La. Admin. Code tit. 58 § V-1301

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section V-1301 - Reciprocal Recognition of Credited Service-Reciprocal Benefit

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.

La. Admin. Code tit. 58, § V-1301

Promulgated by the Board of Trustees of the Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund of the City of New Orleans and Vicinity, LR 21:566 (June 1995).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 11:142, 143, and 3363.