§3438. Salary deductions paid into the fund; contributions by the city

A. The said Firemen's Pension and Relief Fund shall consist of the following:

(1) All monies, funds, properties, real and personal, and assets now belonging to or due the presently existing Firemen's Pension and Relief Fund of the city of Shreveport.

(2) All and entire the annual proceeds of all license taxes imposed and collected by the City of Shreveport, from fire insurance companies and/or fire insurance agents doing business in the said City of Shreveport for carrying on such business. Said revenue shall be paid into said Fund by the collecting officer at the close of each fiscal year.

(3) The proceeds of the sale of condemned property owned and used by the said Fire Department shall be paid into said Pension and Relief Fund.

(4) All rewards, gifts or emoluments that may be paid or given for or on account of extraordinary service of said Fire Department, except when given to an individual member or given to endow a medal or other permanent award, shall be paid into said Pension and Relief Fund.

(5) Nine percent of the salary of all employees of the said fire department who are eligible for participation in the benefits of this fund shall be deducted from their respective salaries monthly and paid into the said fund.

(6) A sum equal with and identical to the funds assessed and collected from the members of the fund pursuant to Paragraph (5), above, said sum to be paid into the fund by the city of Shreveport, and said sum to be in addition to any other contributions made to the said fund by the city of Shreveport pursuant to any other provisions of this Section or any other law.

(7) The said City of Shreveport is by these presents authorized and directed to appropriate and pay-over out of the annual revenues of the general alimony tax of the City of Shreveport into the Firemen's Pension and Relief Fund of the City of Shreveport, annually at the beginning of the fiscal year, an amount or sum equivalent to the amount or sum of such deficit as may result, occur or appear in the operation of said fund for the preceding year at the close of such fiscal year, considering the receipts and revenues accruing for such year to the said Fund under Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this Subsection as against the disbursements for such year made under the provisions of this Part.

B. Notwithstanding anything contained in Act 222 of 1938, as amended, any other law, or anything herein to the contrary, the following provisions shall apply to all employees of the Shreveport Fire Department who become members of this fund after July 11, 1977 and those persons with no more than ten years creditable service in the fund as of July 11, 1977 who elect to be governed by these provisions by applying to the board prior to June 30, 1978:

(1) Seven percent of the salary, including state supplemental pay and excluding overtime pay, of said employees shall be deducted from their respective salaries monthly and paid into the said fund.

(2) A sum equal to nine and seventy-seven one hundredths percent of the salary, including state supplemental pay and excluding overtime compensation, of all said employees shall be paid into the fund by the city of Shreveport.

(3) Retirement benefits for said members of the fund eligible therefor shall be as follows:

(a) Any member who has completed at least twenty years of creditable service, and who has been a member of this fund for at least one year, and has attained the age of fifty years or any member who has completed at least twelve years of creditable service, and who has been a member of this fund at least one year and has attained the age of fifty-five shall be entitled to retire from service and upon such retirement shall be paid a retirement allowance equal to two and one-half percent of his annual final compensation for his first ten years creditable service and three percent of his average final compensation for all creditable service over ten years multiplied by his years of creditable service not to exceed eighty-five percent of his final salary.

(b) Any member who has completed twenty or more years of creditable service, and at least one year of which shall be as a member of this fund, and who leaves employment covered by this fund before attaining age fifty shall be entitled to a retirement benefit beginning at age fifty.

(c) Any member who has completed twelve years creditable service, and at least one year of which shall be as a member of this fund, and who leaves employment covered by this fund before attaining age fifty-five shall be entitled to a retirement benefit beginning at age fifty-five.

(d) Upon returning to employment covered by this fund, retirement benefits shall cease and the employee and employer shall contribute to the fund towards creditable service.

(e) The member may not change the option which was selected under the first retirement computation.

(f) "Average final compensation", as used in this Paragraph, is defined as average annual earned compensation of an employee for any period of thirty-six successive or joined months of service as an employee during which the said earned compensation was the highest; in case of interruption of employment, the thirty-six month period shall be computed by joining employment periods immediately preceding and succeeding the interruption.

(g) Any member who terminates employment covered by this fund with less than twelve years creditable service shall be entitled to a refund of five-sevenths of the employee contribution without interest.

(4) Benefits shall be payable to survivors of a deceased member who dies before retirement as specified in the following:

(a) Any member who is killed in the line of duty and who leaves a surviving eligible widow, she shall be paid a monthly benefit equal to two-thirds of his final pay. If any member dies from a cause not in the line of duty and leaves a surviving eligible widow, she shall be paid a monthly benefit of three hundred dollars. If the surviving spouse of either a man killed in the line of duty or a man who dies not in the line of duty, remarries, such benefit shall cease. However, any widow who loses her benefit due to remarriage shall have her benefit reinitialized upon termination of her subsequent marriage. If any member dies before retirement but after meeting eligibility requirements and leaves a surviving eligible widow, she shall be paid a monthly benefit until she dies or remarries as though he had retired on the date of his death and elected Option 2, naming her as beneficiary.

(b) The surviving minor children of a deceased member who dies leaving one or more children under eighteen years of age shall be paid monthly benefits equal to seventy-five dollars per month for each child under age eighteen, not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars per month, provided that when the surviving children reach the age of eighteen the benefits shall cease, unless the child has an intellectual disability and is not able to earn his own living; provided further that any surviving child who graduates from high school and goes directly to college, shall have his benefits continued for the time he remains in college, not to exceed four years. If the deceased member was married and leaves surviving children under eighteen years of age but no surviving widow, the surviving children shall be paid monthly benefits equal to seventy-five dollars per month for each child, to be paid until such time as the youngest child reaches the age of eighteen years, provided that in the case of a child with an intellectual disability who is not able to earn a living, this benefit shall continue for life. Provided that any surviving child who graduates from high school and goes directly to college shall have his benefit continued for the time he remains in college, not to exceed four years.

(c) Should a member die before retirement and not be entitled to survivor's benefits, the amount of his accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his individual account shall be paid to his estate or to such person as he shall have nominated by written designation, duly executed and filed with the board of trustees.

(5)(a) Upon the application of a member to his employer, any member who has at least five years of creditable service may be retired by the board of trustees, not less than thirty and not more than ninety days next following the date of filing such application, on a disability retirement allowance, if the city physician, after a medical examination that certifies that he is physically incapacitated for the further performance of duty, that such incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that he should be retired.

(b) Upon retirement for disability, a member shall receive a retirement allowance if he has attained the age of fifty years; otherwise he shall receive a disability benefit that shall be computed as follows: In the case of total disability of any member resulting from injury received in the line of duty, even though he has less than five years of creditable service, a monthly pension of sixty percent of the salary being received at the time of disability shall be paid to the employee with a disability. Any member of the system who has acquired a disability or incapacitating condition because of continued illness or as the result of any injury received, even though not in the line of duty, and who has five years of creditable service, but is not eligible for retirement, may apply for retirement under the provision of this Section.

(c) The applicant shall accompany his application with certificates from at least three physicians, certifying that he is unable to perform the duties required of him by his employer.

(d) Thereafter, upon the recommendation of the appointing authority and the approval of the board, the employee shall be retired on seventy-five per cent of the retirement salary to which he would be entitled under Paragraph B(3) hereof if he were eligible thereunder. Once each year during the first five years following retirement of a member on a disability retirement allowance, and once in every three year period thereafter, the board of trustees may, and upon his application shall, require any disability beneficiary who has not yet attained the age of sixty years to undergo a medical examination, such examination to be made at the place of residence of said beneficiary or other place mutually agreed upon, by a physician or physicians designated by the board of trustees. Should any disability beneficiary who has not yet attained the age of sixty refuse to submit to at least one medical examination in any such year by a physician or physicians designated by the board of trustees, his allowance may be discontinued until his withdrawal of such refusal, and should his refusal continue for one year all his rights in and to his pension may be revoked by the board of trustees.

(e) Should the city physician report and certify to the board of trustees that such disability beneficiary is engaged in or is able to engage in a gainful occupation paying more than the difference between his retirement allowance and the average final compensation, and should the board of trustees concur in such report, then the amount of his pension shall be reduced to an amount, which, together with his annuity and the amount earnable by him, shall equal the amount of his average final compensation. Should his earning capacity be later changed, the amount of his pension may be further modified; provided, that the new pension shall not exceed the amount of the pension originally granted nor an amount, which, when added to the amount earnable by the beneficiary together with his annuity, equals the amount of his average final compensation. A beneficiary restored to active service at a salary less than the average final compensation shall not become a member of the retirement system.

(f) Should a disability beneficiary under the age of fifty-five be restored to active service at compensation not less than his average final compensation, his retirement allowance shall cease, he shall again become a member of the retirement system, and he shall contribute thereafter at the same rate he paid prior to the disability. Any such prior service certificate on the basis of which his service was computed at the time of his retirement shall be restored to full force and effect, and in addition, upon his subsequent retirement he shall be credited with all his service as a member; but should he be restored to active service on or after the attainment of the age of fifty years his pension upon subsequent retirement shall not exceed the sum of the pension which he was receiving immediately prior to his last restoration and the pension that he would have received on account of his service since his last restoration had he entered service at the time as a new entrant.

(6) Any member electing to be governed by the provision of this Section shall be deemed to have waived on behalf of himself and his dependents any greater benefits which would be due him and/or his dependents under other provisions of this system.

(7) All funds deposited in this Fund pursuant to this Section shall be kept separate from and not commingled with funds deposited in this Fund pursuant to any other law and may be used only to pay benefits to those members and their dependents who are governed by this Section; provided, however, that neither this Section nor any other provision of law shall prohibit the transfer of the funds or assets deposited in this Fund pursuant to this Section to the Firefighters' Retirement System in the event that the city of Shreveport and the board of trustees of said system enter into a merger agreement as authorized by R.S. 11:2260(A)(11).

(8) With the provision that no optional selection shall be effective in case a beneficiary dies within thirty days after retirement and that such a beneficiary shall be considered as an active member at the time of death; until the first payment on account of any benefit becomes due, any member may elect to receive his benefit in a retirement allowance payable throughout life, or he may elect to receive the actuarial equivalent at the time, of his retirement allowance in a reduced allowance payable throughout life with the provision that:

Option 1. If he dies before he has received in annuity payments the present value of his member's annuity as it was at the time of his retirement, the balance shall be paid to such person as he shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board of trustees.

Option 2. Upon his death, his reduced retirement allowance shall be continued throughout the life and paid to such person as he shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board of trustees at the time of his retirement.

Option 3. Upon his death, one-half of his reduced retirement allowance shall be continued throughout the life of, and paid to such person as he shall nominate by written designation duly acknowledged and filed with the board of trustees at the time of his retirement.

Option 4. Some other benefit or benefits shall be paid either to the member or to such person or persons as he shall nominate provided, such other benefit or benefits, together with the reduced retirement allowance shall be certified by the actuary to be of equivalent value to his retirement allowance, and approved by the board of trustees.

(9) The board of trustees is authorized to use interest earnings on investments of the fund in excess of normal requirements, as determined by the actuary, to provide a cost of living increase in benefits for retired members in an amount not to exceed three percent of the original benefit for each year of retirement. Such benefits shall be paid only when funds are available from this source and payments shall be made in such manner and in such amounts as may be determined by the board of trustees, based on the funds available.

(10) Except where in conflict with the provisions of this Section, all laws pertaining to this fund shall also apply to the members covered by this Section.

C. The board shall employ a qualified actuary who shall at least every three years as of December thirty-first of the immediately preceding year make an actuarial valuation of the system and make recommendations to the board concerning contributions required for sound financing of the fund.

Designated from Acts 1938, No. 222, §8 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 2014, No. 811, §4, eff. June 23, 2014.

NOTE: Acts 2014, No. 811 changed terminology referring to persons with disabilities throughout the La. Revised Statutes and codes of law, and included a listing of terms that were deleted and their respective successor terms (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §36). The Act provides that it is not the intent of the legislature that changes in terminology effected therein alter or affect in any way the substance, interpretation, or application of any law or administrative rule; further provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to expand or diminish any right of or benefit for any person provided by any law or administrative rule (See Acts 2014, No. 811, §35(C) and (D)).