280.60 DISABILITY RETIREMENT
A participant who has completed at least one year of service and who shall incur a total and permanent disability as a direct result of and in the line of duty of employment, shall be entitled to a disability retirement benefit as of the first day of the month coincident with or immediately following the date on which the total and permanent disability was incurred. A participant who has completed at least ten years of service and who shall incur a total and permanent disability for any reason, shall be entitled to a disability retirement benefit as of the first day of the month coincident with or immediately following the date on which the total and permanent disability was incurred.
280.61 DISABILITY RETIREMENT BENEFIT
A participant who shall be entitled to a disability retirement benefit under Section 280.60 shall receive a benefit in an amount equal to fifty percent of the participant’s final monthly average compensation determined as of the date of disability. The amount of disability retirement benefit payable hereunder shall be reduced for early commencement by one-third of one percent for each month prior to the participant’s normal retirement date that the payment of the disability retirement benefit shall commence, however, such reduction shall not cause the amount of this benefit to be less than the minimum disability retirement benefit. The minimum disability retirement benefit shall be a monthly amount equal to the greater of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or one-half of the amount which is fifty percent of the participant’s final monthly average compensation determined as of the date of disability.
280.62 PAYMENT OF DISABILITY BENEFITS
(a) Disability payments shall be made monthly as of the first day of each month, commencing as of the first day of the month coincident with or immediately following the date that the participant incurs the disability and continuing until the earliest of the death of the participant, cessation of total and permanent disability or attainment or normal retirement age (such a participant shall thereafter receive the same amount of benefit which shall be deemed to be the normal retirement benefit).
(b) A participant who shall fail to return within three months to employment as an employee of the employer upon cessation of total and permanent disability prior to attainment of normal retirement age shall be deemed to have terminated employment as of the disability date, shall be entitled to either a distribution of accumulated contributions pursuant to Section 280.81 or a deferred vested benefit pursuant to Section 280.82 and shall not be entitled to any other benefits under the plan.
280.63 VERIFICATION OF DISABILITY
The Plan Administrator shall in its sole discretion determine whether a participant shall have incurred a total and permanent disability. The Plan Administrator shall rely on the report of a physician acceptable to the Plan Administrator. If the Plan Administrator shall determine that a participant who is totally and permanently disabled has recovered sufficiently to resume active employment or if a participant refuses to undergo a medical examination as directed by the Plan Administrator (such a medical examination may not be required more frequently than once in any given twelve month period), the participant shall cease to be considered totally and permanently disabled.
280.64 CESSATION OF DISABILITY
A participant must notify the Plan Administrator of any change which may cause a cessation of entitlement to receipt of any disability retirement benefit hereunder. If a participant fails to provide immediate notice to the Plan Administrator of any such change in status and receives payment of benefits hereunder to which the participant is not entitled, then the plan may take whatever action is necessary to recover any amount of improperly paid amounts, including legal action or offsetting such amounts against any future payments of retirement or other benefits under the plan, including the costs of such actions.