Section 881.104 - General powers of the BoardThe board shall:
(1) Appoint a secretary and an assistant secretary. The secretary, with the prior approval of the board, shall appoint the clerical and other employes of the board, whose positions, excluding the secretary's and assistant secretary's, shall be under the classified service provisions of the act of August 5, 1941 (P.L. 752, No. 286), as amended and the secretary shall fill future vacancies in accordance with such provisions. The compensation of all persons so appointed shall be fixed by the board and shall be consistent with the standards established by the Executive Board of this Commonwealth;(2) Contract for professional services, including but not limited to actuarial, investment and medical as it deems advisable;(3) Keep in convenient form such data as shall be deemed necessary for actuarial valuation purposes;(4) From time to time, through its actuary, make an actuarial investigation into the mortality and service experience of the contributors and annuitants and of the various accounts created by this act;(5) Adopt for the system one or more mortality tables and such other tables as shall be deemed necessary;(6) Deleted by 1980, May 17, P.L. 135, No. 50, § 3, eff. in 60 days.(7) Certify annually the amount of appropriation which each municipality shall pay into the retirement fund, which amounts shall be based on estimates furnished by the actuary, and shall be credited to the municipal account of the fund;(8) Prepare and publish annually a financial statement showing the condition of the fund and the various accounts thereof, and setting forth such other facts, recommendations and data as may be of use in the advancement of knowledge concerning the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, and furnish a copy thereof to each municipality which has joined the system, and to such persons as may request copies thereof;(9) Keep a record of all its proceedings, which will be open to inspection by the public;(10) From time to time, with the advice of the Attorney General and the actuary, to adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be required for the proper administration of the fund created by this act and the several accounts thereof; to establish procedures which would permit an eligible retired public safety officer to pay qualified accident, health or long-term care insurance premiums as permitted under section 402(l) of the Internal Revenue Code; and to provide for the transaction of the business of the board;(11) Be authorized to approve any optional retirement plan for municipal employes, municipal firemen or municipal police, with any municipality as long as it is actuarially sound and benefits under the plan are not in excess of or member's minimum contribution rates are not less than those provided in other existing retirement laws pertaining to that class of municipality; except to the extent that excess investment earnings are allocated to provide for additional pension benefits or member accruals as otherwise provided in this law;(12) Prepare and distribute annual statements of accounts to each of the active members of the system, showing the contributions made during the year, the interest earned and the total balance standing in the member's account at the end of the year;(12.1) In accordance with the plan contract, provide cost-of-living increases from a plan's share of excess investment earnings to those members of such municipalities who have already retired. Such allocations shall be made, with the advice of the actuary, on a fully funded basis employing actuarial assumptions which reflect the nature of the liability. An award of excess interest shall not be made under this paragraph if the plan is less than 95% funded as of the plan's most recent filing of the actuarial report required under the Municipal Pension Funding Standard and Recovery Act.(12.2) In accordance with the plan contract, the board shall allocate excess investment earnings for active members of such municipalities by applying such allocation to member contributions. To the extent that additional liabilities may accrue as a result of such allocation, the actuary shall employ actuarial assumptions, on a fully funded basis, to accurately reflect the nature of the liability generated therefrom. An award of excess interest shall not be made under this paragraph if the plan is less than 95% funded as of the plan's most recent filing of the actuarial report required under the Municipal Pension Funding Standard and Recovery Act.(12.3) Promulgate regulations required for the proper administration of the DROP.(12.4) Establish a subsidiary DROP participant account for each DROP participant, provide for the separate investment and funding of each account and establish a monthly rate of interest to credit the money deposited in each account.(13) Perform such other functions as are required for the execution of the provisions of this act and of other Federal and State law and administer and interpret this act to ensure that the system is maintained as tax qualified under the Internal Revenue Code.1974, Feb. 1, P.L. 34, No. 15, § 104, effective in 90 days. Amended 1980, May 17, P.L. 135, No. 50, § 3, effective in 60 days; 1984, Feb. 1, P.L. 1, No. 1, § 1, imd. effective; 2010, July 9, P.L. 434, No. 56, § 2, imd. effective.