Opinion ID: 6108934
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Pension Statute

Text: The Pension System was organized and operates under article 6243h of the Texas Revised Civil Statutes. It is a defined-benefit pension plan that provides retirement, survivor, and disability benefits for employees of the City. See TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. art. 6243h. Article 6243h applies only to cities with a population of greater than 2 million, id. § 1(4), and currently, Houston is the only city in Texas to which it  applies. The statute defines a member of the pension fund as an active employee included in the pension system, except for statutorily ineligible employees. Id. § 1(13). An employee is any [eligible] person ... who holds a municipal position[,] ... whose name appears on a regular full-time payroll of a city[,] ... and who is paid a regular salary for services. Id. § 1(11). Under the statute, the City must make contributions to the pension fund and pick up payments on behalf of employees. See id. §§ 8(a), (c), 8A. Pick up payments are contributions to the pension fund made by the City in lieu of direct contributions by the members; the City may pick up those contributions via a deduction from each member's salary. Id. § 8(c). Article 6243h requires the City to provide information to the board so that it may administer the fund and provide benefits properly. See id. § 2(u). The board is granted broad authority to interpret and construe article 6243h. See id. § 2(x)(2). The statute includes an express mandate that [t]he determination of any fact by the pension board's interpretation of this Act [is] final and binding on any interested party, including members, deferred participants, retirees, eligible survivors, beneficiaries, and the city. Id. § 2(y). The statute specifically allows the City and the Pension System to enter into a written meet-and-confer agreement (MCA) regarding pension issues and benefits. See id. § 3(n). The City and the Pension System entered into an MCA on July 1, 2011.