TX Civ Stat § 5.10 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Vernon's Civil Statutes|Title 109 - Pensions|Article 6243o. Police and Fire Fighter Retirement System in Municipalities of 750,000 to 1,000,000|Article 5. Member Benefits|Section 5.10. Coordination With Federal Law

Sec. 5.10. COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL LAW.    (a)  A member or beneficiary of a member of the fund may not accrue a service retirement annuity, disability retirement annuity, death benefit, whether death occurs in the line of duty or otherwise, or any other benefit under this Act in excess of the benefit limits applicable to the fund under Section 415 of the code.  The board shall reduce the amount of any benefit that exceeds those limits by the amount of the excess.  If the total benefits under this fund and the benefits and contributions to which any member is entitled under any other qualified defined benefit plan maintained by the municipality that employs the member would otherwise exceed the applicable limits under Section 415 of the code, the benefits the member would otherwise receive from the fund shall be reduced to the extent necessary to enable the benefits to comply with Section 415 of the code.(b) Any member or beneficiary who is entitled to receive any distribution that is an eligible rollover distribution as defined by Section 402(c)(4) of the code is entitled to have that distribution transferred directly to another eligible retirement plan of the member's or beneficiary's choice on providing direction to the fund regarding that transfer in accordance with procedures established by the board.(c) The total salary taken into account for any purpose for any member of the fund may not exceed $200,000 per year for an eligible participant or $150,000 per year for an ineligible participant.  These dollar limits shall be periodically adjusted in accordance with guidelines provided by the United States secretary of the treasury.  For purposes of this subsection, an eligible participant is any person who first became a member before 1996, and an ineligible participant is any member who is not an eligible participant.(d) Accrued benefits under this Act become 100 percent vested for a member on:(1) the date the member has completed 20 years of service;(2) the earlier termination or partial termination of the pension plan created by this Act, if it affects the member;  or(3) the complete discontinuance of contributions by the municipality to the fund.(e) Amounts representing forfeited nonvested benefits of terminated members may not be used to increase benefits payable from the fund but may be used to reduce contributions for future plan years.(f) Distribution 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 and must otherwise conform to Section 401(a)(9) of the code.(g) 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 fund's actuary and approved by the 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 this Act.  The actuarial assumptions may be changed by the fund's actuary at any time if approved by the board, but a change in actuarial assumptions may not result in any decrease in benefits accrued as of the effective date of the change.(h) This section applies to any benefit regardless of when accrued.(i) The board may adopt rules to administer this section.  A rule adopted by the board under this subsection is final and binding.(j) To the extent permitted by law, the board may adjust the benefits of retired members and beneficiaries by increasing any retirement benefit that was reduced because of Section 415 of the code.  If Section 415 of the code is amended to permit the payment of amounts previously precluded under Section 415 of the code, the board may adjust the benefits of retired members and beneficiaries, including the restoration of benefits previously denied.  Benefits paid under this subsection are not considered as extra compensation earned after retirement but as the delayed payment of benefits earned before retirement.(k) The board by rule shall implement this Act in a manner that preserves the tax qualification of the fund under the code and may revise any provision or program to the extent necessary to retain tax qualification.(l) In this section, "qualified plan" has the meaning assigned by Section 8.02 of this Act.