Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2024 – Contributions
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2024
- actuary: means the actuary for this retirement system. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2022
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Employer: means any parish in the state of Louisiana, except Orleans and East Baton Rouge Parishes, or the police jury or any other governing body of a parish which employs and pays persons serving the parish. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1902
- Excess benefit: means the difference in the monthly benefit between the unrestricted benefit and the maximum benefit computed under this Chapter 5. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2022
- Excess benefit participant: means any member whose retirement benefit as determined on the basis of all qualified plans of the employer without regard to the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States, as amended, and as set forth in the rules and regulations of this retirement system, would exceed the maximum benefit permitted under Section 415 of the United States Internal Revenue Code. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2022
- Member: means a contributing employee who is covered under the provisions of this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1902
- Rabbi Trust: means the trust created under this Part of Chapter 5 to provide the excess benefits under this plan to excess benefit participants. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:2022
- retirement system: means the Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana, established as of January 1, 1953, defined in Chapter 5, Title 11 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, and as subsequently amended. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 11:1902
(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.