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RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO NEGOTIATE AN AGREEMENT WITH BENCOR TO PROVIDE CERTAIN RETIREMENT BENEFITS THROUGH A SPECIAL PAY PLAN FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES AND TO PRESENT A WRITTEN REPORT WITH A RECOMMENDATION ON SUCH AGREEMENT TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WITHIN 120 DAYS

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WHEREAS, the County�s employees are its greatest asset, and providing these employees a secure retirement is of vital importance to this Board; and
WHEREAS, many County employees enter the Deferred Retirement Option Program ("DROP") and/or retire from the County with accumulated leave that they were unable to use during their employment with the County; and
WHEREAS, when paid out to qualified employees at their retirement, such accumulated leave pay is subject to taxation, including the payment of income tax and up to 7.65 percent of Social Security and Medicare taxes; and
WHEREAS, BENCOR, a company which specializes in the design, implementation and administration of retirement plans for public employees across the United States, offers a Special Pay Plan, which is a retirement program approved by the Internal Revenue Service and consisting of three parts: the first part satisfying the requirements under section 401(a) of the Federal tax law, the second part following the dictates of section 403(b), and the third part meeting the rules of section 457(b); and
WHEREAS, the Special Pay Plan allows for employees� unused leave pay to be transferred as non-elective employer contributions into a retirement account at BENCOR, where such contributions are 100 percent vested in the employee participant, and can either be withdrawn from the plan upon retirement, total disability or death of the employee, or invested by the employee in an array of investment options made available under the plan by BENCOR; and
WHEREAS, for any leave pay invested through the Special Pay Plan, income taxes are imposed only upon withdrawal from the participant�s plan account; and
WHEREAS, contributions to the Special Pay Plan would not affect employees� ability to make voluntary contributions to other retirement accounts, such as a 457(b) plan, within limits specified by the Internal Revenue Code; and
WHEREAS, other local government agencies such as the Miami-Dade County School Board offer the benefits of the BENCOR Special Pay Plan to their employees; and
WHEREAS, this Board desires to allow County employees to benefit from the tax savings, tax deferrals, and investment options offered by the BENCOR Special Pay Plan,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board directs:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated in this resolution and are approved. Section 2. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee is directed to negotiate a Special Pay Plan Agreement with BENCOR for non-bargaining County employees and for all other County employees within collective bargaining units, provided that written consent of the applicable collective bargaining agents is obtained to provide this benefit to bargaining unit employees, and to present a written report to this Board including a recommendation as to whether the County should enter into such agreement. The County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee shall provide the report to this Board within 120 days of the effective date of this resolution and place the completed report on an agenda of the full Board without committee review pursuant to Ordinance No. 14-65.