Colorado § 31-31-502 - Statewide money purchase plan - creation - management.

§ 31-31-502. Statewide money purchase plan - creation - management.

(1) The board shall develop, maintain, and amend a statewide money purchase plan document that is intended to comply with the qualification requirements specified in section 401 of the internal revenue code, as applicable to governmental plans. As used in this subsection (1), "internal revenue code" shall have that meaning set forth in section 31-31-204 (3). The plan shall cover the members of those employers that have withdrawn from the statewide retirement plan pursuant to section 31-31-501.

(2) (a) There is hereby created the fire and police members' statewide money purchase plan benefit trust fund, which shall consist of moneys of employers that have withdrawn from the statewide retirement plan pursuant to section 31-31-501, including member and employer contributions and such amounts as are transferred pursuant to section 31-31-501. The board shall keep an accurate account of the fund and of each member's separate account in the fund.

(b) The plan document created by the board pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall govern 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 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 fund created pursuant to this section.

(c) In its administration, investment, and management of the fire and police members' statewide money purchase plan benefit trust fund, the board shall be subject to the provisions of section 31-31-303.

(3) Each member's member contributions transferred to the fund pursuant to section 31-31-501 (5)(b) shall be allocated to the member's separate account within the fund. In addition, each member's separate account will be credited with a portion of any excess employer reserve that is transferred to the fund, such amount to be calculated by multiplying the excess employer reserve times the proportion that the member's transferred member contributions bears to the total member contributions transferred.

(4) (a) Except as provided in subsection (4)(b) of this section, upon the effective date of an employer's withdrawal from the statewide retirement plan and election to participate in the statewide money purchase plan, each member covered by the statewide money purchase plan shall pay into the fund eight percent of salary paid. The payment shall be made by the employer by deduction from the salary paid such member. Except as provided in subsection (4)(b) of this section, for each such member, the employer shall pay into the fund eight percent of the salary paid to such member. All such payments shall be made by one voucher for the aggregate amount and shall be made no later than ten days following the date of payment of salary to the member. All such payments shall be credited to the fund. Late payments are subject to the penalty set forth in section 31-31.5-309.

(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) A local resolution or ordinance setting forth the higher mandatory contribution rate or rates was enacted and is in effect; and

(B) An employee election was conducted and the higher mandatory contribution rate or rates was approved by sixty-five percent of the employer's active members of the plan who vote in the election proposing the higher rate.

(II) Any active member and any employer may make voluntary contributions to the 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.

(III) In no event shall increased contributions resulting from a higher contribution rate or rates cause a member to exceed the limit on annual additions under the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, as applicable to government plans.

(5) The board may amend the pension benefits provided under the statewide money purchase 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 who vote in the election proposing the plan amendment and more than fifty percent of the employers who vote in the election proposing the plan amendment and who have 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; and except that the board may amend the plan document, without further approval, as it deems prudent and necessary to comply with state and federal law or as it deems necessary to efficiently administer benefits under the plan.

(6) (a) Any employer who has established a local money purchase plan pursuant to part 6 of this article or article 30.5 may apply to the board to cover the members of its local money purchase plan under the statewide money purchase plan. An application may be initiated by filing with the board a resolution adopted by the employer pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (6) no less than six months prior to the proposed effective date of coverage under the statewide money purchase plan, unless a shorter waiting period is approved by the board. The effective date of coverage shall be the first day of the month following the waiting period.

(b) The employer's resolution applying for coverage under the statewide money purchase plan shall be adopted by the governing body of the employer and shall state the employer's intent to cover the members of its local money purchase plan under the statewide money purchase plan.

(c) Any application for coverage under the statewide money purchase plan shall be approved by at least sixty-five percent of all active members employed by the employer who are participating in the local money purchase plan at the time of the application and who vote in the election proposing the coverage under the statewide money purchase plan.

(d) The board shall promulgate rules relating to standards for disclosure of all ramifications and procedures for obtaining the member approval described in paragraph (c) of this subsection (6). The board shall also promulgate rules relating to standards for granting an employer's application for participation in the statewide money purchase plan and for the submission of information to the board by the employer.

(e) An application for coverage under the statewide money purchase plan shall not be complete until the employer certifies to the board that:

(I) The employer's local money purchase plan meets the qualification requirements of section 401 (a) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" that are applicable to governmental plans;

(II) In connection with the employer's resolution pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (6), the employer's governing body has adopted a resolution for complete or partial termination of the local money purchase plan in accordance with the terms of that plan and that:

(A) The termination resolution does not adversely affect the qualified status of the local money purchase plan; and

(B) The rights of all participants in the local money purchase plan who are affected by the termination to benefits accrued to the date of termination are nonforfeitable;

(III) All active and retired fire and police participants in the local money purchase plan will become participants in the statewide money purchase plan;

(IV) As directed by the board, the employer will transfer or cause to be transferred to the statewide money purchase plan all assets of the local money purchase plan that are attributable to the accrued benefits of the transferred participants;

(V) All employer and employee contributions required to be made to the local money purchase plan as of the date of termination have been paid;

(VI) Participants in the local money purchase plan will not incur a reduction in their respective accrued benefits, determined as of the date of transfer, as a result of their transfer to the statewide money purchase plan; and

(VII) The employer agrees to participate in the statewide money purchase plan and to be bound by the terms of the plan and the decisions and actions of the board with respect to the plan.

Source: L. 96: Entire article added with relocations, p. 917, § 1, effective May 23. L. 97: (2) amended, p. 13, § 4, effective March 13. L. 2000: (4) and (5) amended, p. 53, § 1, effective August 2. L. 2006: (1), (2)(a), and (2)(c) amended, p. 194, § 19, effective March 31. L. 2007: (4)(a) amended, p. 274, § 2, effective August 3. L. 2012: (5) amended, (HB 12-1031), ch. 68, p. 236, § 3, effective August 8. L. 2017: IP(4)(b)(I), (4)(b)(I)(B), (5), and (6)(c) amended, (SB 17-020), ch. 23, p. 69, § 2, effective March 8. L. 2022: (1), (2)(a), and (4)(a) amended, (HB 22-1034), ch. 61, p. 307, § 9, effective January 1, 2023.

Editor's note: This section was formerly numbered as § 31-30-1005.3.

PART 6

WITHDRAWN LOCAL ALTERNATIVE PENSION PLAN