A. All of the assets of the retirement system shall be credited according to the purpose for which they are held to one of five funds, namely, the Annuity Savings Fund, the Annuity Reserved Fund, the Pension Accumulation Fund, the Expense Fund, and the deferred retirement option plan account.

            B. Annuity savings fund

            The annuity savings fund shall be the fund in which shall be accumulated contributions from the compensation of members to provide for their annuities. Contributions to the annuity savings fund shall be made as follows:

            (1) Each municipality, parish, and fire protection district shall make deductions from any salary or wages excluding overtime, except as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 11:233(B), paid by them to any member of this fund equal to eight percent of the earnable compensation paid him in each and every payroll after the effective date of this Subpart.

            (2) The deductions provided for herein shall be made notwithstanding that the minimum compensation provided for by law for any member shall be reduced thereby. Every member shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made and provided for herein and shall receipt for his full salary or compensation, and payment of salary or compensation less said deductions shall be a full and complete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands whatsoever for the services rendered by such person during the period covered by such payment, except as to the benefits provided under this Subpart. The employer shall certify to the board of trustees on each and every payroll or in such other manner as the board of trustees may prescribe, the amounts to be deducted; and each of said amounts shall be deducted, and when deducted shall be paid into said annuity savings fund, and shall be credited to the individual account of the member from whose compensation said deduction was made.

            (3) Each municipality, parish, and fire protection district may pay the member’s contributions required by Paragraph (1) herein, for all salary or wages excluding overtime, except as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 11:233, paid by them, earned on or after January 1, 1989. If a municipality, parish, and fire protection district decides not to pay the member’s contributions, the required contributions shall continue to be deducted from the member’s salary as provided in Paragraph (1). If the contributions are paid, they shall be treated as employer contributions in determining tax treatment under the United States Internal Revenue Code and the employee‘s participation shall not be optional; however, the municipality, parish, or fire protection district shall continue to withhold federal and state income taxes based upon these contributions until the Internal Revenue Service or the federal courts rule that pursuant to Section 414(h) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, these contributions shall not be included as gross income of the firefighters until such time as they are distributed or made available. The municipality, parish, and fire protection district shall pay these contributions from the same source of funds which is used to pay the salaries of firefighters. The municipality may pay these contributions by a reduction in the cash salary of the firefighters or by an offset against a future salary increase or by a combination of a reduction in salary. If contributions are paid they shall be considered for all purposes of this Paragraph as the member’s contributions made prior to the time that contributions were paid.

            C. Annuity reserve fund

            The annuity reserve fund shall be the fund in which shall be held the reserves on all annuities in force and from which shall be paid all annuities and all benefits in lieu of annuities, payable as provided in this Subpart. Should a beneficiary retired on account of disability be restored to active service with a compensation not less than his average final compensation at the time of his last retirement, his annuity reserve shall be transferred from the annuity reserve fund to the annuity savings fund and credited to his individual account therein.

            D. Pension accumulation fund

            The pension accumulation fund shall be the fund in which shall be accumulated all reserves for the payment of all pensions and benefits payable from contributions made by employers. Contributions to and payments from the pension accumulation fund shall be made as follows:

            (1) In addition to the assessment collected above, each municipality, parish, or fire protection district which has employees on its fire protection force who become members in the Firefighters’ Retirement System shall contribute a baseline amount equal to nine percent of the earnable compensation, excluding overtime but including state supplemental pay, of each firefighter eligible for membership in the Firefighters’ Retirement System and shall remit this amount monthly to the Firefighters’ Retirement System.

            (2)(a) In compliance with the provisions of Article X, Section 29(E)(4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, delinquent payments due under Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section and Paragraph (1) of this Subsection may be recovered by action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the political subdivision or instrumentality liable therefor with interest for all pertinent periods at a rate equal to the greater of the following:

            (i) The actuarial valuation rate.

            (ii) An amount equal to the rate of earnings of the system’s investment portfolio.

            (b) Reasonable attorney fees and court costs shall be recoverable by the Firefighters’ Retirement System:

            (i) If any amount of delinquent payments under Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section and Paragraph (1) of this Subsection are recovered by action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a political subdivision or instrumentality liable.

            (ii) In any concursus proceeding instituted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Article 4651 et seq., wherein the Firefighters’ Retirement System is named as a party.

            (c) Alternatively, at the request of the Firefighters’ Retirement System, and upon due certification of delinquency to the state treasurer, such amounts shall be deducted from any other monies payable to such subdivision or instrumentality by any department or agency of the state and shall be remitted directly to the Firefighters’ Retirement System.

            (3) On the basis of regular interest and of such mortality and other tables as shall be adopted by the board of trustees, the actuary engaged by the board to make each valuation required by this Subpart during the period over which the accrued liability contribution is payable, immediately after making such valuation, shall determine the uniform and constant percentage of the compensation of the average new entrant, which if contributed on the basis of compensation of such new entrant throughout the entire period of active service would be sufficient to provide for the payment of any pension payable on his account. The rate percentum so determined shall be known as the “normal contribution” rate. After the accrued liability contribution has ceased to be payable, the normal contribution rate shall be the rate percentum of the earned salary of all members obtained by deducting from the total liabilities of the pension accumulation fund the amount of funds on hand to credit of that fund and dividing the remainder by one percentum of the present value of the prospective future salaries of all members as computed on the basis of the mortality and service tables adopted by the board of trustees and regular interest. The normal rate of contribution shall be determined by the actuary after each valuation.

            (4) Upon the retirement of a member, an amount equal to his pension reserve, less the amount of his annuity savings account, shall be transferred from the pension accumulation fund to the annuity reserve fund. At the same time the amount of his annuity savings account shall also be transferred to the annuity reserve fund.

            (5) The board of trustees shall transfer annually from the pension accumulation fund to the expense fund an amount equal to fifteen dollars per member and beneficiary on the rolls at the end of the fiscal year, but not less than a total of one hundred thousand dollars.

            (6) Taxes or assessments may be appropriated to this fund, in addition to the other sources of contributions specified herein, as necessary to fund the system on the basis of its accrued liabilities, as shown by actuarial valuation.

            E. Expense fund

            The expense fund shall be the fund from which the expense of the retirement system shall be paid, exclusive of amount payable as retirement allowances and other benefits provided therein. The board of trustees shall determine annually the amount required to defray such expenses for the ensuing fiscal year and shall have the right to transfer the amount required to defray the cost of expenses of administration from the amount transferred from the pension accumulation fund.

            F. Collections of contributions

            (1) The collection of members’ contributions shall be as follows:

            (a) Each municipality, parish, or fire protection district shall cause to be deducted on each and every payroll of a member for each and every payroll period subsequent to the date of establishment of the retirement system the contributions payable by such member as provided in this Subpart.

            (b) The treasurer, or other officer authorized to issue warrants, shall make deductions from salaries of members as provided in this Subpart, and shall transmit monthly the amount specified to be deducted to the secretary of the board of trustees. After making a record of all such receipts, the secretary of the board of trustees shall deposit them in a bank or banks selected by the board of trustees.

            (2) The collection of employers’ contributions, if and when assessed or required, shall be as follows: Upon the basis of each actuarial valuation provided herein, the board of trustees shall annually prepare a statement of the total amount necessary for the ensuing fiscal year to the pension accumulation and expense funds as provided under Subsections D and E of this Section.

            G. The Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall be the account in which shall be accumulated all payments made pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 11:2257. Interest shall be credited to the account as provided by La. Rev. Stat. 11:2257(F)(2).

            H. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section or any other law to the contrary, the city of Monroe, at its discretion, is authorized to pay to the system, from its own funds, the employee contributions referenced in this Section, and to take appropriate legal and administrative action to otherwise be in compliance with local, state, and federal laws.

            I. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section or any other law to the contrary, the city of Port Allen, at its discretion, is authorized to pay to the system, from its own funds, the employee contributions referenced in this Section, and to take appropriate legal and administrative action to otherwise be in compliance with local, state, and federal laws. The amount of any employee contributions paid by the city of Port Allen shall not be included in the earnable compensation of the members as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 33:2152(13).

            Acts 1979, No. 434, §1; Acts 1980, No. 799, §3; Acts 1984, No. 450, §2; Acts 1984, No. 460, §1; Acts 1985, No. 177, §1; Acts 1988, No. 138, §1; Acts 1990, No. 43, §1; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 33:2160 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Amended by Acts 1991, No. 57, §1, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 2003, No. 719, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2008, No. 114, §1, eff. June 9, 2008; Acts 2021, No. 250, §1.