Vermont § 5064 - Funds

§ 5064. Funds

• (a) Fund. All of the assets of the Retirement System shall be credited to the Vermont Municipal
  Retirement Fund. (b) Member savings. Contributions deducted from the compensation of members together with any member contributions
  transferred from a predecessor system shall be accumulated in the Fund and separately
  recorded for each member. Contributions shall be made by Group A members at the rate
  of three percent of earnable compensation. Contributions shall be made by Group B
  members at the rate of five percent of earnable compensation. Contributions shall
  be made by Group C and Group D members at a rate of 11 percent of earnable compensation.
  Additionally, if an employee remains in Group C and is employed by an employer who
  elects to revoke its Group C membership in accordance with subsection 5068(f) of this title, the rate established in this subsection will be adjusted. This adjustment shall
  be determined by subtracting the Group B rate, or if not applicable, the Group A rate
  determined in subdivision (c)(1) of this section from the Group C rate determined
  in subdivision (c)(1) of this section. (1) The deductions provided for in this section shall be made notwithstanding that the
  minimum compensation provided for by law for any member shall be reduced thereby.
  Every member shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made and provided
  pursuant to this section and shall receipt for the member’s full compensation, and
  payment of compensation less such deduction shall be a full and complete discharge
  and acquittance of all claims and demands whatsoever for the services rendered by
  such person during the period covered by such payment, except as to the benefits provided
  under this chapter. (2) The contributions of a member and interest as may be allowed thereon which are withdrawn
  by the member or paid to the member’s estate or to the designated beneficiary in event
  of the member’s death, shall be paid from the Fund. (3) The employer shall make one of the following elections: (A) To make, on behalf of the members, all or any part of contributions required to be
  made by members under this section. Each of the amounts shall be deducted until the
  member retires or otherwise withdraws from service, and when deducted shall be paid
  into the Fund and credited to the individual account of the member from whose compensation
  the deduction was made. (B) Pursuant to the provisions of Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, to pick up and pay the contributions required to be paid by members with respect
  to service rendered on and after July 1, 1999. Contributions picked up by the municipality
  under this election shall be designated for all purposes as member contributions,
  except that they shall be treated as employer contributions in determining tax treatment
  of a distribution. Each member’s compensation shall be reduced by an amount equal
  to the amount picked up by the municipality. This reduction, however, shall not be
  used to determine annual earnable compensation for purposes of determining average
  final compensation. Contributions picked up under this subdivision shall be credited
  to the Fund. (c) Employer contributions, earnings, and payments. All employer contributions and all reserves for the payment of all pensions and other
  benefits, including all interest and dividends earned on the assets of the Retirement
  System shall be accumulated in the Fund, and all benefits payable under the System
  and expenses of the System shall be paid from the Fund. (1) On account of each member, an employer shall report earnable compensation and pay
  annually, in installments as determined by the Board, into the Fund an amount equal
  to the certain percentage of the annual earnable compensation of such member. Such
  contribution percentage shall be separately determined for each group of membership
  within the Retirement System as the sum of “normal contribution rate” for such membership
  group and its “accrued liability contribution rate,” such sum to be reduced by the
  member contribution rate provided for in subsection (b) of this section. (2) On the basis of the actuarial assumptions and methodology as shall be adopted by the
  Retirement Board, immediately after making each actuarial valuation, the actuary shall
  determine the “normal contribution rate” for each group of membership. The product
  of a membership group’s normal contribution rate and its total earnable compensation
  shall be referred to as that membership group’s “normal contribution.” (3) In each actuarial valuation, the actuary shall, based on methodology adopted by the
  Retirement Board, determine the amount of the Fund attributable to each membership
  group within the Retirement System for valuation purposes. The difference between
  each membership group’s accrued liability and its allocated share of Fund assets as
  of any valuation date shall be referred to as such membership group’s “unfunded accrued
  liability.” (4) For each actuarial valuation completed on or after July 1, 2009, the accrued liability
  contribution rate shall be computed for each membership group based on the actuarial
  assumptions and methodology adopted by the Retirement Board as the rate percent of
  the earnable compensation of the employees in such membership group which, if applied
  to expected future earnings of current and future employees of such membership group,
  would be expected to liquidate the membership group’s unfunded accrued liability on
  or before June 30, 2038. The product of a membership group’s accrued liability rate
  and its total earnable compensation shall be referred to as that membership group’s
  “accrued liability contribution.” (5) The accrued liability contribution for a separate membership group shall be discontinued,
  and the unfunded accrued liability for such membership group shall be set equal to
  zero in the event the assets attributable to such membership group should exceed the
  accrued liability as determined under the assumptions and methodology approved by
  the Retirement Board. (6) The Retirement Board shall have performed a separate actuarial valuation for each
  group entering the System under the provisions of subsection 5054(e) of this title to determine the amount of liability, the deposit required to pay for that liability,
  and the amount of increased rate of contribution required to pay for the liability
  not covered by any lump sum deposit, such rate to be calculated by the actuary as
  the excess, if any, of the accrued liability contribution rate of subdivision (c)(3)
  of this section determined separately for the group entering the System over such
  rate for the System, calculated excluding such group. Such additional rate shall be
  paid by the entering group over a specified period as determined by the Board, not
  to exceed 30 years. The rate determined as a result of the actuarial calculation under
  this subdivision shall be paid by each employer entering the System under subsection
  5054(e) in addition to the amount paid in accordance with subdivision (4) of this
  subsection. (d) Operation expenses. As provided by law, the Board shall certify to the Governor or Governor-Elect an estimated
  amount required for operation expenses of the System in the next annual or biennial
  period. The amount so certified shall be included in the budget, with the revenue
  derived from the Vermont Municipal Retirement Fund, and submitted to the General Assembly. (e) Remittance of member contributions and employer contributions. Each employer shall remit its employer contributions and the member contributions
  applicable to its employees in installments as determined by the Board to the State
  Treasurer. (1) Any payments due which are not received within 30 days after the installment due date
  set by the Board shall result in a penalty assessment against the employer at the
  rate of one percent of the amount due for each month calculated from the installment
  due date, provided that the Board may, in its discretion, waive part or all of said
  penalty assessment if good cause is shown. The delinquent payments and penalties thereon
  may be recovered by action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer
  liable therefor or may be deducted by, or at the request of, the State Treasurer from
  any other monies payable to such employer by the State or any department or agency
  thereof. (2) All employers shall provide accurate reports. Employers providing inaccurate reports
  shall be responsible for correcting any deficiencies and shall reimburse the System
  for any costs incurred by the System as a result of inaccuracy. (3) In the event that an employer willfully files an inaccurate report, in addition to
  any other penalties provided by law, the employer shall pay the System an administrative
  penalty of up to 50 percent of the amount that was not accurately reported. (4) The System may enforce the provisions of this section in Washington Superior Court. (5) The Board may, in its discretion, waive part or all of a penalty assessment for good
  cause shown. (f) [Repealed.] (Added 1973, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1975, No. 254 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 149-151; 1977, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1983, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1985, No. 74, § 302; 1987, No. 39, §§ 7, 8, 11; 1989, No. 11, § 8a; 1991, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1995, No. 25, §§ 2, 3; 1999, No. 53, § 13; 1999, No. 61, § 4; 1999, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 14, 16; 2001, No. 29, § 11; 2005, No. 44, § 1; 2005, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2007, No. 13, § 47; 2009, No. 24, § 12a; 2009, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.)