Sec. 8.01. DEFERRED VESTED PENSION.    (a)  A member is eligible for a deferred vested pension if the member's employment is terminated, for reasons other than death or retirement under a normal, early, special early, extra-special early, or disability pension, on or after the completion of five or more years of service.
(b) Payment of a deferred vested pension begins as of the first day of the month following the member's 65th birthday, if the member is then living.  If the member has completed 10 years of service, the member may request the deferred vested pension to begin as of the first day of the month following the member's 55th birthday or as of the first day of any subsequent month that precedes the member's 65th birthday.
(c) If payment of a deferred vested pension begins before the member's 65th birthday, the amount shall be reduced by 1/180th for each of the first 60 months and 1/360th for each of the next 60 months by which the starting date of the pension payment precedes the member's 65th birthday.  The provisions of this section are subject to change as provided by Section 11.01 of this Act.
ARTICLE 9. DISABILITY PENSIONS

Sec. 9.01. DISABILITY PENSIONS.    (a)  A member is eligible for a disability pension if the member's employment is terminated by reason of a disability before the member's 65th birthday.
(b) Payment of a disability pension begins following a 12-month waiting period following the member's termination of service based on disability, except that if disability is presumed to be permanent before the completion of the 12-month period, disability payments begin following the certification of the disability.
(c) Payment of a disability pension may not begin until the disability is certified to be continuous for a period of 90 days.
(d) Payment of a disability pension ends on the member's death or the end of the member's disability.  If the disability ends on or after the member's 65th birthday, the member's disability pension shall be continued in the same manner as if the disability had continued.
Sec. 9.02. REEMPLOYMENT FOLLOWING DISABILITY.    (a)  If a member who has received any disability pension payments recovers and is reemployed by the municipality as a police officer not later than the 30th day after the date of certification that the disability has ended, the member's membership in the fund shall be reinstated as of the date the person returns to active employment.
(b) The member shall receive credit for all service with the municipality credited to the member at the inception date of the member's disability.
(c) The board may extend the 30-day period when, in the board's judgment, reasonable cause exists for extending the period.
Sec. 9.03. END OF DISABILITY BEFORE AGE 65.  If a member's disability ends before the member's 65th birthday and the member is not reemployed by the municipality, the member shall be treated as a terminated member and is not entitled to further benefits except the excess, if any, of the member's accumulated contributions less the total amount of disability benefits received.  However, if the member meets the requirements for an early, special early, extra-special early, or deferred vested pension on the date of termination for disability, the member is entitled to receive a pension equal in amount to the early, special early, extra-special early, or deferred vested pension the member would have been entitled to as of the date of the member's disability.
Sec. 9.04. INELIGIBILITY FOR DISABILITY PENSION.  A member is not eligible for a disability pension if the board determines that the member's disability results from:
(1) addiction to narcotics or hallucinogenic drugs;
(2) an injury suffered while engaged in a felonious or criminal act or enterprise;
(3) a self-inflicted injury;
(4) voluntary or involuntary service in the armed forces of any nation;  or
(5) an absence in excess of three months for which the member received no earnings from the municipality, unless the absence was due to sickness or accident that resulted in disability.
Sec. 9.05. RULES CONCERNING DISABILITIES.  The board may establish rules as appropriate to certify a member's disability and to verify the continued existence of the disability.
Sec. 9.06. AMOUNT OF DISABILITY PENSION.  Subject to Section 11.01 of this Act, a member who meets the requirements for a disability pension is entitled to receive a monthly amount determined as follows:
(1) the pension payable until age 65 equals 60 percent of the member's monthly rate of pay at the time of the disability minus any primary social security benefit actually paid to the member and the amount of other payments the member is entitled to receive from workers' compensation or any other disability plan, except that a member's disability pension under this Act may not exceed $1,500 per month;  and
(2) the pension payable beginning at age 65 is an amount computed in the same manner as for a normal retirement pension considering the member's compensation and service as if:
(A) the member had continued employment with the municipality until the member's 65th birthday;  and
(B) the member's rate of pay had remained constant from the time of disability until the member's 65th birthday.
ARTICLE 10. SEVERANCE AND DEATH BENEFITS;  REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 10.01. SEVERANCE BENEFITS.    (a)  A member whose employment with the municipality is terminated before the member qualifies for a benefit is entitled to receive a refund of accumulated contributions, payable in a lump sum or in installments without interest.
(b) A member who receives a payment under this section forfeits any further rights or benefits from the fund.
Sec. 10.02. REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS.    (a)  In lieu of any other benefit to which a retired member may be entitled, a member may elect to receive a refund of accumulated contributions, payable in a lump sum or in installments without interest.
(b) A member who receives a payment under this section forfeits any further rights or benefits from the fund.
Sec. 10.03. DEATH OF MEMBER WHILE ACTIVELY EMPLOYED BY MUNICIPALITY.    (a)  If a member dies while actively employed by the municipality, leaving a spouse or a dependent child under the age of 18, the board shall order a monthly allowance as provided by this section.
(b) The surviving spouse of an active member who, on the date of the member's death, had completed five or more years of service is eligible to receive a spouse's pension, payable monthly in an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount computed for a normal retirement pension but using the member's compensation and service earned as of the date of death.  Payment of a spouse's pension continues until the death or remarriage of the spouse.
(c) If there is not a surviving spouse, each surviving dependent child of the deceased member under the age of 18 is eligible for a dependent child's pension, payable monthly in an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount computed for a normal retirement pension, but using the member's compensation and service earned as of the date of death.  If there is more than one such child, the monthly amount shall be divided equally among the children at the time the amount is paid.  Payment of a dependent child's pension continues until the child attains the age of 18 or until the child's death, whichever occurs first.
(d) If a surviving spouse receiving a spouse's pension dies leaving a surviving dependent child or children under the age of 18, the spouse's pension shall be continued to the child or children under the terms of this section.
(e) If a member dies while actively employed by the municipality after having completed five or more years of service with the municipality and leaves no surviving spouse or dependent children, the member's beneficiaries are eligible to receive a death benefit equal to the greater of the member's total accumulated contributions or $2,500.
(f) If a member dies while actively employed by the municipality after having completed less than five years of service with the municipality, the member's beneficiaries are eligible to receive a death benefit equal to the member's accumulated contributions.
(g) The total amount of death benefit payments payable under Subsection (f) of this section may not be less than the greater of $2,500 or the total amount of the member's accumulated contributions.  If a spouse or dependent child dies before receiving the minimum amount and is not survived by another person entitled to the death benefit, the balance of that amount is payable in a lump sum to the estate of the decedent.  If the spouse remarries before receiving that amount and there are no surviving dependent children to receive payment, the balance of the death benefit is payable in a lump sum to the beneficiaries of the member.
Sec. 10.04. DEATH OF RETIRED MEMBER.    (a)  If a member dies under a normal, early, special early, extra-special early, or disability pension, or retires under an early, special early, extra-special early, or disability pension but dies before beginning to receive the pension and is survived by a spouse, the spouse is eligible for a monthly pension if the spouse was married to the member before the member's termination of service with the municipality's police department.
(b) The pension is equal to 50 percent of the pension to which the member was entitled on the date of death.  If the retired member retired and began receiving a pension before the age of 62, the monthly amount of the pension payable to the member's surviving spouse after the date on which the retired member would have attained age 62 shall be reduced to 50 percent of the pension which the retired member would have received had the member attained age 62.
(c) If a retired member who is receiving disability retirement benefits dies before the age of 65, the monthly amount of the pension shall be equal to 50 percent of the pension the member would have received had the member worked until the date of death at the rate of pay in effect at the inception of the disability.
(d) Payment of the pension continues until the date of death or remarriage of the spouse, whichever occurs first.
(e) The total benefit payments payable under this section may not be less than the greater of the retired member's total accumulated contributions, or $2,500, less any previous payments made to the retired member.  If the spouse dies before receiving that amount, the balance of the minimum amount of the death benefit is payable in a lump sum to the spouse's estate.  If the spouse remarries before receiving the minimum amount or if the retired member and the spouse are divorced on the retired member's date of death, the balance of the minimum amount of the death benefit is payable in a lump sum to the beneficiaries of the retired member.
(f) If a member dies under a normal, early, special early, extra-special early, or disability pension, or retires under an early, special early, extra-special early, or disability pension but dies before beginning to receive the pension and does not leave a surviving spouse, the beneficiaries of the retired member are eligible for a death benefit equal to the greater of the member's accumulated contribution or $2,500, less any payments previously made to the deceased member.
(g) If a member who is entitled to or is receiving a deferred vested pension dies, the member's beneficiaries are eligible for a death benefit, payable in a lump sum, equal to the deceased member's total accumulated contributions, less any pension payments previously received.
Sec. 10.05. DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY BY BOARD.  If a member dies without having designated one or more beneficiaries, the board may designate a beneficiary under rules adopted by the board as provided by Section 2.01 of this Act.
Sec. 10.06. MODIFICATION OF SEVERANCE AND DEATH BENEFITS.  This article is subject to any modifications made in accordance with Section 11.01 of this Act.
ARTICLE 11. MODIFICATIONS

Sec. 11.01.  MODIFICATION OF BENEFITS, MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS, ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS.  (a)  Subject to Section 2.10 of this Act and except as otherwise provided by this section, the board, with the approval of at least six board members, may modify:
(1)  benefits provided by this Act, including the multiplier by which a pension benefit amount provided under Article 7 of this Act is calculated, except that any increase in benefits is subject to Subsection (b) of this section;
(2)  future membership qualifications;
(3)  eligibility requirements for pensions or benefits, including the age at which a member is eligible to retire; or
(4)  subject to Subsection (b) of this section, the contribution rates provided by Sections 6.01 and 6.03 of this Act.
(b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the board of trustees may not modify the contribution rates expressly provided by Sections 6.01 and 6.03 of this Act before January 1, 2025.  If, on or after January 1, 2025, the fund's most recent actuarial valuation recommends an actuarially determined contribution rate that exceeds the aggregate contribution rates provided by Sections 6.01 and 6.03 of this Act, as modified under this section, if applicable, the board shall:
(1)  calculate the difference between the actuarially determined contribution rate and the aggregate contribution rates; and
(2)  by rule, increase the contribution rates applicable under Sections 6.01 and 6.03 of this Act by 50 percent of the difference calculated under Subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b-1)  An increase in contribution rates under Subsection (b) of this section may not take effect before:
(1)  the January 1 following the date on which the board of trustees approved the applicable actuarial valuation, if the approval occurred at least three months before the first day of the municipality's fiscal year; or
(2)  the first day of the municipality's fiscal year that begins more than three months after the date the board approved the applicable actuarial valuation, if the approval occurred less than three months before the first day of the municipality's next fiscal year.
(c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the board, with the approval of at least five board members, may provide for refunds, in whole or in part, with or without interest, of accumulated contributions made to the fund by members who leave the municipality's service before qualifying for a pension.
(d)  Actions authorized under this section may not be made unless first reviewed by a qualified actuary selected by the board.  To qualify, an actuary who is an individual must be a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries or a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.  The basis for the actuary's approval or disapproval of a board action is not subject to judicial review.