CHAPTER 527
FORMERLY SENATE SUBSTITUTE
NO. 1 FOR SENATE BILL NO.
698
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 55, TITLE 29, DELAWARE CODE, ENTITLED "STATE EMPLOYEES' PENSION PLAN"; CHAPTER 83, TITLE 11, DELAWARE CODE, ENTITLED "STATE POLICE PENSION, DISABILITY AND DEATH BENEFITS"; CHAPTER 39, TITLE 14, DELAWARE CODE, ENTITLED "TEACHERS' RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY PENSIONS"; AND CHAPTER 56, TITLE 29, DELAWARE CODE, "PENSIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE STATE JUDICIARY". •
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. as follows: Chapter 55, Title 29, Delaware Code, is amended
A. § 5501 its entirety and follows: (a)(1) is amended by striking said subsection in
inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection as
"(a) 'Employee' shall mean an individual who:
(1) Is employed on a full time or annual basis, as the term full time or annual basis is defined in rules and regulations adopted by the Board, by:
(i) the State, including elected or appointed officials, or
(ii) The State Department of Public Instruction, a School District which is part of the State School System, the University of Delaware, Delaware State College, or Delaware Technical and Community College, or
() a State agency that is supported wholly or in part by funds granted to the State by the Federal Government; and"
(T3) § 5501 (c) is amended by striking said subsection in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection as follows:
"(c) 'Compensation' shall mean, for any individual, all salary, wages, and fees, including overtime payments and special payments for extra duties, payable to him for service credited under paragraph (b) (1), (2), and (3) and the value of any maintenance provided for him as part of such payments."
(C) § 5501 (d) is amended by striking said subsection in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a subsection as follows:
"(d) 'Final average compensation' shall mean, for any individual, 1/60th of the compensation paid to him during the period of sixty consecutive months in his years of service credited under paragraph (b) (I ), (2), and (3) in which his compensation was highest, except that compensation in excess of $24,000 during any calendar year or the sum of any partial calendar years in such period of sixty consecutive months shall be excluded and total compensation for such period of sixty consecutive months shall not exceed $120,000."
(D) § 5543 (a) is amended by striking said subsection in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection as follows:
"(a) An employee shall contribute to the Fund 5% of his monthly compensation in excess of $500, except that if he receives an annual compensation paid to him in fewer than twelve months he shall contribute 5% of his monthly compensation in excess of the dollar amount determined by multiplying the ratio of twelve to the number of months he is paid x $500, provided that in no case shall contributions for any calendar year exceed $900 or a contribution be required after an employee has accrued a pension of $1,000."
() A new section 5533 is added to read as follows: § 5533. Adjustment of benefits
"(a) On and after July 1, 1972, no pension which has been in effect for three years shall be subject to adjustment. This provision shall not apply to adjustments of pensions required to implement provisions of Section 5533 (b).
(b) Effective September I , 1972, the amount of any pension in effect on July I , 1969 shall be the greater of: (1) the
monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969, or (2) the recalculation amount determined as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, inclusive of any increases provided between July 1, 1969, and June 30, 1972, provided that the minimum pension payable for any month after July, 1969 shall be the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969.
(c) Any pension overpayments discovered as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, shall not be subject to recovery."
(F) § 5527 is amended by adding thereto a new subsection (e) as follows:
(e) Any section of this Chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the amount of the monthly service or disability pension payable to any regular part time employee who is not employed on a full time or annual basis, as the term full time or annual basis is defined in rules and regulations adopted by the Board shall be 1/60th of his final average compensation multiplied by the number of years, taken to the nearest twelfth of a year, in his period of credited service, provided that no minimum amount shall be payable to any such regular part time employees.
G. § 5501 (b) (5) is amended by striking the words "on or before the date of his application for a pension" and substituting in lieu thereof the words "on or before the date of issuance of his first pension benefit check."
H. § 5501 (b) (3) is amended by adding a new paragraph (3) (iii) to read as follows:
and (iii) service of any individual who became an employee under this chapter on July 1, 1969 in accordance with Volume 57, Laws of Delaware, Chapter 228, provided that, any provision of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, the pension of any such individual shall be the greater of the pension determined under this chapter or under the statutory pension system of the county in which any such individual was employed on June 30, 1969, as such statutory pension system was in effect on June 30, 1969, with the amount of any such pension to be determined by using any such individual's total period of service up to retirement,"
Section 2. Chapter 83, Title 11, Delaware Code, is amended by adding thereto a new section 8328 to read as follows:
§ 8328. Adjustment of benefits
(a) On and after July 1, 1972, no pension which has been in effect for three years shall be subject to adjustment. This provision shall not apply to adjustments of pensions required to implement provisions of Section 8328 (b).
(b) Effective September 1, 1972, the amount of any pension in effect on July 1, 1969 shall be the greater of: (1) the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969, or (2) the recalculated amount determined as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, inclusive of any increases provided between July 1, 1969, and June 30, 1972, provided that the minimum pension payable for any month after July, 1969, shall be the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969.
(c) Any pension overpayments discovered as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, shall not be subject to recovery.
Section 3. Chapter 39, Title 14, Delaware Code, is amended by adding thereto a new section 3908 to read as follows:
§ 3908. Adjustment of benefits
(a) On and after July 1, 1972, no pension which has been in effect for three years shall be subject to adjustment. This provision shall not apply to adjustments of pensions required to implement provisions of Section 3908 (b).
(b) Effective September 1, 1972, the amount of any pension in effect on July 1, 1969 shall be the greater of: (1) the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969, or (2) the recalculated amount determined as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, inclusive of any increases provided between July 1, 1969, and June 30, 1972, provided that the minimum pension payable for any month after July, 1969 shall be the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969.
(c) Any pension overpayments discovered as a result of
audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, shall not be subject to recovery.
Section 4. Chapter 56, Title 29, Delaware Code, is amended as follows:
§ 5603 (a)(3) is amended by inserting after the words "12 years as a Judge" as they appear in the third line of the second paragraph thereof, the following:
"including all years of judicial service in Delaware of the retiring Judge both prior and subsequent to his becoming a member of the State Judiciary and both prior and subsequent to his filing a declaration of acceptance of the provisions of this Chapter in accordance with § 5606 of this Title."
§ 5603 (b) is amended by inserting after the words "24 years as a Judge" as they appear in the third and fourth lines thereof, the following:
"including all years of judicial service in Delaware of the retiring Judge both prior and subsequent to his becoming a member of the State Judiciary and both prior and subsequent to his filing a declaration of acceptance of the provisions of this Chapter in accordance with § 5606 of this Title."
A new section 5612 is hereby added to read as follows:
§ 5612. Adjustment of benefits
(a) On and after July 1. 1972, no pension which has been in effect for three years shall be subject to adjustment. This provision shall not apply to adjustments of pensions required to implement provisions of Section 5612(b).
(b) Effective September 1, 1972, the amount of any pension in effect on July 1, 1969, shall be the greater of: (1) the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969, or (2) the recalculated amount determined as a result of audits made between May, 1971, and June 30, 1972, inclusive of any increase provided between July 1, 1969, and June 30, 1972, provided that the minimum pension payable for any month after July, 1969 shall be the monthly pension rate paid in July, 1969.
(c) Any pension overpayments discovered as a result of audits made between May, 1971 and June 30, 1972, shall not be subject to recovery.
Section 5. Effective date
This Act shall be effective as of July 1, 1972 except that Section 1B, IC, 1G, and 1H shall be retroactively effective as of June 1, 1970 and Section ID shall be retroactively effective as of January 1, 1971.