12-5005.   Retired members and certain active membersof local plans madespecial members of KP&F system; employee contributions; preservation oflocal plan entitlements for special members, exceptions; exemption fromtaxes and legal claims and process and nonassignable, exception for decrees forsupport and maintenance and qualified domestic relations orders and lump-sumdeath benefit assigned to a funeralestablishment; employer pickup of member contributions.(a) Every retired member of a local police or fire pension plan and everyactive member of the plan who is entitled to make an election to become amember of the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system pursuant to K.S.A.12-5003 or 74-4955 and amendments thereto and who does not so elect shallbecome a special member of the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system onthe entry date of the city which is affiliating with the Kansas police andfiremen's retirement system with regard to all active members and retiredmembers of the local police or fire pension plan under K.S.A. 74-4954 andamendments thereto.

      (b)   Beginning with the first payroll for services as a policeman or firemanafter an active member of a local police or fire pension plan becomes a specialmember of the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system under this section,the city shall deduct from the compensation of each special member the greaterof 7% or the percentage rate of contribution which the active member wasrequired to contribute to the local police or fire pension plan preceding theentry date of the city, as employee contributions. The deductionsshall be remitted quarterly, or as the board of trustees otherwise provides, tothe executive secretary of the Kansas public employees retirement system forcredit to the Kansas public employees retirement fund. All deductions shall becredited to the special members' individual accounts beginning on July 1 of theyear following the entry date of the city for purposes of all active andretired members of the local police and fire pension plan.

      (c)   Except as otherwise provided in this act, each active member of a localpolice or fire pension plan who becomes a special member of the Kansas policeand firemen's retirement system under this section shall be subject to theprovisions of and entitled to pensions and other benefits, rights andprivileges to the extent provided under the local police and fire pension planon the day immediately preceding the entry date of the city which isaffiliating with the Kansas police and firemen's retirement system with regardto all active members and retired members of the plan.

      (d)   Each retired member of a local police or fire pension plan whobecomes a special member of the Kansas police and firemen's retirementsystem under this section shall be entitled to receive from the Kansaspolice and firemen's retirement system a pension or any other benefit tothe same extent and subject to the same conditions as existed underthe local police or fire pension plan on the day immediately preceding theentry date of the city which is affiliating with the system with regardto all active members and retired members of the plan under K.S.A. 74-4954 andamendments thereto, except no retired special member shall be appointed in orto a position or office for which compensation is paid for service to the samestate agency, or the same police or fire department of a city, township,special district or county or the same sheriff's office of a county. Thissubsection shall not apply to service rendered by a retiree as a juror, as awitness in any legal proceeding or action, as an election board judge or clerkor in any other office or position of a similar nature. However, all suchbenefitspaid shall be paid in accordance with the applicable requirements under section401 (a)(9) of the federal internal revenue code of 1986 as applicable togovernmental plans, as in effect on July 1, 2008, andthe regulations thereto, as in effect on July 1, 2008, and inaccordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 74-49,123, and amendments thereto.Any retiree employed bya participating employer in the Kansas police and firemen's retirement systemshall not make contributions or receive additional credit under the system forthat service. This subsection, except as it relates to contributions andadditional credit, shall not apply to the employment of any retiree by thestate of Kansas, or any county, city, township, special district, politicalsubdivision or instrumentality of any one or several of the aforementioned fora period of not exceeding 30 days in any one calendar year.

      (e) (1)   Every pension or other benefit received by any special memberpursuant to subsection (c) or (d) is hereby made and declared exempt from anytax of the state of Kansas or any political subdivision or taxing body of thisstate; shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or any otherprocess or claim whatsoever, except such pension or benefit or any accumulatedcontributions due and owing from the system to such special member are subjectto decrees for child support or maintenance, or both, as provided in K.S.A.60-1610 and amendments thereto; and shall be unassignable, except that within30 days after the death of a retirant the lump-sum death benefit payable to aretirant pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 74-4989 and amendments theretomay be assignable to a funeral establishment providing funeral services to suchretirant by the beneficiary of such retirant. The Kansas public employeesretirement system shall not be a party to any action under article 16 ofchapter 60 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, and issubject to orders from suchactions issued by the district court of the county where such action was filed.Such orders from such actions shall specify either a specific amount orspecific percentage of the amount of the pension or benefit or any accumulatedcontributions due and owing from the system to be distributed by the systempursuant to this act.

      (2)   Every pension or other benefit received by any special member pursuantto subsection (c) or (d) is hereby made and declared exempt from any tax of thestate of Kansas or any political subdivision or taxing body of this state;shall not be subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or any other processor claim whatsoever, except such pension or benefit or any accumulatedcontributions due and owing from the system to such special members are subjectto claims of an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order. Asused in this subsection, the terms "alternate payee" and "qualified domesticrelations order" shall have the meaning ascribed to them in section 414(p) ofthe federal internal revenue code of1986,as in effect on July 1, 2008. Theprovisions ofthis subsection shall apply to any qualified domestic relations order which isin effect on or after July 1, 1994.

      (f) (1)   Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 74-49,123 andamendmentsthereto, each participating employer, pursuant to the provisions ofsection 414(h)(2) of the federal internal revenuecodeof 1986, asin effect on July 1, 2008, shall pickup and pay the contributions which would otherwise be payable by membersas prescribed in subsection (b) commencing with the third quarter of 1984.The contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions forpurposes of determining the amounts of federal income taxes to withhold fromthe member's compensation.

      (2)   Member contributions picked up by the employer shall be paid fromthe same source of funds used for the payment of compensation to a member.A deduction shall be made from each member's compensation equal to the amountof the member's contributions picked up by the employer, provided that suchdeduction shall not reduce the member's compensation for purposes of computingbenefits under K.S.A. 12-5001 to 12-5007, inclusive, and amendments thereto.

      (3)   Member contributions picked up by the employer shall be remittedquarterly, or as the board may otherwise provide, to the executive secretaryfor credit to the Kansas public employees retirement fund. Such contributionsshall be credited to a separate account within the member's individual accountso that amounts contributed by the member commencing with the third quarterof 1984 may be distinguished from the member contributions picked up by theemployer. Interest shall be added annually to members' individual accounts.

      History:   L. 1976, ch. 348, § 5;L. 1981, ch. 77, § 1;L. 1982, ch. 152, § 19;L. 1984, ch. 289, § 1;L. 1990, ch. 282, § 1;L. 1991, ch. 238, § 1;L. 1992, ch. 321, § 25;L. 1994, ch. 231, § 2;L. 1998, ch. 64, § 2;L. 2008, ch. 113, § 1; July 1.