2003 Legislative Session
The Board of Trustees of the Sheriffs’ Pension Fund is very pleased
to announce that we were successful in passing legislation that will
provide for the purchase of certain military time at a reduced cost.
A deadline to respond in order to qualify for the purchase has been
established – August 31, 2003.
The following is a brief description.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
ACT
1183
Provides
for the purchase of military service credit rendered during the Vietnam
Conflict at a reduced cost*. The
purchase is applicable to:
I.
Active contributing members as
of July 1, 2003 with at least 6 years creditable service who submits a survey
response to SPF office by August 31,
2003. Active members with
at least 6 years service would include:
1.)
Active members who have completed a transfer, reciprocal, purchase of
prior service or repaid a refund as of July 1, 2003 for a minimum combination
of 6 years creditable service.
2.)
Active members who are former old DROP participants.
II.
Military service rendered during the Vietnam Conflict, January
1, 1959 through December 31, 1975. Qualifying
Vietnam military service includes:
1.)
Up to 4 years regular military service.
Regular service is defined as any state or federal full-time active
duty.
2.)
Up to 2 years non-regular military service.
Non-regular service is defined as any state or federal service for
which retirement points were assigned and shall include service in the state
National Guard or any reserve military branch.
III.
Purchase of military service credit under this Act must be made in one
lump sum payment no later than June 30, 2005.
·
Cost calculation: multiply
member’s current rate of compensation by the amount of eligible military
service time to be purchased multiplied by the current employee contribution
rate. (Current rate of compensation includes base monthly salary,
plus state supplemental pay, plus regular deferred compensation match if
applicable.)
Example:
Current rate of compensation
= $2,000.00
Eligible military service
to be purchased =
24 months
Current employee
contribution rate
= .098
The
Board of Trustees of the Sheriffs’
Pension Fund is very pleased to announce we were successful in passing
legislation that will assist our retirees by providing for the payment of a
non-recurring supplemental benefit. As
set forth by law the Sheriffs’ Pension Fund must meet certain funding
requirements in order to pay a cost of living increase.
In other words, cost of living increases are not guaranteed. Since we have been unable to attain the requirements due to
poor market conditions, the Board of Trustees wanted to provide some
assistance to our retirees. This
legislation was approved to be effective July 1, 2003.
We are making a special effort to have the payments to our retirees
prior to July 331, 2003. The
following is a brief description of their accomplishment. If you have any questions, please let us know.
ACT
486
Provides
for the payment of a cost of living adjustment in the form of a lump sum
payment. The payment shall be
applicable to:
I.
Retirees whose date of retirement is 7/1/02 or prior to.
II.
The lump sum payment will be calculated as 2% of the current annual
benefit.
III.
The minimum payment will be $300.00
unless the member retired under
a reciprocal and had less than 12 years service in the Sheriffs Pension Fund.
Example: retiree’s
current monthly benefit
= $2,000.00 annual
benefit = $24,000.00
$24,000.00
x 2%
= $480.00