Title
THE CITY'S DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS (B)
Explanation
On Wednesday, May 4, 2011, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1128 (SB 1128), an act relating to public pension plans. Among other things, SB 1128 requires defined benefit pension plans sponsored by a local government to calculate pension benefits in a certain manner on or after July 1, 2011.
At its meeting on May 19, 2011, the City Commission authorized this Office to prepare and the Clerk to advertise an ordinance amending the City's pension plans to bring them into compliance with SB 1128 contingent upon this bill becoming law. First reading was scheduled for June 16, 2011 and second reading was scheduled for a special meeting to occur before July 1, 2011. The Clerk subsequently scheduled a special meeting for a second reading on June 28, 2011.
As of June 7, 2011, SB 1128 was not yet law. However, the Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters' Retirement Trust Funds Office, a section of the State of Florida's Division of Retirement, issued interpretive guidance on SB 1128's application to municipal police officer and firefighter pension plans on May 31, 2011. This guidance is attached as backup to this agenda item. In relevant part, the guidance provides the following:
For Chapters 175 & 185 plans, if some of the police and firefighters are represented by a collective bargaining agent, then the effective date [of SB 1128] is the date of entry into the first CBA entered into on or after July 1, 2011 for all police and firefighters regardless of whether they are members of the collective bargaining unit or not.
The Division of Retirement issued this interpretive guidance despite the plain language of SB 1128 which provides that "[f]or noncollectively bargained service earned on after July 1, 2011, or for service earned under a collective bargaining agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2011, . . . when calculating retirement benefits, up to 300 hours per yea...
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