PRINTER'S NO. 2182
No. 1818 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY TIGUE, KUKOVICH, PESCI, ITKIN, JAROLIN, DALEY,
KRUSZEWSKI, BELARDI, STEELMAN, RICHARDSON AND PISTELLA,
JUNE 28, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JUNE 28, 1991
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of May 29, 1956 (1955 P.L.1804, No.600),
2 entitled "An act providing for the establishment of police
3 pension funds or pension annuities in certain boroughs, towns
4 and townships, and the regulation and maintenance thereof;
5 providing for an actuary; continuance of existing funds or
6 transfer thereof to funds herein established; prescribing
7 rights of beneficiaries; contributions by members; providing
8 for expenses of administration; continuation of existing
9 authority to provide annuity contracts; credit for military
10 service; refunds; exempting allowances from judicial process;
11 and repealing certain acts," further providing for vesting of
12 retirement benefits.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Section 5 of the act of May 29, 1956 (1955
16 P.L.1804, No.600), referred to as the Municipal Police Pension
17 Law, amended December 7, 1979 (P.L.475, No.99), is amended to
18 read:
19 Section 5. Payments made under the provisions of this act
20 shall not be a charge on any other fund in the treasury of any
21 borough, town or township, or under its control, save the police
22 pension fund herein provided for. The basis for determining any
1 pension payable under this act, following retirement of any
2 member of the force meeting the service and age qualifications
3 of the ordinance or resolution establishing a police pension
4 fund, shall be as follows:
5 Monthly pension or retirement benefits other than length of
6 service increments shall be computed at one-half the monthly
7 average salary of such member during not more than the last
8 sixty nor less than the last thirty-six months of employment.
9 Such pension or retirement benefits for any month shall be
10 computed as the sum of (i) any pension benefits from pension
11 plans heretofore established by a private organization or
12 association for the members of the police force but only to the
13 extent that this Commonwealth or any of its municipalities shall
14 have contributed to such pension plan moneys raised by taxation,
15 (ii) if positions covered by the fund are included in an
16 agreement under the Federal Social Security Act, up to seventy-
17 five per centum of his full social security old-age insurance
18 benefit calculated in accordance with the provisions of the
19 Federal Social Security Act in effect on the date of his
20 termination of employment, except that such amount shall be
21 included only upon attainment of the age at which the officer
22 would be eligible to receive full social security old-age
23 insurance benefits and in determining such eligibility and such
24 amount only compensation for services actually rendered by the
25 officer and covered by the police pension fund shall be
26 included, and (iii) benefits from the police pension fund
27 established pursuant to this act to the extent necessary to
28 bring the total benefits in any month up to one-half the
29 aforesaid monthly average salary: Provided, however, That any
30 officer who receives pension or retirement benefits from any
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1 plan established at any time pursuant to this act and who is
2 also entitled to receive social security old-age insurance
3 benefits shall not regardless of when the officer retired from
4 active service have his pension or retirement benefits offset or
5 reduced by more than seventy-five per centum of the social
6 security old-age insurance benefits which he receives. If this
7 Commonwealth or one of its municipalities shall have contributed
8 moneys raised by taxation to a pension plan established by a
9 private organization or association for the members of the
10 police force, the pension benefits to be taken into account
11 under clause (i) of this paragraph shall be that proportion of
12 the total pension benefits payable under clause (i) as the
13 assets attributable to contributions of moneys raised by
14 taxation bear to the total assets of the pension plan. In the
15 case of the payment of pensions for permanent injuries incurred
16 in service and to families of members killed in service, the
17 amount and commencement of the payments shall be fixed by
18 regulations of the governing body of the borough, town or
19 township. Any borough, town or township may establish and pay
20 length of service increments for years of service beyond twenty-
21 five years for each completed year of service in excess of
22 twenty-five years, not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100).
23 Such length of service increments may be paid in addition to
24 other monthly pension or retirement allowances.
25 The ordinance or resolution establishing the police pension
26 fund may provide for a cost of living increase for members of
27 the police force receiving retirement benefits: Provided,
28 however, That such cost of living increase shall not exceed the
29 percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index from the year in
30 which the police member last worked: Provided further, That in
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1 no case shall the total police pension benefits exceed seventy-
2 five per centum of the salary for computing retirement benefits:
3 And provided further, That the total cost of living increase
4 shall not exceed thirty per centum. No cost of living increase
5 shall be granted which would impair the actuarial soundness of
6 the pension fund.
7 The ordinance or resolution establishing the police pension
8 fund may provide for a vested benefit provided that such would
9 not impair the actuarial soundness of the pension fund. Under
10 the provisions of such benefit, should a police officer, before
11 completing superannuation retirement age and service
12 requirements but after having completed [twelve] ten years of
13 total service, for any reason cease to be employed as a full-
14 time police officer by the municipality in whose pension fund he
15 has been a member, he shall be entitled to vest his retirement
16 benefits by filing with the governing body within ninety days of
17 the date he ceases to be a full-time police officer a written
18 notice of his intention to vest. Upon reaching the date which
19 would have been his superannuation retirement date if he had
20 continued to be employed as a full-time police officer he shall
21 be paid a partial superannuation retirement allowance determined
22 by applying the percentage his years of service bears to the
23 years of service which he would have rendered had he continued
24 to work until his superannuation retirement date to the gross
25 pension, using however the monthly average salary during the
26 appropriate period prior to his termination of employment. Such
27 pension or retirement benefits for any month shall be the sum of
28 clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of such benefits from the police
29 pension fund established pursuant to this act to the extent
30 necessary to bring the total benefits in any month up to his
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1 partial superannuation retirement allowance outlined above.
2 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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