Sec. 120.202. - Membership.

(a) Consistent with the provisions of Chapter 16 of the City Charter, full-time civil service employees not eligible for membership in another City-sponsored pension plan shall become members of the Plan if hired before October 1, 2017. Any full-time civil service employee hired on or after October 1, 2017, shall not be eligible for membership in the Plan but shall be a member of the defined contribution plan as provided for in Part V, Subpart A. (1) Employees who previously met the requirements of Members, who leave employment with the City of Jacksonville but do not remove their contributions from the Retirement Plan, upon being rehired, may re-enroll in the Retirement Plan and be considered Members as defined herein. (2) Employees who previously met the requirements of Members, who leave employment with the City of Jacksonville and remove their contributions from the Retirement Plan, upon being rehired, shall not be entitled to re-enroll in the Retirement Plan and shall not be considered Members as defined herein. (3) Employees hired on or after October 1, 2017, shall never be eligible to be Members of the Retirement Plan. Employees hired on or after October 1, 2017, shall be members of the General Employees Defined Contribution plan provided for in Part V, Subpart A. This prohibition shall apply to employees of JEA regardless of method of accrual or computation of years of Credited Service. (4) JEA employees who received additional Credited Service pursuant to Section 120.209 (b) may be reemployed by the City of Jacksonville, and if otherwise eligible, re-enroll in the Retirement Plan. However, the employee will not receive additional credited service or be required to make employee contributions until their actual period of employment by the City following re-enrollment in the Plan exceeds the period of Credited Service granted to them pursuant to Section 120.209 (b). (b) Appointed and elected officials and permanent employees not in the civil service system may opt to become members of the Plan, consistent with Section 16.04 of the City Charter. Elected officials eligible to receive benefits under this System or any prior Plan shall be permitted to continue to receive those benefits. (c) All persons hired on or after the beginning of the first full pay period after October 1, 2009, and before October 1, 2017, must elect between the General Employees Retirement Plan (DB plan) and the GEDC plan following New Employee Orientation (NEO). Failure to make a timely election shall be deemed an election to enroll in the DB plan. Any general employee hired on or after October 1, 2017 shall be a member of the GEDC. (d) If a new employee chooses the GEDC plan, the employee may elect to revert to the DB plan not later than the employee's fifth anniversary of employment, following certification that the employee has completed the intensive training program sponsored by the City. In addition, the employee shall have a one-time option after the employee's fifth anniversary of employment and prior to retirement to convert back to the DC plan. For purposes of this Section as it applies to JEA employees only, the fifth anniversary shall be based on the actual period of JEA employment and not years of Credited Service pursuant to Section 120.206 (a) or Section 120.209 (b). (e) If a new employee initially chooses the DB plan, and then elects to transfer to the GEDC plan within the first five years of employment, then the employee will have the remaining portion of the initial five-year period of employment to elect to transfer to the DB plan. This initial five-year window will be open to a new employee regardless of his or her initial choice of Plan, but the number of changes from one Plan to the other will be limited to three during such five-year period. All employees seeking to revert from the DB plan to the DC plan must be certified to have completed the intensive training program sponsored by the City. A new employee who elects the DB plan will have an additional option after the first five years of employment to convert to the DC plan at any time prior to retirement from the City. A new employee who elects the GEDC plan will not have any option after the end of the first five years of employment to convert to the DB plan. For purposes of this Section as it applies to JEA employees, the fifth anniversary or first five years of employment or five-year window shall be based on the actual period of JEA employment and not years of Credited Service pursuant to Section 120.206 (a). (f) JEA employees hired before October 1, 2017 who are members of the General Employees Defined Contribution Plan and who are actively employed on the effective date of a Recapitalization Event shall be permitted to transfer to the DB Plan. Such JEA employees who transfer to the DB Plan will receive Credited Service under the DB Plan for the actual period of their JEA employment prior to the transfer, as well as Credited Service granted pursuant to Section 120.209 (b)(1) or (2). JEA employees hired before October 1, 2017 and who are actively employed on the effective date of a Recapitalization Event but who are not yet vested shall be subject to the provisions of Section 120.209 (b)(1). (Ord. 2005-432-E, § 2; Ord. 2007-1136-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-167-E, § 1; Ord. 2015-311-E , § 2; Ord. 2017-258-E , § 1; Ord. 2019-566-E , § 1)