Participating employers and members shall pay the certified contribution rates to the office to maintain the defined benefit portion of this system on a financially and actuarially sound basis in accordance with Subsection (2).
Terms Used In Utah Code 49-23-301
Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
Certified contribution rate: means the board certified percent of salary paid on behalf of an active member to the office to maintain the system on a financially and actuarially sound basis. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Compensation: includes performance-based bonuses and cost-of-living adjustments. See Utah Code 49-23-102
Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Public safety service: means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:
(i)
a law enforcement officer in accordance with Section 53-13-103;
(ii)
a correctional officer in accordance with Section 53-13-104;
(iii)
a special function officer approved in accordance with Sections 49-15-201 and 53-13-105;
(iv)
a dispatcher who is certified in accordance with Section 53-6-303;
(v)
a full-time member of the Board of Pardons and Parole created under Section 77-27-2;
(vi)
the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety; or
(vii)
the executive director of the Department of Corrections. See Utah Code 49-23-102
Refund interest: means the amount accrued on member contributions at a rate adopted by the board. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Retirement: means the status of an individual who has become eligible, applies for, and is entitled to receive an allowance under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
retirement allowance: means the pension plus the annuity, including any cost of living or other authorized adjustments to the pension and annuity. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Surviving spouse: means :
(a)
the lawful spouse who has been married to a member for at least six months immediately before the death date of the member; or
(b)
a former lawful spouse of a member with a valid domestic relations order benefits on file with the office before the member's death date in accordance with Section 49-11-612. See Utah Code 49-11-102
System: means the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Contributory Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-23-102
Tier I: means a system or plan under this title for which:
(a)
an employee is eligible to participate if the employee initially enters regular full-time employment before July 1, 2011; or
(b)
a governor or legislator who initially enters office before July 1, 2011. See Utah Code 49-11-102
Tier II: includes :
(i)
the Tier II hybrid system established under:
(A)
3; or
(B)
3; and
(ii)
the Tier II Defined Contribution Plan (Tier II DC Plan) established under:
A participating employer shall pay up to 14% of compensation toward the certified contribution rate to the office for the defined benefit portion of this system.
(b)
Except as provided in Subsection (2)(c), a member shall pay to the office the amount, if any, of the certified contribution rate for the defined benefit portion of this system that exceeds the percent of compensation paid by the participating employer under Subsection (2)(a).
(c)
A participating employer may elect to pay all or part of the required member contribution under Subsection (2)(b) on behalf of the member as an employer pick up under 26 U.S.C. § 414(h)(2), in addition to the required participating employer contribution under Subsection (2)(a).
(d)
In addition to the percent specified under Subsection (2)(a), the participating employer shall pay the corresponding Tier I system amortization rate of the employee’s compensation to the office to be applied to the employer’s corresponding Tier I system liability.
(3)
(a)
A member contribution is credited by the office to the account of the individual member.
(b)
This amount, together with refund interest, is held in trust for the payment of benefits to the member or the member’s beneficiaries.
(c)
A member contribution is vested and nonforfeitable.
(4)
(a)
Each member is considered to consent to payroll deductions of member contributions.
(b)
The payment of compensation less these payroll deductions is considered full payment for services rendered by the member.
(5)
Except as provided under Subsection (6), benefits provided under the defined benefit portion of the Tier II hybrid retirement system created under this part:
(a)
may not be increased unless the actuarial funded ratios of all systems under this title reach 100%; and
(b)
may be decreased only in accordance with the provisions of Section 49-23-309.
(6)
(a)
The Legislature authorizes increases to the death benefit provided to a Tier II public safety service employee or firefighter member’s surviving spouse effective on May 12, 2015, and July 1, 2020, as provided in Section 49-23-503.
(b)
(i)
The Legislature authorizes an increase to the multiplier for the calculation of the retirement allowance provided to a member of the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II hybrid retirement system effective July 1, 2020, as provided in Section 49-23-304.
(ii)
The requirements of Section 49-23-309 do not apply to the benefit adjustment described in this Subsection (6)(b).
