HomeMy WebLinkAboutSERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE ADDENDUM TO THE GEORGIA MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES BENEFIT SYSTEM DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN ADOPTION AGREEMENT (4) SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE
ADDENDUM TO THE
GEORGIA MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES BENEFIT SYSTEM
DEFINED BENEFIT RETIREMENT PLAN
ADOPTION AGREEMENT
This is an Addendum to the Augusta GMEBS Plan I Adoption Agreement
completed by Augusta, Georgia. It modifies the Adoption Agreement to
provide for service credit purchases for eligible Participants in the Retirement
Plan for Certain Employees of Augusta, Georgia (Augusta GMEBS Plan I), in
accordance with and subject to the following requirements:
(1) Service Credit Purchase; Eligibility Requirements.
(a) Prior Service With Augusta - Subject to any conditions specified
in Section 13.B or 13.0 of the Adoption Agreement and in this
Service Credit Purchase Addendum, Participants in Augusta
GMEBS Plan I (this Plan) who are actively employed on or after
January 1, 2008, and who have any period of full-time service
with Augusta, Georgia prior to January 1, 2008 (as defined in the
Augusta personnel policies and procedures), provided the Service
is not otherwise creditable under this Plan or any other Augusta
retirement plan (i.e., the Participant has not received and has no
potential to receive a retirement benefit or distribution under any
Augusta retirement plan, including this Plan, that is attributable
to such service or attributable to employer contributions made
during such service), and provided the other requirements of this
Service Credit Purchase Addendum are satisfied, may purchase
credit under this Plan for such service. The purchase of prior
service credit is permitted but not required under this 'Plan.
Participants may purchase all of their prior service that is eligible
for purchase, or only a portion of such service on a pro rata basis.
Such purchases will be allowed to the extent permitted by law,
subject to any conditions, proofs, or acceptance that the Augusta
Human Resources Director and GMEBS deem appropriate.
(b) Prior Service With ARCPC - Subject to any conditions specified
in Section 13.B or 13.0 of the Adoption Agreement and in this
Service Credit Purchase Addendum, Participants in this Plan
who: 1) were employed with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission ("ARCPC") on or before October 31, 2011,
2) who become Eligible Regular Employees under this Plan on or
after November 1, 2011; and 3) have any period of full-time
Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
service with the ARCPC prior to November 1, 2011 which is not
otherwise creditable under this Plan (see General Addendum
Section 15(oo)), Augusta GMEBS Plan II, or any other Augusta
retirement plan (i.e., the Participant has not received and has no
potential to receive a retirement benefit or distribution under any
Augusta retirement plan, including this Plan, that is attributable
to such service or attributable to employer contributions made
during such service), may purchase credit under this Plan for
such service, provided the other requirements of this Service
Credit Purchase Addendum are satisfied. The purchase of prior
service credit is permitted but not required under this Plan.
Participants may purchase all of their prior service that is eligible
for purchase, or only a portion of such service on a pro rata basis.
Such purchases will be allowed to the extent permitted by law,
subject to any conditions, proofs, or acceptance that the Augusta
Human Resources Director and GMEBS deem appropriate.
(2) Use of Purchased Service Credit. Subject to any conditions or
limitations provided in this Addendum, service credit purchased
hereunder will be counted as Credited Service for purposes of(check all
that apply):
® computing the amount of benefits payable under the Plan;
• meeting the minimum service requirements for vesting under the
Plan;
® meeting the minimum service requirements for benefit eligibility
under the Plan.
(3) Application to Purchase Service Credit. A Participant who meets the
eligibility requirements specified in paragraph (1) above and who
wishes to purchase eligible service credit as described in paragraph (1)
above may apply for such purchase by completing and submitting to the
Augusta Human Resources Director an application form provided for
that purpose. Participants will be responsible for providing the Augusta
Human Resources Director with any information or documentation that
the Augusta Human Resources Director deems necessary to establish
that the Participant's service is eligible for purchase under paragraph
(1) above.
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
(4) Annual Window Period for Application: July 1 —August 31. In order to
purchase service credit, eligible Participants must submit the service
credit purchase application within the two-month period beginning each
July 1 and ending August 31. If a Participant does not submit a
completed application to purchase service credit within the designated
window period, the Participant will not be permitted to purchase
service credit. As a precondition for approval of his or her application,
the Participant will be responsible for providing the Augusta Human
Resources Director with any additional information or documentation
that the Augusta Human Resources Director deems necessary to
establish that the Participant's service is eligible for purchase under
paragraph (1) above. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the
contrary, no Participant may apply for or purchase prior service credit
after his or her termination of employment.
(5) Review by Augusta Human Resources Director. Within a reasonable
time after the end of the application period, the Augusta Human
Resources Director will review the Participant's application to purchase
service credit and will determine whether the application should be
accepted. Upon approval of an application by the Augusta Human
Resources Director, the Augusta Human Resources Director will certify
on the application the number of years and months of prior service that
are eligible for purchase under paragraph (1) above.
(6) Fee for Cost Study. As a precondition for approval of the application to
purchase service credit, and prior to the commencement of any cost
study, Participants may be required by the Employer to pay all or a
portion of the cost study fee(s) associated with determining the cost to
purchase the Participant's eligible service credit. Any portion of the fee
that the Participant is not required to pay will be paid by the Employer.
(7) Actuarial Study to Determine Cost of Purchase. In the event that a cost
study has not been undertaken prior to the Participant's submission of a
completed application to purchase service credit, if the Participant's
application to purchase is approved by the Pension Committee
Secretary, a cost study will be undertaken as soon as reasonably
practicable after the application has been approved, in order to
determine the actuarial cost relating to the Participant's prior service
that is eligible for purchase.
(8) Lump Sum Payment Required Within 120 Days After Receipt of Cost
Study Results. Upon completion of the cost study, the Augusta Human
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
Resources Director will notify the Participant of the lump sum amount
required to purchase prior service credit, as reflected in the cost study.
Within 120 days of receiving this notice or of receiving notice of the
Augusta Human Resources Director's approval of the Participant's
application to purchase service credit, whichever is later, the
Participant shall remit said lump sum amount in the form and manner
required by Sections (9)-(11) below, to the Augusta Human Resources
Director, and GMEBS. The Participant may remit less than the full
lump sum amount necessary to purchase all of the prior service credit
which is eligible for purchase, in which case the percentage of service
credit awarded will be equal to the percentage of the full amount
remitted. The Augusta Human Resources Director shall have the
authority to extend the 120-day time period for payment of lump sum
amounts required to purchase service credit if, for reasons outside the
control of the Participant, payment cannot be made within the 120-day
period. However, the time limit for payment will not be extended any
later than the start of the next annual two-month window period for
application (see Section (4) above) and in no event may a Participant
make such payment after his or her termination of employment.
(9) Method of Payment. To the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue
Code and regulations issued thereunder, the lump sum amount referred
to in Section (8) above may be paid via one or more of the following
sources: (1) a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer from a 401(a) qualified
retirement plan, governmental 457(b) deferred compensation plan or a
403(b) tax sheltered annuity; (2) a qualified rollover from a
governmental 457(b) plan, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity plan, 401(a)
qualified plan, 403(a) annuity plan, or a 408(a) or 408(b) individual
retirement account or annuity (traditional IRA); or (3) a lump sum
contribution of after-tax funds. Participants shall be solely responsible
for effecting the payment referred to herein. Participants will not be
permitted to purchase credit via payroll deduction.
(10) Limitation on Amount of Lump Sum Payment. If the lump sum amount
referred to in Section (8) is paid via any method other than as described
under Section (9)(1) or (9)(2) above, then the Participant shall not be
permitted to contribute to the Plan in any calendar year an amount
which exceeds any applicable limit specified in Internal Revenue Code
Section 415.
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
(11) IRC 415, Other Limitations. Notwithstanding any other provision of the
Adoption Agreement or this Addendum to the contrary, the Plan will
not accept and shall return without interest any contribution or portion
of a contribution made to purchase service credit if such contribution
would result in a violation of the applicable limitations established
under Internal Revenue Code Section 415(b), (c), or (n) or any other
provision of law or the Plan, or if it is later determined that the
Participant's prior service is not eligible for purchase, and any prior
service credit attributable to said contribution or portion of a
contribution will be forfeited.
(12) Return of Contributions. Contributions made to purchase prior service
credit shall be used to fund retirement and death benefits payable under
the Plan relating to such credit. Contributions shall not otherwise be
refundable to the Participant or any other person, except as otherwise
provided in this Section (12) or in Section 13.06 or 18.04 of the Master
Plan Document (concerning failure to exhaust or termination of the
plan, respectively). Participants (check one):
❑ will not be permitted to withdraw contributions made to purchase
prior service credit upon termination of employment
(Participants must be vested to purchase prior service credit).
❑ will not be permitted to withdraw contributions made to purchase
prior service credit upon termination of employment, unless they
are not vested upon termination (Participants are not required to
be vested to purchase prior service credit).
® will be permitted to withdraw contributions made to purchase
service credit upon termination of employment, subject to the
provisions of Section 13.03(c) of the Master Plan Document
concerning the effect of withdrawal. For purposes of determining
the amount of any refund of contributions made to purchase
service credit, said contributions shall be credited with interest
thereon in accordance with Section 19 of the Adoption Agreement
and subsections 15(aa) and 15(dd) of the General Addendum, as
applicable, subject to any limitations on the crediting of interest in
Section 13.03(c) of the Master Plan Document.
❑ will be permitted to withdraw contributions made to purchase
service credit upon termination of employment, subject to the
following conditions for repayment (must describe):
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
Note: Partial withdrawal of employee contributions is not
permitted. If the Participant withdraws contributions made to
purchase service credit, the Participant will forfeit any and all
service credit and/or benefits attributable to such purchase for all
purposes.
(13) Repayment Upon Reemployment. If the Participant returns to
employment with the Employer after having withdrawn his
contributions made to purchase prior service credit, the Participant
(check one):
❑ not applicable (withdrawal not permitted).
❑ will not be permitted to re-purchase said service credit upon
reemployment.
D will be permitted to re-purchase said service credit upon
reemployment, based on the actuarial cost of such service
credit, taking into account the additional actuarial cost of
any benefit enhancements adopted prior to reemployment
pursuant to Section (14) below, provided that the
Participant makes application for such re-purchase within
[insert time limit] after reemployment and provided the
Participant effects payment for such re-purchase in
accordance with and subject to the provisions of this
Addendum within [insert time limit] after the application is
approved.
® will be permitted to re-purchase said service credit upon
reemployment, subject to the following conditions for
repayment (must describe other repayment method): The
Participant must repay to the Plan, within six (6) months
after his reemployment date (or prior to his termination
date following reemployment, if earlier), in a lump sum any
and all amounts previously withdrawn or refunded, plus
interest calculated at the rate of 8% per annum. Partial
repayment is not permitted. In no event will the time the
Participant was absent be taken into account in calculating
the amount of any benefit payable under this Plan. Said
Participants will also be required to satisfy the break in
service requirements of Section 4.06 of the Master Plan, if
applicable.
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
(14) Definition of Actuarial Cost. The cost to purchase qualifying prior
service credit shall be determined based upon the actuarial cost of said
prior service credit. In applying the provisions of the Adoption
Agreement and this Service Credit Purchase Addendum, the term
"actuarial cost of prior service credit" means (check one):
❑ the actuarial accrued liability relating to such prior service as
determined by the GMEBS actuary and calculated using the
actuarial assumptions and methods established for this purpose in
the funding policy adopted by the GMEBS Board of Trustees.
® Other (must specify other method of determining actuarial cost
for this purpose): the present value of projected additional
benefits relating to such prior service credit, as determined based
on factors supplied by the GMEBS actuary and calculated using
the actuarial assumptions and methods employed in performing
the Employer's annual plan valuation.
The terms of the foregoing Service Credit Purchase Addendum to the
Adoption_Areement a approved by the Augusta, Georgia Commission
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)
The terms of the foregoing Service Credit Purchase Addendum are
approved by the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Municipal Employees
Benefit System.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Board of Trustees of the Georgia
Municipal Employees Benefit System has caused its Seal and the ignatures of
its dul authorized officers to be affixed this day of
C� , 2o1g .
Board of Trustees
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Georgia Municipal Employees
Benefit System
(SEAL)
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Secretary
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Augusta GMEBS Plan I(Amended Effective July 1,2018)