Sec. 21.  REDUCTION OF BENEFITS; DISSOLUTION OF SYSTEM.  (a)  If the pension board determines that the pension fund is seriously depleted, the pension board may proportionately and temporarily reduce the benefits of all retirees, eligible survivors, alternate payees, and beneficiaries.
(b)  The amount of any reduction under Subsection (a) of this section shall be paid to the retirees, eligible survivors, alternate payees, and beneficiaries if the pension board determines that the pension fund is sufficiently reestablished to pay the amounts.
(c)  If the reserve and surplus in the pension fund become exhausted and the payouts of the pension fund exceed the income to the pension fund, the governing body of the city by ordinance may dissolve the pension system and require liquidation of the pension system without any liability to the city.
(d)  Any retiree or eligible survivor receiving a retirement pension or survivor benefit may, at that person's option, receive a smaller retirement pension or survivor benefit after properly making a request in writing to the pension board.
Sec. 22.  EXEMPTION FROM EXECUTION, ATTACHMENT, OR OTHER WRIT.  (a)  No portion of the pension fund, either before or after its order of disbursement by the pension board, and no amount due or to become due to any retiree, eligible survivor, or beneficiary, may be held, seized, taken, detained, or levied on by, or subjected to, execution, attachment, garnishment, injunction, or any other writ.  No order or decree, or any process or proceeding, may be issued by a court of this state for the payment or satisfaction in whole or in part out of the pension fund of a debt, damage, claim, demand, or judgment against any member, retiree, eligible survivor, or other person.  The pension fund and any claim on the pension fund may not be directly or indirectly assigned or transferred.  Any attempt to transfer or assign the pension fund or any part of the pension fund, and any claim on the pension fund, is void.  The pension fund shall be sacredly held, kept, and disbursed only for the purposes provided by this Act, except that a retiree or eligible survivor may have deducted from that person's pension or survivor benefit an amount required by law or a voluntary amount authorized by law and the pension board.
(b)  This section does not prevent the division of benefits accrued by a member under any court order determined by the pension board or its designee to be a qualified domestic relations order and the payment of a share of a retiree's benefits or contributions to an alternate payee in accordance with the order.
(c)  This section does not prevent the offset of amounts received wrongly or in error against future pension or benefit payments under Section 3(h) of this Act.
Sec. 23.  FEDERAL TAX QUALIFICATION OF PENSION FUND; MAXIMUM BENEFITS FROM PENSION FUND.  (a)  The pension fund is intended to qualify under Section 401(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and is for the exclusive benefit of the members and retirees and their eligible survivors.  No part of the corpus or income of the pension fund may ever be used for or diverted to any purpose other than for the benefit of members and retirees and their eligible survivors as provided by this Act.
(b)  A member, retiree, or eligible survivor of the pension system may not accrue a retirement pension, disability retirement allowance, survivor benefit, death benefit allowance, DROP benefit, or any other benefit under this Act in excess of the benefit limits applicable to the pension fund under Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  The pension board shall reduce the amount of any benefit that exceeds those limits by the amount of the excess.  If total benefits under the pension fund and the benefits and contributions to which any member is eligible under any other qualified plan maintained by the city that employs the member would otherwise exceed the applicable limits under Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the benefits the member would otherwise receive from the pension fund shall be reduced to the extent necessary so that the benefits do not exceed the benefit limits under Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c)  Any member, retiree, or eligible survivor who receives any distribution that is an eligible rollover distribution as defined by Section 402(c)(4), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, is eligible to have that distribution transferred directly to another eligible retirement plan of the member's, retiree's, or eligible survivor's choice on providing direction to the pension system regarding that transfer in accordance with procedures established by the pension board.
(d)  The total salary taken into account for any purpose for any member or retiree of the pension system may not exceed $200,000 for any year for an eligible participant, or $150,000 a year for an ineligible participant.  These dollar limits shall be adjusted from time to time in accordance with guidelines provided by the United States secretary of the treasury.  For purposes of this subsection, an eligible participant is a person who first became a member of the predecessor system before 1996, and an ineligible participant is a member who is not an eligible participant.
(e)  Accrued benefits under this Act become 100 percent nonforfeitable for a member on the date the member has completed five years of credited service, except as otherwise provided by law.  If the pension system or the pension fund is terminated or partially terminated, or city contributions to the pension fund are discontinued completely, there may not be a reversion of funds to the city.  On the complete or partial termination or discontinuance of city contributions, the pension fund held by the pension system shall be used exclusively for benefits for members, deferred participants, retirees, and their eligible survivors, and the affected employees' rights to the benefits, to the extent funded, shall be nonforfeitable if not already nonforfeitable under this subsection.
(f)  Amounts representing forfeited benefits of terminated members may not be used to increase benefits payable from the pension fund, but may be used to reduce contributions for future plan years.
(g)  Distributions of benefits must begin not later than April 1 of the year following the calendar year during which the member becomes 70-1/2 years of age or terminates employment with the employer, if later, and must otherwise conform to Section 401(a)(9), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(h)  If the amount of any benefit is to be determined on the basis of actuarial assumptions that are not otherwise specifically set forth for that purpose in this Act, the actuarial assumptions to be used are those earnings and mortality assumptions being used on the date of the determination by the pension fund's actuary and approved by the pension board.  The actuarial assumptions being used at any particular time shall be attached as an addendum to a copy of this Act and treated for all purposes as a part of the Act.  The actuarial assumptions may be changed by the pension fund's actuary at any time if approved by the pension board.  A change in actuarial assumptions may not result in any decrease in benefits accrued as of the effective date of the change.
(i)  To the extent permitted by law, the pension board may adjust the benefits of retirees and eligible survivors by increasing any benefit that was reduced because of Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.  If Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, is amended to permit the payment of amounts previously precluded under that section, the pension board may adjust the benefits of retirees and eligible survivors, including restoring benefits previously denied.  Benefits paid under this subsection are not extra compensation earned after retirement but are the delayed payment of benefits earned before retirement.
(j)  The pension board may make any change in this Act to the extent that the change is necessary to ensure compliance with the qualification requirements of Section 401, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any other federal law.
Sec. 24.  EXCESS BENEFIT PLAN.  (a)  A separate, nonqualified, unfunded excess benefit plan is reenacted and continued outside the pension fund.
(b)  In this section:
(1)  "Excess benefit participant" means any retiree whose retirement benefits, as determined on the basis of all qualified plans without regard to the limitations provided by Section 23 of this Act and comparable provisions of other qualified plans, would exceed the maximum benefit permitted under Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(2)  "Excess benefit plan" means the separate, nonqualified, unfunded excess benefit plan that is continued under this section, that was created under the predecessor system for the benefit of eligible members, as amended or restated from time to time, and that is intended to be a qualified governmental excess benefit arrangement within the meaning of Section 415(m), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(3)  "Maximum benefit" means the retirement benefit a retiree and the surviving spouse or dependent child of a retiree or deceased member or retiree are eligible to receive from all qualified plans in any month after giving effect to Section 23 of this Act and any similar provision of any other qualified plan designed to conform to Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(4)  "Qualified plan" means the fund and any other plan that is maintained by the city for the exclusive benefit of some or all of the members of the fund and that has been found by the Internal Revenue Service to be qualified or has been treated by the city as a qualified plan under Section 401, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(5)  "Unrestricted benefit" means the monthly retirement benefit a retiree and the surviving spouse and dependent child of a retiree or deceased member or retiree would have received under the terms of all qualified plans, except for the limitations provided by Section 23 of this Act and any similar provision of any other qualified plan designed to conform to Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(c)  An excess benefit participant who is receiving benefits from the pension fund is eligible for a monthly benefit under the excess benefit plan in an amount equal to the lesser of:
(1)  the member's unrestricted benefit less the maximum benefit; or
(2)  the amount by which the member's monthly benefit from the pension fund has been reduced because of the limitations provided by Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(d)  If a surviving spouse or dependent child is eligible for preretirement or postretirement survivor benefits under a qualified plan after the date of the death of an excess benefit participant, the surviving spouse or dependent child is eligible for a monthly benefit under the excess benefit plan equal to the benefit determined in accordance with this Act, without regard to the limitations provided by Section 23 of this Act or Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, less the maximum benefit.
(e)  Any benefit to which a person is eligible under this section shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner as the benefit that would have been paid from the pension fund if payment of the benefit from the pension fund had not been precluded by Section 23 of this Act.  An excess benefit participant or a beneficiary of the participant may not, under any circumstances, elect to defer receipt of all or any part of a payment due under this section.
(f)  The pension board shall administer the excess benefit plan, and the executive director shall carry out the business of the board with respect to the plan.  Except as otherwise provided by this section, the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the pension board and the executive director are the same for the plan as for the pension fund.
(g)  The consultants, independent auditors, attorneys, and actuaries selected to perform services for the pension fund shall perform services for the excess benefit plan, but their fees for services may not be paid by the pension fund.  The actuary engaged to perform services for the pension fund shall advise the pension board of the amount of benefits that may not be provided from the pension fund solely by reason of the limitations provided by Section 415, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and of the amount of employer contributions that will be made to the plan rather than to the pension fund.
(h)  Contributions may not accumulate under the excess benefit plan to pay future retirement benefits.  The executive director shall reduce each payment of employer contributions that would otherwise be made to the pension fund under Section 8A of this Act by the amount determined to be necessary to meet the requirements for retirement benefits under the plan, including reasonable administrative expenses, until the next payment of municipal contributions is expected to be made to the pension fund.  The employer shall pay to the plan, from the withheld contributions, not earlier than the 30th day before the date each distribution of monthly retirement benefits is required to be made from the plan, the amount necessary to satisfy the obligation to pay monthly retirement benefits from the plan.  The executive director shall satisfy the obligation of the plan to pay retirement benefits from the employer contributions transferred for that month.
(i)  Employer contributions otherwise required to be made to the pension fund under Section 8A of this Act and to any other qualified plan shall be divided into those contributions required to pay retirement benefits under this section and those contributions paid into and accumulated to pay the maximum benefits required under the qualified plan.  Employer contributions made to provide retirement benefits under this section may not be commingled with the money of the pension fund or any other qualified plan.
(j)  Benefits under this section are exempt from execution, attachment, garnishment, assignment, injunction, and any other writ in the same manner as retirement annuities under Section 22 of this Act and may not be paid to a person other than to the person who would have received the benefits from the pension fund except for the limitations provided by Section 23 of this Act.
Sec. 25.  EMPLOYEES ON RETIREMENT WHEN ACT TAKES EFFECT.  (a)  Any person receiving a retirement benefit from the predecessor system immediately before the effective date of this Act shall continue to receive the same benefit amount the person was entitled to receive under the predecessor system.
(b)  This Act does not change the status of any former member receiving a pension, or who is eligible to receive a pension, from the city or the pension system under the predecessor system, unless otherwise expressly provided by this Act.
Sec. 26.  CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.  (a)  Records that are in the custody of the pension system concerning an individual member, deferred participant, retiree, eligible survivor, beneficiary, or alternate payee are not public information under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be disclosed in a form identifiable to a specific individual unless:
(1)  the information is disclosed to:
(A)  the individual or the individual's attorney, guardian, executor, administrator, or conservator, or another person who the executive director determines is acting in the interest of the individual or the individual's estate;
(B)  a spouse or former spouse of the individual and the executive director determines that the information is relevant to the spouse's or former spouse's interest in a member's accounts or benefits or other amounts payable by the pension system;
(C)  a governmental official or employee and the executive director determines that disclosure of the information requested is reasonably necessary to the performance of the duties of the official or employee; or
(D)  a person authorized by the individual in writing to receive the information; or
(2)  the information is disclosed under a subpoena and the executive director determines that the individual will have a reasonable opportunity to contest the subpoena.
(b)  This section does not prevent the disclosure of the status or identity of an individual as a member, former member, deferred participant, retiree, deceased participant, eligible survivor, beneficiary, or alternate payee of the pension system.
(c)  The executive director may designate other employees of the pension system to make the necessary determinations under Subsection (a) of this section.
(d)  A determination and disclosure under Subsection (a) of this section does not require notice to the individual member, deferred participant, retiree, eligible survivor, beneficiary, or alternate payee.
Sec. 27.  POWER OF ATTORNEY.  (a)  A person eligible for payment of a pension or other benefits administered by the pension system may direct the pension system to treat as the authorized representative of the person concerning the disposition of the pension or other benefits an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney that the pension system determines complies with Subchapters A and B, Chapter 752, Estates Code.
(b)  If the power of attorney under Subsection (a) of this section is revoked, the pension system is not liable for payments made to or actions taken at the request of the attorney-in-fact before the date the pension system receives written notice that the power of attorney has been revoked.
Sec. 28.  PROPORTIONATE RETIREMENT PROGRAM WITH PARTICIPATING RETIREMENT SYSTEMS.  (a)  The pension board may establish a program of proportionate retirement benefits subject to the requirements of this section.
(b)  In this section:
(1)  "Combined service credit" means the combined sum of an eligible participant's service credit in each participating retirement system in which the participant has service credit and for which the total satisfies the length-of-service requirements for normal service retirement from that system at the eligible participant's attained age.
(2)  "Eligible participant" means a person who is or has been a member of the pension system and who is actively employed by the city and covered by a participating retirement system at the time of full participation by the three retirement systems established by Article 6243e.2(1), Revised Statutes, Article 6243g-4, Revised Statutes, a successor statute to either of those laws, and this Act.  An eligible participant does not include any individual who:
(A)  is in retirement or DROP status;
(B)  is receiving a retirement pension; or
(C)  is in a probationary or trainee firefighter or police officer position.
(3)  "Full participation" means that a retirement system has met the requirements of a participating retirement system.
(4)  "Maximum benefit" means the maximum total amount of benefits payable to an eligible participant who has used combined service credit to qualify for benefits from a participating retirement system, which is 90 percent of the participant's average monthly compensation at the time the participant ceases employment in a position covered by the pension system.
(5)  "Participating retirement system" means a retirement system that is established by Article 6243e.2(1), Revised Statutes, Article 6243g-4, Revised Statutes, a successor statute to either of those laws, or this Act and that recognizes and allows the use of combined service credit and disability determinations to provide proportionate retirement benefits in its system for an eligible participant under the provisions of this Act.
(6)  "Service credit" means service that is credited by the rules of a participating retirement system and that may be used to meet length-of-service requirements for service retirement in the system, except that service credit that would otherwise be allowed by more than one participating retirement system for the same service period is counted only once in determining the amount of a person's combined service credit and applies as service credit only in the participating retirement system in which the person first established the service credit.
(c)  Participation by the pension system in the proportionate retirement program is voluntary.  The pension board may elect to participate in the proportionate retirement program by adopting a resolution.  If a resolution is adopted, the pension board shall notify the other participating retirement systems of the election.  The effective date of participation in the proportionate retirement program for which an election is made is the first day of the third month after the month in which notice is given.  Participation in the proportionate retirement program by the pension system may be terminated for any reason by adoption of a pension board resolution, except that the proportionate retirement program will be continued by the pension system for eligible participants who are actively employed at the time of the termination and who remain actively employed.  On adoption of a resolution of termination, the pension board shall notify the other participating retirement systems of the termination.  The effective date of termination from the proportionate retirement program is the first day of the month following the month in which notice of termination is given.
(d)  An eligible participant's combined service credit may be used only for determining eligibility for a normal retirement pension under this Act and may not be used in determining eligibility for DROP participation, a disability pension, survivor benefits, or any type of benefit other than a normal retirement pension, nor may combined service credit be used in determining the amount of any type of pension or benefit.  The amount of a pension or benefit payable by the pension system is determined according to, and in the manner prescribed by, this Act and the rules established by the pension board and is based solely on an eligible participant's service credit in the pension system and allowable maximum benefit.  The pension board has sole responsibility and discretion to determine the eligibility of eligible participants for benefits, including whether sufficient combined service credit exists to qualify eligible participants for proportionate retirement benefits from the pension system and the amount and duration of proportionate retirement benefits payable by the pension system.
(e)  A person who withdraws pension contributions from a participating retirement system ceases to be a member of that participating retirement system.  Membership and service credit for which contributions were withdrawn or otherwise forfeited may be reestablished under the statutes and rules governing that system.  To be counted as combined service credit, all service in a participating retirement system for which the person withdrew contributions or that was otherwise forfeited must be reinstated in accordance with the statutes and rules applicable to that system.  A lump-sum distribution is governed by the statutes and rules applicable to the particular retirement system that distributed the lump-sum payment.
(f)  A person who has service credit in another participating retirement system for which the person is receiving or may become eligible to receive a benefit is not eligible to vote in a pension board election or hold a position on the pension board.
(g)  The pension board shall make determinations regarding an eligible participant's combined service credit based on the certified records of a participating retirement system, including the pension system, and of the city.
(h)  The provisions of Section 17 of this Act relating to termination of employment do not apply to an eligible participant to the extent the participant is separated from service covered by the pension system during a period for which the participant earns service credit in another participating retirement system for service performed for the city in an amount sufficient to meet the length-of-service requirement, using combined service credit, for a retirement benefit from the participating retirement system.
(i)  A proportionate retirement benefit may be paid by the pension system under the proportionate retirement program to an eligible participant who fulfills the requirements for receiving a proportionate retirement benefit in the pension system using combined service credit only if the participant is eligible to receive and has applied for proportionate retirement benefits from the applicable other participating retirement systems.  An eligible participant may not become eligible to receive a proportionate retirement benefit from the pension system while employed in a position covered by the pension system.
(j)  The pension system is governed solely by its own statutory provisions, policies, and procedures relating to disability benefit determinations for members who apply for a disability pension from the pension system, except that the pension system shall pay a proportionate amount of the ordinary disability benefit attributable to the service credited under the pension system, based on the schedule of benefits in effect under this Act or Chapter 358, Acts of the 48th Legislature, Regular Session, 1943 (Article 6243g, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as applicable, on the eligible participant's last day of credited service as a member in the pension system if:
(1)  the eligible participant has combined service credit from any other participating retirement system in addition to the pension system;
(2)  the eligible participant files for a disability pension for the first time as a member of the other participating retirement system;
(3)  the eligible participant is otherwise eligible for a disability pension in both participating retirement systems;
(4)  the eligible participant receives a determination from the pension board of trustees of the other participating pension system that the person has a disability that is of a type recognized by the pension system; and
(5)  the other participating retirement system grants the disability pension.
(k)  If the disability is determined to be service-related, the pension system shall pay only the ordinary disability benefit amount.  The pension board has the right to require examinations, reports, and any other information permitted under this Act for the administration and payment of disability benefits and the right to reduce, suspend, or terminate a benefit accordingly.  The benefit allowed under this subsection and Subsection (j) of this section is payable only if the other participating retirement systems authorize and pay a disability benefit under the same circumstances as provided by this subsection.  A person who is receiving a disability benefit from a participating retirement system is not eligible for a disability pension under this Act, except as provided by this subsection and Subsection (j) of this section.
(l)  Creditable military service, if any, will be credited in the pension system only as provided by this Act and only if the service is not credited in any other participating retirement system.
(m)  If the pension board elects to participate in the proportionate retirement program under this section, the pension board shall adopt rules for implementing and administering the proportionate retirement program.
(n)  A person may not receive a benefit under this section in an amount that is greater than the amount of the benefits accrued by the person in the absence of this section.  A survivor benefit otherwise payable under Section 14(c) of this Act on behalf of a person who has used combined service credit to qualify for benefits from at least one participating retirement system shall be computed and payable as provided by Section 14(b) of this Act.