Sec. 120.201. - Definitions.

The following words and phrases as used in this Part shall have the following meaning: (a) Accumulated Contributions shall mean the sum of all amounts deducted from a member's compensation and/or picked up on behalf of a member. (b) Active Membership shall mean membership in the Retirement System as an employee. (c) Actuarial Equivalent shall mean that any benefit payable under the terms of this system other than the normal form of benefit shall have the same actuarial present value on the date the payment commences as the normal form of benefit. For purposes of establishing the actuarial present value of any form of benefit, other than a lump sum distribution, all future payments shall be discounted for interest and mortality using the RF-2000 mortality table with an interest rate of 8.4 percent. In the case of a lump sum distribution, the actuarial present value shall be determined on the basis of the same mortality rates as set forth in this Section. (d) And shall have a conjunctive meaning. (e) Beneficiary/Retiree shall mean any person receiving a retirement allowance and/or other benefit from the Retirement System. (f) Benefit shall mean a retirement allowance and/or other payment provided by the Retirement System. (g) Board or Board of Trustees shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Retirement System. (h) City shall mean the City of Jacksonville Florida, JEA, the Jacksonville Housing Authority, the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Board of Trustees, and those City agencies with employees who are active members of the Retirement Plan. (i) Credited Service shall mean membership credit upon which a member's eligibility to receive benefits under the retirement plan is based, or upon which the amount of such benefits is to be determined; provided that employees of JEA actively employed on the effective date of a Recapitalization Event shall be granted credited service pursuant to Section 120.209 (b)(1) and (2). (j) Disability shall mean the permanent and total incapacity to perform regular and continuous duties as an employee or officer for the City. The term regular and continuous as used in this definition shall not require that an employee or officer be able to perform all of the duties set forth in the job description, but shall mean the ability to perform work within the employee or officer's classification for which a position has been made available by the City, consistent with the physical or mental health of the member. (k) Early Service Retirement shall mean a member's withdrawal from service under circumstances permitting the payment of a retirement benefit before such member is eligible for normal service retirement. (l) Earnable Compensation shall mean a member's base pay for regular hours worked as an employee, plus service raises and excluding bonuses, adjusted compensation, overtime or any extra compensation over and above regularly budgeted salaries. Earnable compensation shall not include payouts of accumulated leave taken as cash upon separation from service. Retroactive payments shall be credited to the calendar year in which such payments would have been received had they been timely paid. Compensation for any plan year shall not include any amounts in excess of the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limitation as adjusted for change in the cost of living in the manner prescribed by the IRC, Section 401(a)(17)(B). (m) Employee shall mean a person currently employed by the City and for whom contributions are being made to the Plan. The term "employee" shall include general employees, all other eligible employees of the City, JEA, the Jacksonville Housing Authority and the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Board of Trustees, and employees of outside agencies covered by this Plan. (n) Final Monthly Compensation shall mean a member's average monthly rate of earnable compensation from the City during the highest 36 consecutive months (78 pay periods) out of the last ten years of employment. (o) Advisory Committee for General Employees shall mean the committee charged with the review of applications for benefits under the Plan, except those matters relating solely to corrections officers. (p) Fund or System shall mean the City of Jacksonville Retirement System. (q) May shall mean a permissive term. (r) Member shall mean an employee, as defined by subsection (m) above, actively employed by the City for whom contributions to the Retirement Plan are made as required by this Chapter and shall be consistent with the provisions of Section 120.202 (a). (s) Pension shall mean a series of periodic payments payable in bi-weekly installments. (t) Pick-Up Amounts shall mean employer contributions derived from a member's earnable compensation through a reduction in the member's earnable compensation. (u) Plan Year shall mean the period from and including October 1 through September 30 of the following year. (v) Retirement shall mean a member's withdrawal from active membership with a benefit granted to the member pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter. (w) Retirement Allowance shall mean a pension provided by the Retirement Plan. (x) Retirement Plan shall mean the City of Jacksonville General Employees' Retirement Plan. (y) Service shall mean active service as an employee. (z) Summary Plan Description shall mean a document created by the Board containing a brief description of the benefits offered by the Plan. In the case of a conflict between this Chapter, Florida Statutes, and the summary plan description, the terms of this Chapter shall prevail. (aa) Time Service Retirement shall mean a member's retirement from active service under circumstances permitting payment of a retirement allowance without reduction because of age or length of service and without special qualifications such as disability. Time service retirement shall be considered normal retirement. (bb) Trustee shall mean a member of the Board of Trustees of the Retirement System. (cc) Vested Benefit shall mean an immediate or deferred benefit to which a member has gained a nonforfeitable right under the provisions of this Chapter. (dd) Minimum Vesting shall mean five years of credited service before the member is entitled to retirement benefits except for service-incurred disability retirement income or service incurred death benefits. Employees of JEA actively employed on the effective date of a Recapitalization Event shall be deemed to have reached Minimum Vesting without regard to the number of years of Credited Service. (ee) General Employee shall mean an employee of the City, other than a corrections officer, for whom contributions are made to this Plan. (ff) JEA shall mean the former Jacksonville Electric Authority and its employees who shall be considered employees under the terms of this Plan. The term JEA shall also be construed to mean former employees of the St. Johns River Power Park (SJRPP). (gg) Vested Separated Member shall mean a person who has earned a vested benefit and has separated from the City but has not commenced receipt of benefits. (hh) Recapitalization Event shall mean the closing and funding of a transaction or a series of related transactions in accordance with Article 21 of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville and any other applicable law that results in either (i) unencumbered cash proceeds to the City of Jacksonville of at least $3,000,000,000 or (ii) at least 50 percent of the net depreciated property, plant and equipment value of either JEA's electric system or JEA's water and wastewater system being transferred, assigned, sold or otherwise disposed of. The effective date of a Recapitalization Event shall be the date of closing of a transaction that results in either of the above two contingencies occurring, or in the case of a series of related transactions, the date of a closing of a transaction that, when combined with other prior transactions in the series, results in either of the above two contingencies. (Ord. 2005-432-E, § 2; Ord. 2015-422-E , § 1; Ord. 2017-258-E , § 1; Ord. 2019-566-E , § 1)