Section 895.1114 - Benefits payable under DROP(a)Fixing retirement benefit, retirement date, retirement benefits and DROP dates.--Effective with the date of retirement, which shall be the day before the effective date of DROP participation, the member's monthly, normal retirement benefit under the pension plan, the member's effective date of retirement and the member's effective dates of beginning and terminating employment as a DROP participant shall be fixed.(b)Effective dates.-- (1) A retired member's effective date of participation in a DROP shall begin the day following the effective date of the member's regular retirement.(2) A retired member's participation in a DROP shall end on the last day of the participation period specified in the ordinance establishing the DROP that is in effect on the effective date of the retired member's participation in the DROP.(c)Benefit payments and accruals.--All of the retired member's monthly, normal retirement benefit and interest thereon at the assigned rate shall be credited to the DROP participant's subsidiary DROP participant account in the pension trust fund and a separate accounting of the DROP participant's accrued benefit accumulation under the DROP shall be calculated annually and provided to the DROP participant.(d)Payment.--On the effective date of a DROP participant's termination of employment with the local government as a DROP participant, participation in the DROP shall cease and the retirement system shall calculate and pay to the participant the participant's total accumulated DROP benefits in the DROP participant's subsidiary DROP participant account subject to the following provisions:(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the terminating DROP participant or, if deceased, the participant's survivor as provided by the enabling pension statute applicable to the appropriate class of employees of the municipality or, in lieu thereof, the participant's named beneficiary, shall elect on a form provided by the retirement system to receive payment of the DROP benefits in accordance with one of the following options:(i) The balance in the DROP participant's subsidiary DROP participant account less withholding taxes, if any, remitted to the Internal Revenue Service shall be paid within 45 days by the retirement system from the account to the DROP participant or surviving beneficiary.(ii) The balance in the DROP participant's subsidiary DROP participant account shall be paid within 45 days by the retirement system from the account directly to the custodian of an eligible retirement plan as defined in section 402(c)(8)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 402 (c)(8)(B)), or, in the case of an eligible rollover distribution to the surviving spouse of a deceased DROP participant, an eligible retirement plan that is an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity as described in section 402(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.(2) If the DROP participant or beneficiary fails to elect a method of payment within 60 days after the participant's termination date, the retirement system shall pay the balance as a lump sum as provided in paragraph (1).(3) The form of payment selected by the DROP participant or surviving beneficiary shall comply with the minimum distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.(e)Taxation, attachment and assignment.-- (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), the right of a DROP participant to any benefit or right accrued or accruing under the provisions of this chapter and the moneys in the DROP participant's subsidiary DROP participant account are exempt from any State or municipal tax, levy and sale, garnishment, attachment, spouse's election or any other process whatsoever.(2) Rights under this chapter shall be subject to forfeiture as provided by the act of July 8, 1978 (P.L. 752, No. 140), known as the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act. Forfeitures under this subsection or under any other provision of law may not be applied to increase the benefits that any DROP participant otherwise would receive under this chapter.(3) Rights under this chapter shall be subject to attachment in favor of an alternate payee as set forth in a qualified domestic relations order.(4)(i) Under subsection (d)(1)(ii), a distributee may elect to have an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to an eligible retirement plan by way of a direct rollover.(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, a "distributee" includes a DROP participant, a DROP participant's survivor as provided by the enabling pension statute applicable to the appropriate class of employees of the municipality or, in lieu thereof, the participant's designated beneficiary and a DROP participant's former spouse who is an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order.(iii) For purposes of this paragraph, "eligible rollover distribution" has the meaning given the term by section 402(f)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that a qualified trust shall be considered an eligible retirement plan only if it accepts the distributee's eligible rollover distribution and, in the case of an eligible rollover distribution to a surviving spouse, an eligible retirement plan is an "individual retirement account" or an "individual retirement annuity" as those terms are defined in section 408(a) and (b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.(f)Disability.--If a DROP participant becomes eligible for a disability pension benefit and terminates employment, the monthly normal retirement benefit of the DROP participant shall terminate.(g)Eligibility.--Except for those benefits specified under section 1113(b)(2)(ii) as forgone by the member, a DROP participant shall be eligible for any employee benefits provided to active employees before retirement as set forth in the ordinance instituting the DROP.(h)Eligibility for other benefits.--A DROP participant shall be eligible for all preretirement benefits for employees otherwise provided by law including, but not limited to, benefits under:(1) the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L. 736, No. 338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act;(2) the act of June 28, 1935 (P.L. 477, No. 193), referred to as the Enforcement Officer Disability Benefits Law;(3) the act of December 5, 1936 (2nd Sp.Sess., 1937 P.L. 2897, No. 1), known as the Unemployment Compensation Law; (4) the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L. 424, No. 101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act; and(5) the Public Safety Officers' Benefit Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-430, 42 U.S.C. § 90 Stat. 1347). 1984, Dec. 18, P.L. 1005, No. 205, § 1114, added 2009, Sept. 18, P.L. 396, No. 44, § 19, imd. effective.