§ 154-161. Contributions.

(a)

Employee contributions. There shall be deducted from the compensation paid by the employer to each individual who becomes a participant in the plan such sum as may be designated by the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County as the employee contribution annually at the time of the adoption of the annual budget by such board of commissioners. All sums needed to fund any actuarial deficit created by the provisions of this section shall be paid from county general funds. Individuals who elect not to participate in the plan as effective on September 1, 1991, shall continue to contribute in the same amount as in effect on August 31, 1991, under the prior plan applicable to such individual. Employee contributions on behalf of assistant district attorneys of the Atlanta Judicial District shall be deducted from the portion of the assistant district attorney's salary or compensation paid as a Fulton County supplement but shall be based on the total salary or compensation paid to such assistant district attorney. Employee contributions by employees or officers of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority shall be based upon the total compensation of such individuals from both the employer and the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority.

(b)

Employer pickup contributions. Effective January 1, 1992, the employer or any other body serving as the employer of a participant (e.g., the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services, the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority) shall contribute to the plan and to the prior plans, as applicable, as of each payroll period on behalf of and to the credit of each participant or prior plan participant the amount of employee contributions required for participation after January 1, 1992. No participant or prior plan participant shall be entitled under any circumstances to receive such contributions in cash in lieu of having them contributed to the pension fund by the employer in accordance with the preceding sentence. Such contributions shall be made pursuant to section 414(h) of the code and shall be treated as employer contributions in determining their federal income tax treatment under the code. The employer may reduce the compensation payable to a participant or prior plan participant in an amount not exceeding the amount of the contribution paid by it on behalf of such individual pursuant to this subsection. Such reduction in compensation may be made, notwithstanding the fact that the compensation provided by or pursuant to law for the individual may be reduced thereby. Employee contributions made by the employer on behalf of plan participants and prior plan participants as provided in this subsection shall be included in the monthly earnings of such individuals when determining their accrued benefits, and, except as otherwise provided above and in section 154-93, such contributions shall continue to be employee contributions for all purposes under the plan.

(c)

Other employer contributions. In addition to the contributions required above, the employer will contribute to the plan and to the prior plans for each plan year the amount required to fund the normal cost of benefits and to pay the necessary portion of the amortized unfunded accrued liability in accordance with the minimum funding standards of section 401(a)(7) of the code as in effect on September 1, 1974, and the minimum funding standards of O.C.G.A. § 47-20-10. The Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services shall pay a similar amount on behalf of the employees of such department who are participants or prior plan participants, not to exceed the percentage amount paid by the department to the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia on behalf of its employees participating in such plan. The Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority shall reimburse the employer for any employer contributions made under this subsection on behalf of the officers or employees of the authority. For purposes of making the required employer contributions provided above, the employer shall be authorized to levy ad valorem taxes sufficient to amortize the unfunded accrued liability under the provisions of the plan and any prior plan in accordance with Georgia laws. If the assets of the plan or any prior plan are not sufficient to meet and pay the retirement benefits of any participant, the employer shall appropriate from current funds amounts sufficient to make up the deficiency as it relates to such participant and deposit such amount into the trust.

(d)

Irrevocability of employer contributions.

(1)

Generally. Subject only to subsection (d)(2) of this section, the contributions made by the employer are irrevocable, and it shall be impossible under any conditions for any funds contributed to the trust or any part of the corpus or income of the trust fund to revert to, or be used or enjoyed by, the employer, or be used for or diverted to purposes other than for the exclusive benefit of participants or beneficiaries, such benefit including the payment of the expenses of the plan and trust.

(2)

Circumstances permitting return of employer contributions. A contribution to the plan and trust by the employer that was made by a mistake of fact shall be returned to the employer. Any such contribution shall be returned within one year after the mistaken payment of the contribution. The amount of the contribution that may be returned to the employer is the excess of the amount contributed over the amount that would have been contributed had there not occurred a mistake of fact. Earnings attributable to the excess contribution may not be returned to the employer, but losses attributable thereto must reduce the amount to be so returned.

(e)

Gains from terminations. Any actuarial gains arising from deaths or terminations or from any other source shall not be used to increase the benefits of the remaining participants or beneficiaries entitled to benefits under the plan and trust but shall be used to reduce the contributions of the employer under the plan and trust.

(f)

Return of employee contributions. If a participant or prior plan participant dies, resigns, or otherwise terminates employment without having received or having become eligible to receive a retirement benefit or without having a beneficiary entitled to a retirement benefit, such participant or prior plan participant (or his beneficiary in the event of death) shall be entitled to a refund of the participant's employee contributions made to the plan or a prior plan. A participant may file a written designation with the executive secretary of the plan specifying any person, whether related to him or not, who shall be entitled to receive a refund of such employee contributions in the event of the participant's death. If the participant does not file any such designation, then such refund shall be made to the participant's personal representative. If any participant or prior plan participant begins receiving retirement benefits and dies or otherwise ceases to be eligible for such retirement benefits or his beneficiary ceases to be eligible for such benefits and the total amount paid to such participant or prior plan participant and his beneficiary does not equal the amount of employee contributions made by the participant or prior plan participant, then the excess over the amount paid to such participant, prior plan participant, or his beneficiary shall be refunded to the participant, prior plan participant, his representative or his designee. Refunds of contributions made under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section on or after January 1, 1992, shall bear interest at the rate of four percent compounded annually from the date on which the contributions were made. If any participant shall receive a refund of employee contributions, he shall not be able to claim credit for service for the period of time for which such refund was made unless he shall repay such refund in full, plus interest thereon from date of refund. Such interest shall be at a rate equal to the average rate of return, as determined by the board of trustees, on investment of the trust fund for the fiscal year before the year the election to repay the previously distributed amounts is made.

(g)

Repayment of employee contributions refund. Any individual who receives a refund of employee contributions upon termination of employment, and is reemployed by the employer within six months of the date the refund was made, must repay such refund, plus interest, from the date of the refund. Such refund may be repaid in any number of installments as may be determined by the individual, over a period not to exceed ten years. Interest on repayment of any refund shall be at the rate prescribed for installment payments by section 154-163. No person shall be entitled to receive any retirement benefits under the terms of the plan unless such repayment has been made.

(91-RC-669, § 6.1, 12-18-91; 93-RC-357(#1), §§ 2, 3, 9-15-93; 96-0477, § 2, 8-7-96)