NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 284

HOUSE BILL 695

 

 

AN ACT RELATING TO THE WINSTON-SALEM FIRE-PUBLIC SAFETY RETIREMENT FUND.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 388 of the 1973 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 15 of the 1977 Session Laws, is further amended as follows:

(1)       by rewriting Section 1 to read:

"Section 1. That the name of the Association herein established shall be Winston-Salem Firemen's Retirement Fund Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association. References to the Association as of a date prior to the ratification date, and following July 1, 1973, shall mean the Winston-Salem Fire-Public Safety Retirement Fund Association, which was the name of the Association during such period.";

(2)       by deleting the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of Section 2, and substituting therefor the following:

"(a)      As of the ratification date, any person who is a member of the Association following the close of business of the Association immediately preceding the ratification date.

(b)       As of the ratification date and thereafter, any person not covered under (a) above who shall have been regularly and continuously employed full-time by the Fire Department of the City of Winston-Salem (hereinafter referred to as the Fire Department), including any Fire Department mechanic or electrician, and who shall have attained his twenty-first birthday and shall not have attained his thirtieth birthday.";

(3)       by adding the following new matter at the end of Section 9:

"The Trustees may also elect an investment adviser who may or may not be the same person as the custodian. Any said investment advisor shall be a bank, or an insurance company, or an entity registered under the Investment Adviser's Act of 1940. Any investment adviser (including the custodian when acting as an investment adviser) shall recommend investments to the Trustees, but no investment shall be made or sold or otherwise disposed of by the custodian without the prior written authority of the Trustees as provided in Section 13. An investment adviser (including said custodian when acting as investment adviser) shall not be liable to the Association for any act or failure to act by it, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct.";

(4)       by deleting the first sentence of Section 14 and substituting therefor the following:

"The custodian and the investment adviser shall receive compensation for services rendered as may be agreed upon from time to time in writing by the Trustees and by the custodian (with respect to services rendered by the custodian) or the investment adviser (with respect to services rendered by the investment adviser).";

(5)       by deleting the provisions of Section 16 and substituting therefor the following:

"Sec. 16. (a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) immediately following, if a person who shall not be a member of the Association shall be transferred to the employment of the Fire Department from the employment of the Police Department of the City of Winston-Salem (hereinafter referred to as the Police Department), the following provisions shall apply in determining whether he shall be a member of the Association following such transfer:

(1)       If he shall have attained at least his twenty-first birthday and shall not have attained his thirtieth birthday on the date of such transfer, he shall automatically become a member on such date of transfer. In determining such transferred employee's number of years of continuous employment by the City of Winston-Salem, employment with the Police Department prior to such transfer shall be taken into account only if such employee shall elect to contribute to the Association the amount he would have contributed if his employment with the Police Department had been with the Fire Department, plus interest at the rate of four and one-half percent (4 1/2%) compounded annually.

(2)       If he shall have attained at least his thirtieth birthday on the date of transfer, but had not attained such birthday when last employed by the Police Department, he may elect within sixty days following such transfer to become a member. If he elects to become a member, he shall contribute to the Association the amount he would have contributed if he had become a member on the day next preceding his thirtieth birthday. In addition, at the option of such employee, he may further elect to contribute such additional amount as he would have contributed prior to his thirtieth birthday if his employment with the Police Department had been with the Fire Department. Any such contributions shall include interest at the rate of four and one-half percent (4 1/2%) compounded annually.

(3)       If he shall have attained at least his thirtieth birthday when last employed by the Police Department, he shall be ineligible to become a member following such transfer.

(4)       The elections specified in subdivisions (1) and (2) hereof shall be made in writing to the Trustees within sixty days following such transfer, and shall be irrevocable when made (subject to termination of membership upon a subsequent separation from employment with the Fire Department). Any contributions (and interest) payable pursuant to such election shall be paid in cash in a lump sum at the time such election shall be filed.

(b)       Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of Section 2 hereof, as soon as practicable following the ratification date (but in no event more than sixty days thereafter) the Trustees shall give each person who is then employed by the City of Winston-Salem as a Public Safety Officer an election to be a member or not to be a member of the Association. Each such election shall be made in accordance with procedures established by the Trustees and shall be irrevocable when made (subject to termination of membership upon a subsequent separation from the employment of the City of Winston-Salem, and subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section 16). If a Public Safety Officer shall fail to file a timely election, he shall be deemed to have elected not to be a member. If a Public Safety Officer who is a member on the date of the election shall elect to discontinue membership (or shall be deemed to have so elected), within thirty days following such date there shall be refunded to him the full amount of his prior contributions to the Association, if any, without interest. If a Public Safety Officer who has failed to make contributions prior to the election date shall elect to be a member, he shall within thirty days following such election pay to the Association the full amount he would have contributed if he had made required contributions during the entire period that he was eligible to be a member. Such contributions shall include interest at the rate of four and one-half percent (4 1/2%) per annum, compounded annually.

(c)       Any member whose employment by the Fire Department or as a Public Safety Officer shall be terminated on or after the ratification date for any reason, including due to transfer to another department in the employment of the City, shall be terminated immediately as a member. If such a terminated member shall reenter employment of the Fire Department, his eligibility to become a member shall be determined at that time in accordance with Section 2 hereof, except to the extent such individual may be entitled to elect to become a member upon a transfer of employment as provided in subsection (a) of this Section 16.

(d)       In determining the number of years of continuous employment of a member, there shall be taken into account all years for which he shall make contributions in accordance with subsection (a) of this Section 16."

Sec. 2. The term "ratification date" as used in this act means the date of ratification of this act.

Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 3rd day of April, 1979.