(a) County Retiree Benefit Plans. The Chief Administrative Officer must include the terms of any County retiree benefit plan, including eligibility and benefits, including those benefits collectively bargained, in a plan document. All benefits must meet any applicable Federal or State requirement. Subject to the County’s obligations under collective bargaining agreements and the collective bargaining laws, to the extent applicable, the Chief Administrative Officer may amend a plan document at any time. Subject to the County’s obligations under collective bargaining agreements and the collective bargaining laws, to the extent applicable, any retiree benefit plan may be terminated at any time for any reason. No retiree benefit is guaranteed, except as expressly provided by a contract entered into by the County.
(b) Establishment of Trust. An Other Post Employment Benefits Trust, known as the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefits (RHB) Trust, is established to fund all or a portion of benefits provided under the County retiree benefit plans or a County-funded agency retiree benefit plan. The Trust is intended solely as a funding mechanism to pay for County or County-funded agency retiree benefits provided under the terms of any applicable retiree benefit plan, and does not create any obligation by the County to provide any benefit listed in any County or County-funded agency retiree benefit plan. Any participant in a retiree benefit plan, any current or former County or a County- funded agency employee, or any current or former participating agency employee, has no right to any asset in the Trust fund. The Trust Fund may be, but is not required to be, the sole source of funding for any County or County-funded agency retiree benefit plan.
(c) Type of Trust. The County intends that the Trust Fund:
(1) be used to perform its essential government function of providing benefits, including health and life insurance benefits, to participants and eligible dependents; and
(2) qualify as a tax exempt trust under Internal Revenue Code Section 115.
(d) Assets of Trust Fund. All contributions and all earnings and other additions, less payments, constitute the assets of the Trust Fund.
(e) County-funded agency Participation. A County-funded agency may participate in the Trust Fund as a funding mechanism for its retiree benefit plans. A participant in any County-funded agency retiree benefit plan, or any current or former employee of a County-funded agency, has no right to the assets in the Trust Fund. The County is not responsible for establishing, maintaining, or providing any benefit for any County- funded agency retiree benefit plan.
(f) Exclusive Benefit. The Trust Fund must be held for the exclusive benefit of participants in retiree benefit plans and eligible dependents, and used only to provide benefits and defray reasonable expenses of administering retiree benefit plans. Trust Fund assets must not revert to the County or a County-funded agency unless the County or the County-funded agency terminates all retiree benefit plans. Some funds may partially revert to the County if at least one benefit plan is terminated under Section 33-166. (, § 1; , § 1; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—2011 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 2, states: Transition. The Consolidated Health Benefits Trust Fund mentioned in County Code Sec. 33-159, as amended by Section 1 of this Act, does not create a new trust. The Trust Fund is the same legal entity first created in County Code Sec. 33-159 and inserted by Chapter 3, Laws of Montgomery County 2008. Any reference to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust in any document produced before the effective date of this Act [July 1, 2011] must be treated as referring to the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefit Trust referenced in County Code Sec. 33-159, as amended by Section 1 of this Act.
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