Sec. 116.606. - Retirement leave account.

Each employee covered by this Part or who elects to be covered by this Part, except those employees employed after November 29, 1978, shall have a retirement leave account pursuant to Sections 116.603 , 116.604 and 116.605 , but not to exceed 105 days. Retirement leave may be utilized by the employee pursuant to the following provisions: (a) Illness. (1) If an employee has utilized all of his annual leave and suffers an illness, then credited retirement leave may be used for such illness. (2) If an employee, due to an extended, continuous illness required ten or more working days for the illness, then, at the employee's option, credited retirement leave may be used for the illness. (b) Retirement. (1) For the purpose of this Section, retirement shall mean: (i) Retirement pursuant to full-time service requirements or early vested retirement pursuant to provisions for it in the pension funds of the City or of its former governments. (ii) The accrual of social security benefits for employees covered solely by social security, provided the employee has ten years' service with the City. (iii) Retirement of officers or employees of the City who are covered by the Florida Retirement System. (2) Retirement leave may be taken by an employee immediately prior to the employee's desired eligible retirement date. Retirement leave may be used either to fulfill time service requirements or, if the time service requirements have been fulfilled, to increase retirement benefits. (3) An employee on retirement leave shall be maintained on the regular payroll, thereby continuing to avail the employee of payroll deductions, pension contributions and insurance deductions. (4) While on retirement leave, an employee shall not accrue annual leave, but shall be eligible for legal holidays, and any general salary increases, but not performance or step increases. (5) A request to be placed on retirement leave shall be considered irrevocable. (c) Lump sum payment. (1) An employee eligible for retirement may elect to be paid for credited retirement leave in a lump sum payment on a day-for-day basis. The provisions of subsection (b)(2) of this Section shall not apply to a lump sum payment. (2) An employee who terminates prior to becoming eligible for retirement shall be paid for any retirement leave accredited, on the basis of one day's pay for every two days of retirement leave credited. (3) An employee who terminates prior to becoming eligible for retirement but who has ten years or more consecutive employment with the City shall be paid for credited retirement leave in a lump sum payment on a day-for-day basis. (d) Retirement leave account during DROP. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary contained elsewhere in this Part, members who have elected to participate in the deferred option program will have the accumulated hours of their retirement leave account governed by the following rules as a condition of DROP participation: (1) The number of hours accumulated in the retirement leave account will be frozen and removed from the member's record. In addition thereto, no additional hours may be transferred into the retirement leave account during the period of DROP participation regardless of the provisions of the leave plan into which the employee is enrolled. (2) The dollar value of the accumulated hours in the retirement leave account that is deleted from the member's record will be determined in the same manner as calculated for the payment of earned leave credits upon termination of employment. The dollar value of the retirement leave account that is calculated at the commencement of DROP participation shall be certified by the Department Director or authorized designee, verified and certified by the Human Resources Division to the Director of Finance and Administration, and reported to the Police and Fire Pension Fund. See Exhibit B. (3) The dollar value of the frozen retirement leave account will be divided by the number of years of DROP participation elected by the qualified member for the purpose of establishing the portion of the frozen retirement leave account value that will be annually assessed against the City. Such annual amount shall represent a periodic budgetary charge to be assessed against the activity of the qualified member unless otherwise instructed from the City's annual budget. (4) Such annual amount as determined in (c) of this Section, will be paid by the City to the Police and Fire Pension Fund effective the first day of DROP participation of the qualified member, with such amount being held by the Pension Board for the benefit of the qualified member. Each succeeding annual payment made by the City to the Police and Fire Pension Fund will be made on the anniversary of the qualified member's entrance into the DROP. (5) The annual payment from the City to be held for the benefit of the qualified member, representing a portion of the value of the frozen retirement leave account, shall accrue interest credits as an enhanced benefit of the qualified member from the effective date of deposit at an annual rate of return of 8.4 percent. (6) In the event that the qualified member terminates employment prior to the end of the announced period of DROP participation, the value of the retirement leave account which has not been assessed against the City on a budgetary basis shall be fully assessed in a lump sum and fully credited for the benefit of the participant. (7) The qualified member shall have no right of distribution to any of the annual retirement leave account payments, nor any interest credits related thereto, during the period of DROP participation. (8) Upon termination of participation in the DROP, the cumulative value of the Retirement Leave Account of the Qualified Member and all interest credits related thereto which are held for the benefit of the Qualified Member within the Police and Fire Pension Fund will be made available for distribution to the Qualified Member as soon as administratively practical under the provisions for payment as described in 121.209 (c)(3)(ii)(a) or (b), or any combination thereof, wherein a portion of the payment may be received under 121.209(c)(3)(ii)(a) and any remainder is received under 121.209 (c)(3)(ii)(b). In addition to the above described distribution options, the Retirement Leave Balance shall be deemed to be a form of Terminal Leave for purposes of Ordinance Code Section 121.210 and accordingly, all or a portion of the value of the Retirement Leave Account may be used for participation in a program of post-retirement health care premiums described in 121.210 . (Ord. 78-1126-615, § 3; Ord. 83-591-400, § 1; Ord. 97-1103-E, § 9; Ord. 98-990-E, § 1; Ord. 2002-445-E, § 1; Ord. 2003-899-E, § 1; Ord. 2016-140-E , § 16) Editor's note— Ordinance 2007-839-E, § 18, authorized updated department/division names pursuant to reorganization. Note— Former § 102.606.