1. Service retirement benefit. Retirement of a member on a service retirement allowance shall be made by the system as follows:
a. Any member in service may retire upon written application to the system, setting forth at what time, not less than thirty nor more than ninety days subsequent to the execution and filing of the application, the member desires to be retired. However, the member at the time specified for retirement shall have attained the age of fifty-five and shall have served twenty-two years or more, and notwithstanding that, during the period of notification, the member may have separated from the service.
b. Any member in service who has been a member of the retirement system four or more years and whose employment is terminated prior to the member's retirement, other than by death or disability, shall upon attaining retirement age, receive a service retirement allowance of four twenty-seconds of the retirement allowance the member would receive at retirement if the member's employment had not been terminated, and an additional one twenty-second of such retirement allowance for each additional year of service not exceeding twenty-two years of service. The amount of the retirement allowance shall be calculated in the manner provided in this paragraph using the average final compensation at the time of termination of employment.
c. Once a person commences receiving a service retirement allowance pursuant to this section, if the person is reemployed, as defined in section 411.3, the service retirement allowance shall not be recalculated based upon the person's reemployment.
2. Allowance on service retirement.
a. The service retirement allowance for a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, prior to July 1, 1990, shall consist of a pension which equals fifty percent of the member's average final compensation.
b. The service retirement allowance for a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, on or after July 1, 1990, but before July 1, 1992, shall consist of a pension which equals fifty-four percent of the member's average final compensation.
c. Commencing July 1, 1992, for members who terminate service, other than by death or disability, on or after that date, the system shall increase the percentage multiplier of the member's average final compensation by an additional two percent each July 1 until reaching sixty percent of the member's average final compensation. The applicable percentage multiplier shall be the rate in effect on the date of the member's termination from service.
d. Commencing July 1, 1990, if the member has completed more than twenty-two years of creditable service, the service retirement allowance shall consist of a pension which equals the amount provided in paragraphs "b" and "c", plus an additional percentage as set forth below:
(1) For a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, on or after July 1, 1990, but before July 1, 1991, and who does not withdraw the member's contributions pursuant to section 411.23, upon the member's retirement there shall be added three-tenths percent of the member's average final compensation for each year of service over twenty-two years, excluding years of service after the member's fifty- fifth birthday. However, this subparagraph does not apply to more than eight additional years of service.
(2) For a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, on or after July 1, 1991, but before October 16, 1992, and who does not withdraw the member's contributions pursuant to section 411.23, upon the member's retirement there shall be added six-tenths percent of the member's average final compensation for each year of service over twenty-two years, excluding years of service after the member's fifty-fifth birthday. However, this subparagraph does not apply to more than eight additional years of service.
(3) For a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, on or after October 16, 1992, but before July 1, 1998, and who does not withdraw the member's contributions pursuant to section 411.23, upon the member's retirement there shall be added six-tenths percent of the member's average final compensation for each year of service over twenty-two years. However, this subparagraph does not apply to more than eight additional years of service.
(4) For a member who terminates service, other than by death or disability, on or after July 1, 1998, and who does not withdraw the member's contributions pursuant to section 411.23, upon the member's retirement there shall be added one and one-half percent of the member's average final compensation for each year of service over twenty-two years. However, this subparagraph does not apply to more than eight additional years of service.
3. Ordinary disability retirement benefit. Upon application to the system, of a member in service or of the chief of the police or fire departments, respectively, any member shall be retired by the system, not less than thirty and not more than ninety days next following the date of filing the application, on an ordinary disability retirement allowance, if the medical board after a medical examination of the member certifies that the member is mentally or physically incapacitated for further performance of duty, that the incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that the member should be retired. However, if a person's membership in the system first commenced on or after July 1, 1992, the member shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to a disability which would not exist, but for a medical condition that was known to exist on the date that membership commenced. A member who is denied a benefit under this subsection, by reason of a finding by the medical board that the member is not mentally or physically incapacitated for the further performance of duty, shall be entitled to be restored to active service in the same position held immediately prior to the application for disability benefits.
4. Allowance on ordinary disability retirement.
a. Upon retirement for ordinary disability prior to July 1, 1998, a member shall receive an ordinary disability retirement allowance which shall consist of a pension which shall equal fifty percent of the member's average final compensation unless either of the following conditions exist:
(1) If the member has not had five or more years of membership service the member shall receive a pension equal to one-fourth of the member's average final compensation.
(2) If the member has had twenty-two or more years of membership service, the member shall receive a disability retirement allowance that is equal to the greater of the benefit that the member would receive under subsection 2 if the member were fifty-five years of age or the disability pension otherwise calculated under this subsection.
b. Upon retirement for ordinary disability on or after July 1, 1998, a member who has five or more years of membership service shall receive a disability retirement allowance in an amount equal to the greater of fifty percent of the member's average final compensation or the retirement allowance that the member would receive under subsection 2 if the member had attained fifty-five years of age. A member who has less than five years of membership service shall receive a pension equal to one-fourth of the member's average final compensation.
5. Accidental disability benefit.
a. Upon application to the system, of a member in service or of the chief of the police or fire departments, respectively, any member who has become totally and permanently incapacitated for duty as the natural and proximate result of an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by the actual performance of duty at some definite time and place, or while acting pursuant to order, outside of the city by which the member is regularly employed, shall be retired by the system, if the medical board certifies that the member is mentally or physically incapacitated for further performance of duty, that the incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that the member should be retired. However, if a person's membership in the system first commenced on or after July 1, 1992, the member shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to a disability which would not exist, but for a medical condition that was known to exist on the date that membership commenced. A member who is denied a benefit under this subsection, by reason of a finding by the medical board that the member is not mentally or physically incapacitated for the further performance of duty, shall be entitled to be restored to active service in the same position held immediately prior to the application for disability benefits.
b. If a member in service or the chief of the police or fire departments becomes incapacitated for duty as a natural or proximate result of an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by the actual performance of duty at some definite time or place or while acting, pursuant to order, outside the city by which the member is regularly employed, the member, upon being found to be temporarily incapacitated following a medical examination as directed by the city, is entitled to receive the member's full pay and allowances from the city's general fund until re-examined as directed by the city and found to be fully recovered or until the city determines that the member is likely to be permanently disabled. The board of trustees of the statewide system has no jurisdiction over these matters until the city determines that the disability is likely to be permanent.
c. Disease under this section shall mean heart disease or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract and shall be presumed to have been contracted while on active duty as a result of strain or the inhalation of noxious fumes, poison or gases. However, if a person's membership in the system first commenced on or after July 1, 1992, and the heart disease or disease of the lungs or respiratory tract would not exist, but for a medical condition that was known to exist on the date that membership commenced, the presumption established in this paragraph shall not apply.
6. Retirement after accident.
a. Upon retirement for accidental disability prior to July 1, 1990, a member shall receive an accidental disability retirement allowance which shall consist of a pension equal to sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the member's average final compensation.
b. Upon retirement for accidental disability on or after July 1, 1990, but before July 1, 1998, a member shall receive an accidental disability retirement allowance which shall consist of a pension equal to sixty percent of the member's average final compensation. However, if the member has had twenty-two or more years of membership service, the member shall receive a disability retirement allowance that is equal to the greater of the retirement allowance that the member would receive under subsection 2 if the member was fifty-five years of age or the disability retirement allowance calculated under this paragraph.
c. Upon retirement for accidental disability on or after July 1, 1998, a member shall receive an accidental disability retirement allowance which shall consist of a pension in an amount equal to the greater of sixty percent of the member's average final compensation or the retirement allowance that the member would receive under subsection 2 if the member has attained fifty-five years of age.
7. Re-examination of beneficiaries retired on account of disability. Once each year during the first five years following the retirement of a member on a disability retirement allowance, and once in every three-year period thereafter, the system may, and upon the member's application shall, require any disability beneficiary who has not yet attained age fifty-five to undergo a medical examination at a place designated by the medical board. The examination shall be made by the medical board or in special cases, by an additional physician or physicians designated by such board. If any disability beneficiary who has not attained the age of fifty-five refuses to submit to the medical examination, the member's allowance may be discontinued until withdrawal of such refusal, and if the refusal continues for one year all rights in and to the member's pension may be revoked by the system.
a. Should any beneficiary for either ordinary or accidental disability, except a beneficiary who is fifty-five years of age or over and would have completed twenty-two years of service if the beneficiary had remained in active service, be engaged in a gainful occupation paying more than the difference between the member's net retirement allowance and one and one-half times the earnable compensation of an active member at the same position on the salary scale within the member's rank as the member held at retirement, then the amount of the member's retirement allowance shall be reduced to an amount such that the member's net retirement allowance plus the amount earned by the member shall equal one and one-half times the amount of the current earnable compensation of an active member at the same position on the salary scale within the member's rank as the member held at retirement. Should the member's earning capacity be later changed, the amount of the member's retirement allowance may be further modified, provided that the new retirement allowance shall not exceed the amount of the retirement allowance adjusted by annual readjustments of pensions pursuant to subsection 12 of this section nor an amount which would cause the member's net retirement allowance, when added to the amount earned by the beneficiary, to equal one and one-half times the amount of the earnable compensation of an active member at the same position on the salary scale within the member's rank as the member held at retirement. A beneficiary restored to active service at a salary less than the average final compensation upon the basis of which the member was retired at age fifty-five or greater, shall not again become a member of the retirement system and shall have the member's retirement allowance suspended while in active service. If the rank or position held by the retired member is subsequently abolished, adjustments to the allowable limit on the amount of income which can be earned in a gainful occupation shall be computed by the board of trustees as though such rank or position had not been abolished and salary increases had been granted to such rank or position on the same basis as increases granted to other ranks and positions in the department. For purposes of this paragraph, "net retirement allowance" means the amount determined by subtracting the amount paid during the previous calendar year by the beneficiary for health insurance or similar health care coverage for the beneficiary and the beneficiary's dependents from the amount of the member's retirement allowance paid for that year pursuant to this chapter. The beneficiary shall submit sufficient documentation to the system to permit the system to determine the member's net retirement allowance for the applicable year.
A beneficiary retired under this paragraph, in order to be eligible for continued receipt of retirement benefits, shall no later than May 15 of each year submit to the system a copy of the beneficiary's federal individual income tax return for the preceding year.
Retroactive to July 1, 1976, the limitations on pay of a member engaged in a gainful occupation who is retired under accidental disability prescribed in this paragraph shall not apply to a member who retired before July 1, 1976.
b. Should a disability beneficiary under age fifty-five be restored to active service at a compensation not less than the disability beneficiary's average final compensation, the disability beneficiary's retirement allowance shall cease, the disability beneficiary shall again become a member and shall contribute thereafter at the same rate paid prior to disability, and former service on the basis of which the disability beneficiary's service was computed at the time of retirement shall be restored to full force and effect and upon subsequent retirement the disability beneficiary shall be credited with all service as a member and also with the period of disability retirement.
8. Ordinary death benefit.
a. Upon the receipt of proof of the death of a member in service, or a member not in service who has completed four or more years of service as provided in subsection 1, paragraph "b", there shall be paid to the person designated by the member to the system as the member's beneficiary if the member has had one or more years of membership service and no pension is payable under subsection 9, an amount equal to fifty percent of the compensation earnable by the member during the year immediately preceding the member's death if the member is in service, or an amount equal to fifty percent of the compensation earned by the member during the member's last year of service if the member is not in service.
b. In lieu of the payment specified in paragraph "a", a beneficiary meeting the qualifications of paragraph "c" may elect to receive a monthly pension equal to one-twelfth of forty percent of the average final compensation of the member, but not less than twenty percent of the monthly earnable compensation paid to an active member holding the highest grade in the rank of fire fighter, for a beneficiary of a deceased member of a fire department, or the highest grade in the rank of police patrol officer, for a beneficiary of a deceased member of a police department, if the member was in service at the time of death. For a member not in service at the time of death, the pension shall be reduced as provided in subsection 1, paragraph "b".
For a member not in service at the time of death, the pension shall be paid commencing when the member would have attained the age of fifty-five except that if there is a child of the member, the pension shall be paid commencing with the member's death until the children reach the age of eighteen, or twenty-two if applicable. The pension shall resume commencing when the member would have attained the age of fifty-five.
For a member in service at the time of death, the pension shall be paid commencing with the member's death. In addition to the pension, there shall also be paid for each child of a member, a monthly pension equal to six percent of the monthly earnable compensation paid to an active member holding the highest grade in the rank of fire fighter, for a child of a deceased member of a fire department, or the highest grade in the rank of police patrol officer, for a child of a deceased member of a police department.
Notwithstanding section 411.6, subsection 8, Code 1985, effective July 1, 1990, for a member's surviving spouse who, prior to July 1, 1986, elected to receive pension benefits under this paragraph, the monthly pension benefit shall be equal to the higher of one-twelfth of forty percent of the average final compensation of the member, or the amount the surviving spouse was receiving on July 1, 1990.
c. The pension under paragraph "b" may be selected only by the following beneficiaries:
(1) The spouse.
(2) If there is no spouse, or if the spouse dies and there is a child of a member, then the guardian of the member's child or children, divided as the system determines, to continue as a joint and survivor pension until every child of the member dies or attains the age of eighteen, or twenty-two if applicable.
(3) If there is no surviving spouse or child, then the member's dependent father or mother, or both, as the system determines, to continue until remarriage or death.
d. If there is no nomination of beneficiary, the benefits provided in this subsection shall be paid to the member's estate.
9. Accidental death benefit. If, upon the receipt of evidence and proof from the chief of the police or fire department that the death of a member in service was the natural and proximate result of an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by the actual performance of duty at some definite time and place, or while acting pursuant to order, outside of the city by which the member is regularly employed, the system decides that death was so caused in the performance of duty, there shall be paid, in lieu of the ordinary death benefit provided in subsection 8, to the member's estate or to such person having an insurable interest in the member's life as the member has nominated by written designation duly executed and filed with the system, the benefits set forth in paragraphs "a" and "b" of this subsection:
a. A pension equal to one-half of the average final compensation of the member shall be paid to the member's spouse, children or dependent parents as provided in paragraphs "c", "d", and "e" of subsection 8 of this section. There shall also be paid for each child of a member a monthly pension equal to six percent of the monthly earnable compensation paid to an active member holding the highest grade in the rank of fire fighter, for a child of a deceased member of a fire department, or holding the highest grade in the rank of police patrol officer, for a child of a deceased member of a police department.
b. If there is no spouse, child, or dependent parent surviving a deceased member, the death shall be treated as an ordinary death case and the benefit payable under subsection 8, paragraph "a", in lieu of the pension provided in paragraph "a" of this subsection, shall be paid to the member's estate.
Disease under this subsection shall mean heart disease or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract and shall be presumed to have been contracted while on active duty as a result of strain or the inhalation of noxious fumes, poison, or gases.
10. Pensions offset by compensation benefits. Any amounts which may be paid or payable by the said cities under the provisions of any workers' compensation or similar law to a member or to the dependents of a member on account of any disability or death, shall be offset against and payable in lieu of any benefits payable under the provisions of this chapter on account of the same disability or death. In addition, any amounts payable to a member as unemployment compensation under the provisions of chapter 96 based on unemployment from membership service for a member receiving an ordinary disability benefit or an accidental disability benefit pursuant to this chapter shall be offset against and payable in lieu of any benefits payable under the provisions of this chapter for an ordinary disability or an accidental disability.
11. Pension to spouse and children of deceased pensioned member. In the event of the death of any member receiving a retirement allowance under the provisions of subsections 2, 4, or 6 of this section there shall be paid a pension:
a. To the spouse, equal to one-half the amount received by the deceased beneficiary, but in no instance less than twenty percent of the monthly earnable compensation paid to an active member holding the highest grade in the rank of fire fighter, for a beneficiary of a deceased member of the fire department, or the highest grade in the rank of police patrol officer, for a beneficiary of a deceased member of a police department, and in addition a monthly pension equal to the monthly pension payable under subsection 9 of this section for each child under eighteen years of age or twenty-two years of age if applicable; or
b. If the spouse dies either prior or subsequent to the death of the member, to the guardian of each surviving child, a monthly pension equal to the monthly pension payable under subsection 9 of this section for the support of the child.
12. Annual readjustment of pensions. Pensions payable under this section shall be adjusted as follows:
a. On each July 1, the monthly pensions authorized in this section payable to retired members and to beneficiaries shall be adjusted as provided in this subsection. An amount equal to the sum of one and one-half percent of the monthly pension of each retired member and beneficiary and the applicable incremental amount shall be added to the monthly pension of each retired member and beneficiary. The board of trustees shall report to the general assembly every six years, by September 15 of that year, beginning with September 15, 2001, on whether the provisions of this subsection continue to provide an equitable method for the annual readjustment of pensions payable under this chapter.
b. For purposes of this subsection, "applicable incremental amount" means the following amount for members receiving a pension under subsection 2, 4, or 6 and for beneficiaries receiving a pension under subsection 11:
(1) Fifteen dollars where the member's retirement date was less than five years prior to the effective date of the increase.
(2) Twenty dollars where the member's retirement date was at least five years, but less than ten years, prior to the effective date of the increase.
(3) Twenty-five dollars where the member's retirement date was at least ten years, but less than fifteen years, prior to the effective date of the increase.
(4) Thirty dollars where the member's retirement date was at least fifteen years, but less than twenty years, prior to the effective date of the increase.
(5) Thirty-five dollars where the member's retirement date was at least twenty years prior to the effective date of the increase.
c. For beneficiaries receiving a pension under subsection 8 or 9, the applicable incremental amount shall be determined as set forth in paragraph "b", except that the date of the member's death shall be substituted for the member's retirement date.
d. A retired member eligible for benefits under subsection 1 of this section is not eligible for the readjustment of pensions provided in this subsection unless the member served twenty-two years and attained the age of fifty-five years prior to the member's termination of employment.
e. A retired member eligible for benefits under this section and otherwise eligible for the readjustment of benefits provided in this subsection is not eligible for the readjustment unless the member was retired on or before the effective date of the readjustment.
13. Remarriage of surviving spouse. Effective July 1, 1990, for a member who died prior to July 1, 1988, if the member's surviving spouse remarried prior to July 1, 1988, the remarriage does not make the spouse ineligible under subsection 8, paragraph "c", subparagraphs (1) and (2), to receive benefits under subsections 8, 9, 11, and 12.
[C35, § 6326-f6; C39, § 6326.08; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 411.6; 82 Acts, ch 1261, § 30-39, 47]
84 Acts, ch 1285, § 23; 86 Acts, ch 1203, § 3; 86 Acts, ch 1243, § 27, 28; 88 Acts, ch 1242, § 55-59; 90 Acts, ch 1240, § 53-66; 91 Acts, ch 41, § 3; 92 Acts, ch 1201, § 64-68; 94 Acts, ch 1183, §69-72; 96 Acts, ch 1178, § 3, 4; 96 Acts, ch 1187, § 101-103, 110; 98 Acts, ch 1183, §86-92, 99
Referred to in § 411.3, 411.5, 411.6A, 411.15, 411.21, 411.22
Workers' compensation, chapter 85
1998 amendment to subsection 7, paragraph a, is applicable to amounts earned by a beneficiary after December 31, 1997; 98 Acts, ch 1183, §99
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