In the event of any discrepancy between this Summary Plan Description and the actual provisions of the Plan, the Plan Document shall govern.

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3 Introduction to the Plan The Pinellas Park General Employees Pension Board of Trustees is pleased to provide you with this Summary Plan Description, which is designed to acquaint Employees with the major provisions of the Pinellas Park General Employees Pension Plan. The Summary Plan Description is not meant to interpret, extend, or change the provisions of your Plan Document in any way. The most frequently asked questions and respective responses related to the Plan are covered in this booklet. The complete Plan Document, known as Chapter 17 of the City of Pinellas Park Code of Ordinances, is on file in the City s Retirement Services Office and may also be downloaded from the Municode Website at In addition to the Plan Document, the Plan is governed by certain federal and state laws, including but not limited to the Internal Revenue Code and Chapter 112, Florida Statutes. In the event of any discrepancy between this Summary Plan Description and the actual provisions of the Plan, the Plan Document shall govern. 1

4 Who administers the Plan? The Trustees of the General Employees Pension Board are responsible for the administration of this defined benefit Plan. The Board consists of seven Trustees who serve three-year terms. Three Trustees are residents of the City chosen by City Council; two Trustees are current employees who are chosen through an election conducted by the City Clerk s Office; one trustee is selected from the membership of the Florida Public Employees Council 79, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 762; and the seventh Trustee is chosen by a majority of the first six Trustees. The Plan Administrator is currently the City s Human Resources Administrator. The Plan Administrator, as the designated Secretary to the Board, and the Retirement Services Office transact business on behalf of the Trustees. (Please see Exhibit A for a list of the names and addresses of the Trustees of the General Employees Pension Board and the Plan Administrator.) The Plan operates on an October to September fiscal year basis, which coincides with the City s budget and financial reporting. How do I know if I am eligible to participate in the Plan? All regular full-time General Employees, and the City Manager and members of City Council, are eligible and required to participate in the Plan. When do I become eligible for Pension benefits? You are eligible for a Pension benefit at any time after your benefits have been Vested under the Plan, which is after ten years of Creditable Service. The City Manager and members of City Council are considered fully Vested after completing four years of Creditable Service. You may Retire either as a Normal Retirement or an Early Retirement based on your years of service and age at the time of leaving service. If you Retire at any time after you have reached age 62 with at least 10 years of Creditable Service, or at any age if you have at least 30 years of Creditable Service, you will have reached Normal Retirement. You may also Retire with an Early Retirement benefit at any age and a minimum of 10 years of Creditable Service. However, your benefit will be reduced by 3% for each year you retire before your Normal Retirement Date. 2

5 How is the amount of my Pension benefit computed? The amount of your monthly Pension benefit is computed based on your Average Final Compensation, years of Creditable Service and applicable accrual rate(s). Average Final Compensation is the average of your best three out of the last five years of Annual Compensation, or the best five out of the last 10 years of Annual Compensation, whichever is greater. Annual Compensation means your pay for hours worked for the City; sick, vacation, and personal hours used; holiday pay; lump sum payouts for employees at the top of their pay grade; and incentive pays. This does not include payments for overtime in excess of 300 hours per calendar year; bonuses, and lump sum payouts for unused sick or vacation hours regardless of when they were accrued. Creditable Service includes continuous service rendered as a full-time General Employee and may also include Military Service during your City employment and authorized leaves of absences under certain conditions. Accrual rates vary according to the date you began participating in the Plan. Please refer to the Plan document, Chapter 17, Code of Ordinances, for the current accrual rates. Normal Retirement Monthly Pension Calculation Example If you Retired with an Average Final Compensation of $40,000, 30 years of Creditable Service and a 2.1% accrual rate, your monthly Pension would be calculated as follows: Average Final Compensation Years of Service Accrual Rate Monthly Pension $40,000 X 30 X = $2,100 The Pension payable cannot exceed 100% of your Average Final Compensation. Early Retirement Monthly Pension Calculation Example An Early Retirement benefit is computed the same way as a Normal Retirement Pension benefit, but the monthly benefit amount is then reduced by 3% per year for each year the Early Retirement Date precedes your Normal Retirement Date. If you Retired 20 years before your Normal Retirement eligibility date and were age 42, with an Average Final Compensation of $40,000, 10 years of Creditable Service and a 2.1% accrual rate, your monthly Pension would be calculated as follows: 3

6 Average Final Compensation Years of Service Accrual Rate *Adjustment for Early Retirement Monthly Pension $40,000 X 10 X.021 X = $280 *Retired 20 years early: 20 x 3% = 60%. This means you will receive 40% of the benefit amount that you would have otherwise received had you been age 62 at the time of your retirement. How long are Pension payments made? Upon your Retirement, you will receive a monthly Pension benefit from the Plan for the rest of your life. If I have 10 years or more of Creditable Service, can I choose to defer payment of my Pension benefits until a later date? If you leave City employment after completing 10 or more years of Creditable Service, it may be to your advantage to not start receiving your Pension benefit right away in order to lessen the Early Retirement penalty. If you decide to delay receiving your benefits until a later date, your Pension will remain Vested, and your Accumulated Contributions will remain in the Plan. When the time is right for you to begin receiving your monthly Pension, the amount of your benefits will be calculated based on the provisions of the Plan that were in effect at the time you terminated employment, and the Average Final Compensation and Creditable Service earned up to your date of termination. In order to begin receiving a Pension, you must submit a written application to the Retirement Services Office. What if I leave City employment before I have the 10 years of Creditable Service? You will be refunded the total amount of your contributions without interest after a reasonable time period for processing of your payment by the Fund s Custodian. If at any point during my employment as a General Employee I make a career change and become a Police Officer or Firefighter with the City, will I then have Creditable Service under more than one Plan? Yes. The Plan does provide for Dual Service, and you would have accrued benefits in two different Plans. The amount of Pension benefit payable is computed separately in accordance with the terms of each respective Plan. 4

7 Are there different Retirement options from which I can choose that would provide payment of my benefit to someone else upon my death? There are four optional forms of Retirement benefits available from which you may select. You can choose a life only annuity (Option A), or you can provide protection for a survivor by selecting one of the reduced optional forms (Options B, C or D) of Retirement payments. Your choices are as follows: Option A. This is considered the Normal Form of Benefit and is payable for as long as you live. Option B. Under this option, a Pension would be paid to you for as long as you live. If you decease before receiving 120 monthly Pension payments, your Survivor Payee would receive your Pension payments for the remainder of the 120-month period. Option C. Under this option, a Pension would be paid to you for as long as you live. Upon your death, your designated Joint Annuitant (spouse or other Dependent) would start to be paid 100% of your Pension for the remainder of his or her life. Option D. Under this option, a Pension would be paid to you or your Joint Annuitant for as long as either of you live. Upon the death of either you or your Joint Annuitant (spouse or other Dependent), the survivor would receive 66 2/3% of the Pension for the remainder of his or her life. Are Pension benefits paid if I decease before I Retire? If you decease prior to completing the required 10 years of Creditable Service, a refund of your contributions shall be paid, without interest, to your designated Beneficiary. If you decease from circumstances not related to your job after completing the required 10 years of Creditable Service, your spouse or other Dependent would be eligible to receive the Option C form of Retirement benefit. If you are killed in the line of duty, regardless of your length of service, your spouse or Dependent child would be eligible to receive a Pension, which would be calculated in accordance with the Plan provisions in effect at the time of death. Payments made on behalf of a Dependent cease when the Dependent turns 18 unless the Dependent is deemed to be incapable of self-support. If you have no spouse or other Dependent, there is no death benefit payable, but your Beneficiary would receive a refund of your contributions without interest. 5

8 What happens if I become disabled while working for the City? If you become disabled from circumstances not related to your job after completing five years of Creditable Service, you may be eligible for a non-line-of-duty disability Pension equivalent to the amount of a Normal Retirement Pension benefit earned to date, or 25% of your Average Final Compensation, whichever is greater. If you become disabled from circumstances related to your job, regardless of your length of service, you may be eligible for a line-of-duty disability Pension equivalent to the amount of your Normal Retirement Pension benefit earned to date, or 42% of your Average Final Compensation, whichever is greater. Proof of your disability will be required and must be accompanied by an Application for Disability Benefits. Does the Plan contain any other type of supplemental benefit? There is a Deferred Retirement Option Program within the Plan known as DROP. You become eligible to enter the DROP upon reaching Normal Retirement. The DROP participation period is limited to three years and your DROP account balance is adjusted quarterly by an amount equal to the positive or negative return experienced by the fund after expenses. However, the maximum positive quarterly return is.75% and the maximum negative quarterly return shall be (.75%). During the period of DROP participation, you still work for the City, but participation does not guarantee continued employment. DROP participants are considered Retired for purposes of the Plan and do not accrue additional Pension benefits. If you participate in DROP, you will not be eligible for disability or pre-retirement death benefits. Employees entering DROP must contact the Retirement Services Office to obtain an application, which must be completed and filed prior to entering the DROP. After I Retire, will the amount of my Pension ever increase? The Plan does provide for an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Retired Members and DROP participants who meet certain eligibility criteria. Retirees receive an annual 2% COLA as follows: 1. For a Retiree having less than 30 years of service, the COLA increase begins in December after reaching age sixty-five. 2. For a Retiree having 30 or more years of service, the COLA increase begins in December after completing five years of retirement, or after the Retiree attains age sixty-five, whichever comes first. 6

9 What must I do to make a claim for any benefits for which I may be eligible from the Plan? When a Plan Member reaches a certain number of years of service or age he or she does not automatically begin to receive benefits. There are many factors to be considered by each Plan Member as he/she decides when it is the right time to begin receiving pension benefits. In order to file a claim for benefits under the Plan, an application form must be filed with the Retirement Services Office. The appropriate forms will be made available upon request. For any reason, should you be dissatisfied with the decision of the General Employees Pension Board regarding an application for benefits, you may pursue an appeal and review of said decision. Please contact the Retirement Services Office for procedural due process provisions. Who pays for Retirement Plan Pension benefits? Both you and the contribute towards the cost of the Plan. Certain Employees hired prior to October 1, 2006 contribute 3%, while the others contribute 5% and receive a higher accrual rate in exchange for the increased contribution. All employees hired after October 1, 2006 contribute 5% and receive the higher accrual rate. The contributes amounts determined by an Actuary on an annual basis to maintain the Plan in sound condition required by state law. These contributions are significantly higher than the amounts contributed by the Employees. Are Pension benefits collectively bargained with any labor organization? Pension benefits are a bargainable issue. The Constitution of the State of Florida guarantees the right of Employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively. The current collective bargaining agreement between the City and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 762, contains provisions which deal with Pension benefits. What happens to the money the City and I paid into the Plan? All sources of Plan revenue are placed with professional investment management companies who oversee and invest the assets of the Plan. The investment managers objective is to preserve invested capital and achieve long-term real growth of assets, while minimizing the risk of loss. 7

10 How financially secure is the Plan? The General Employees Pension Plan is financially and actuarially sound and meets all of the reporting requirements of Florida Statute 112 Part VII, Actuarial Soundness of Retirement Systems. The Plan is audited by the Plan Sponsor s auditing firm and their findings are included in the City s annual Certified Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The Trustees of the Pension Fund retain the services of an Actuary who regularly performs a valuation of the Fund to determine whether the assets and contributions are sufficient to provide the prescribed benefits and to develop the appropriate funding requirements for the applicable Plan year. This valuation is conducted in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and practices. Additionally, the Trustees meet often with the Fund s investment consultant to discuss the expected rate of return on the Fund s investments and to review the portfolio and its allocations in order to maximize the Fund s ability to achieve its long-term objectives. The Fund is comprised of a well-diversified portfolio, and the Trustees are comfortable that the Fund should earn its assumed rate of return over the long haul. Can I ever lose the contributions I made to the Plan? No. Either you, your designated Beneficiary, or your estate will receive a payment from the Plan equal to your contributions without interest. At no time prior to the satisfaction of all liabilities under the Plan shall any assets of the Plan be used for any purpose other than for the General Employees exclusive benefit. In any event, your contributions to the Plan are non-forfeitable. Can I ever lose entitlement to my Pension benefits? If you are found guilty by the court or terminated by the City for committing or aiding and abetting any embezzlement or theft from the City, or bribery, in connection with your employment, or any other offenses specified in Florida Statutes , you would forfeit all rights and benefits, except the return of your contributions as stated above. Additionally, no Member who has caused a shortage in a public account, when such shortage is certified by a certified public accountant, may receive benefits so long as such shortage exists. In the event of Plan repeal, or if contributions to the Plan are discontinued by the City, there will be a full vesting of Pension benefits which the Member has accrued before the date of repeal. 8

11 EXHIBIT A TO PINELLAS PARK GENERAL EMPLOYEES PENSION PLAN SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION Pinellas Park General Employees Pension Board of Trustees Alan Swartz, Chairman, City Appointee James Walker, Vice Chairman, Elected Representative Luis Carvalho, AFSCME Representative Tammy Hillier, Elected Representative Robert Puccinelli, 7 th Trustee William Vannatta, City Appointee Leon Mascolo, City Appointee Plan Administrator and Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Agent for Service of Legal Process Lisa Hendrickson Human Resources Administrator (727) Retirement Services Office Retirement Services Office (727) retirement_services@pinellas-park.com 9