Plan Document

  pdf Download the latest Plan Document (650 KB)

Retirement Reminders

The following is provided as helpful information to use during your retirement years:

Address Change: Please notify the El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund of your address changes as they occur.  Yearly tax information, publication updates, important notices, and other Fund mailings require that you have a valid mailing address on file with our office. Please use this Change of Address form and return it to our office.

pdf Change of Address (209 KB)

Direct Deposit: The El Paso Firemen & Policemen’s Pension Fund sends benefit payments on the last business day of each month.  Pension payments sent via the postal service may take up to an additional 7 to 10 days to reach you.  Therefore, the Fund encourages all benefit recipients to opt for direct deposit of pension payments.  You may utilize this Direct Deposit form to initiate or make changes to your monthly pension deposit instruction.

pdf Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization (201 KB)

Taxes: As your financial situation changes through your retirement years, you may need to make adjustments to the amount of your withholding allowances.  To make changes to your withholding allowances please complete a W-4P and return this form to our office.

  pdf Form W-4P Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments (154 KB)

Return to Work: Should you decide to return to work for the City of El Paso with the same Fund division for which you are receiving a pension (fire or police), please note that upon re-employment, your pension will be suspended until you re-retire.  If you return to work for a different Fund division or another employer, your pension will continue to be paid

Death Benefits: Although we wish you a long and happy retirement, in the event that you should die, survivor benefits are available for your surviving spouse and children, provided they are qualified.  If you have no qualified surviving spouse or children, your designated beneficiaries may qualify for a lump-sum payment.  For an explanation of who may qualify, please refer to the Summary Plan Description  for your Fund division and/or contact a Benefits Specialist with our office

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 link to the Model QDRO below.

  pdf  Model Qualified Domestic Relations Order (706 KB)

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.

Survivors/Beneficiaries

Death benefits are available for the qualified spouse or qualified child(ren) of a retired member.  To be considered a qualified spouse of a deceased retired member, the widow or widower must have been married to the retiree for at least two (2) years prior to his/her death.  To be considered a qualified child(ren) of a deceased retired 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 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
(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)

Pension Mailing Calendar