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| These frequently asked questions are intended for informational purposes only.
While the Fund attempts to update these questions frequently, you should not rely solely on these responses.
Each situation poses different facts that may result in different responses.
You should review the specific provisions of the legislation or call the Fund office
if you have any questions regarding its operations or benefits. |
THE LEGISLATIVE STATUTE, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE, PROVIDES DEFINITIVE REGULATIONS THAT
GOVERN ALL BENEFITS AND TAKES PRIORITY OVER THESE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
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Membership | Q1.What is included in Total Salary?| Ans: | Total Salary means all salary except overtime pay, field- training officer’s pay, bomb squad pay, SWAT team pay, K-9 pay, and hostage team pay. Also remember, pay for unused accrued vacation and sick leave, holiday pay, compensatory time pay, and bonus days leave, or any similar items of compensation that may be paid in the future, are excluded from Total Salary. |
| Q2.I am a reservist in the military and was called to active duty. What must I do when I return to get my military time credited toward my pension?| Ans: | Not later than the 90th day after you are reinstated, you must file a written statement with the Fund of your intent to pay an amount equal to what you would have contributed had you remained on active status in the department. You will then be given three times the amount of time you were absent to pay in full such amount (five year maximum). |
| Q3.There was a recent State Constitutional Amendment passed that addressed funding of pensions, but I noticed the San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund was bracketed out. Why were we excluded and is my pension safe?| Ans: | Under Section 4.06 of your pension law, it states that a municipality (City of San Antonio) shall pay the deficiency between the amount available to pay benefits and the amount required to pay those benefits. Because this provision already was written into our law, the Fund already has the necessary protection to guarantee your pension. Most public pension funds throughout the state did not have this language in their respective laws and therefore were included in the Constitutional Amendment. |
| Q4.My father passed away and left a family-owned business for me to run. If I resign, take my refund, and later decide to come back to the department, can I repurchase my service credit?| Ans: | Yes, but you will be required to pay a lump sum equal to your refund, plus interest. |
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Members Benefits | Q1.If I retire and take a four-year backDROP, my retirement annuity is calculated using a retirement date four-years in the past. If that is the case, will I automatically receive four years of COLA’s that the retirees received over those four years?| Ans: | No. The Cost of Living increase is given based on your actual retirement date. If you take a backDROP, your actual retirement date has not changed. The pension law states “for purposes of computing the monthly pension…”. As you can see, for computing your original monthly annuity, your retirement date will be adjusted, but that is only for computing your annuity, not making a permanent change to your retirement date. |
| Q2.If I receive a disability pension, is my annuity taxed?| Ans: | The Fire and Police Pension Fund can only determine if you meet the statutory requirements of disability. This is called “Occupational Disability”. IRS regulations state that to be exempt from taxes, you must be permanently disabled from any gainful employment. The Pension Fund cannot certify that you are permanently disabled. To obtain a copy of IRS Form 5329, please contact the IRS. |
| Q3.What is the possibility of receiving a 13th check next November?| Ans: | This is a difficult question to answer because it is determined by investment returns which are hard to predict. A 13th check may be awarded if the preceding 5 year average investment return exceeds 9.0%. The proceeding 4-year returns have been +16.0%, +12.1%, +14.0% and +10.1%. In order to have an average 5 year return of 9.0%, we would need an investment return this year of -7.2%. |
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Beneficiary's Benefits | Q1.I understand the maximum annuity my surviving spouse can receive is equal to a 27-year pension. Knowing that my spouse’s expenses will not fall if I die, has the Board considered increasing this provision to equal what I receive currently?| Ans: | This issue is continually being addressed by the Board. As legislative proposals are reviewed every two years, this issue will be seriously considered if there are funds to support such benefit increases. |
| Q2.I am a member of the Fund, and so is my spouse. I heard that I am only allowed to receive one pension from the Fund, is that correct?| Ans: | No. That is not correct. A member of the Fund has the same right to receive benefits as a beneficiary if the member’s spouse is a member of the Fund. As such, it is possible for you to receive a service pension and also a widow’s pension. The confusion may stem from the fact that a person may only receive one widow’s pension. In other words, if you were married to more than one deceased member, you would not be allowed to collect two widow’s pensions. You would only receive the annuity that provides the highest benefit. |
| Q3.I understand that if I am divorced when I retire, it is my responsibility to ensure my former spouse receives their portion of my pension as was set out in the divorce decree. My question is, how are the taxes on the annuity handled?| Ans: | By law you are only required to pay taxes on the portion of the benefits actually received by you. However, because the entire amount of the annuity is issued in your name, the Pension Fund is required to issue its 1099-R to you and to the IRS reflecting that fact. In order to properly document that your former spouse received a portion of those benefits, your CPA might recommend that you issue a separate 1099-R prior to January 31 each year to your former spouse and to the IRS reflecting the amount of benefits paid to him or her during the previous year. We strongly recommend that you consult with your CPA in a timely manner to make sure this is properly handled. |
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