(1) Member Contributions for Current Service.

(a) General Rule; exception. Member contributions shall be made to the Retirement System on behalf of each member for current service except for any period of service in which a limitation on contributions is imposed by Tax Code Sections 401(a)(17) and/or 415 of the Tax Code.

(b) Pickup contributions; treatment for purposes of Tax Code. All member contributions required to be made for current service rendered by a member on or after January 1, 1983 shall be picked up by the City by means of payroll deduction and shall be treated as employer contributions for purposes of Section 414(h) of the Tax Code.

(c) Treatment for other purposes. For all other purposes under this Title and otherwise, such pickup contributions shall be treated as contributions made by a member in the same manner and to the same extent as contributions made by a member prior to January 1, 1983.

(2) Basic Contribution Rate. Member contributions shall be made at the following basic contribution rates:

(a) Members of Plan J who are not covered under the Federal Social Security Act, as amended, six percent (6%) of compensation.

(b) Members of Plan J who are covered by the Federal Social Security Act, as amended, three and three-quarters percent (3-3/4%) of that portion of compensation which is subject to tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (26 U.S.C. Section 3101 et seq.) plus six percent (6%) of that portion of compensation which is not subject to such tax, exclusive of that portion of such tax attributable to coverage for hospital insurance benefits.

(c) Members of Plan D, six percent (6%) of compensation.

(d) Members of Plan X, six percent (6%) of compensation.

(e) Members of Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, or Plan Y, such contributions as the Board shall determine based on the most recent actuarial valuation report, in accordance with the following:

(.1) Separate basic contribution rates shall be determined for members of each of Plan A, Plan B, Plan L, or Plan Y.

(.2) For members of Plan L, and Plan Y, the required contributions shall equal thirty percent (30%) of the aggregate normal cost for all members in such plans, including but not necessarily limited to, the normal cost for service retirement benefits, separation service retirement benefits; optional early retirement benefits, disability benefits, death benefits, survivor benefits, and expenses; provided, however, that for that portion of the benefits under Plan L which exceeds those available to members of Plan Y, the required Plan L contribution for each employee shall equal a proportionate share of one hundred percent (100%) of the aggregate normal cost of such greater benefits for all such members.

(.3) For members in Plan A and Plan B, the required employee contribution shall be five percent (5%) of payroll provided that this percentage is at least equal to thirty percent (30%) of the normal cost for members in Plan A and Plan B. If five percent (5%) of payroll does not equal thirty percent (30%) of the normal cost, the contribution percentage will be adjusted to equal the thirty percent (30%) of the normal cost. If the five percent (5%) of payroll exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the normal cost, the contribution percentage will be adjusted so as not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of such normal cost.

(.4) Member contributions shall be determined as a uniform percentage of compensation for all members in a plan.

(.5) Cost to members may change yearly depending on fluctuations in the normal cost of the Retirement System. Changes in the cost to members shall take effect on the first day of the first pay period ending after the first anniversary of the actuarial valuation affecting the change.

(.6) Additional contributions may be required pursuant to the vesting provisions in Section 22-301 of this Title.

(3) Election to cease contributions. No member of the Retirement System will be required to pay contributions to the System after having attained the maximum allowable credited service upon which the member's pension will be calculated.

(a) When the maximum allowable credited service has been attained, whether through continuous membership by employment or through the purchase of credits for prior City service or through the purchase of credits for governmental service or leaves of absence, the employee may elect to suspend all further pension contributions. The election shall be made in writing by the employee to the Board.

(.1) The employee will be entitled to receive a refund, without interest, of all contributions made by the employee after the date of completion of the maximum allowable credited service.

(b) An employee who has attained the maximum allowable credited service through continuous membership by employment or through the purchase of credits for prior City service or the purchase of credits for leaves of absence and who had previously elected to purchase governmental service in accordance with provisions of § 22-802 may elect to forfeit credit for that service. An employee who elects to forfeit that credit shall be reimbursed the entire amount of the cost, including interest and penalties, paid by the employee for the purchase of credit for this prior governmental service.

(c) Any employee who elects to cease his/her contributions to the pension system under § 22-902(3) shall have their pension benefit frozen as of the date their employee contributions cease.

(d) For purposes of this Section, the phrase "maximum allowable credited service" means that amount of service which, when multiplied by the applicable percentage or fraction for the member's plan, as provided in § 22-301, to calculate the member's pension, would yield the maximum pension provided in this Title, expressed as a percentage of average final compensation, based on the member's average final compensation at the time the member makes the election in § 22-902(3)(a).

(Comment: This section incorporates the terms of Bill No. 20, approved February 7, 1997. Subsection (d) is added to provide clarification by defining a term left undefined in the original bill.)