(1) The board is authorized to develop, maintain, and amend a statewide hybrid plan document that is a component of the defined benefit system and that offers a combination of defined benefit and defined contribution benefits and that is intended to comply with the qualification requirements specified in section 401 of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, that are applicable to governmental plans. The plan shall cover the members of those employers that have elected coverage under the plan pursuant to section 31-31-1101.
(2) (a) There is hereby created the fire and police members' statewide hybrid plan benefit account that shall be a component of the defined benefit system trust fund and that shall consist of moneys of employers that have elected coverage pursuant to section 31-31-1101, including member and employer contributions and such amounts as may be transferred pursuant to section 31-31-1101. The board shall keep an accurate account of the fund, each member's separate account in the fund, and each member's service credit earned under the statewide hybrid plan.
The statewide hybrid plan document created by the board pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall govern the accrual of service credit, vesting, the benefits to be offered based on age and service, the allocation of contributions towards funding the defined benefit and the defined contribution, the calculation and allocation of earnings and losses under the various investment alternatives which the board may offer, the transfer of assets between funds under each investment alternative, the allocation of a member's account between investment alternatives, and such other matters as may be necessary to the board's administration and management of the plan created pursuant to this section.
Defined benefit assets of the statewide hybrid plan shall be administered within thefire and police members' benefit investment fund, and self-directed assets of the plan shall be administered within the fire and police members' self-directed investment fund. In its administration, investment, and management of the defined contribution assets of the statewide hybrid plan the board shall be subject to the provisions of section 31-31-303.
Each member's member and employer contributions transferred to the statewide hybrid plan pursuant to section 31-31-1101 shall be allocated to the member's separate account within the plan.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (4), upon the effective date of coverage under the statewide hybrid plan, each member covered by the plan shall pay into the defined benefit system trust fund eight percent of salary paid. The payment shall be made by the employer by deduction from the salary paid to such member. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (4), for each such member, the employer shall pay into the defined benefit system trust fund eight percent of the salary paid to such member. Payments are due no later than ten days following the date of payment of salary to the member. The payments required by this section are subject to interest if not submitted when due.
(b) (I) Upon the request of an employer, the board shall permit a higher mandatory employer contribution rate, mandatory employee contribution rate, or both, than is set forth in subsection (4)(a) of this section if the board determines that:
A local resolution or ordinance setting forth the higher mandatory contribution rateor rates was enacted and is in effect; and
An employee election was conducted and the higher mandatory contribution rate orrates was approved by sixty-five percent of the employer's active members of the plan who vote in the election proposing the coverage.
Any active member and any employer may make voluntary contributions to the statewide hybrid plan by payroll deduction. Voluntary member contributions are not subject to the employer pickup provisions of section 414 (h) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended.
In no event shall increased contributions resulting from a higher contribution rate orrates cause a member to exceed the limit on annual additions under the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, that are applicable to government plans.
(5) Except with respect to amendments necessary to comply with state and federal law, including amendments adopted pursuant to section 31-31-204 (2.5), or amendments necessary to maintain the actuarial soundness of the statewide hybrid plan, the board may amend the plan document created pursuant to subsection (1) of this section only upon the approval of at least sixty-five percent of the active members of the plan and more than fifty percent of the employers having active members covered by the plan, each employer to be assigned one vote; except that employers having both active police and fire members in the plan shall be assigned two votes.
Source: L. 2003: Entire part added, p. 737, § 1, effective August 6. L. 2006: (1), (2), (3), and (4)(a) amended, p. 199, § 27, effective March 31. L. 2007: (4)(a) amended, p. 275, § 4, effective August 3. L. 2012: (5) amended, (HB 12-1031), ch. 68, p. 237, § 5, effective August 8. L. 2015: (4)(a) amended, (SB 15-027), ch. 9, p. 22, § 6, effective August 5. L. 2017: IP(4)(b)(I) and (4)(b)(I)(B) amended, (SB 17-020), ch. 23, p. 71, § 7, effective March 8.