742-5-03. Contributing service credit

(A) As used in ths rule:

(1) "Contributing service credit" means service credit earned by a member of the police and fire pension fund ("OP&F") as a result of OP&F receiving employee contributions on salary of that member, as required under section 742.31 of the Revised Code, for full-time contributing service rendered by an OP&F member to a covered employer.

(2) Except as provided in this rule, "full-time contributing service credit" means either of the following:

(a) For a standard forty-hour work week, a member has been compensated for working (including paid leave) a minimum of thirty-seven and a half hours for each week in any normal monthly payroll reporting period; or

(b) For a platoon system (i.e., twenty-four hours then followed by forty-eight hours off), a member has been compensated for working (including paid leave) a minimum of forty-five hours for each week included in any normal monthly payroll reporting period.

(3) "Partial contributing service credit" means prorated service credit allowed for members determined by OP&F to be full-time whose hours of service for each week included in any normal monthly payroll reporting period temporarily falls below "full-time contributing service credit," as defined in paragraph (A)(2) of this rule.

For partial contributing service credit, OP&F shall prorate the service credit by dividing the hours compensated by the regularly reported hours for the monthly payroll reporting period.

(4) "Furlough" means a temporary unpaid leave of absence that occurs between March 9, 2020 and June 30, 2021, which results in a member being paid less than the standard hours set forth in paragraph (A)(2) of this rule.

(B) Not more than twelve months of contributing service credit can be allowed in a calendar year.

(C) Notwithstanding this rule, no person shall be allowed contributing service credit before the date the person becomes a member of OP&F or after the member's effective date of termination or retirement.

(D) In the event of a furlough, the employer shall notify OP&F in writing of the planned furlough, the number of hours members will work, and the duration of the furlough not to exceed six total months in the period. A member shall receive up to a maximum of six months of full-time contributing service credit during the furlough period March 9, 2020 to June 30, 2021, as long as the member is compensated as follows:

(1) If an employer has less than two hundred OP&F members, OP&F will accept a minimum of thirty-two hours out of a standard forty-hour work week or, for a platoon system, thirty-eight hours out of forty-eight hours a week, for each week included in a normal payroll reporting period.

(2) If an employer has two hundred or more OP&F members, the minimum number of hours necessary for full-time contributing service credit will be determined on an ad hoc basis based on the actuarial impact to OP&F.

Replaces: 742-5-03

Effective: 9/11/2020
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 06/25/2025
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 742.10
Rule Amplifies: 742.31, 742.32
Prior Effective Dates: 04/25/1997, 11/18/1999 (Emer.), 02/05/2000, 11/23/2000, 04/28/2006, 05/27/2008 (Emer.), 07/24/2008, 09/26/2013, 06/19/2020 (Emer.)