Sec. 31-35. - Credited service for work performed for a participating employer.

(a)

Each member shall receive credited service as set out in this division.

(b)

For each member of the fund on January 1, 1983, the credited service of such member as an employee prior to July 1, 1977, shall be equal to the credited service of such member with respect to such service as was determined as of December 31, 1982, in accordance with the provisions of the fund in effect on December 31, 1982. The amount of such credited service for each member shall be conclusively determined as of December 31, 1982 and shall not be subject to adjustment after January 1, 1983, except to the extent necessary to correct a mistake of fact or clerical error.

(c)

On and after July 1, 1977, each member shall receive credited service for each month of service rendered to a participating employer while in a regular full-time or equivalent position as defined by the administrative policies of the city.

(d)

Credited service shall be measured in years, with each month of credited service in excess of complete years being considered as one-twelfth (1/12) of a year.

(1)

In computing the credited service of any member, other than a school board employee member, fifteen (15) days or more of service during any month (fourteen (14) days or more of service during the month of February) shall constitute a month of service and twelve (12) months of service shall constitute a year.

(2)

In computing the credited service of any school board employee member, the school employment year, be it ten (10), eleven (11), or twelve (12) months, shall constitute a year of service, so long as the employee completes the employment year; otherwise fifteen (15) days or more of service during any month (fourteen (14) days or more of service during the month of February) shall constitute a month of service and twelve (12) months of service shall constitute a year.

(e)

Any accumulated unused paid medical leave shall be credited as additional credited service for benefits computation unless forfeited pursuant to section 2-123. Effective July 1, 2008, one (1) month of service shall be credited for each one hundred sixty (160) hours (three hundred forty-two (342) hours for firefighters assigned to twenty-four-hour shifts) of accumulated paid medical leave.

In no event shall credited service for unused paid medical leave be granted to a member who is an employee of the school board and receives payment in consideration of accumulated unused paid medical leave.

(f)

Notwithstanding the credited service provisions set forth in the other subsections of this section, credited service for persons appointed by the city council to offices of the city shall be established as follows:

(1)

For each of the first two (2) years of appointed service, the appointees shall be entitled to two point five (2.5) years of credited service.

(2)

For each year after the first two (2) years of appointed service, appointees shall be entitled to one (1) year of credited service.

This subsection shall apply to those persons appointed by city council to offices of the city who were not vested on December 13, 1988, and to all subsequent appointees to such offices.

(g)

Effective July 1, 2003, any member who is eligible to retire under section 31-52 or section 31-53 of this Code may, at their option prior to their retirement date, exchange up to six hundred forty (640) hours of paid personal leave (eight hundred sixty-four (864) hours for firefighters assigned to a twenty-four-hour shifts) for credited service at the then current, cost-neutral exchange rates established by the board's actuary. This exchange of paid personal leave for credited service may not be used in meeting the eligibility requirements of section 31-52 or section 31-53

(Ord. No. 51, § 8; Ord. No. 220; Ord. No. 407; Ord. No. 991, § 1; Ord. No. 1681, § 1; Ord. No. 1850, § 1; Code 1961, § 32-14; Ord. No. 2709-80; Ord. No. 2971-82; Ord. No. 3810; Ord. No. 3821-89; Ord. No. 5155-98, § 1; Ord. No. 5905-03; Ord. No. 6400-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6505-08, § 1; Ord. No. 6685-10, § 1; Ord. No. 6797-11, § 1)

Editor's note—

Ord. No. 6685-10, § 3, adopted May 11, 2010, provides an effective date of July 1, 2010. Section 2 of said ordinance provides that each vested regular full-time city employee who participated in the leave exchange as provided in Section 2-111 of the City Code and Ordinance No. 6684-10 adopted on May 11, 2010, and received credited service in accord with Section 31-35 of the City Code shall retain that amount of credited service and shall furthermore for retirement purposes receive credited service for that benefit as elected for Fiscal Year 2010. This exchange of paid personal leave for credited service may not be used in meeting the eligibility requirements of Section 31-52 or 31-53 of the City Code.

Sec. 31-36. - Credited service required for vesting.

Credited service requirements for vested status are as follows:

(1)

Fifteen (15) years for members whose most recent termination of service is prior to July 1, 1972.

(2)

Five (5) years for members whose most recent termination of service is on or after July 1, 1972, and before July 1, 1985, but whose service included service prior to July 1, 1977.

(3)

Ten (10) years for members whose most recent termination of service is on or after July 1, 1972, and before July 1, 1985, but whose service did not include service prior to July 1, 1977.

(4)

Five (5) years for members whose most recent termination of service is on or after July 1, 1985.

Regardless of their years of credited service, members shall be fully vested upon fund termination or the complete discontinuance of contributions to the fund.

(Ord. No. 2709-80; Ord. No. 2971-82; Ord. No. 3324-85; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1)

Sec. 31-37. - Reinstatement of prior credited service upon reemployment of a non-vested employee.

(a)

In the case of reemployment, on or after January 1, 1983, of a former non-vested employee whose employment had been previously terminated with a forfeiture of prior credited service, forfeited credited service that was rendered after July 1, 1977, shall be reinstated as of the date of reemployment as an employee if the period of credited service that was forfeited equals or exceeds the elapsed period between the date of such cessation and the date of reemployment. The length of the elapsed period shall be measured in accordance with the provisions of section 31-35. However, no credited service shall be reinstated if the date of reemployment occurred on or after March 1, 2010 (or July 1, 2009 for reemployment by the school board).

(b)

In the event the period of credited service that was forfeited at the last termination of employment is less than the elapsed period since the most recent date of termination of employment, such credited service shall not be subject to reinstatement in the event of the subsequent reemployment of the former member.

(Ord. No. 2709-80; Ord. No. 2971-82; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6827-11)

Sec. 31-38. - Reemployment of a vested, terminated member not receiving retirement benefits.

Upon reemployment by a participating employer of a vested terminated member not receiving retirement benefits into a position that accrues credited service in the fund, the retirement allowance calculation for the vested terminated employment period shall be calculated using the provisions in effect at the time of termination of the vested terminated employment period. Retirement allowances applicable to subsequent employment periods shall be calculated based on the provisions of the fund in effect at the time of termination of each subsequent employment period. The retirement allowances for subsequent employment periods shall be combined with the retirement allowance for the original employment period, the total of which shall establish the member's retirement allowance. Notwithstanding the above, if the last reemployment period began prior to October 1, 2007, one (1) retirement allowance will be calculated based upon the sum of all credited service earned and the member's average final compensation which shall establish the member's retirement allowance.

(Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6603-09)

Sec. 31-39. - Reemployment of a retired member receiving retirement benefits.

Upon reemployment by a participating employer of a retiree into a position that accrues credited service in the fund or in the city's VRS plan under section 31-34, all retirement benefits then being received by the retiree shall cease and shall not resume during any such reemployment period. Upon termination of the reemployment period, a retirement allowance will be calculated as follows:

(a)

If the last reemployment period began prior to October 1, 2007, one (1) retirement allowance will be calculated based upon the sum of all credited service earned and the member's average final compensation which shall establish the member's revised retirement allowance.

(b)

If any reemployment period began on or after October 1, 2007, but before March 1, 2010, a retirement allowance for such reemployment period will be calculated based upon the compensation paid and credited service earned during the reemployment period, and this amount shall be combined with the retirement allowance the member was receiving immediately prior to the reemployment period which shall establish the member's revised retirement allowance.

(c)

If any reemployment period began on or after March 1, 2010, upon termination of the reemployment period, the member's previous retirement allowance under the fund shall resume.

(Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6603-09; Ord. No. 6730-10)

Sec. 31-40. - Compulsory retirement; credited service as a firefighter or police officer.

(a)

Compulsory retirement shall be applicable only to members who are firefighters or police officers. The compulsory retirement age for these members shall be age sixty-three (63).

(b)

No member shall receive credited service as a firefighter or police officer subsequent to the month such member reaches sixty-three (63) years of age.

(c)

The provisions of this section shall not apply to the positions of fire chief and police chief.

(Ord. No. 2709-80; Ord. No. 2971-82; Ord. No. 3522-86; Ord. No. 4862-96; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1; Ord. No. 6491-08)

Editor's note—

Ord. No. 6491-08, adopted May 27, 2008, changed the title of section 31-40 from "Credited service as a firefighter or police officer" to "Compulsory retirement; credited service as a firefighter or police officer."

Sec. 31-41. - Purchase of prior service.

(a)

City employees. Any provision of this article to the contrary notwithstanding and subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth, a city employee who has vested in his or her accrued benefit under the fund may purchase credited service at an actuarially determined cost neutral purchase rate, approved from time to time by the board multiplied by his or her annual salary as of the date of purchase as follows:

(1)

Time employed by the city under a CETA program.

(2)

No more than ten (10) years of active duty service in the armed forces of the United States of America not otherwise credited under section 31-44, and not otherwise exchanged under section 2-111

(3)

Prior credited service with the Newport News Employees' Retirement Fund which was forfeited because of the withdrawal of accumulated contributions.

(4)

Credited service earned as a regular full-time or equivalent employee with (i) VRS or (ii) the retirement plan of any other political subdivision of Virginia, including this fund, which is not considered in the calculation of a retirement benefit.

(5)

Credited service with the city during which the employee participated in a city approved IRC section 457 deferred compensation plan, as an alternative to the fund, by transferring assets from the alternative IRC section 457 plan to the fund.

(b)

School board employees. Any provision of this article to the contrary notwithstanding, and subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth, a school board employee who has vested in his or her accrued benefit under the fund may purchase credited service at an actuarially determined cost neutral purchase rate, approved from time to time by the board, multiplied by his or her annual salary as of the date of purchase as follows:

(1)

Time employed by the school board under a CETA program.

(2)

No more than ten (10) years of active duty service in the armed forces of the United States of America not otherwise credited pursuant to section 31-44, and not otherwise exchanged pursuant to section 2-111

(3)

Prior credited service with the fund which was forfeited because of the withdrawal of accumulated contributions.

(4)

Credited service earned as a regular full-time or equivalent employee under (i) VRS or (ii) the retirement plan of any other political subdivision of Virginia, including this fund, which is not considered in the calculation of a retirement benefit.

(c)

All or a portion of the service specified in subsections (a) and (b) of this section may be purchased, however, in order for VRS participants to purchase credited service under subsection (b), such credited service must have first been purchased under VRS.

(d)

Any member purchasing credited service with the city by transferring assets from the city approved IRC section 457(b) alternative deferred compensation plan provided for in section 2-106 to the fund shall transfer assets equal to the actuarially determined cost neutral purchase rate, approved from time to time by the board, multiplied by the member's annual salary as of the date of purchase.

(e)

Payment for service as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section may be made by (i) direct trustee-to-trustee transfer from a city approved IRC section 457(b) deferred compensation plan, other than the plan provided for in section 2-106, (ii) in a lump sum, or (iii) by payroll deduction. Only one (1) payroll deduction for this purpose shall be made at any one (1) time. Should the payroll deduction be terminated for any reason prior to purchasing the entire period applied for, the member shall be credited with the portion of such period for which payment has been received. If the payroll deduction is continued beyond the point at which the entire period applied for has been purchased, the member may be credited with such additional time as may otherwise have been eligible for purchase but no more than the entire period eligible for purchase. Any excess payments shall be refunded to the member, or the member's beneficiary, if the member is deceased. Except for excess payments, no payments made hereunder shall be refundable.

(Ord. No. 4791-95; Ord. No. 5609-01; Ord. No. 5769-02; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1)

Sec. 31-42. - Portability of service.

(a)

The board may enter into an agreement with VRS or another political subdivision of the Commonwealth having a defined benefit plan which is not supplemental to VRS, whereby any vested member of such other plan may be granted credited service, as determined by the board, for service rendered under VRS or with another political subdivision upon the transfer of assets pursuant to the agreement.

(b)

The board may transfer assets on behalf of a vested member of the fund to VRS pursuant to the agreement between the board and VRS.

(c)

The board may transfer assets on behalf of a vested member to a defined benefit plan of another political subdivision of the Commonwealth which is not supplemental to VRS pursuant to the agreement between the board and such other political subdivision.

(Ord. No. 5087-97; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1)

Sec. 31-43. - Limited purchase of certain prior service.

After a transfer of assets as authorized by section 31-42 of this Code, a member may purchase any non-transferred credited service at two-thirds (2/3) of the actuarially determined cost neutral purchase rate multiplied times their annual salary at the date of purchase for each year to be credited. The purchase of this non-transferred time must be completed within eighteen (18) months from the effective date of the portability agreement between the fund and another plan, or the member's date of hire as an employee, whichever is later. Any such credited service not purchased as provided herein may be purchased by a member pursuant to the provisions of section 31-41 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 5093-98; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1)

Sec. 31-44. - Military service.

Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, accrual of benefits and credited service in the fund will be provided in accordance with IRC section 414(u) and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, as amended.

(Ord. No. 2709-80; Ord. No. 2971-82; Ord. No. 3016-83; Ord. No. 4188-91; Ord. No. 6434-07, § 1)

Secs. 31-45—31-49. - Reserved.