Printable Format19-4484. Disability and retirement benefits for agency officers and employees; credited service; officers transferring to agency from police or sheriff's department, rights. (a) Any county law enforcement agency established under the provisions of this act is hereby declared to be an "eligible employer," as defined by subsection (3) of K.S.A. 74-4952 for the purpose of affiliating with the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system established under the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4951 et seq., and amendments thereto. Any such agency shall make application for affiliation with such system in the manner provided by K.S.A. 74-4954 to be effective on the first day of January next following the qualification for office of the first members of the board. Such application shall cover all county law enforcement officers.
(b) Law enforcement officers appointed under the provisions of this act are hereby declared to be "policemen" as defined by subsection (12) of K.S.A. 74-4952 for the purpose of participating in the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system, and every person who shall be appointed a law enforcement officer on or after the entry date of such agency shall become a member of such retirement system on the date of such person's appointment.
(c) For the purpose of determining and computing retirement benefits and death and disability benefits computed upon the basis of "credited service" of law enforcement officers appointed under the provisions of this act, the term "credited service," as used in K.S.A. 74-4951 et seq., shall mean and include only "participating service" with the agency, except that continuous prior service of any officer with the city police department or county sheriff's department from which such officer transferred at the time of the establishment of the department shall for officers serving with the department upon the entry date of the agency, be considered and included in determining if the death or disability of such officer was "service connected" under the provisions of subsection (10) of K.S.A. 74-4952 and for the purpose of determining the eligibility of such officer for nonservice connected death and disability benefits under the provisions of subsection (2) of K.S.A. 74-4959 and subsection (2) of K.S.A. 74-4960.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4957 and 74-4963, all service of any officer with a city police department or county sheriff's department, prior to becoming a member of the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system, shall be included and counted together with credited participating service for the meeting of requirements for completion of years of service fixed under the provisions of such sections, except that no such service shall be considered "credited service" for the purpose of computing years of service if such officer shall have withdrawn his or her contributions from any pension or retirement system established under the provisions of K.S.A. 14-10a01 et seq., and amendments thereto, or 74-4901 et seq., and amendments thereto. If any officer shall elect to leave his or her contribution for credited service, under the provisions of K.S.A. 14-10a01 et seq., and amendments thereto, or 74-4901 et seq., and amendments thereto, on deposit with such system, he or she shall be granted a vested retirement benefit in such system and all credited participating service in the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system shall be included and counted together with such prior vested service in fulfilling the requirement of years of service for retirement benefits under such pension and retirement systems.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4965 and 74-4966, the employee contribution and the benefits payable to members of the system appointed under the provisions of this act, shall not be reduced by the amount of the contributions to or benefits received by such members from social security.
(f) Any officer transferring from a city police department or sheriff's department of such county and becoming a member of the system on the "entry date" of the agency shall be considered a transferring member and shall have the rights and benefits granted under the provisions of subsection (3) of K.S.A. 74-4957 and subsection (3) of K.S.A. 74-4958.
History: L. 1974, ch. 130, § 17; L. 1975, ch. 173, § 2; L. 1979, ch. 76, § 3; April 20.