AI-assisted research summary: The actuary must redirect certain employer contributions into the Rabbi Trust when a member is determined to be an excess benefit participant, and the plan’s funds must not be mixed with other retirement-system or qualified-plan monies.
§2024. Contributions (1) This Excess Benefit Plan shall remain unfunded with respect to any member until the actuary makes a determination that the member will be an excess benefit participant during retirement. Such determination shall be made with respect to the member shortly before or soon after the member's retirement date. (2) Upon a determination that a member will be an excess benefit participant during retirement, the actuary shall redirect employer contributions made under this Chapter into the Rabbi Trust, in an amount necessary to actuarially fund the excess benefit to the excess benefit participant, plus an amount to compensate for expected administrative expenses of the Excess Benefit Plan. Such employer contributions shall be redirected so that they are not deposited into any fund of the retirement system, Parts III, IV and IV-A of this Chapter, Plans A, B or C of this retirement system, but shall be redirected into the Rabbi Trust, the funding vehicle, for this Excess Benefit Plan as provided for in Paragraph (3) of this Section. (3) Funds directed into the Rabbi Trust shall be utilized to pay the excess benefit participant his or her excess benefits. Ownership of the funds in the Rabbi Trust shall be in the employer or employers who employed a member who becomes an excess benefit participant and who is receiving benefits under the Excess Benefit Plan. Funds in the Rabbi Trust shall only be subject to the claims of the general creditors of such employers. Accordingly, if for whatever reason a member ceases to be entitled to excess benefits from this Excess Benefit Plan, the employer or employers which formerly employed the member shall lose ownership in all funds in the Rabbi Trust (unless other former employees of the employer or employers thereafter continue to receive benefits under this plan) and the creditors of such employer or employers will thereafter be unable to exert any claim against the Rabbi Trust on account of such member's prior participation in the plan. Funds attributable to members who cease to be entitled to an excess benefit shall be transferred from the Rabbi Trust and to the retirement system. (4) If the actuary makes a determination that the accumulated amounts in the Rabbi Trust are insufficient to pay the actual excess benefits provided for under this Excess Benefit Plan, the actuary may redirect as necessary additional funds into the Rabbi Trust from the funding sources available to this retirement system. (5) If at any time the actuary makes a determination that the accumulated amounts in the Rabbi Trust are greater than that needed to pay actual excess benefits provided for under this Excess Benefit Plan, the actuary shall reduce redirected contributions into the Rabbi Trust from the funding sources available to this retirement system. (6) Employer contributions made to provide excess benefits pursuant to this Part may not be commingled with the monies of this retirement system or any other qualified plan, nor may this plan ever receive any transfer of assets from any funds of this retirement system, which are to fund any other plan of this retirement system. Acts 2003, No. 194, §1, eff. June 5, 2003.