282.55 DISABILITY BENEFITS
A participant who is certified by the Plan Administrator to be totally and permanently disabled shall be entitled to a monthly disability benefit. The amount of disability benefit shall be equal to fifty percent of the participant’s salary as set forth in Section 282.57, reduced by the amount, if any, of Social Security disability benefits received for the same injury. The service increment benefits described in Section 282.32 are not payable to a totally and permanently disabled participant.
282.56 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 immediately following or coincident with the participant’s disability date.
(b) If a participant fails to return within three months to his/her position as an employee of the employer upon cessation of total and permanent disability prior to his/her normal retirement date, his/her date of termination shall be his/her disability date.
282.57 SALARY
For purposes of this Article, the participant’s salary at the time disability was incurred shall be the equivalent of “final monthly average salary” as set forth in Section 282.02 but substituting the date of disability for the date of retirement, but not less than fifty percent of the participant’s regular salary at the time of disability.
282.58 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. Based upon medical evidence, the Plan Administrator may certify that a participant has ceased to be totally and permanently disabled. Written notice of this determination shall be made to the participant by personal delivery or first-class mail sent to the participant’s last known address. If the participant disagrees with said determination, the participant shall have twenty days from the date of said notice to request a hearing before the Board of Commissioners. This request must be in writing and shall be effective as of the date it is filed with the Township Secretary.