Iowa Code § 411.5 - Administration

1. Board. The general responsibility for the establishment and proper operation of the retirement system is vested in the board of trustees created by section 411.36. The system shall be administered under the direction of the board. 2. Compensation. The trustees, other than the secretary, shall serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed from the fire and police retirement fund for all necessary expenses which they may incur through service on the board, as provided pursuant to section 411.36. 3. Rules. Subject to the limitations of this chapter, the board of trustees shall adopt rules for the establishment and administration of the system and the fire and police retirement fund created by this chapter, and for the transaction of its business. 4. Organization — employees. The board of trustees shall elect from its membership a chairperson, and shall, by majority vote of its members, appoint a secretary who may, but need not, be one of its members. The system shall engage such actuarial and other services as are required to transact the business of the retirement system. The compensation of all persons engaged by the system and all other expenses of the board of trustees necessary for the operation of the retirement system shall be paid at such rates and in such amounts as the board of trustees approves. 5. Data. The system shall keep in convenient form such data as is necessary for actuarial valuation of the fire and police retirement fund and for checking the experience of the retirement system. 6. Records — reports. a. The board of trustees shall keep a record of all its proceedings, which record shall be open to public inspection. It shall submit an annual report to the governor, the general assembly, and the city council of each participating city concerning the financial condition of the retirement system, its current and future liabilities, and the actuarial valuation of the system. The board of trustees shall submit a certified audit report prepared by a certified public accountant to the auditor of state annually. The system shall comply with the filing fee requirement of section 11.6, subsection 10. b. (1) The system shall maintain records, including but not limited to names, addresses, ages, and lengths of service, salaries and wages, contributions, designated beneficiaries, benefit amounts, if applicable, and other information pertaining to members as necessary in the administration of this chapter, as well as the names, addresses, and benefit amounts of beneficiaries. For the purpose of obtaining these facts, the system shall have access to the records of the participating cities and the cities shall provide such information upon request. (2) The following records maintained under this chapter are not public records for the purposes of chapter 22: (a) Records containing social security numbers. (b) Records specifying amounts accumulated in members’ accounts and supplemental accounts. (c) Records containing names or addresses of members or their beneficiaries. (d) Records containing amounts of payments to members or their beneficiaries. (e) Records containing financial or commercial information that relates to the investment of retirement system funds if the disclosure of such information could result in a loss to the retirement system or to the provider of the information. (3) Summary information concerning the demographics of the members and general statistical information concerning the system is subject to chapter 22, as well as aggregate information by category. c. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 22 to the contrary, the system’s records may be released to any political subdivision, instrumentality, or agency of the state solely for use in a civil or criminal law enforcement activity pursuant to the requirements of this paragraph. To obtain the records, the political subdivision, instrumentality, or agency of the state shall, in writing, certify to the system that the activity is authorized by law, provide a written description of the information desired, and describe the law enforcement activity for which the information is sought. The system shall not be civilly or criminally liable for the release of records in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph. 7. Legal advisor. The system may employ or retain an attorney to serve as the system’s legal advisor and to represent the system. The costs of an attorney employed or retained by the system shall be paid from the fire and police retirement fund created in section 411.8. 8. Medical board. The board of trustees shall designate a single medical provider network as the medical board for the system. The medical board shall arrange for and pass upon all medical examinations required under the provisions of chapter 400 and this chapter and shall assist the system in all aspects of the comprehensive disability program described in section 411.1A. For examinations required because of disability, a physician from the medical board specializing in occupational medicine, and a second physician specializing in an appropriate field of medicine as determined by the occupational medicine physician, shall pass upon the medical examinations required for disability retirements and shall report to the system in writing their conclusions and recommendations upon all matters referred to the medical board. Each report of a medical examination under section 411.6, subsections 3 and 5, shall include the medical board’s findings in accordance with section 411.6 as to the extent of the member’s physical impairment. 9. Duties of actuary. a. The actuary shall be the technical advisor of the system on matters regarding the operation of the fire and police retirement fund and shall perform such other duties as are required in connection with the operation of the system. b. The actuary shall make such investigation of anticipated interest earnings and of the mortality, service, and compensation experience of the members of the system as the actuary recommends, and on the basis of the investigation the system shall adopt such tables and such rates as are required in subsection 11. 10. Actuarial investigation — tables — rates. At least once in each five-year period, the actuary shall make an actuarial investigation into the mortality, service, and compensation experience of the members and beneficiaries of the retirement system, and the interest and other earnings on the moneys and other assets of the retirement system, and shall make a valuation of the assets and liabilities of the fire and police retirement fund, and on the basis of the results of the investigation and valuation, the system shall adopt for the retirement system such actuarial methods and assumptions, interest rate, and mortality and other tables as are deemed necessary to conduct the annual actuarial valuation of the system. 11. Annual actuarial valuation. a. On the basis of the actuarial methods and assumptions, rate of interest and tables adopted, the actuary shall make an annual valuation of the assets and liabilities of the fire and police retirement fund created by this chapter. As a result of the annual actuarial valuation, the system shall do all of the following: (1) Certify the rates of contribution payable by the cities in accordance with section 411.8. (2) Certify the rates of contributions payable by the members in accordance with section 411.8. b. Effective with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008, the annual actuarial valuation required to be conducted shall include information as required by section 97D.5. 12. Requirements related to the Internal Revenue Code. a. As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise requires, “Internal Revenue Code” means the federal Internal Revenue Code as defined in section 422.3. b. The fund established in section 411.8 shall be held in trust for the benefit of the members of the system and the members’ beneficiaries. No part of the corpus or income of the fund shall be used for, or diverted to, purposes other than for the exclusive benefit of the members or the members’ beneficiaries or for expenses incurred in the operation of the fund. A person shall not have any interest in, or right to, any part of the corpus or income of the fund except as otherwise expressly provided. c. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, in the event of a complete discontinuance of contributions, for reasons other than achieving fully funded status upon an actuarially determined basis, or upon termination of the fund established in section 411.8, a member shall be vested, to the extent then funded, in the benefits which the member has accrued at the date of the discontinuance or termination. d. Benefits payable from the fund established in section 411.8 to members and members’ beneficiaries shall not be increased due to forfeitures from other members. Forfeitures shall be used as soon as possible to reduce future contributions by the cities to the fund, except that the rate shall not be less than the minimum rate established in section 411.8. e. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, all benefits under this chapter shall commence no later than the required beginning date specified under section 401(a)(9) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and shall comply with the required minimum distribution provisions of that section. f. The maximum annual benefit payable to a member by the system shall be subject to the limitations set forth in section 415 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and any regulations promulgated pursuant to that section. g. The annual compensation of a member taken in account for any purpose under this chapter shall not exceed the applicable amount set forth in section 401(a)(17) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, and any regulations promulgated pursuant to that section. 13. Voluntary benefit programs. The board of trustees shall be responsible for the administration of the voluntary benefit programs established under section 411.40. The board may take any necessary action, including the adoption of rules, for purposes of administering the programs. 14. Medical records. A physician or surgeon, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or mental health professional who provides records to the system in connection with the application by a member for disability retirement under this chapter shall be entitled to charge a fee for production of the records. The fee for copies of any records shall not exceed the reasonable cost of production. 15. Closed sessions. In addition to the reasons provided in section 21.5, subsection 1, the board may hold a closed session pursuant to the requirements of section 21.5 of that portion of a board meeting in which financial or commercial information is provided to or discussed by the board if the board determines that disclosure of such information could result in a loss to the retirement system or to the provider of the information. 16. Benefits and financing review. At least every two years, the board shall review the benefits and finances provided under this chapter. The board shall make recommendations to the general assembly concerning this review, which shall include recommendations concerning the long-term financing and benefits policy of the system. [C35, §6326-f5; C39, §6326.07; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §411.5; 82 Acts, ch 1261, §28, 29] 83 Acts, ch 101, §84; 86 Acts, ch 1203, §1, 2; 90 Acts, ch 1240, §52; 92 Acts, ch 1201, §63; 93 Acts, ch 44, §16, 17; 94 Acts, ch 1183, §67, 68; 96 Acts, ch 1187, §100; 2000 Acts, ch 1077, §93, 94, 111; 2001 Acts, ch 176, §17, 18; 2004 Acts, ch 1103, §64; 2006 Acts, ch 1092, §11, 12; 2008 Acts, ch 1171, §50; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §160; 2010 Acts, ch 1167, §44; 2013 Acts, ch 20, §4; 2022 Acts, ch 1046, §1, 2 Referred to in §400.8, 400.8A, 411.1, 411.6A, 411.8, 411.22, 411.30