Article II. FIREFIGHTER PENSION FUND—IN GENERAL  

(1)

Any member of the Fire Department of the City of Orlando who is otherwise entitled to participate in the benefits of funds, created by Laws of Fla. ch. 23444(1945), shall be permitted to establish continuity of service and continuity of benefits by making the required regular contributions into the fund while such member of the Fire Department is absent from duty because of the acceptance of an appointment as Director of Public Safety for the City of Orlando, or while absent from duty under leave of absence because of illness or pregnancy or any other leave of absence granted pursuant to the sanction of the City Council, the Orlando Firefighters Pension Board, and the Civil Service Board of the City of Orlando.

(2)

All current permanent members of the Orlando Fire Department who were hired as full-time members under a temporary status until such time as they were able to attain permanent status, and who did not contribute to the pension fund of the Orlando Fire Department while in a temporary status, are hereby granted the option of paying into said pension fund that sum of money which said member would have paid into said pension fund had such member been in a permanent status plus simple interest on such sum at a rate to be determined by the Orlando Firefighters Pension Board. Said interest rate shall be applied to the sum of money due for the period of temporary status over that period of time from when permanent status was achieved to the date such member pays said money into the fund. Any contributions so made by any member of the Fire Department in the past are hereby confirmed and approved, and the continuity of service and continuity of benefits in said funds resulting from such contributions are hereby confirmed and approved.

(3)

In the event a member of the Orlando Fire Department severs his employment with said department, but is subsequently rehired by said department, said member shall be reinstated in the pension program and accorded all provided rights therein; and shall receive credit for those years or fractional parts of years of service for the prior service with said department, provided said member repays into the pension fund of the Fire Department of the City of Orlando that sum of money which said member was refunded at the time he severed employment with said department in addition to interest compounded annually on that sum of money due for the period of the absence. An appropriate annual compound interest rate shall be determined by the Orlando Firefighters Pension Board based on the amount earned by the pension fund as interest over the period of the absence. The member shall have at least 90 days after his or her re-employment to make repayment. A firefighter may voluntarily leave his or her contributions in the pension fund for a period of 5 years after leaving the employ of the fire department, pending the possibility of being rehired by the same department, without losing credit for the time he or she has participated actively as a firefighter. If the firefighter is not reemployed as a firefighter, with the same department within 5 years, his or her contributions shall be returned without interest.

(4) (a) Any person who is retired and entitled to receive retirement benefits from the pension fund for the fire department of the City of Orlando may be reemployed by any private or public employer after retirement and receive compensation from his employer and such retirement benefits without limitation, except that a person who, within the 12 months immediately subsequent to the date of his retirement is reemployed by either the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando may not receive such retirement benefits for the period beginning on the date of such reemployment and ending on the first anniversary of the date of his retirement. The 12-month limitation period imposed by this paragraph applies to reemployment in any capacity with the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando, irrespective of the category of funds from which the person is compensated.

(b)

A person to whom the limitation in paragraph (a) applies and who is reemployed by either the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando within the 12 months immediately subsequent to the date of his retirement must give timely notice of his status to the appropriate pension board and to his employer. His retirement benefits shall be suspended for the balance of the 12-month limitation period; any retirement benefits that he received during the 12-month limitation period shall be repaid to the pension fund; and his retirement benefits shall remain suspended until such repayment has been made. Any retirement benefits suspended beyond the 12-month limitation period shall be applied toward the repayment of any retirement benefits that he received during the 12-month limitation period.

(c)

A retiree who draws a pension from the pension fund for either the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando, regardless of his date of reemployment, is not entitled to earn and draw another pension from either pension fund. If the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando employs a person who is entitled during such reemployment to receive retirement benefits from the pension fund for either the police department or fire department of the City of Orlando, the employer must pay into its pension fund an amount equal to the unfunded actuarial accrued liability portion, if any, of any contribution that would have been paid into the fund with respect to such employee were he a regular employee entitled to earn a pension.

(5)

Any member of the Fire Department of the City of Orlando who is otherwise entitled to participate in the benefit of funds, created by Laws of Fla. ch. 23444(1945), shall for pension purposes be permitted to establish continuity of service and continuity of benefits by combining or tacking prior Pension Fund participation in the event of transfer from the Police Department to the Fire Department or from the Fire Department to the Police Department; provided, however, that such member must have completed at least 10 years' participation in the Pension Fund of the last department served prior to retirement in order to establish such continuity.

(6)

All current permanent members of the Orlando Fire Department who were employed as full-time members, but who were ineligible to contribute to or participate in the pension plan of the Orlando Fire Department due to being in excess of age 30 at the time of such employment, are hereby granted the option of paying into the pension fund that sum of money which said member would have paid into said fund had such member been eligible to contribute and participate plus simple interest on such sum at a rate to be determined by the Orlando Firefighters' Pension Board. Said interest rate shall be applied to the sum of money due for the period of ineligibility over that period of time beginning when eligibility was granted to the date such member pays said money into the fund. Any contributions so made by any member of the Orlando Fire Department in the past are hereby confirmed and approved, and the continuity of service and continuity of benefits in said fund resulting from such contributions are hereby confirmed and approved.

(7)

Notwithstanding any contrary provisions in the pension plan of the Orlando Fire Department, the benefits provided under the plan for a limitation year to any firefighter, whether or not retired or otherwise terminated, shall not exceed the limitations established under s. 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in effect for that limitation year. For the purposes of this subsection, the limitations in effect under s. 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for any limitation year shall take into account all cost-of-living adjustments in effect under s. 415(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. Further, any election made by the City of Orlando pursuant to s. 415(b)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be taken into account in determining the applicable limitation on benefits under s. 415 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(Laws of Fla. ch. 91-376, § 1(9), (10); Ord. of 6-18-2001, § 1, Doc. #33874; Ord. of 1-14-2008, §§ 1—3, Doc. # 0801141004)