Citations Affected:
IC 36-8-8.
Synopsis: 1977 fund retirement benefits. Provides that a member of
the 1977 police officers' and firefighters' pension and disability fund
who has completed 20 years of service may retire at 50 years of age
instead of 52 years of age. Eliminates the 1977 fund member's election
to retire with actuarially reduced benefits. Increases the percentages
that apply when calculating a benefit for a 1977 fund member with
more than 20 years of service.
Effective: July 1, 2003.
January 14, 2003, read first time and referred to Committee on Labor and Employment.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
pensions.
to sections 2.5 and 2.6 of this chapter.
(b) If an active fund member has a covered impairment, as
determined under sections 12.3 through 13.1 of this chapter, the
member is entitled to receive the benefit prescribed by section 13.3 or
13.5 of this chapter. A member who has had a covered impairment and
returns to active duty with the department shall not be treated as a new
applicant seeking to become a member of the 1977 fund.
(c) If a retired fund member who has not yet reached the member's
fifty-second fiftieth birthday is found by the PERF board to be
permanently or temporarily unable to perform all suitable work for
which the member is or may be capable of becoming qualified, the
member is entitled to receive during the disability the retirement
benefit payments payable at fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age.
During a reasonable period in which a disabled fund member is
becoming qualified for suitable work, the member may continue to
receive disability benefit payments. However, benefits payable for
disability under this subsection are reduced by amounts for which the
fund member is eligible from:
(1) a plan or policy of insurance providing benefits for loss of
time because of disability;
(2) a plan, fund, or other arrangement to which the fund member's
employer has contributed or for which the fund member's
employer has made payroll deductions, including a group life
policy providing installment payments for disability, a group
annuity contract, or a pension or retirement annuity plan other
than the fund established by this chapter;
(3) the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), the
Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.), the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs, or another federal, state, local, or
other governmental agency;
(4) worker's compensation payable under IC 22-3; and
(5) a salary or wage, including overtime and bonus pay and extra
or additional remuneration of any kind, the fund member receives
or is entitled to receive from the member's employer.
For the purposes of this subsection, a retired fund member is
considered eligible for benefits from subdivisions (1) through (5)
whether or not the member has made application for the benefits.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a plan, policy of insurance, fund,
or other arrangement:
(1) delivered, issued for delivery, amended, or renewed after
April 9, 1979; and
(2) described in subsection (c)(1) or (c)(2);
provision of this section, a member who:
(1) has had a covered impairment;
(2) recovers and returns to active service with the department; and
(3) within two (2) years after returning to active service has an
impairment that except for section 12.3 of this chapter would be
a covered impairment;
is entitled to the benefit under this subsection if the impairment
described in subdivision (3) results from the same condition or
conditions (without an intervening circumstance) that caused the
covered impairment described in subdivision (1). The member is
entitled to receive the monthly disability benefit amount paid to the
member at the time of the member's return to active service plus any
adjustments under section 15 of this chapter that would have been
applicable during the member's period of reemployment.
monthly base benefit equal to the product of the member's years of
service (not to exceed thirty (30) years of service) multiplied by one
percent (1%) of the monthly salary of a first class patrolman or
firefighter in the year of the local board's determination of impairment.
(e) For applicants hired after March 1, 1992, or described in section
12.3(c)(2) of this chapter, a fund member who is determined to have a
Class 3 impairment and for whom it is determined that there is no
suitable and available work within the fund member's department,
considering reasonable accommodation to the extent required by the
Americans with Disabilities Act, is entitled to the following benefits
instead of benefits provided under subsection (d):
(1) If the fund member did not have a Class 3 excludable
condition under section 13.6 of this chapter at the time the fund
member entered or reentered the fund, the fund member is
entitled to a monthly base benefit equal to the product of the
member's years of service, not to exceed thirty (30) years of
service, multiplied by one percent (1%) of the monthly salary of
a first class patrolman or firefighter in the year of the local board's
determination of impairment.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (5), a fund member is
entitled to receive the benefits set forth in subdivision (1) if:
(A) the fund member had a Class 3 excludable condition under
section 13.6 of this chapter at the time the fund member
entered or reentered the fund;
(B) the fund member has a Class 3 impairment that is not
related in any manner to the Class 3 excludable condition
described in clause (A); and
(C) the Class 3 impairment described in clause (B) occurs after
the fund member has completed four (4) years of service with
the employer after the date the fund member entered or
reentered the fund.
(3) Except as provided in subdivision (5), a fund member is not
entitled to a monthly base benefit for a Class 3 impairment if:
(A) the fund member had a Class 3 excludable condition under
section 13.6 of this chapter at the time the fund member
entered or reentered the fund; and
(B) the Class 3 impairment occurs before the fund member has
completed four (4) years of service with the employer after the
date the fund member entered or reentered the fund.
(4) A fund member is not entitled to a monthly base benefit for a
Class 3 impairment if:
(A) the fund member had a Class 3 excludable condition under
section 13.6 of this chapter at the time the fund member
entered or reentered the fund; and
(B) the Class 3 impairment is related in any manner to the
Class 3 excludable condition.
(5) If, during the first four (4) years of service with the employer:
(A) a fund member with a Class 3 excludable condition is
determined to have a Class 3 impairment; and
(B) the Class 3 impairment is attributable to an accidental
injury that is not related in any manner to the fund member's
Class 3 excludable condition;
the member is entitled to receive the benefits provided in
subdivision (1) with respect to the accidental injury. For purposes
of this subdivision, the local board shall make the initial
determination of whether an impairment is attributable to an
accidental injury. The local board shall forward the initial
determination to the director of the PERF board for a final
determination by the PERF board or the PERF board's designee.
(f) If a fund member is entitled to a monthly base benefit under
subsection (b), (c), (d), or (e), the fund member is also entitled to a
monthly amount that is no less than ten percent (10%) and no greater
than forty-five percent (45%) of the monthly salary of a first class
patrolman or firefighter in the year of the local board's determination
of impairment. The additional monthly amount shall be determined by
the PERF medical authority based on the degree of impairment.
(g) Benefits for a Class 1 impairment are payable until the fund
member becomes fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age. Benefits for a
Class 2 and a Class 3 impairment are payable:
(1) for a period equal to the years of service of the member, if the
member's total disability benefit is less than thirty percent (30%)
of the monthly salary of a first class patrolman or firefighter in the
year of the local board's determination of impairment and the
member has fewer than four (4) years of service; or
(2) until the member becomes fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of
age if the member's benefit is:
(A) equal to or greater than thirty percent (30%) of the
monthly salary of a first class patrolman or firefighter in the
year of the local board's determination of impairment; or
(B) less than thirty percent (30%) of the monthly salary of a
first class patrolman or firefighter in the year of the local
board's determination of impairment if the member has at least
four (4) years of service.
(h) Upon becoming fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age, a fund
member with a Class 1 or Class 2 impairment is entitled to receive the
retirement benefit payable to a fund member with:
(1) twenty (20) years of service; or
(2) the total years of service and salary, as of the year the member
becomes fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age, that the fund
member would have earned if the fund member had remained in
active service until becoming fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of
age;
whichever is greater.
(i) Upon becoming fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age, a fund
member who is receiving or has received a Class 3 impairment benefit
that is:
(1) equal to or greater than thirty percent (30%) of the monthly
salary of a first class patrolman or firefighter in the year of the
local board's determination of impairment; or
(2) less than thirty percent (30%) of the monthly salary of a first
class patrolman or firefighter in the year of the local board's
determination of impairment if the member has at least four (4)
years of service;
is entitled to receive the retirement benefit payable to a fund member
with twenty (20) years of service.
(j) Notwithstanding section 12.3 of this chapter and any other
provision of this section, a member who:
(1) has had a covered impairment;
(2) recovers and returns to active service with the department; and
(3) within two (2) years after returning to active service has an
impairment that, except for section 12.3(b)(3) of this chapter,
would be a covered impairment;
is entitled to the benefit under this subsection if the impairment
described in subdivision (3) results from the same condition or
conditions (without an intervening circumstance) that caused the
covered impairment described in subdivision (1). The member is
entitled to receive the monthly disability benefit amount paid to the
member at the time of the member's return to active service plus any
adjustments under section 15 of this chapter that would have been
applicable during the member's period of reemployment.
benefits, the following apply:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each of the
member's surviving children is entitled to a monthly benefit equal
to twenty percent (20%) of the fund member's monthly benefit:
(A) until the child becomes eighteen (18) years of age; or
(B) until the child becomes twenty-three (23) years of age if
the child is enrolled in and regularly attending a secondary
school or is a full-time student at an accredited college or
university;
whichever period is longer. However, if the board finds upon the
submission of satisfactory proof that a child who is at least
eighteen (18) years of age is mentally or physically incapacitated,
is not a ward of the state, and is not receiving a benefit under
clause (B), the child is entitled to receive an amount each month
that is equal to the greater of thirty percent (30%) of the monthly
pay of a first class patrolman or first class firefighter or fifty-five
percent (55%) of the monthly benefit the deceased member was
receiving or was entitled to receive on the date of the member's
death as long as the mental or physical incapacity of the child
continues. Benefits paid for a child shall be paid to the surviving
parent as long as the child resides with and is supported by the
surviving parent. If the surviving parent dies, the benefits shall be
paid to the legal guardian of the child.
(2) The member's surviving spouse is entitled to a monthly benefit
equal to sixty percent (60%) of the fund member's monthly
benefit during the spouse's lifetime. If the spouse remarried before
September 1, 1983, and benefits ceased on the date of remarriage,
the benefits for the surviving spouse shall be reinstated on July 1,
1997, and continue during the life of the surviving spouse.
If a fund member dies while receiving retirement or disability benefits,
there is no surviving eligible child or spouse, and there is proof
satisfactory to the local board, subject to review in the manner
specified in section 13.1(b) of this chapter, that the parent was wholly
dependent on the fund member, the member's surviving parent is
entitled, or both surviving parents if qualified are entitled jointly, to
receive fifty percent (50%) of the fund member's monthly benefit
during the parent's or parents' lifetime.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if a fund
member dies while on active duty or while retired and not receiving
benefits, the member's children and the member's spouse, or the
member's parent or parents are entitled to receive a monthly benefit
determined under subsection (b). If the fund member did not have at
least twenty (20) years of service or was not at least fifty-two (52) fifty
(50) years of age, the benefit is computed as if the member:
(1) did have twenty (20) years of service; and
(2) was fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age.
dependent on the fund member, the member's surviving parent is
entitled, or both surviving parents if qualified are entitled jointly, to
receive fifty percent (50%) of the fund member's monthly benefit
during the parent's or parents' lifetime.
(c) If the fund member did not have at least twenty (20) years of
service or was not at least fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age, the
benefit under subsection (b) is computed as if the member:
(1) did have twenty (20) years of service; and
(2) was fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age.
and is supported by the surviving parent. If the surviving parent dies,
the benefits shall be paid to the legal guardian of the child.
(e) If there is no surviving eligible child or spouse, and there is
proof satisfactory to the local board, subject to review in the manner
specified in section 13.1(b) of this chapter, that the parent was wholly
dependent on the fund member, the member's surviving parent is
entitled, or both surviving parents if qualified are entitled jointly, to
receive fifty percent (50%) of the fund member's monthly benefit
during the parent's or parents' lifetime.
(f) If the fund member did not have at least twenty (20) years of
service or was not at least fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years old, the benefit
is computed as if the member:
(1) did have twenty (20) years of service; and
(2) was fifty-two (52) fifty (50) years of age.
(g) For purposes of this section, "dies in the line of duty" means
death that occurs as a direct result of personal injury or illness caused
by incident, accident, or violence that results from:
(1) any action that the member, in the member's capacity as a
police officer:
(A) is obligated or authorized by rule, regulation, condition of
employment or service, or law to perform; or
(B) performs in the course of controlling or reducing crime or
enforcing the criminal law; or
(2) any action that the member, in the member's capacity as a
firefighter:
(A) is obligated or authorized by rule, regulation, condition of
employment or service, or law to perform; or
(B) performs while on the scene of an emergency run
(including false alarms) or on the way to or from the scene.
The term includes a death presumed incurred in the line of duty under
IC 5-10-13.