NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 884

HOUSE BILL 792

 

 

AN ACT RELATING TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY AND THE POWERS OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF NEW HANOVER COUNTY WITH RESPECT TO RETIREMENT SYSTEMS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. The Board of County Commissioners of New Hanover County is hereby authorized, in its discretion, but not required, to treat the provisions of Section 1 of Chapter 602 of the Session Laws of 1957 as discretionary and not mandatory, and to proceed to act in all respects as if said Section had been repealed.

Sec. 2. The Board of Trustees for the Retirement System of New Hanover County, North Carolina, created by Chapter 669 of the Session Laws of 1943, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, is hereby granted the same power and latitude in investing funds of the Retirement System of New Hanover County as are granted, or as may from time to time be granted, to the Board of Trustees of the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System with respect to investment of funds under Article 3 of Chapter 128 of the General Statutes.

Sec. 3. (a)  The Board of County Commissioners of New Hanover County is hereby authorized, in its discretion, subject to the conditions hereinafter set out, to establish by ordinance a retirement or pension fund, to be known as the New Hanover County Employees' Retirement Fund, to provide for the payment of benefits to employee members of said fund, or to their beneficiaries, in the following cases:

(1)       Retirement, because of age;

(2)       Disability;

(3)       Death.

(b)        Membership shall include such officers and employees of the County as shall be designated in the ordinance.

Such retirement system or fund shall not be made applicable to employees unless such applicability is approved by a majority of the employees. In order to be eligible within the meaning of this Section, an employee must not belong to any other New Hanover County retirement or pension system or fund, but this does not prevent employees from with­drawing from other New Hanover County systems or funds in order to participate in the fund provided for by this Section. The county shall contribute to the fund in such amounts as shall be stated in the ordinance, in order to meet the liabilities accruing against such fund because of personal services rendered to the county by the members after the establishment of such fund; provided, however, that the ordinance may also provide benefits which are based, partly or entirely, upon personal services rendered to the county prior to the establishment of the fund, and the county may contribute the entire cost of benefits based on any such prior service. The ordinance may provide that employees who are members of the fund shall share in the cost of financing the same, upon terms provided in the ordinance. The expense of administering the fund shall be paid as provided in the ordinance, and the Board of County Commissioners shall appropriate each year sufficient revenue to provide for the expense of the administration.

(c)       The New Hanover County Employees' Retirement Fund shall be maintained on a solvent actuarial reserve basis for all benefits beginning at the inauguration date of the fund, excepting the present value of benefits based on prior service.

(d)       The contribution required to cover the cost of benefits based on prior service, if any, shall be sufficient to fund the liability for such prior service in not more than forty years from the date of establishment of the fund.

(e)       The ordinance may provide for the appointment or election of a retirement board or board of trustees, and for the delegation to such board of such powers and duties as may be deemed necessary to carry out the intent and purpose for which the fund is established. If such a retirement board or board of trustees is provided for by ordinance, the said board shall consist of a member or members of the Board of County Commissioners, an employee or employees entitled to participate in the fund, and one or more citizens of the county not officially connected with the county nor entitled to participate in the fund.

(f)        The county may provide for the payment of one or more of the benefits enumerated in subsection (a) of this Section by contracting with the governing body of any other municipality or municipalities in the State, with the United States government or any of its agencies or departments, with the State of North Carolina or any of its agencies or departments, or may contract with any insurance company or other corporation for the performance of any service in connection with the establishment of such fund, or for the investment, care, or administration of such fund, or for any other service relating thereto.

The county, or any other governing body, agency, insurance company, person, or corporation contracting with the county for the investment, care or administration of said fund may invest and reinvest the funds constituting the said fund in one or more of the types of securities or other investments authorized by Section 58-79 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and by other State law, for the investment of assets of domestic life insurance companies.

(g)       Nothing in this Section shall be construed so as to prohibit New Hanover County from providing or continuing to provide Old Age and Survivors' Insurance, or Social Security coverage, for its officers and employees as the same may be authorized by Federal and State laws, either separately, or in addition to the fund authorized herein or any other retirement or pension plan or fund authorized by general law or local act.

Sec. 4. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 5. This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of June, 1965.