Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. In accordance
with
R.S.
11:142, an employee shall combine his
credited service accrued under a public retirement system with his credited
service accrued under the Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund for the City of
New Orleans (fund) to receive a reciprocal benefit from the public retirement
system and this fund, provided the provisions under
R.S.
11:142 and these rules and regulations are
satisfied.
1. Definitions
Employee- a firefighter eligible under the
Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund for the City of New Orleans.
Fund- the Firefighters' Pension and Relief
Fund for the City of New Orleans.
Public Retirement System- any state,
municipal, or parochial retirement or pension system, fund, or program offered
within the state of Louisiana, other than this fund, that offers regular
retirement, disability retirement, or death and survivor benefits.
Reciprocal Benefit- the prorated retirement,
disability, death, or survivor benefit from this fund and a public retirement
system, based on the employee's membership service credit actually accrued and
credited under each respective retirement system equal to the full benefit
payable from each system had the employee satisfied the minimum eligibility
conditions under each system for such benefit. The terms and conditions of each
retirement system shall apply to determine the employee's reciprocal
benefit.
Reciprocal Benefit Application- the
application form approved by the board of trustees of this fund. The
application form may be obtained from the fund office.
2. Eligibility
a. In order to file a reciprocal benefit
application with the board of trustees of this fund, the employee must be an
active member of this fund currently making contributions to this fund. A
former employee of this fund may file a reciprocal benefit application with
this fund provided he is not actively contributing to this fund or to any
public retirement system at the time of the filing of the application, and that
this fund is the last system to which he contributed. However, an employee
shall not be eligible to receive any reciprocal benefit from this fund or from
a public retirement system so long as the employee continues to contribute to
this fund or another public retirement system.
b. To receive a reciprocal benefit, the
employee must satisfy the following conditions.
i. The employee must satisfy the eligibility
requirements of the public retirement system.
ii. The employee must satisfy the eligibility
requirements of this fund and must accumulate at least six months of credited
service under this fund.
iii. The
employee must not have previously received a refund of his employee
contributions from this fund or any public retirement system. If an employee
has received a refund of his employee contributions, he may repay his employee
contributions plus compounded interest at the actuarial rate approved by the
board of trustees, from the date of the refund of his employee contributions
until the date of repayment.
iv.
The employee must file a reciprocal benefit application with the board of
trustees of this fund. Any other application form or document shall be
unacceptable and void. An employee may rescind, cancel, or withdraw his
reciprocal benefit application any time by notifying the board of trustees, in
writing, of his rescission, cancellation, or withdrawal of his
application.
3. Calculation of Reciprocal Benefit
a. The employee's reciprocal benefit from the
public retirement system and from this fund shall be calculated as follows.
i. The terms and conditions of this fund and
the public retirement system shall apply as of the date of the employee's date
of retirement, disability, or death.
ii. The benefit formula used to calculate the
employee's reciprocal benefit from each system shall be the benefit formula in
effect under this fund and under the public retirement system on the employee's
date of retirement, disability, or death.
iii. The employee's compensation earned and
accrued under this fund shall be used to calculate his reciprocal benefit from
this fund. The employee's compensation earned and accrued under the public
retirement system shall be used to calculate his reciprocal benefit from the
public retirement system.
iv. The
employee's years of service credit accrued and earned under this fund shall be
used to calculate his reciprocal benefit from this fund. The employee's years
of service credit accrued and earned under the public retirement system shall
be used to calculate his reciprocal benefit from the public retirement system.
The following shall apply to determine the years of service credit:
(a). years of service credit shall not be
duplicated;
(b). an employee shall
not receive more than one year of service credit during a single calendar or
fiscal year; and
(c). an employee
shall not accrue more than four years of military credit as service credit
under this fund and no more than five years of military credit as service
credit under both this fund and the public retirement system.
v. If the employee fails to
accumulate the required minimum years of service under either this fund or the
public retirement system, the employee's reciprocal benefit paid by that system
shall be prorated accordingly. The prorated reciprocal benefit shall be
calculated based on the employee's years of service actually accrued under that
system, divided by the minimum years of service required under that system to
receive a benefit.
b.
The amount of the employee's reciprocal benefit from both this fund and the
public retirement system shall not exceed:
i.
100 percent of the highest average compensation on which the benefit is based
under both plans; and
ii. the
highest benefit under either this fund or the public retirement system, if all
years of service credit accrued under both systems were considered in
calculating such benefit under each respective system.
c. If the reciprocal benefit exceeds the
above limitation under §1301. A.3.b.i or ii., then this fund or the public
retirement system, if applicable, shall reduce the reciprocal benefit in
proportion to the total reciprocal benefit paid from both systems.
4. Coordination of Reciprocal
Benefit between This Fund and Other Public Retirement Systems
a. The trustees' approval of an application
submitted to this fund for payment of a reciprocal benefit shall be in
compliance with
R.S.
11:142 and these rules and regulations. Upon
approval of the reciprocal benefit application by the trustees, the trustees
shall forward the approved application to the appropriate public retirement
system in question. The trustees shall coordinate the payment of the reciprocal
benefit with the public retirement system in which the employee has accumulated
service credit and shall notify the public retirement system when the covered
member ceases to be an active member under this fund and is thus entitled to
receive a reciprocal benefit due to retirement, disability, or death. The
trustees of this fund shall notify all public retirement systems of the amount
of the reciprocal benefit payable from this fund and the calculation of such
benefit.
b. The trustees of this
fund, in their sole and absolute discretion, may agree with the trustees of the
public retirement system that the payment of the total reciprocal benefit shall
be made by one system and that the other system shall make appropriate
reimbursement to the system making the total reciprocal benefit
payment.
c. If the reciprocal
benefit is payable from both this fund and the public retirement system in a
lump sum form of payment, the additional lump sum benefit shall be paid in
proportion to the years of credited service accrued under each system that
represents the total years of credited service under both this fund and the
public retirement system. The total lump sum benefit under both systems shall
not be less than the greatest lump sum benefit payable under either this fund
or the public retirement system. If the total lump sum benefit is less than the
greatest lump sum benefit payable, the system having the greatest lump sum
benefit shall pay the difference.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
11:142, 143, and
3363.
