HB 1165 Summary

• Revises the General Employees' Pension Plan for the City of Tampa by redefining "Salaries or Wages" to include elective deferrals under IRC Sections 125, 403(b), 457, and 132(f)(4), and excluding casual bonuses, unused leave payouts, and severance pay paid after employment ends

• Makes all employee pension contributions mandatory starting January 1, 2005, with the City paying contributions on behalf of employees as tax-deferred "pick-up" contributions under IRC Section 414(h)

• Allows DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program) participants to elect between two investment options for their accounts: either the Fund's net investment performance or a low-risk variable rate selected by the Board of Trustees

• Permits non-spouse beneficiaries to roll over death benefits via direct trustee-to-trustee transfers to inherited IRAs, and establishes a default rollover to an IRA if a member fails to elect a distribution option

• Updates benefit distribution requirements to comply with IRC Section 401(a)(9) and allows after-tax employee contributions to be rolled over to IRAs or qualified plans that separately account for such amounts