1. (a) On or after July 1, 2025, the Retirement Commission may create a deferred retirement option plan for members of a municipality participating in the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund. Any plan created shall permit members of the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund who are eligible for a service retirement allowance to elect participation in such plan.
2. (b) Any deferred retirement option plan created shall include a fixed period of time for member participation, not to exceed five years, and a specified rate of interest credit for member accounts. All other provisions of the deferred retirement option plan shall be as determined by the Retirement Commission, provided the structure of such plan is certified by the consulting actuary to the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund as having no anticipated impact that would increase the contribution rates for municipalities participating in said fund. Not later than four years after the creation of such plan, the Retirement Commission shall obtain an evaluation of such plan from the consulting actuary and review and assess such evaluation to determine the cost to the fund associated with such plan. After receiving such evaluation, the Retirement Commission may discontinue such plan.

(P.A. 00-73, S. 1, 2; 00-192, S. 98, 102; P.A. 23-182, S. 5; P.A. 24-151, S. 84.)

History: P.A. 00-73 and P.A. 00-192 effective July 1, 2000 (Revisor's note: Sec. 1 of P.A. 00-73 and Sec. 98 of P.A. 00-192 are, for the most part, identical except that P.A. 00-192 includes a provision in Subsec. (a) authorizing the Retirement Commission to “prescribe the manner in which such option plan may be adopted by a municipality participating in the Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund, provided the method of adoption is in accordance with subsection (c) of this section” which is not found in P.A. 00-73, and further differs from P.A. 00-73 in Subsec. (c) in providing for adoption “in a manner prescribed by the Retirement Commission” where P.A. 00-73 provides for adoption “by a majority vote of the local legislative body”. The later act, P.A. 00-192, was deemed by the Revisors to have repealed by implication the conflicting earlier provision enacted in P.A. 00-73); P.A. 23-182 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “July 1, 2000” with “July 1, 2025” and provisions re adoption of deferred retirement option plan by participating municipalities with provisions re offering of such plan to members by such municipalities, amended Subsec. (b) to replace reference to impact on contribution rates with reference to impact that would increase contribution rates, add provisions re evaluation by Retirement Commission of deferred retirement option plan and authorization for commission to discontinue such plan, and make conforming changes, and deleted former Subsec. (c) re municipal adoption of deferred retirement option plan, effective June 27, 2023; P.A. 24-151 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provision re Retirement Commission prescribing manner of offering deferred retirement option plan, effective June 6, 2024.