ASSEMBLY, No. 2042
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MAY 30, 1996
By Assemblymen IMPREVEDUTO and GARCIA
An Act providing for transfer of the pension fund membership of certain sheriff's employees to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A sheriff's employee holding the position of chief sheriff's officer/sheriff's officer chief who is enrolled in a county pension fund established under article 6 of chapter 10 of Title 43 of the Revised Statutes shall be permitted to transfer membership in that county pension fund to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey by waiving all rights and benefits which would otherwise be provided by the county pension fund. Any such officer shall likewise be permitted to continue membership in the county pension fund by waiving all rights and benefits which would otherwise be provided by the Police and Firemen's Retirement System. Such waivers shall be accomplished by filing forms satisfactory to the Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury within 90 days of the effective date of this act. In the absence of the filing of a timely waiver by any eligible officer, the pension status of that officer shall remain unchanged, and the membership of the officer shall not be transferred to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System.
2. Within 120 days following the effective date of this act, the county pension fund shall remit to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey all accumulated deductions standing to the credit of each transferred employee as a member of that fund, and within 180 days following the effective date of this act remit the pro-rata part of the reserve fund constituting the employer's obligations under the former system applicable to such employee's account, and the Police and Firemen's Retirement System shall then enter the respective sums so remitted to it to the credit of such employee in the Annuity Savings Fund and to the credit of the employer in the Pension Accumulation Fund of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey. Regular interest shall be added to the employer's obligations if such moneys are not remitted within the periods prescribed by this section.
3. The transferred employees thereby affected shall be members of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System and deductions from their salaries and contributions on their behalf shall thereafter be made as required by the act creating that system for members thereof. Such transferred employees shall have the same contribution obligation and enjoy the same rights and benefits of all other members of the system except as provided by this act. Any credit for public service which had been established in the county pension fund by the transferred employee shall be established in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System.
Any person becoming a member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System pursuant to the provisions of this act shall not be allowed any of the group life insurance benefits if, on the date of filing an application for enrollment, the person is 55 or more years of age, unless the member furnishes satisfactory evidence of insurability and on the effective date of membership is actively at work and performing all regular duties at the customary place of employment. The effective date of coverage for such benefits shall be the first day of the month which immediately follows the date when such evidence is determined to be satisfactory.
4. The actuary of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System shall calculate the liability of each employer of employees becoming members of the system under this act in the same manner as is specified in the case of other employees where the Police and Firemen's Retirement System is adopted, taking into account the value of moneys remitted by the county pension fund. In the event that the value of such money so remitted is less than the total which is required by the Police and Firemen's Retirement System to provide the transferred member with credit for all public service, the liability of the employer shall include an amount equal to the difference between these two values. Upon certification by the actuary of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System each employer shall make such contributions as are required in order to meet that employer's financial obligations in the same manner and within the same period of time as is specified in the case of other employers where the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey is adopted.
5. The chief fiscal officer of each employer shall transmit to the retirement system such information as the system shall require in order for the Division of Pensions and Benefits to comply with the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for transfer of the pension fund membership of any sheriff's employee holding the position of chief sheriff's officer/sheriff's officer chief who is enrolled in one of the county pension funds established for court attendants and other persons appointed by the sheriff of counties of the first and second class from that county pension fund to the Police and Firemen's Retirement System of New Jersey. A transferring officer would be required to submit to the Division of Pensions and Benefits a waiver of rights and benefits under the county pension fund within 90 days of the date on which the bill takes effect as law.
Provides for transfer of certain sheriff's employees to membership in PFRS.