5381
MONTGOMERY COUNTY

for administrative disability retirements; to clarify
eligibility of members with regard to benefit
improvements; to provide clarification of voluntary
adjustment of pension payments regarding coordination of
County pension and Social Security payments; to provide
for optional form of payment for certain Group D
retirees; to redefine the basis for percentage of vesting
in normal retirement pension and to provide the formula
for computing such vested benefits; to provide a monthly
retirement benefit for elected or appointed official
members who are eligible to receive vested benefits; to
clarify existing provisions regarding vesting eligibility
of members who transfer service credits from another
retirement system; to resolve inequities in the
discontinued service pension formula; to provide a
minimum monthly discontinued service benefit for elected
and appointed members; to improve benefits on a variable
basis to spouses and children of members whose death is
service connected and to provide for an annual adjustment
of these benefits according to the Consumer Price Index;
to provide for cost-of-living adjustment for widows of
certain Group D retirees; to correct an oversight in
which payments to surviving eligible children were not
provided in the event of the death of a parent receiving
benefits as the spouse of a member whose death occurred
after elective early retirement date; to provide
administrative procedures regarding hearings, findings,
waiver of hearing requirements, and decisions of the
Retirement Hearing Board; to provide payment for
professional witnesses in hearings before the Retirement
Hearing Board; to clarify the chargeability of witness
fees; to provide for appeals to the County Personnel
Board on the decision of the Retirement Hearing Board
regarding disability retirement applications; to provide
for interim payment of benefits for disability retirement
pending decision on an appeal; to define the terms
"County employee member", "Discontinued Service", "Actual
Service", "Continuous Service" and "Normal Working Time",
and to redefine the definitions of "Employee", "County
service", "Regular Earnings" or "Earnings", and "Average
Final Earnings".

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR MONTGOMERY
COUNTY, MARYLAND, That,

SECTION I. Section 35 is hereby amended to read and
added to as follows:

Employee — any eligible elected or appointed
official and any full-time or qualified part—time
employee of Montgomery County, a participating agency or
political subdivision.