§ 70-203. Retirement plans.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in section 70-210, members of the retirement system shall contribute seven percent of the member's compensation to the annuity savings fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in accordance with Section 415(c)(1) of the Code, the contributions to the annuity savings fund shall not exceed the lesser of $40,000.00 ($52,000.00 for 2014 and adjusted annually for cost-of-living adjustments under Section 415(d)(1) of the Code) or 100 percent of the member's compensation. For purposes of the annuity savings fund, the definition of "compensation" is the definition provided in Treasury Regulation Section 1.415(c)-2.

(b)

All members enrolled in the plan on January 26, 1970, are eligible for retirement after 20 years of service or the attainment of age 50.

(c)

New members enrolling in the plan on or after January 27, 1970, and prior to January 1, 1974, must have at least 20 years of membership service or must have reached the age of 55 years with a minimum of 15 years of membership service in order to be eligible for normal retirement.

(d)

There shall be no vested rights in any pension benefits for any members enrolling after January 1, 1970, who have less than ten years of membership service.

(e)

New members enrolling in the plan on and after January 1, 1974, must have at least 20 years of membership service, and the total of age and service when added together must equal at least 70 points, in order to be eligible for retirement benefits as outlined in section 70-238.

(f)

Those employees hired prior to October 5, 1992 as full-time noncertified employees shall be permitted to count their noncertified time towards meeting the time requirements as specified in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section as follows: The noncertified time shall be known as service time and shall count towards the time needed to receive a retirement. Service time shall differ from membership service credit time. The monetary amount paid to an employee will be the appropriate percentage based on the particular retirement plan applicable to an employee, multiplied times the years of membership service credit time.

(g)

Those individuals desiring to convert noncertified time to membership service credit time may do so by purchasing up to a maximum of four years of noncertified time. In order to purchase such time an employee would be required to pay into the pension reserve fund such amounts as determined by the board of trustees' actuary, at no cost to the city.

(h)

Part-time employees working 22½ or more hours per week would have their time prorated and would have the option of either joining or not joining the pension plan. Part-time employees shall earn one-half year for each year of service and may buy back up to four full years. If a part-time employee does not desire to participate in the plan and later becomes full time, the employee would be permitted to count the service time on a prorated basis.

(Ord. No. 874, § 12, 6-28-1955; Code 1960, § 24-25; Ord. No. 2130, § 2, 6-25-1968; Ord. No. 2302, § 1, 1-27-1970; Ord. No. 2370, § 1, 9-22-1970; Ord. No. 2476, § 1, 7-27-1971; Ord. No. 2819, § 2, 10-23-1973; Ord. No. 3052, § 2, 1-13-1976; Ord. No. 79-71, § 1, 4-24-1979; Ord. No. 91-08, § 1, 1-22-1991; Ord. No. 95-28, § 1, 4-11-1995; Ord. No. 2010-69, § 1, 12-14-2010; Ord. No. 2012-28, § 1, 5-22-2012; Ord. No. 2014-29, § 2, 5-27-2014; Ord. No. 2015-22, § 1, 5-26-2015)