§2220. Benefits; contribution limit

            A. Eligibility for normal retirement, early retirement, and limitations.

            (1)(a) Any member of this system who has completed at least twenty-five years of creditable service regardless of age, any member who has completed at least twenty years of creditable service and has attained the age of fifty years, or any member who has completed at least twelve years of creditable service and has attained age fifty-five, shall be entitled to retire from service and upon such retirement shall be paid a retirement allowance equal to three and one-third percent of his average final compensation multiplied by his years of creditable service not to exceed one hundred percent of his average final compensation.

            (b) Any member who has completed twenty or more years of creditable service, and who leaves employment covered by the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System before attaining age fifty, shall be entitled to a retirement benefit beginning at age fifty. However, any member who has completed twenty years of creditable service shall be entitled to elect early retirement and receive an actuarially reduced retirement benefit. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be construed to relieve any municipality of the obligation under any merger agreement of paying benefits to merged members until the attainment of eligibility for normal or early retirement in this system. Additionally, any member retiring pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment until one full fiscal year after attaining normal retirement eligibility as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, nor shall the member be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.

            (c) Any member who has completed twelve years of creditable service, and who leaves employment covered by the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System before attaining age fifty-five, shall be entitled to a retirement benefit beginning at age fifty-five.

            (d) Any member of this system who has received free prior service credit in this system must have been a contributing member of this system for at least one year prior to being eligible for a regular retirement benefit.

            (2)(a)(i) Except as provided by Item (ii) of this Subparagraph, regardless of age, if a retiree of this system becomes an employee as defined in R.S. 11:2213, payment of retirement benefits shall be suspended, and the employee and employer shall contribute to the system toward creditable service.

            (ii) The benefits of a retiree of the system who retires as a police officer during the period beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2026, and who, no sooner than ninety days following the date of his retirement, is first employed as an employee under R.S. 11:2213(11)(a)(iii) shall not be suspended if the retiree irrevocably elects not to receive additional service credit or accrue any additional retirement benefit in the retirement system. Such election shall be in writing and filed with the board of trustees within thirty days after the effective date of the retiree's employment. During such employment, the retiree and his employer shall make contributions to the retirement system as provided by this Chapter. Upon termination of employment as an employee under R.S. 11:2213(11)(a)(iii), employee contributions paid since reemployment shall, upon application, be refunded without interest to the retiree. The retirement system shall retain the employer contributions and interest on the contributions.

            (b) Upon termination of employment, the monthly benefit which had been suspended shall resume being paid to the retiree. The retiree shall receive an additional retirement benefit based on his additional service rendered since reemployment using the normal method of computation of benefits or as provided in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph, subject to the following:

            (i) If the period of additional service was shorter than his average final compensation period, the average final compensation figure used to calculate the additional benefit shall be that used to calculate his original benefit.

            (ii) If the period of additional service was equal to or longer than his average final compensation period, the average final compensation figure used to calculate the additional benefit shall be based on his average compensation earned during the period of additional service.

            (iii) The option used shall be that applicable to the original benefit. The retiree may not change the option which was elected under the original retirement computation.

            (iv) The additional benefit shall not exceed an amount which, when combined with the original benefit, equals one hundred percent of the average final compensation figure used to compute the additional benefit.

            (v) If the member dies or acquires a disability during the period of additional service, he shall be considered as having terminated employment on the date of death or commencement of disability.

            (vi) In no event shall an employed retiree who becomes reenrolled in the system pursuant to the provisions of this Section be allowed to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.

            (c) Initial benefit option:

            (i) The retiree may elect to receive the additional retirement benefit payable pursuant to Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph as an initial benefit plus a reduced monthly retirement allowance equal to the actuarially equivalent amount of his maximum additional retirement benefit.

            (ii) The initial benefit, as elected by the retiree, shall not exceed an amount equal to thirty-six payments of his maximum additional retirement benefit.

            (iii) The retiree, at his option, shall receive the initial benefit provided pursuant to this Subparagraph as a lump-sum payment, or it shall be placed in an investment account established and administered in accordance with the procedures set forth in R.S. 11:2221 based on the establishment date of the retiree's investment account.

            (iv) The additional benefit received by the retiree and the beneficiary or survivor shall be actuarially reduced by a prorated amount calculated to offset the cost of the initial benefit payment.

            (v) Cost-of-living adjustments shall not be payable on the retiree's initial benefit.

            (3) When any municipality merges its active members into the system, the persons merged shall not be eligible to receive a benefit from the system until one year after the effective date of the merger. However, if a member who is merged into the system would normally be eligible to retire based on his age and total years of creditable service prior to one year after the merger, he may retire, and the benefits shall be the obligation of the municipality until one year after the date of the merger.

            (4)(a) The retirement benefit of a retiree of this system who retired on or before January 1, 2024, and who, before July 1, 2028, becomes an employee, as defined by R.S. 11:2213, no sooner than ninety days following the effective date of his retirement shall not be suspended as otherwise required by Paragraph (2) of this Subsection if the retiree retired with twenty-five years of service credit or retired with twenty or more years of service credit and has attained the age of fifty-five.

            (b) During such reemployment, the retiree and his employer shall make contributions to the retirement system as provided by this Chapter, but the retiree shall receive no additional service credit and shall not accrue any additional retirement benefit in the retirement system. Upon termination of reemployment, employee contributions paid since reemployment shall, upon application, be refunded to the retiree without interest. The retirement system shall retain the employer contributions and interest on contributions.

            B. Benefits shall be payable to any survivor of an active contributing member who dies before retirement or a disability retiree who dies after retirement as specified in the following:

            (1)(a)(i) If an active contributing member or a disability retiree dies and leaves a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse shall receive a benefit equal to the regular retirement formula, disregarding age, but not less than forty percent nor more than sixty percent of the member's average final compensation. If the surviving spouse remarries, such benefit shall cease unless remarriage occurs after age fifty-five years; the benefit shall resume after a subsequent termination of the new marriage and upon approval of the board of trustees. A surviving spouse under age fifty-five who receives survivor benefits shall submit to the board of trustees, by October first of every year beginning with the second October first following the member's death, or October 1, 2021, whichever is later, a notarized statement attesting his marital status throughout the prior fiscal year. The benefit of a surviving spouse who does not timely submit such a statement shall be discontinued, without retroactive reimbursement, until the statement is submitted. If the spouse does not submit the statement for the remainder of the calendar year, the board of trustees may revoke his rights in and to survivor benefits.

            (ii) Where the board of trustees determines that an active contributing member is killed as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty, the cessation of benefits upon remarriage set forth in this Paragraph shall not apply. If the injury occurs on or after January 1, 2001, the surviving spouse shall receive a benefit equal to one hundred percent of the member's average final compensation less any survivor benefits payable to a child or children as provided in this Section; however, no increase in survivor benefits shall be paid for any period before July 1, 2003. The sum of survivor benefits paid to children and a surviving spouse shall not exceed one hundred percent of the member's average final compensation. No funds derived from the assessments against insurers pursuant to R.S. 22:1476 shall be used to pay any increased costs or increase in liability of the system resulting from the payment of benefits to a surviving spouse pursuant to this Item.

            (iii) If survivor benefits are being paid from this system, based on the death of an officer who was killed in the line of duty, and who formerly participated in a system that was merged into this system after his death, the cessation of benefits upon remarriage set forth in this Paragraph shall not apply to the officer's surviving spouse.

            (b) The surviving spouse benefits provided in this Paragraph relative to members killed in the line of duty shall be applicable to any surviving spouse whose remarriage occurs prior to, on, or after September 6, 1991, but no reinstatement of surviving spouse benefits shall be owing for any period of time prior to September 6, 1991.

            (2)(a) If an active contributing member or a disability retiree dies and leaves, in addition to a surviving spouse, one or more surviving children, each surviving child shall be paid monthly benefits equal to ten percent of the deceased member's average final compensation, or two hundred dollars per month, whichever is greater. However, benefits payable on account of each surviving child, when added to the benefits payable to the surviving spouse, shall not exceed an aggregate of one hundred percent of the deceased member's average final compensation.

            (b) If an active contributing member or a disability retiree dies and does not leave a surviving spouse but leaves one or more surviving children, each surviving child shall be paid monthly benefits equal to thirty percent of the deceased member's average final compensation. Benefits paid on account of each surviving child shall not exceed an aggregate of sixty percent of the average final compensation. In the event the deceased member is survived by only one surviving child, the surviving child shall be paid not less than forty percent of the deceased member's average final compensation.

            (c) If at the time of a member's death the member is not married to the natural parent of any child or children who are entitled to receive a payment pursuant to this Subsection and if a trust has been created by the deceased member for the benefit of such child or children, the payment shall be made to any person designated as a trustee by the member on a certified copy of a trust document submitted to the system by the member.

            (d) If at the time of a member's death a special needs trust has been created by the deceased member for the benefit of such child or children, the payment shall be made to any person designated as a trustee on a certified copy of a trust document submitted to the system by the member.

            (e) Qualifying survivor's benefits are payable upon application therefor and become effective as of the day following the death of the member if the fully completed application is received by the system by the later of September 20, 2024, or one hundred twenty days after the date of death. If the system does not receive a fully completed application by this deadline, the benefits become effective on the date that the fully completed application is received and become payable not later than the first month following thirty days from the date that the system receives the fully completed application for benefits. If survivor benefits are being paid on behalf of a deceased member at the time that a survivor applies for benefits, that survivor's benefits shall become effective and payable on the first day of the next month following sixty days from the date that the system receives the survivor's completed application for benefits.

            (3) If a member who is eligible for retirement, dies before retiring, the surviving spouse shall automatically be paid benefits as though the member had retired on the date of his death and elected Option 2, naming the surviving spouse as beneficiary, or shall be paid benefits as provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection whichever is greater.

            (4) The survivor benefits provided in this Subsection shall be applicable to those survivors whose benefits were approved prior to July 1, 1990, but no increased benefits shall be owing for any period of time prior to July 1, 1990.

            (5) Any member who has twelve or more years of service credit established in the retirement system and who ceases covered employment and who leaves his accumulated contributions in the retirement system in order to receive a retirement benefit upon reaching the applicable age shall be covered by the survivor benefit provisions found in this Subsection.

            (6) A claim for survivor benefits or a refund of accumulated contributions shall be filed with the system by the later of June 30, 2023, or three years from the date of death. The provisions of this Paragraph shall apply to Hazardous Duty Subplan and Non-hazardous Duty Subplan members.

            C. Refund of contributions, application and payment.

            (1) Any member who ceases to be an employee except by death or retirement under the provisions of this Chapter, may apply for and obtain a refund of the amount of the accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his individual account in the Annuity Savings Fund. A refund shall not be paid unless an application form furnished by the system has been completed by the member, certified by the appointing authority or personnel officer of the municipality, and filed with the system no earlier than the day after termination or resignation.

            (2) Refunds of accumulated contributions shall not be made until the requesting member has separated from all employment as an employee as defined in R.S. 11:2213, and has remained out of such employment for a period of thirty calendar days and until all contributions for the member have been submitted by his employing municipality.

            (3) No interest will be credited to any individual accounts and no interest shall be paid on funds withdrawn from the retirement system.

            (4)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, except Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in this system occurred prior to January 1, 2013, who receives a refund of all contributions as provided for in this Subsection and who returns to employment making him eligible for membership in this system shall enter the system as a new member without regard to the dates of prior membership.

            (b) Notwithstanding the eighteen-month waiting period in R.S. 11:2218(G), any member whose first employment making him eligible for membership in this system occurred prior to January 1, 2013, who received a refund of all contributions as provided for in this Subsection before June 30, 2018, who returns to employment making him eligible for membership in this system shall be immediately eligible to obtain credit for his previous service in the system. The member may reestablish the previous service under the plan provisions that applied to the member on the date he received his refund by repaying the refund with interest calculated as provided in R.S. 11:2218(G) within one year of returning to employment covered by this system. If the member repays the refund at any time thereafter, the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall apply.

            D. Should a member die before retirement and not be entitled to survivors' benefits, the amount of his accumulated contributions standing to the credit of his individual account shall be paid to his estate or to such person as he shall have nominated by written designation, duly executed and filed with the board of trustees.

            E. Should any retiree having retired under the provisions of this Section die prior to having received retirement benefits equal to the amount of his employee accumulated contributions, the balance standing to the credit of his individual account shall be paid to his estate or to such person as he shall have nominated by written designation on his retirement application, duly executed and filed with the board of trustees, further providing that, for purposes of this Subsection, the retiree may change his beneficiary named at any time, providing a duly executed beneficiary change form is filed with the board of trustees prior to his death.

            F.(1) The provisions of this Subsection apply to any member who was merged into this system from the Police Pension Fund for the Police Department of the City of New Orleans. Any such member shall have his benefits calculated in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. If such calculation results in the member being deprived of any cost-of-living adjustments that were paid to or are payable to members of the Police Pension Fund for the Police Department of the City of New Orleans for which he would have been eligible except for having been merged into the system, then the member shall receive such cost-of-living adjustments payable retroactively to the effective date of such adjustments and prospectively as a component of his benefits that are paid from this system. The funding for any such cost-of-living adjustments shall be paid from the assessments against insurers as set forth in R.S. 22:1476(A)(3).

            (2) The calculation of benefits payable to survivors or beneficiaries of any member covered by this Subsection shall be based on the member's benefits, including cost-of-living adjustments paid pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

            (3) Any member covered by the provisions of this Subsection who is participating in or who has completed participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan shall have the benefits payable as a result of such participation recalculated retroactively to include any cost-of-living adjustments that are payable pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

            (4) The cost-of-living adjustments that are paid as a component of benefits pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection shall be considered as a remaining portion of actuarially required contributions and shall be paid from funds allocated to this system pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 22:1476(A)(3).

            G. The retirement benefits provided by this Section shall not annually exceed one hundred percent of average final compensation, and when a member has earned benefits equal to one hundred percent of his average final compensation, no further contributions shall be required of him; the employer shall continue to pay to the system the employer's contribution. However, if a member earns benefits equal to or greater than one hundred percent of his average final compensation on or after July 1, 2021, the employer and employee shall continue to pay their respective contributions to the system.

            H. The payment of benefits to or on behalf of a member shall commence not later than April first following the calendar year in which the member retires or attains age seventy and one-half years, whichever is later.

            I. If a member dies on or after January 1, 2007, while performing qualified military service as defined in 26 U.S.C. 414(u), eligibility for survivor benefits under this Section shall be determined as if the member had resumed employment and then terminated employment on account of death. The retirement system shall credit the member's qualified military service as service credit for vesting purposes and for eligibility computation purposes as though the member had resumed employment under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act immediately prior to the member's death. The time spent by the member in qualified military service shall not count for benefit accrual purposes but shall count for eligibility purposes under this Section.

            J.(1) The benefits of any retiree of this system who retires on or after July 1, 2021, and becomes employed by an employer but does not meet the definition of an employee within the ninety-day period immediately following the effective date of his retirement shall be suspended for the duration of such employment or the lapse of ninety days from the effective date of retirement, whichever occurs first, even if such service is part-time, based on employment by contract, or in a nonqualifying position.

            (2)(a) The retiree and his employer shall immediately notify the board of the retiree's date of employment. If failure to give notice of employment results in any payment being made in violation of this Section, the employer shall be liable to the system for the repayment of such amounts.

            (b) The employer shall be charged interest at the legal rate which shall be due from the date of the payment to the retiree.

            (c) Any employer that fails to pay the system for overpayments under this Section within ninety days from the date that the benefit was paid shall be liable for a penalty of twenty-five percent of each monthly retirement benefit payment that was not repaid in full with interest.

            (d) The employer shall also reimburse the system for any legal fees paid by the system in the collection of amounts pursuant to this Subsection.

            (3) The provisions of this Subsection shall also apply to Hazardous Duty Subplan and Non-hazardous Duty Subplan retirees who retire on or after July 1, 2021.

            (4) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 462, §2.

            K.(1) The board of trustees shall use all reasonable means to collect benefits paid by the system to an individual who was not due the benefit. The right to collect any benefit paid to a member, retiree, surviving spouse, surviving child, or optional beneficiary to whom the benefit was not due shall prescribe after a period of three years has elapsed from the date of the payment, except in the case of fraud. If any individual receiving a payment committed a fraud against the system, the collection of such fraudulent payment shall prescribe after a period of thirty years from the date of payment.

            (2) The provisions of this Subsection do not apply to payments made to a retiree that were not due under Subsection J of this Section.

            (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of 11:192, if the system pays a sum of money or benefits totaling at least five thousand dollars to a retiree, beneficiary, or survivor that is not due them and the retiree, beneficiary, or survivor is entitled to future benefits, the board of trustees shall adjust the amount payable to the correct amount and then actuarially reduce the corrected amount to account for the entire amount of overpayments plus legal interest from the date of the overpayment. Unless the overpayment was due to the fault of the system, the retiree, beneficiary, or survivor’s benefit shall also be reduced to account for any cost incurred by the system to calculate the actuarial reduction.

            L. Notwithstanding R.S. 11:143(D)(5), any member who transferred service credit from another system, fund, or plan at an accrual rate that is lower than the accrual rate of the receiving system, may elect to upgrade the accrual rate of all or a portion of his transferred service credit by paying an amount calculated on an actuarial basis that totally offsets the increase in accrued liability of the receiving system resulting from the accrual rate upgrade.

            Acts 1973, No. 189, §1; Acts 1974, No. 389, §1; Acts 1975, No. 377, §1; Acts 1976, No. 603, §4; Acts 1977, No. 601, §1; Acts 1978, No. 727, §5; Acts 1979, No. 104, §1; Acts 1979, No. 106, §1; Acts 1980, No. 377, §1; Acts 1981, No. 229, §1; Acts 1981, No. 385, §1; Acts 1981, No. 600, §1; Acts 1982, No. 158, §1; Acts 1982, No. 195, §1; Acts 1984, No. 39, §1; Acts 1988, No. 10, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1004, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 33:2375 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §3, eff. June 25, 1991; Amended by Acts 1991, No. 59, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 423, §1; Acts 1991, No. 456, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 835, §1; Acts 1992, No. 554, §1, eff. July 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 160, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 581, §1; Acts 1995, No. 585, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 280, §1; Acts 2001, No. 979, §1, eff. June 27, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 615, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2008, No. 415, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 300, §1, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2011, No. 82, §1, eff. June 20, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 511, §1, eff. June 5, 2012; Acts 2013, No. 220, §3, eff. June 11, 2013; Acts 2014, No. 811, §4, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 343, §1, eff. June 30, 2018; Acts 2018, No. 345, §1, eff. June 30, 2018; Acts 2018, No. 398, §1, eff. June 30, 2018; Acts 2019, No. 78, §1, eff. June 30, 2019; Acts 2020, No. 124, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2020, No. 249, §1, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2022, No. 200, §1; Acts 2024, No. 462, §§1, 2; Acts 2024, No. 536, §1, eff. June 10, 2024; Acts 2024, No. 673, §1, eff. July 1, 2024.