§ 18-572. Retirement.

(a)

As provided in C.R.S., section 31-30.5-604, any member who has served at least twenty-five (25) years of active duty and has attained the age of fifty (50) years shall be eligible to retire, and the member shall be retired within thirty (30) days after making application for retirement, except during periods of national emergency. Upon retirement, the member shall receive a monthly pension of fifty (50) percent of salary, which shall be increased under the terms and conditions of subsections 18-572(b), 18-572(c), and 18-573. Any member of said fire department who is otherwise eligible for retirement shall be separated from said fire department upon reaching his or her sixty-fifth birthday.

(b)

The retirement benefit of subsection 18-572(a) shall be increased by an additional 0.3333 percent for each full month of active service after the eligibility date is reached, provided each full month of service occurs after July 1, 1992. In no case shall the total benefit exceed seventy-four (74) percent of salary.

(c)

To the extent a member has worked more than twenty-five (25) years after reaching age fifty (50) during the period from February 1, 1986, but on or before July 1, 1992, then for those years the member shall be entitled to an additional two (2) percent per year for each full year of service worked after completion of twenty-five (25) years of active service and reaching age fifty (50). This two (2) percent per year amount is in addition to the retirement benefit of subsection 18-572(a). The 74 percent maximum shall apply to these members; in no case shall the total benefit exceed 74 percent of salary.

(d)

Members, who retired or will retire as part of the City and County of Denver, Old Hire Fire Plan, whose status was active on October 2, 1998, and who were hired prior to age twenty-five (25), shall have the retirement benefit of subsection 18-572(a) increased by an additional 0.3333 percent, for each full month of active service beyond the member's twenty-five (25) years of service excluding any years of service completed while in DROP. This calculation shall be made from July 25, 2002, or the member's retirement date, whichever is later. Further, the spouse of the aforementioned qualifying member, who becomes a surviving spouse on or after January 1, 2000, will have the surviving spouse's benefit recalculated in accordance with this section using two-thirds of the recalculated amount. There shall be no payments made in accordance with this section to any deceased members' or surviving spouses' estate or beneficiaries. The seventy-four-percent maximum shall apply to these members; in no case shall the total benefit exceed seventy-four (74) percent of salary. Any disputes arising from this section shall be adjudicated according to the rules promulgated by the board in accordance with C.R.S. § 31-30.5-204.

(Ord. No. 1112-01, § 2, 12-17-01; Ord. No. 394-10, § 1, 8-2-10)