§ 23-24. Benefits.

No participant shall receive benefits from the fund in excess of the amount credited to his account. Subject to this provision, a participant shall receive benefits as follows:

(a)

Subsequent to the passage of this ordinance [article], if a participant shall separate, excepting from death, from the service with the Metro-Dade Police Department for any reason whatsoever, except as hereinafter provided, prior to completing nine (9) years of service with the Department, he shall be entitled to a severance benefit as follows:

Prior to completing three (3) years of service, one-fourth of the amount credited to his account as of the date of severance;

Prior to completing six (6) years of service, but after completing three (3) years of service, one-half of the amount credited to his account as of the date of severance;

Prior to completing nine (9) years of service, but after completing six (6) years of service, three-fourths of the amount credited to his account as of the date of severance;

After completing nine (9) years of service, the participant shall be entitled to the entire amount credited to his account upon his separation from the County;

Police Officers who upon the effective date of this ordinance [article] shall have completed ten (10) years of service, but after completing two (2) years of service from the effective date of this ordinance [article], the participant shall be entitled to the entire amount credited to his account upon his separation from the County.

All monies remaining in a participant's account after separation as above shall be forfeited to the fund.

(b)

If a participant shall die while a member of the Metro-Dade Police Department, the entire amount of his credit, as of the date of his death, shall be paid to his surviving wife, primarily for the purpose of defraying final illness and burial expenses. If there be no surviving wife and there is a child or children, the entire amount of participant's credit, as of the date of his death, shall be paid to a person designated in writing by the participant, to be used for payment of final illness and burial expenses, with any excess to be paid to the legal guardian of the child or children for their benefit. If there be no surviving wife or children, there shall be paid to the person designated in writing by the participant, to be used for payment of final illness and burial expenses, an amount not to exceed the entire amount of his credit and any excess after payment of final illness and burial expenses shall be paid as designated by the deceased. If the person designated to act for a participant shall pre-decease him or cannot be located by reasonable effort, or shall refuse to act, or if deceased participant has failed to designate anyone, the Board shall have the right to name a person to carry out the purposes of this subsection. In carrying out the purpose of this subsection, the Board shall endeavor to distribute any excess monies after payment of last illness and burial expenses in the same manner in which they would have been distributed in an intestate administration proceeding. The designation shall be in writing, sworn to, and shall be filed with the Secretary of the Board.

(c)

A participant who shall hereafter be retired by reason of length of service or disability under any other pension plan of the County and/or State, or who shall retire after completing nine (9) years of service with the Metro-Dade Police Department, shall be paid the entire amount standing to his credit as of the date of such retirement or separation. He shall elect to take such amount in a lump sum, or to take it in annual payments over a period not to exceed five (5) years. A written notice of election to receive payments other than in a lump sum must be filed with the Board upon a form prescribed by the Board therefor, and must be sworn to by the person entitled to receive such monies.

A retired participant or a participant who has separated from the Department after nine (9) years active service who has elected to receive the monies due him in annual payments, rather than a lump sum as above, shall not be an active participant under Section 23-2(g).

(d)

Settlement as provided in subsection (a), (b) and (c) of this section shall be in full settlement of all claims of a participant against the fund, and he shall thereupon cease to be a participant, and he shall have no further interest in said fund, and shall receive no further benefits.

(e)

As an alternative to the above benefits, in event that a court of competent jurisdiction should find and order that a participant is entitled to benefits under Chapter 28230 different from the benefits which that participant is entitled to receive under the terms of this ordinance [article], and such participant does not waive the benefits decreed by the court and accept benefits as provided by this ordinance [article], the Trustees shall pay to such participants benefits as required by the decree or order of the court. Such benefits shall be paid from the fund, and in the event that it is necessary to pay such participant a greater amount than he would have received had he accepted benefits under this ordinance [article], such additional amount shall be deducted from the accounts of the other participants on a pro rata basis as determined by the Board of Trustees. The fund shall indemnify the County against all claims of participants as aforesaid and shall pay all expenses including court costs and attorneys' fees incurred in defending law suits brought by participants in asserting such claims.

(Ord. No. 64-2, § 14, 1-14-64)