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NOTE 7 — DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN — STATE-WIDE A. Plan Description The City participates in the following cost -sharing, multiple -employer defined benefit pension plan administered by the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) of Minnesota. The PERA's defined benefit pension plan is established and administered in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 353 and 356. The PERA's defined benefit pension plan is a tax qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the IRC. General Employees Retirement Fund (GERF) All full-time and certain part-time employees of the City are covered by the GERF. The GERF members belong to the Coordinated Plan. Coordinated Plan members are covered by Social Security. B. Benefits Provided The PERA provides retirement, disability, and death benefits. Benefit provisions are established by state statutes and can only be modified by the State Legislature. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits, but are not receiving them yet, are bound by the provisions in effect at the time they last terminated their public service. GERF Benefits Benefits are based on a member's highest average salary for any five successive years of allowable service, age, and years of credit at termination of service. Two methods are used to compute benefits for the PERA's Coordinated Plan members. Members hired prior to July 1, 1989, receive the higher of Method 1 or Method 2 formulas. Only Method 2 is used for members hired after June 30, 1989. Under Method 1, the accrual rate for Coordinated Plan members is 1.2 percent for each of the first 10 years of service, and 1.7 percent for each additional year. Under Method 2, the accrual rate for Coordinated Plan members is 1.7 percent for all years of service. For members hired prior to July 1, 1989, a full annuity is available when age plus years of service equal 90, and normal retirement age is 65. For members hired on or after July 1, 1989, normal retirement age is the age for unreduced Social Security benefits capped at age 66. Benefit increases are provided to benefit recipients each January. The post -retirement increase is equal to 50.0 percent of the cost of living adjustment (COLA) announced by the Social Security Administration, with a minimum increase of at least 1.0 percent and a maximum of 1.5 percent. Recipients that have been receiving the annuity or benefit for at least a full year as of the June 30 before the effective date of the increase, will receive the full increase. Recipients receiving the annuity or benefit for at least one month, but less than a full year as of the June 30 before the effective date of the increase, will receive a reduced prorated increase. In 2023, legislation repealed the statute delaying increases for members retiring before full retirement age. In 2023, the Legislature allocated funding for a one-time lump -sum payment to the General Employee benefit recipients. Eligibility criteria and the payment amount is specified in statute. The one-time payment is noncompounding towards future benefits. Qc1:2