Sacramento Municipal Code Art. III Miscellaneous Membership Under Former (1970) Charter Section 175.1

This article is enacted to implement the provisions of former (1976) Charter Section 291 and former (1989) Charter Section 374. Persons who shall be in the employ of the city on the effective date of this chapter, and who upon such effective date, are miscellaneous members of the retirement system under the provisions of former (1970) Charter Section 175.1, shall retain their membership in the retirement system subject to the following provisions of this article. The term "member," as used in this article, shall be construed to mean persons who are miscellaneous members of the retirement system under the provisions of former (1970) Charter Section 175.1, as those provisions are now set forth in this article. (Prior code § 34.03.300)

Any member who completes at least twenty (20) years of service in the aggregate, credited in the retirement system and attains the age of fifty-five (55) years, such service to be computed under Section 2.124.340 of this chapter, may retire for service at his or her option. Members shall be retired for service on the first day of the month next following the attainment by them of the age of seventy (70) years. Upon retirement for service, a member shall receive a service retirement allowance equal to the fraction of one-sixtieth of his or her final compensation, set forth opposite his or her age at retirement, taken and applied by interpolation of such fractions to the preceding quarter years in the following table multiplied by the number of years of service with which he or she is entitled to be credited:

The fractions herein set forth at ages other than sixty (60) are based on the interest rate and mortality tables used under the retirement system with respect to miscellaneous members on the effective date of this chapter and such fractions shall be adjusted by the board in accordance with such interest and mortality tables as the board may thereafter adopt with respect to such members under the provisions of Section 2.124.1970 of this chapter. (Prior code § 34.03.301)

The service retirement allowance upon retirement after twenty (20) years of service and after attaining the age of sixty-five (65) years, shall not be less than sixty (60) dollars per month, prior to modification under the election provided in Article XV of this chapter, and exclusive of any benefit provided by additional contributions. (Prior code § 34.03.302)

Any member who becomes incapacitated for performance of duty because of disability determined by the retirement system manager to be of extended and uncertain duration, and who shall have completed at least ten (10) years of service, in the aggregate, credited under the retirement system, computed as provided in Section 2.124.340 of this chapter, shall be retired upon an allowance of one and one-half percent of his or her final compensation for each year of credited service, if such retirement allowance exceeds one-fourth of his or her final compensation; otherwise one and one-half percent of his or her final compensation multiplied by the number of years of service which would be credited to him or her were such service to continue until attainment by him or her at age sixty (60), but such retirement allowance shall not exceed one-fourth of such final compensation. (Prior code § 34.03.303)

The question of retiring a member under Section 2.124.290 of this chapter may be brought before the retirement system manager on such manager's own initiative, by recommendation of the city manager or by such member or his or her guardian. The initiation of the application for retirement, however, only shall be made not later than the last day for which the member receives compensation or within four months after the last day for which compensation is paid or while he or she is physically or mentally incapacitated to perform his or her duties from such last day to the time of the initiation or application. If his or her disability shall cease, his or her retirement allowance shall cease and he or she shall be restored to service in the position or classification at the time of his or her retirement. (Prior code § 34.03.304)

No modification of benefits provided for or on account of persons who are members under this chapter shall be made because of any amounts payable to or on account of any member under Division 4 of the Labor Code of the state of California. (Prior code § 34.03.305)

If a member shall die before retirement, regardless of cause, and not later than the last day for which he or she receives compensation or within four months after the last day for which the member receives compensation or while the member is physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of his or her duties, if such incapacity has been continuous from such last day to the date of death, a death benefit shall be paid to his or her estate or designated beneficiary consisting of an amount equal to one-twelfth of the compensation earnable by him or her during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding death multiplied by his or her completed years of service as a member of the system, not to exceed six, plus his or her contributions and interest credited thereon. Upon the death of a member after retirement and regardless of the cause of death, a death benefit in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be paid to his or her estate or designated beneficiary. (Prior code § 34.03.306)

Upon the death of a member after qualification for retirement for service according to provisions of Section 2.124.270 of this chapter by attaining an age of at least fifty-five (55) years with at least twenty (20) years of service, one-half of the retirement allowance to which he or she would have been entitled had he or she retired at the time of death, shall be paid throughout life, except during any period of remarriage, to his or her eligible surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse entitled to an allowance hereunder, or if the surviving spouse dies or remarries before every child of such deceased member attains the age of eighteen (18) years, then the allowance which the surviving spouse would have received had he or she lived and not remarried shall be paid to his or her child or children under age eighteen (18), collectively, to continue until every such child dies or attains said age, unless the eligible spouse returns to an unmarried status. No child shall receive any allowance after marrying or attaining the age of eighteen (18) years. Should such member leave no surviving spouse and no children under the age of eighteen (18) years but leave a parent or parents, dependent upon him or her for support, the parents so dependent shall collectively receive a monthly allowance equal to that which a surviving spouse otherwise would have received, during such dependency. The surviving spouse, in the event of death of the member after such qualification for but before service retirement, may elect, before the first payment of the allowance, to receive regardless of the estate or designated beneficiary, the benefit provided in Section 2.124.320 of this chapter in lieu of the allowance which otherwise would be paid to her or him under this section. If there is no surviving spouse, the guardian of the child or children under the age of eighteen (18), may make such election, and if there are no such children, the dependent parent or parents may make such election. No allowance, however, shall be paid under this section to a surviving spouse unless the surviving spouse was married to the member prior to the date of the injury or onset of the illness which results in death prior to retirement. (Prior code § 34.03.307)

Should any miscellaneous member cease to be employed as such a member, through any cause other than death or retirement or transfer to another office or department, all of his or her contributions, with interest credited thereon, shall be refunded to him or her subject to the conditions prescribed by the retirement system manager to cover similar terminations of employment and reemployment with and without redeposits of withdrawn accumulated contributions, of other members of the retirement system; provided, that if such a member is entitled to be credited with accumulated contributions which exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), he or she shall have the right to elect, without right of revocation and within ninety (90) days after such termination of service or if the termination was by layoff, ninety (90) days after the retirement system manager determines the termination to be permanent, whether to allow his or her accumulated contributions to remain in the retirement system. Failure to make such election shall be deemed an irrevocable election to withdraw his or her accumulated contributions unless the member is entitled to be credited with at least twenty (20) years of service. A member whose membership continues under this section is subject to the same age and disability requirements as apply to other members for service or for disability retirement but he or she is not subject to a minimum service requirement. After the qualification of such member for retirement by reason of age or disability, he or she shall be entitled to receive a retirement allowance based upon the amount of his or her accumulated contributions and service standing to his or her credit at the time of retirement and on the employer contributions held for him or her and calculated in the same manner as for other members, except that the provisions for minimum service and disability retirement allowances do not apply to him or her, unless he or she meets such minimum service requirements. Upon the death of such a member prior to retirement under this section, such death benefit as may be payable under Section 2.124.320 of this chapter shall be computed upon the basis of his or her average annual compensation earnable for the year preceding the date of termination of such service, multiplied by the years of city service prior to such termination not to exceed six. (Prior code § 34.03.308)

The following time and service shall be included in the computation of the service to be credited to a member for the purpose of determining whether such member qualifies for retirement and of calculating benefits, but only if withdrawn accumulated normal contributions based on such time and service, have been or are redeposited in the retirement system:

A. Time during which such member is a member of the retirement system and during and for which such member is entitled to receive compensation because of service as a miscellaneous officer or employee.

B. Service as a safety member which is not requisite to membership in this article shall be credited under this section upon a change in status of such safety member entitling him or her to membership in the retirement system under this article; provided, that the accumulated normal contributions standing to the credit of such member, including amounts redeposited by him or her, shall be adjusted by refund to the member or by payment by the member to bring the amount to the amount which would have been credited to him or her had the member been a miscellaneous member under this article throughout the period of his or her service as a safety member at the compensation he or she received as such safety member.

C. Time during which such member is absent in military service from a status included in subsections A or B of this section, and for which such member is entitled credit as service for the city by virtue of contributions made by or for him or her, as provided by the council.

D. Prior service determined and credited as prescribed by this chapter for other members of the system. (Prior code § 34.03.309)

All payments provided hereunder to or on account of persons who are members under this article shall be made from funds derived from the following sources, plus interest earned on such funds:

A. The normal rate of contribution of each member under this article shall be based on his or her nearest age at the effective date of his or her membership in the retirement system. The normal rate of contribution of each such member, to be effective from the effective date of membership under such section shall be such as, on the average for such member, will provide, assuming service without interruption under this article, one-half of that portion of the service retirement allowance to which he or she would be entitled if retired at age sixty (60). The normal rate established for age fifty-nine (59) shall be the rate for any member who has attained a greater age before entrance into the system, and that established for age twenty (20) shall be the rate for any member who enters the system at a lesser age. Members' normal rates of contribution shall be changed by the board on the basis of periodical actuarial valuations and investigations. No adjustment shall be included in members' normal rates because of time during which members have contributed at different rates.

B. There shall be deducted from each payment of compensation made to a member under this article a sum determined by applying the member's normal rate of contribution to such compensation. The sum so deducted shall be paid forthwith to the retirement system. Such contribution shall be credited to the individual account of the member from whose salary it was deducted and the total of such contributions, together with interest credited thereon in the same manner as is prescribed by this chapter for crediting interest to contributions of other members of the retirement system, shall be applied to provide part of the retirement allowance granted to such member or his or her estate or beneficiary as provided in Sections 2.124.320 and 2.124.340 of this chapter.

C. Contributions based on time included in subsections A and C of Section 2.124.350 of this chapter and deducted prior to July 1, 1953, from compensation of persons who become members under former (1970) Charter Section 175.1 and standing with interest thereon, to the credit of such members on the records of the retirement system on such date, shall continue to be credited to the individual accounts of such members and shall be combined with and administered in the same manner as the contributions deducted after such date.

D. The total contributions, with interest thereon, made by or charged against the city and standing to its credit, on July 1, 1953, in the accounts of the retirement system on account of persons who became members on such date under former (1970) Charter Section 175.1, shall be applied to provide the benefits hereunder for or on account of them.

E. The city shall contribute to the retirement system such amounts as may be necessary, when added to the contributions referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this section, to provide the benefits payable to or on account of persons who are members under this article. Such contributions of the city to provide the portion of the benefits hereunder which shall be based on service rendered by each member prior to the date upon which his or her rate of contribution is determined in subsection A of this section, shall not be less during any fiscal year than the amount of such benefits paid during such year. Such contributions of the city to provide the portion of the benefits hereunder which shall be based on service rendered by respective members on and after the date stated in the next preceding sentence shall be made in annual installments and the installment to be paid in any year shall be determined by the application of a percentage to the total salaries paid during such year to persons who are members under this article, such percentage to be the ratio of the value at the effective date hereof or at the date of the last valuation prior to such date or at the later date of a periodical actuarial valuation and investigation into the experience under the system of the benefits thereafter to be paid to or on account of persons who are members under this article, from contributions of the city, less the amount of such contributions and plus accumulated interest thereon then held by such system to provide such benefits on account of service rendered by respective members after the date stated in the sentence next preceding, to the value at such respective dates of salaries thereafter payable to such members. Such values shall be determined by the actuary, who shall take into account the interest which shall be earned on such contributions, the compensation experience of members and the probabilities of separation by all causes of members from service before retirement and of death after retirement. Such percentage shall be changed by the board on the basis of such values determined in such periodical actuarial valuation and investigation into the experience under the system. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall prevent the calculation and use under the system in the manner described for the percentage under this subsection, of one percentage relating to all persons who are members under this article and Article IV of this chapter, and to be applied to the total compensation paid during the respective year to such persons, for the determination of the city's contribution to the retirement system, with substantially the same effect as if separate percentages had been calculated under the respective articles. The percentage to be used under such two articles shall be the percentage which has been previously adopted by the board and is being applied on the effective date of this chapter. Such percentage shall remain in effect until redetermined by the board on the basis of the periodical investigation and actuarial valuation under the system and the contributions resulting from its use shall be applied to provide part of the benefits under both of such articles, without segregation according to article.

F. To promote the stability of the retirement system through a joint participation in the result of variations in the experience under mortality, investment and other contingencies, the contributions of both members and the city held by the system to provide the benefits for or on account of persons who are members under this article shall be a part of the fund in which all other assets of such system are included. Nothing in this section shall affect the obligations of the city to pay to the retirement system any amounts which may be or become due under the provisions of the Charter prior to July 1, 1953, and which are represented on such date in the accounts of such system by debits against the city. (Prior code § 34.03.310)

Upon the completion of the years of service set forth in Section 2.124.270 of this chapter as requisite to retirement, a member shall be entitled to retire at any time thereafter in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.124.270 of this chapter and nothing shall deprive such member of such right. (Prior code § 34.03.311)

No member retired for service or for disability and entitled to receive a retirement allowance under the retirement system shall serve in any elective or appointive position in the city service, including membership on boards and commissions, nor shall such person receive any payment for service rendered to the city after retirement; provided, that service as an election officer or juror shall not be affected by this section.

Should any such person retired for disability engage in gainful occupation prior to attaining the age of fifty-five (55) years, the retirement system manager shall reduce that part of his or her monthly pension or retirement allowance which is provided by contributions of the city to an amount which, when added to the amount earned monthly by him or her in such occupation shall not exceed the amount of maximum compensation earnable by a person holding the position which he or she held at the time of his or her retirement or if that position has been abolished, the maximum compensation earnable by a person holding it immediately prior to its abolition. (Prior code § 34.03.312)