor benefit under division (A) or (B) of section 145.45,
division (D), (E), or (F) of section 742.37, or division (A)(3),
(4), or (7) of section 5505.17 of the Revised Code; to a monthly
survivor benefit from a retirement system operated by a municipal
corporation; or to a retirement allowance under section 742.3714
of the Revised Code.
(2) The member's accumulated contributions under this chapter
or Chapter 145. or 5505. of the Revised Code are refunded unless
the member had been a member of the public employees retirement
system and had fewer than eighteen months of total service credit
at the time of death.
(3) In the case of a full-time park district ranger or patrol
trooper, a full-time law enforcement officer of the department of
natural resources, a full-time law enforcement officer of parks,
waterway lands, or reservoir lands under the control of a
municipal corporation, a full-time law enforcement officer of a
conservancy district, a correction officer at an institution under
the control of a county, group of counties, or municipal
corporation, or a member of a retirement system operated by a
municipal corporation who at the time of the member's death was a
full-time law enforcement officer of parks, waterway lands, or
reservoir lands under the control of the municipal corporation,
the member died prior to April 9, 1981, in the case of a benefit
under division (B), (C), or (D) of this section, or prior to
January 1, 1980, in the case of a benefit under division (E) of
this section.
(4) In the case of a full-time department of public safety
enforcement agent who prior to June 30, 1999, was a liquor control
investigator of the department of public safety, the member died
prior to December 23, 1986;
(5) In the case of a full-time department of public safety
enforcement agent other than an enforcement agent who, prior to
June 30, 1999, was a liquor control investigator, the member died
prior to June 30, 1999.
(K) A surviving spouse whose benefit was terminated prior to
June 30, 1999, due to remarriage shall receive a benefit under
division (B), (D), or (F) of this section beginning on the first
day of the month following receipt by the board of an application
on a form provided by the board. The benefit amount shall be
determined as of that date.
(1) If the benefit will begin prior to the deceased member's
retirement eligibility date, it shall be paid under division (B)
or (D) of this section and shall terminate as provided in those
divisions. A benefit paid to a surviving spouse under division (D)
of this section shall be determined in accordance with that
division, even if benefits paid to surviving children are reduced
as a result.
(2) If the benefit will begin on or after the deceased
member's retirement eligibility date, it shall be paid under
division (F) of this section and shall terminate as provided in
that division. A benefit paid to a surviving spouse under division
(F) of this section shall be determined in accordance with that
division, even if benefits paid to surviving children are
terminated as a result.
Sec. 742.64. If a any person who is a disability benefit
recipient or an alternate payee, as defined in section 3105.80 of
the Revised Code, is paid any benefit or payment by the Ohio
police and fire pension fund to which the person is not entitled,
the person shall repay the fund. If the person fails to repay, the
fund shall withhold the amount due from any benefit or payment due
the person or the person's beneficiary under this chapter or may
collect the amount in any other manner provided by law.
Section 2. That existing sections 171.04, 742.01, 742.04,
742.10, 742.14, 742.16, 742.30, 742.301, 742.31, 742.32, 742.33,
742.34, 742.35, 742.37, 742.3711, 742.3716, 742.38, 742.39,
742.44, 742.442, 742.443, 742.444, 742.45, 742.63, and 742.64 and
section 742.011 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. (A) The amendments by this act of sections
742.33, 742.34, and 742.35 of the Revised Code regarding the
frequency of employer payments to the Ohio Police and Fire Pension
Fund apply to police officer employers' contributions and
firefighter employers' contributions due the Fund for employee
payrolls paid on or after the ninety-first day after the effective
date of this section.
(B) Police officer employers' contributions and firefighter
employers' contributions due the Fund for employee payrolls paid
before the ninety-first day after the effective date of this
section shall be paid to the Fund not later than the date the
contributions would have been due under section 742.33 or 742.34
of the Revised Code, as those sections existed immediately prior
to the effective date of this section.
(C) Any applicable penalty determined under section 742.352
of the Revised Code shall be assessed against an employer if the
employer fails to make a payment on or before the date the payment
is due.
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