2023 Texas Statutes › Vernon's Civil Statutes › Title 109 - Pensions › Article 6243e.1. Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund in Cities of 450,000 to 500,000 › Article 9. Miscellaneous Provisions Regarding Benefits › Section 9.04. Cost-of-Living Adjustment; Other Adjustments

Sec. 9.04. COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT;  OTHER ADJUSTMENTS.    (a)  Subject to this section and except as provided by Section 5.05 of this Act, a person receiving a retirement or survivor's benefit under this Act is entitled each calendar year to a cost-of-living adjustment of that person's benefit calculated in accordance with this section.
(a-1)  The annual cost-of-living adjustment under this section:
(1)  is based on the collective adjustment amount calculated in accordance with Subsection (a-2) of this section and allocated among persons eligible for an adjustment under this section in a manner and in an amount determined by the board of trustees;
(2)  may take effect at any time during a given calendar year, as determined by the board of trustees; and
(3)  may not reduce a person's benefit to an amount less than the person received when the benefit first was paid to that person.
(a-2)  The collective adjustment amount described by Subsection (a-1) of this section:
(1)  is an amount equal to the actuarial value, as determined by the board's actuary based on the interest and mortality assumptions adopted by the board of trustees for the most recent actuarial valuation of the fund, of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers as determined by the United States Department of Labor for the applicable determination period ending in a calendar month that precedes by not more than four months the month in which the cost-of-living adjustment is to take effect, multiplied by the total amount of benefits payable in the month immediately preceding the date an adjustment is to take effect to persons who are eligible to receive an adjustment under this section; and
(2)  if applicable:
(A)  is reduced by an amount that the board's actuary determines is necessary to maintain the financial stability of the fund; or
(B)  is increased in accordance with Subsection (b) of this section.
(a-3)  For purposes of Subsection (a-2) of this section, the applicable determination period is the shorter of:
(1)  12 months; or
(2)  the period since the last adjustment under this section.
(a-4)  In determining whether to reduce the collective adjustment amount under Subsection (a-2) of this section, the board's actuary may not take into consideration the cost of future adjustments under this section.
(b)  The board of trustees may increase the collective adjustment amount under Subsection (a-2) of this section if:
(1)  the board's actuary has advised the board of trustees that the increase would not impair the financial stability of the fund; and
(2)  the increase has been approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the board of trustees.
(b-1)  In determining whether an adjustment would impair the financial stability of the fund under Subsection (b) of this section, the board's actuary shall take into consideration the cost of future adjustments under this section.
(c)  Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 707, Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2009.
(d)  Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 707, Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 9.05. NO INTEGRATION WITH SOCIAL SECURITY.  A benefit payable under this Act may not be integrated with benefits payable under the federal Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 301 et seq.), and benefits payable under the Social Security Act may not be taken into account when determining the amount of benefits to which a person is entitled under this Act.