(a) By the City. The city shall, at the end of each payroll period, make contributions to the trust equal to the amount of contributions of participants. For periods after 2011, the city shall also contribute to the trust a percentage of each participant's longevity credit equal to twice the percentage of the participant contribution rate for the period as provided in section 102-140(b). All contributions made by the City to the trust shall be used to pay benefits under the plan or to pay expenses of the plan and shall be irrevocable, except for any administrative error or any residual amounts after satisfying all liabilities of the plan for affected participants.

(b) By participants. Each participant shall contribute toward the cost of providing benefits under this plan during participation in the plan. Participants, including participants on paid leave of absence, shall contribute 5.5 percent of compensation to the trust. Commencing January 1, 2012 each participant shall contribute to the trust the following percent of the participant's compensation: 5.75 in 2012; 6.0 in 2013; 6.25 in 2014; 6.5 in 2015; 6.75 in 2016; and 7.0 in 2017. Beginning January 1, 2012, longevity credit is excluded from the compensation used to calculate participant contributions. Pursuant to section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, this contribution shall be deferred from taxation until such time as it is paid out from the trust.

(c) Payment to the trust. The contributions provided under subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be transferred by the City to the trust at the end of each payroll period.

(d) Refund of contribution accumulation. If a participant's employment is terminated before the participant is eligible for any retirement benefits provided in section 102-141, the participant shall be paid, in lieu of any other benefits, within 90 days of the date of termination, the participant's contribution accumulation and vested city contributions as of the date that the refund request is made to the trust's custodian except when a participant files an appeal of the dismissal with the career service commission. If an appeal is made to the career service commission, the participant shall be paid, in lieu of any other benefits, within 30 days of notice of any final adverse decision of the career service commission, the participant's contribution accumulation and vested city contributions as of the date that the refund request is made to the trust's custodian. The participant shall be responsible for notifying the board of the outcome of any career service proceedings.

(e) Transfer of contribution accumulation. This subsection applies to executive personnel and council appointees who elected prior to January 1, 2022, not to participate in this plan so that they can participate in the executive personnel's money purchase plan. Each participant who has completed five or more years of credited service shall make a one-time irrevocable election to (1) leave their contribution accumulation in the trust or (2) transfer their contribution accumulation, as well as all contributions made by the city to the trust on the participant's behalf into the trust for the executive personnel money purchase plan by means of a trust-to-trust transfer. Each participant who has not completed five years or more of credited service shall have his or her contribution accumulation, as well as all contributions made by the city to the trust on the participant's behalf, transferred by means of a trust-to-trust transfer to the trust for the executive personnel money purchase plan. The amount transferred according to this section shall not exceed applicable limitations of Internal Revenue Code Section 415. Upon transfer of a participant's contribution accumulation to the trust for the executive personnel money purchase plan, (1) the participant's credited service under this plan shall be canceled, and (2) this plan will pay no further benefits to the participant, the participant's spouse or the participant's beneficiaries, unless the participant reenters the plan due to change in employment status and earns a right to plan benefits, and (3) the amount transferred to the trust for the executive personnel money purchase plan may not be transferred back to this plan to purchase credited service under this plan.

(f) Vested city contributions. For Tier 1 participants, the amount of a participant's vested city contributions shall be 25 percent of the participant's contribution accumulation if the participant has less than one year of credited service, increasing by five percent for each whole year of credited service. For a participant with 15 or more years of credited service, the amount of the vested city contributions shall be equal to 100 percent of the participant's contribution accumulation. For Tier 2 participants, there shall be no vesting in the city contributions until the participant has five years of credited service. After five years, the amount of the participant's vested city contributions shall be 50 percent of the participant's contribution accumulation, increasing by five percent for each whole year of credited service. For a participant with 15 or more years of credited service, the amount of the vested city contributions shall be 100 percent of the participant's contribution accumulation.

(g) Default rollover of mandatory distributions. In the event of a mandatory distribution greater than $1,000.00 in accordance with the provisions of section 102-140(d) or section 102-143(e), if the participant does not elect to have such distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan specified by the participant in a direct rollover or to receive the distribution directly, then the plan will pay the distribution in a direct rollover to an individual retirement plan designated by the board.

(h) Contributions for periods of qualified military service. This subsection applies to a participant who returns to employment with the city from qualified military service during the period within which reemployment rights are guaranteed by law. The participant may elect to contribute to the trust all or a part of the contributions the participant would have made to the trust according to subsection 102-140(b) if the participant had remained continuously employed by the city throughout the period of the participant's qualified military service. The amount of contributions the participant may make according to this subsection 102-140(h) shall be determined on the basis of the participant's compensation in effect immediately before the qualified military service and the terms of the plan at that time. A participant may make such contributions during a period beginning on the participant's reemployment with the city and lasting for the shorter of five years or three times the participant's period of qualified military service. To the extent the participant makes contributions permitted by this subsection 102-140(h), the participant will receive credited service described in subsection 102-139(c)(3) for the period of qualified military service to which the contributions relate. (Code 1979, § 15-46; Ord. No. 2022-25, § 3, 5-23-2022; Ord. No. 2014-17, § 3, 6-2-2014; Ord. No. 2013-37, § 2, 10-28-2013; Ord. No. 2011-29, § 4, 9-12-2011; Ord. No. 2005-95, § 2, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 97-77, § 5, 1-5-1998; Ord. No. 96-44, § 3, 10-7-1996; Ord. No. 96-38, § 3, 10-7-1996)