RS 2262.1 - Dissolution of fire department; unfunded accrued liability; payment by employer
A.(1) If an employer fully dissolves its fire department, the employer shall remit to the system, beginning the first July immediately following the date of dissolution, that portion of the unfunded accrued liability existing on the thirtieth of June immediately prior to the date of dissolution of the fire department that is attributable to such employer and calculated using the allocation percentage included in the prior fiscal year's employer pension report produced according to requirements established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. The amount due pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph shall include interest at the system's valuation interest rate.
(2)(a) If an employer partially dissolves its fire department, the employer shall be liable for a pro rata portion of the system's unfunded accrued liability. The portion shall be calculated by applying the percentage decrease in the salaries paid to participating employees by the employer on the thirtieth of June and salaries paid to participating employees by the employer as of the thirtieth of June of the prior year to the total payment that would have been required pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection if the employer had fully dissolved its fire department. Payments required pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph shall include interest at the system's valuation interest rate.
(b) An employer shall be deemed to have partially dissolved its fire department if either of the following occurs:
(i) The number of participating employees of the employer as of the thirtieth of June is less than seventy percent of the number of participating employees of the employer on the thirtieth of June of the prior year and either the number of participating employees decreases by at least three or the number of participating employees is zero.
(ii) The number of participating employees of the employer as of the thirtieth of June is at least fifty fewer than the number of participating employees of the employer as of the thirtieth of June of the prior year.
B.(1) Any amount due pursuant to Subsection A of this Section shall be determined by the actuary employed by the system and shall be amortized over fifteen years in equal payments with interest at the system's valuation rate. Payments for withdrawals that occur on or after July 1, 2021, shall be payable beginning the first of July of the second fiscal year following the determination by the actuary and in the same manner as regular payroll payments to the system. Beginning on the first of July of the fiscal year following withdrawal, interest shall accrue at the system's actuarial valuation rate, compounded annually.
(2) If the number of participating employees of an employer subject to Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section returns to at least the number of participating employees as of the thirtieth of June immediately preceding the withdrawal, the payments required by this Section shall cease on the first of July following the determination by the actuary that a sufficient increase in participating employees has occurred, and no further payments shall be due with respect to the withdrawal. Any payments made pursuant to this Section shall be credited as an offset of any amounts due by the employer attributable to any subsequent withdrawal that occurs within fifteen years of the payments.
C. If an employer fails to make a payment timely, the amount due shall be collected in any of the following manners:
(1) By action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the delinquent employer. The amount due shall include interest calculated by the system's actuarial valuation rate, compounded annually. The employer shall also be liable for any legal and actuarial fees incurred by the system in the collection of amounts pursuant to this Section.
(2) The board may certify to the state treasurer all amounts attributable to the delinquent employer. In support of such certification, the board shall submit to the treasurer a resolution certifying the name of the delinquent employer, its failure to pay, and the amount owed and shall name a designee or designees to act on the board's behalf. Upon receipt of such certification, the treasurer shall deduct from monies payable to the certified delinquent party the certified amount due and shall remit such deducted amounts directly to the Firefighters' Retirement System.
D. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Participating employee" shall mean an active member or participant in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan.
(2) "Withdrawal" shall mean the dissolution or partial dissolution of a fire department as described in Subsection A of this Section.
Acts 2021, No. 250, §1.