(a)(1) The words, terms, and phrases of this section shall have the meaning ascribed to them by Act 929, unless it appears from the context that a different meaning is intended. As used in this section and Section 45-37A-51.11, these words and terms have the meanings hereby accorded them:
a. DEFERRED PENSION UNDER THE GENERAL RETIREMENT AND RELIEF SYSTEM. A pension granted to a firefighter or police officer under Act 929, the payment of which does not commence until the pension granted to such firefighter or police officer under this subpart ceases.
b. DISABLED CHILD. A firefighter's or police officer's son or daughter regardless of age who becomes disabled prior to attaining age 18 with a medically determinable physical or mental impairment or impairments, by reason of which impairment, or impairments, the son or daughter has been unable, and continues to be unable, to engage in any substantially gainful activity.
c. ELIGIBLE CHILD. A deceased firefighter's or police officer's child under the rules of intestate succession who is under 18 years of age and has not married or is a unmarried disabled child.
(2) This subdivision shall apply to every police officer and firefighter who is a member of the system after having acquired at least 20 years of credited service hereunder, shall, upon his or her application, be entitled to retire from the service and to receive his or her retirement from the fund of the system created by this subpart, a monthly retirement allowance for the period and in the amount herein below specified. Such monthly retirement allowance and the date on which he or she would have accumulated 30 years credited service had he or she not retired, but had continued working until acquiring 30 years credited service. The monthly allowance shall be in an amount equal to 50 percent of his or her final average salary at the time of his or her retirement, plus one half of one percent of his or her final average salary multiplied by the number of years of his or her credited service in excess of 20 years of his or her credited service. The payment of such retirement allowance shall cease on the date whereon such firefighter or police officer would have accumulated 30 years of credited service had he or she continued to serve instead of retiring.
(b) For the purpose of computing retirement pay, an employee shall be deemed to earn, or to have earned, salary at the rate of salary as that which he or she shall be deemed to earn, or to have earned, salary for the purpose of deduction from salary under Section 45-37A-51.05. The board may treat the end of the payroll period next before actual date of retirement of the employee member as the date of his or her retirement for the purposes of computation, and, for such purpose, may disregard a fraction of a year of credited service less than one-fourth.
(c) If, after any person shall have retired or been retired as hereinabove in this section provided, and the amount of his or her retirement allowance shall have commenced to accrue, he or she should be reemployed in the service and again become a member of the system under the terms of the system, he or she shall again contribute to the fund as in the case of any other member, and accrual of the amount of his or her retirement allowance shall be suspended during the period of his or her employee membership, and upon any subsequent voluntary or involuntary retirement from the service the amount of his or her former retirement allowance shall again commence to accrue at the same rate as formerly, and he or she shall be entitled to allowance of such additional amounts, if any, as his or her additional paid membership time may have earned for him or her.
(d)(1) This subsection shall not apply to, or in favor of, the spouse or child of any firefighter or police officer who has not executed within the time hereinafter specified an instrument which shall provide that in the event of his or her death the board of managers of this supplemental pension system shall receive the return of contributions made by him or her to this supplemental pension system and to the general retirement and relief system created by Act 929, which if he or she had not executed the instrument would be returnable to his or her severance nominee, his or her personal representatives, his or her spouse, children, father, mother, sisters, or brothers of the deceased, or to any other person. To render this section applicable the firefighter or police officer may execute the instrument at any time prior to his or her having accumulated as much as 20 years of credited service under Act 929. Such instrument when executed shall be revocable by the firefighter or police officer executing the same until he or she has accumulated at least 20 years of credited service under Act 929; but thereafter the instrument shall be irrevocable. Any instrument executed hereunder shall be effective to authorize the board of managers to receive any return of contributions under this subpart or under Act 929 unless the firefighter or police officer executing the same has accumulated at least 20 years of credited service under Act 929 prior to his or her death. The board of managers shall adopt rules prescribing the form of the instrument and the number of copies to be executed. Neither the spouse’s benefit nor a child’s benefit shall be payable to the spouse or child of a deceased firefighter or police officer under this subsection if the deceased's spouse or child is entitled to an allowance under any provision of Act 929. If a firefighter or police officer under this section dies before the date on which the general retirement and relief system becomes obligated to commence paying to him or her the deferred pension under the general retirement and relief system, then upon such firefighter's or police officer's death, his or her spouse at the time of his or her death, without regard to the time during which the marriage existed, shall be entitled to receive from the fund established by this subpart as a monthly spouse's allowance, an amount equal to 60 percent of the amount of the benefit the deceased was receiving from the fund immediately prior to his or her death, plus a monthly allowance for each eligible child of the deceased equal to five percent of the amount of the benefit the deceased was receiving from the fund immediately prior to his or her death. In the event of the death of the spouse, the allowance provided hereby of any child of such deceased shall be payable to the legal guardian or to the person who has legal custody of the child or for the use or benefit of the child. If the surviving spouse and more than two children are entitled to an allowance under this section, the spouse shall receive 60 percent of the amount of the deceased member's benefit, as aforesaid, and the allowance for the children shall be reduced equally so that in no event shall the total allowances paid under this section exceed 70 percent of the amount of the benefit the deceased was receiving from the fund immediately prior to his or her death.
(2) A spouse granted a benefit hereunder shall continue to receive the benefit until he or she shall die or remarry, whichever shall first occur. If the survivor's benefit ceases because survivor remarries, in the event the remarriage is terminated by annulment, divorce, or death of survivor's spouse, then on such termination the survivor shall be eligible to receive the survivor's benefit.
(3) Any debt or liability of an employee member under Act 929 which has been offset against and deducted from the return of contributions paid by the general retirement and relief system created by Act 929 to the supplemental pension system created by this subpart shall likewise, in favor of this supplemental pension system, be offset against, and deducted from, any amount due from the fund provided by this subpart, to any person claiming under such employee member as a spouse's allowance or otherwise.
Last modified: May 3, 2021