Plan Document
pdf Download the latest Plan Document (650 KB)
Summary Plan Description (SPD) - Booklets
pdf Download the latest SPD - Fire (623 KB)
pdf Download the latest SPD - Police (501 KB)
Summary Plan Provisions - Base Plan
| FEATURE | CONDITIONS |
| Participation | automatic and mandatory upon appointment and enrollment as a firefighter or as a police officer of the City of El Paso |
| Contribution | automatic payroll deduction of 18% of wages for firefighters |
| automatic payroll deduction of 18% of wages for police officers | |
| Service Retirement | upon the completion of 20 or more years of Vesting Service and age 45 or more |
| Early Retirement | upon the completion of 20 years of Vesting Service but not yet 45 with Early Retirement Reduction Factor |
| Disability Retirement | incapacitating disability as determined by the Board |
| Deferred Retirement | upon completion of 10 years but less than 20 of Vesting Service and age 50 or more |
| Refund of Contributions | former member with five or more years of Vesting Service may be refunded previous employee contributions and forfeit rights to a pension benefit |
| Credited Service | period of time during which a Member contributes to the Fund |
| Vesting Service | generally means the period of Credited Service plus qualified military and other service under the plan |
| Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) | 3 percent increase of retirement benefits (except Deferred Retirement) beginning at the earlier of at least age 60 or 5 years on the anniversary of retirement for firefighters or 2 years on the anniversary of retirement for police officers and each and every January 1st thereafter |
Optional Program
Forward Deferred Retirement Option Program (Forward DROP)
Summary Plan Provisions - Second-Tier Plan
| FEATURE | CONDITIONS |
| Participation | automatic and mandatory upon appointment and enrollment as a firefighter or as a police officer of the City of El Paso |
| Contribution | automatic payroll deduction of 18% of wages for firefighters |
| automatic payroll deduction of 18% of wages for police officers | |
| Service Retirement | upon the completion of 20 or more years of Vesting Service and age 45 or more |
| Early Retirement | upon the completion of 20 years of Vesting Service but not yet 45 with Early Retirement Reduction Factor |
| Disability Retirement | incapacitating disability as determined by the Board |
| Deferred Retirement | upon completion of 10 years but less than 20 of Vesting Service and age 50 or more |
| Refund of Contributions | former member with five or more years of Vesting Service may be refunded previous employee contributions and forfeit rights to a pension benefit |
| Credited Service | period of time during which a Member contributes to the Fund |
| Vesting Service | generally means the period of Credited Service plus qualified military and other service under the plan |
Optional Program
Forward Deferred Retirement Option Program (Forward DROP)
Survivors/Beneficiaries
Death benefits are available for the qualified spouse, qualified child(ren), or beneficiary of an active member. To be considered a qualified spouse of an active member, the widow or widower must have been married to the member prior to his/her death. To be considered a qualified child(ren) of an active member, the surviving unmarried dependent must meet one of the following requirements:
- The surviving unmarried dependent must be under the age of nineteen (19).
- Between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three, the surviving unmarried dependent must be enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited university, technical or trade school approved by the Board.
- The surviving unmarried dependent of any age must be deemed physically disabled and non-self supporting by the Board of Trustees or declared mentally incompetent by a court of of competent jurisdiction for as long as the incompetence or disability exists.
If a deceased retired member does not have a qualified spouse or child(ren), a death benefit may be paid to the deceased member's beneficiary. For your convenience, please use this Change of Beneficiary Designation Form.
pdf Beneficiary Designation Form (212 KB)
A qualified child(ren) who meets requirement two (2) above, will need to provide the Fund with required documentation both before his/her semester/quarter of attendance and at the completion of the semester/quarter. The following forms are provided for you to download and submit to the Fund at the appropriate time.
pdf
Statement of Enrollment Form
(190 KB)
pdf
Student Request for Board Approval
(130 KB)
pdf
Marital Status Form
(190 KB)
Please refer to the Student Brochure for information on this process.
pdf
Student Brochure
(789 KB)
Domestic Relations Order (DRO)
A DRO is a judgment, decree or order for a retirement plan to pay child support, alimony or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a participant. A DRO becomes a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) once it has been reviewed and approved for "qualified" status by the Fund. The Fund has provided a Model QDRO that should be followed in order for the DRO to be deemed as "qualified" or approved for payment. Unless a court enters a DRO that the Fund determines is "qualified", the Fund cannot make a direct payment to the alternate payee, even though the court may award an interest in benefits to the non-participant. You can find the Model QDRO below.
Notify the Fund
When you receive a DRO signed by the court, it is important to notify the Fund as soon as possible. Failure to report this information to the Fund can delay and even postpone your retirement until the order is reviewed by the Fund for "qualified" status. Because the process to qualify a DRO with the Fund can take from thirty (30) to sixty (60) days, it is important not to wait until your decision to retire to advise the Fund of a DRO for evaluation. The DRO evaluation process needs to be completed before a pension benefit can be paid.
You will need to provide the fund with a certified copy of the DRO from the court. This can be obtained from the clerk of the court that granted the Order. The Fund will not accept a copy of the DRO or a copy of a certified copy of the DRO.