§ 5.23.020. Definitions—Generally.

A.

The following terms when used herein with initial capital letters, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the following respective meanings:

1.

"Accounts" means a Participant's Tax Deferred Contributions Account and Matching Contributions Account as specified in Section 5.23.060B.

2.

"Adjustment Factor" means the cost of living adjustment factor prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury under Section 415(d) of the Code for years beginning after 1987.

3.

"Administrative Committee" means the Auditor-Controller, County Counsel, Director of Personnel, Treasurer and Tax Collector, and Chief Administrative Officer of the County.

4.

"Administrator or Plan Administrator" means the Administrator of the Plan, as defined in Code Section 414(g), and shall be the Administrative Committee which may delegate all or any part of its powers, duties and authorities in such capacity (without ceasing to be the Administrator of the Plan) as hereinafter provided.

5.

"Alternate Payee" means any spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent of a participant who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all, or a portion of, the benefits payable under a plan with respect to such participant.

6.

"Beneficiary" means such person or persons as a Participant may designate to receive his interest under the Plan after his death. The designation may be made, and may be revoked or changed, only by a written instrument (in form acceptable to the Administrative Committee) signed by the Participant and filed with the Administrative Committee before his death. In the absence of a designation and at any other time when there is no existing Beneficiary designated by the Participant, his Beneficiary shall be his spouse, if living 30 days after the date of his death, or, if not, his children (by blood or adoption) equally (with children of a deceased child to share equally the share of such deceased child). If a Beneficiary cannot be determined pursuant to the preceding sentence, the Beneficiary shall be the Participant's estate.

7.

"Code" means The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

8.

"Compensation" means base rate, as established in Title 6 of the Los Angeles County Code, as amended, plus any monthly bonus established as a designated percentage of the base rate in the Level Percentage Conversion Table contained in such Title 6 and any lump sum payment made upon termination pursuant to Section 5.20.070 or Section 6.18.070 of the Los Angeles County Code. Compensation shall not include any of the following:

a.

Overtime compensation;

(1)

Any lump sum pay off or reimbursement for unused accumulated overtime, holiday time, or sick leave benefits except as specified above;

(2)

Compensation pursuant to Section 6.16.010 of the Los Angeles County Code;

b.

Any hourly bonus;

(1)

Any monthly bonus established as a flat dollar amount or as a percentage of base rate.

9.

"Compensation Deferral Agreement" means an agreement pursuant to which an Employee agrees to reduce, or to forego an increase in, his Eligible Earnings and the County agrees to contribute to the Plan the amount of the reduction or the amount foregone as a Tax Deferred Contribution.

10.

"County" means the County of Los Angeles and any governmental entity of which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the governing body.

11.

"County Contributions" means Tax Deferred Contributions, if any, as specified in Section 5.23.040A and Matching Contributions as specified in Section 5.23.050A.

12.

"Disability" means the complete and continuous inability and incapacity of the Participant to perform the duties of his or her position with the County.

13.

"Eligible Earnings" means any compensation paid to an Employee for service performed for the County which is currently includable in gross income under the Code, or which would be so includable had the Employee not signed a Compensation Deferral Agreement.

14.

"Eligible Employee" means full-time permanent Employee of the County ("employee") who is not a Leased Employee, who is not an Excluded Bargaining Unit, who is not in a class designated by the Board of Supervisors of the County as eligible to participate in an alternative 401(k) Plan and who is designated by the Board of Supervisors of the County as eligible to participate in the Los Angeles County Deferred Earnings Plan. For purpose hereof, "full-time permanent" means any employee appointed to an "A," "L" or "N" item pursuant to Title 6 of the Los Angeles County Code. Any employee who would otherwise cease to be an Eligible Employee because of a change in employment classification and/or entry into an Excluded Bargaining Unit shall remain an Eligible Employee until the last day of the month following the month in which such change or entry occurs or such later date as the Administrative Committee may provide.

15.

"Eligible Rollover Distribution" means any distribution of all or part of the balance to the credit of the Participant in a qualified trust described in Code Section 401(a) (including the Plan where applicable) or in a "conduit" individual retirement account described in Code Section 408(d)(3)(A)(ii), other than (a) any distribution which is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments made not less frequently than annually for the life (or life expectancy) of the Participant or beneficiary or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of such individual and his designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of 10 years or more; (b) any distribution to the extent such distribution is required by Code Section 401(a)(9); and (c) any distribution which is (1) a return of elective deferrals described in Section 1.415-6(b)(6)(iv) of the Treasury Regulations which is returned due to the limitations under Code Section 415, (2) a corrective distribution of excess contributions described in Section 1.401(k)-1(f)(4) of the Treasury Regulations, excess deferrals described in Section 1.402(g)-1(e)(3) of the Treasury Regulations or excess aggregate contributions described in Section 1.401(m)-1(e)(3) of the Treasury Regulations, together with the income allocable thereto, (3) a loan treated as a distribution under Code Section 72(p) and not excepted from such treatment under Section 72(p)(2), (4) a deemed distribution of a loan in default, (5) a dividend on employer securities described in Code Section 404(k), (6) the P.S. 58 cost of life insurance coverage, and (7) any other similar item designated by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. For distributions made on or after January 1, 2000, an Eligible Rollover Distribution also does not include any "hardship" distribution as defined in Section 5.23.020A20 and under Code Section 401(k).

16.

"Employee" means any person who: (a) has been determined by the County (regardless of any determination made by any other person or entity) to be a common law employee of the County for federal income and/or employment tax purposes; or (b) is a Leased Employee as defined in subsection A23 of this section and as provided in this Section 5.23.030C. If it is determined that an individual was erroneously categorized as not being an Employee, he or she shall be treated as an Employee under the Plan only prospectively from the date of such determination.

17.

"Entry Date" means January 1, 1986 and the first day of every succeeding month unless otherwise provided by the Administrative Committee.

18.

"415 Compensation" means wages, within the meaning of Section 3401(a) of the Code (for purposes of income tax withholding) but determined without regard to any rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based on the nature or location of the employment or the services performed, paid to an Employee by the County. Effective for years beginning on and after January 1, 1998, 415 Compensation also includes any County contribution under a cash or deferred arrangement (including Tax Deferred Contributions) for the year, any County contributions to purchase an annuity contract under Code Section 403(b) under a salary reduction agreement, any other elective deferral (as defined in Code Section 402(g)(3)) and any amount which is contributed to a plan sponsored by the County at the election of the Employee and which is not includable in gross income under Code Section 125 or Code Section 457. For Limitation Years (as defined in Section 5.23.050F) beginning on and after January 1, 2001, for the purposes of applying the limitations described in Section 5.23.050F, 415 Compensation paid or made available during such Limitation Years shall include elective amounts that are not includable in the gross income of the Employee by reason of Code Section 132(f)(4). For these purposes, the "County" includes any entity the employees of which, together with employees of the County, are required to be treated as if they were employed by a single employer under Code Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) (taking into account any adjustment made pursuant to Code Section 415(h)), and any entity whose employees are treated as employees of the County under Code Section 414(n).

19.

"Excluded Bargaining Unit" means an employee representation unit, unless the representative of such unit and the County agree that the Employees in such unit shall be covered hereunder.

20.

"Hardship" means hardship as determined in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner by the Administrative Committee, taking into account wherever applicable the definition of such term by the Treasury Department in its regulations issued under Code Section 401(k), all on the basis of information supplied to the Administrative Committee by the Participant.

21.

"Investment Funds" means the investment fund or funds selected from time to time by the Administrative Committee, including the Participant Loan fund.

22.

"Investment Manager" means the person(s) appointed by the Plan Administrator who, under such terms and conditions as the Plan Administrator may decide with respect to an Investment Fund, has the discretion to determine which assets in such Fund shall be sold (or exchanged) and what investments shall be acquired for such Fund. In the alternative, an organization which is employed by the County to provide administrative and investment services (by agreement with one or more investment providers) may be designated an Investment Manager.

23.

"Leased Employee" means any person described in Code Section 414(n)(2) for the purposes of the plan qualification requirements listed in Code Section 414(n)(3).

24.

"Matching Contributions" means contributions made by the County as specified in Section 5.23.050A.

25.

"Matching Contribution Account" means an account to which the Matching Contributions allocated to each Participant, and any earnings and investment gains or losses allocable thereto, are credited.

26.

"Net Revenues" means an excess of budgeted revenues for the current fiscal year and any such accumulated excesses from prior fiscal years over budgeted expenditures, for the current fiscal year of the County, excluding for this purpose County Contributions to the Plan, as determined by the Administrative Committee and certified by the County Auditor-Controller.

27.

"Participant" means an Eligible Employee or a former Eligible Employee who has become and continues to be a Participant of the Plan in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.23.030.

28.

"Participant Loan Fund" means the Investment fund provided for in Section 5.23.070H.

29.

"Plan" means the County of Los Angeles Deferred Earnings Plan, the terms and provisions of which are herein set forth, as the same may be amended, supplemented or restated from time to time.

30.

"Plan Year" means a calendar year.

31.

"QDRO" means a "qualified domestic relations order," which is a domestic relations order that the Administrative Committee has determined satisfies the requirements of a qualified domestic relations order as defined in Code Section 414(p)(1) and is consistent with the terms of this Plan.

32.

"Qualified Plan" means an employee benefit plan that is qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code.

33.

"Tax Deferred Contributions" means contributions made by the County pursuant to a Compensation Deferral Agreement as specified in Section 5.23.040A.

34.

"Tax Deferred Contributions Account" means an account to which the tax Deferred Contributions made for each Participant, and any earnings and investment gains or losses allocable thereto, are credited.

35.

"TPA" means a third-party administrator who has entered into a contract with the County to provide record-keeping or other administrative services for the Plan.

36.

"Trust Agreement" means any agreement between the County and a Trustee as in effect from time to time.

37.

"Trustee" means any person that is a custodian or trustee and that is appointed by the Board of Supervisors of the County to hold and administer some or all of the assets of the Plan pursuant to Section 5.23.080.

38.

"Valuation Date" means the date with respect to which the value of the Plan assets or any portion thereof is determined. Unless otherwise determined by the Administrative Committee, a Valuation Date occurs each day.

39.

"Year of Service" means an Employee shall be credited with a Year of Service for each Plan Year in which he is employed by the County and is a Participant in the Plan or a participant in an alternative 401k Plan sponsored by the County or in the County of Los Angeles Deferred Compensation and Thrift Plan (the "Horizons Plan").

B.

Construction.

1.

Unless the context otherwise indicates, the masculine wherever used herein shall include the feminine and neuter, the singular shall include the plural and words such as "herein," "hereof," "hereby," "hereunder," and words of similar import refer to the Plan as a whole and not to any particular part thereof.

2.

Where headings have been supplied to portions of the Plan they have been supplied for convenience only and are not to be taken as limiting or extending the meaning of any of its provisions.

3.

Wherever the word "person" appears in the Plan, it shall refer to both natural and legal persons.

4.

Except to the extent federal law controls, the Plan shall be governed, construed and administered according to the laws of the State of California. All persons accepting or claiming benefits under the Plan shall be bound by and deemed to consent to its provisions.

(Ord. 2016-0004 § 1, 2016; Ord. 2004-0001 § 3, 2004; Ord. 2001-0097 § 2 (part), 2001.)