Code of the District of Columbia

§ 1–907.03. Calculation of District of Columbia payment to the Funds.

(a)(1) When specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Retirement Board shall engage an enrolled actuary, who may be the enrolled actuary engaged pursuant to § 1-732(a)(4)(A), to make the following determinations as of a specified date on the basis of the entry age normal funding method and in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and practices with respect to each separate fund comprising the Funds:

(A) The normal cost, determined as a level percentage of covered annual payroll;

(B) The unfunded accrued liability payment; which, for the purposes of this section, means the level amount or the level percentage of covered annual payroll that, when contributed annually to the Funds for a period of not greater than 30 years, would be sufficient to fund the liability for benefits accrued by participants as of the valuation date (“accrued liability”) in excess of the current value of assets of the Funds (“unfunded accrued liability”);

(C) The current value of the assets in the Funds;

(D) The estimated covered annual payroll; and

(E) Such additional information as the Retirement Board may need to make the determinations specified in paragraph (4) of this subsection and in subsection (b) of this section.

(2) Unless the actuary engaged by the Retirement Board pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection determines that a more frequent valuation is necessary to support the actuary’s opinion, the actuary shall make the determinations described in paragraph (1) of this subsection upon the request of the Retirement Board and at least once every 2 years.

(3) On the basis of the most recent determinations made under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the enrolled actuary shall certify to the Retirement Board each year, at a time specified by the Retirement Board, the following information for the next fiscal year with respect to each separate fund comprising the Funds:

(A) The normal cost;

(B) The present value of future benefits payable from the Funds for covered employees as of the valuation date;

(C) The unfunded accrued liability payment;

(D) The current value of assets as of the valuation date; and

(E) The value of assets used in developing the amortization of unfunded accrued liability payment.

(4) On the basis of the most recent certification submitted by the enrolled actuary under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Retirement Board shall certify the sum of the normal cost and the unfunded accrued liability payment (“amount of the District payment”) for the next fiscal year for each separate fund comprising the Funds.

(b)(1) On the basis of the most recent determinations made under subsection (a)(4) of this section, the Retirement Board shall, no fewer than 30 days before the date on which the Mayor is required to submit the annual budget for the District of Columbia government to the Council, pursuant to § 1-204.42, certify to the Mayor and the Council the amount of the District payment for each separate fund comprising the Funds.

(2) The Mayor, in preparing each annual budget for the District of Columbia pursuant to § 1-204.42, and the Council, in adopting each annual budget in accordance with § 1-204.46, shall, for each separate fund comprising the Funds, include in the budget no less than the amount of the District payment for each separate fund comprising the Funds certified by the Retirement Board under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The Mayor and the Council may comment and make recommendations concerning any such amount certified by the Retirement Board.

(c)(1) Before the enactment of any law, resolution, regulation, rule, or agreement producing any change in benefits under a retirement program, the Mayor shall engage and pay for an enrolled actuary, who may be the enrolled actuary engaged pursuant to § 1-732(a)(4)(A), to estimate the effect of that change in benefits over the next 5 fiscal years on the:

(A) Accrued liability of the retirement program;

(B) Unfunded accrued liability of the retirement program;

(C) Unfunded accrued liability payment with respect to the retirement program; and

(D) Normal cost with respect to the retirement program.

(2) Whenever any change in benefits under a retirement program pursuant to this subsection is made to either, but not both, the Metropolitan Police Department or the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the Mayor shall engage an enrolled actuary to perform the same study contemporaneously for the employee group for which the change was not made.

(d) The Mayor shall transmit the estimates of the actuary to the Retirement Board, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Council, and the change in benefits shall not become effective until the end of a 30-day period of review, which shall begin on the date that the 3 required transmittals have been effected.