Senate Bill No. 273 Summary

• Establishes the St. Louis Firemen's Retirement System as a qualified governmental plan under federal law, with benefits and conditions interpreted to meet federal qualification requirements.

• Adds "entry age normal funding method" to the system's definitions, under which the actuarial present value of each active member's projected pension and death benefit is allocated as a level percentage of earnings between entry age and assumed exit age.

• Effective October 1, 2011, requires annual actuarial valuations using the entry age normal funding method to calculate city contributions consisting of normal contribution and accrued liability contribution.

• Establishes a 30-year amortization period for unfunded actuarial accrued liability beginning October 1, 2011, with future increases or decreases from statutory changes amortized over 30-year periods starting from the effective date of those changes.

• Eliminates accrued liability contribution requirement in years when accumulated reserves equal or exceed the actuarial accrued liability, with the city required to continue paying the normal contribution in full during such years.