2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 11-A - Service Award Programs › 219 - Requirements and Benefits Under a Defined Benefit Plan Service Award Program.

§  219. Requirements and benefits under a defined benefit plan service
award program. (a)  An  active  volunteer  firefighter's  service  award
program  that  is a defined benefit plan shall be subject to minimum and
maximum retirement benefit requirements as set forth in subdivision  (b)
of this section. In determining whether such minimum and maximum benefit
requirements  have  been  satisfied,  all  benefits  provided  under all
service award programs instituted by a sponsor shall  be  considered  as
one program.
(b)  The  minimum  and  maximum  retirement benefit requirements for a
service award program that is a defined benefit plan shall be defined as
follows.  Each  participating  active  volunteer  firefighter  shall  be
entitled  to  a  minimum service award benefit of five dollars per month
for each year of firefighting service  completed  after  satisfying  the
program's   eligibility  requirement  and  after  establishment  of  the
program. The maximum benefit amount payable to  a  participating  active
volunteer  firefighter  entitled to a benefit shall be determined on the
basis of an actuarial valuation. The valuation shall take  into  account
the age, and such other factors as the actuary deems appropriate, of the
eligible  participating  active volunteer firefighters and the amount of
available financing available per active covered volunteer  firefighter.
The  maximum  service  award  under  a  service award program shall be a
monthly payment, payable for life, that does not exceed an amount  equal
to  thirty  dollars for each year of firefighting service credited under
the terms of the program to a maximum of  forty  years  of  firefighting
service.  The  governing board of a political subdivision may extend the
maximum number of years of service for which a participant may receive a
contribution for up to an additional ten years, to a  maximum  of  fifty
years,  and  such  increases  in  the  number  of  years may be added in
multiple increments or in a single action, pursuant to the  adoption  of
the required resolution or resolutions of the governing board, receiving
the affirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the governing board of
the  political subdivision, and the approval of any mandatory referendum
or referenda authorizing the extension of benefits under the program  by
eligible voters within such political subdivision.
(c)  No  benefit  payments may be made under any service award program
that is a defined benefit  plan  until  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the
establishment of the service award program. The foregoing sentence shall
not  preclude  a  service  award  program  from providing for additional
benefit payments after the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the
service award program to reflect the fact that the payment  of  benefits
could not commence until that date.
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, if a program sponsor has been
authorized  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  sixteen  or two hundred
sixteen-a of this  article  to  provide  benefits  prior  to  the  tenth
anniversary  of  the  establishment of the service award program, it may
provide for the payment of service awards from the date of establishment
of the service award program or from such other date as is set forth  in
the authorization.
(d)  The  governing  board shall engage the services of an actuary for
the purpose of determining the annual amount required to be  contributed
to  a defined benefit service award program, which amount shall be based
on the interest and mortality tables or  other  appropriate  assumptions
and  methods  selected  by  actuary.  The  sum  so  determined  shall be
appropriated annually by the political subdivision. The governing  board
may  also  retain an actuary to provide advice with respect to any other
aspect of the program.
(e) In  the  event  that  any  active  volunteer  firefighter  becomes
disabled  and  in  the  event  that  the  disability prevents the active

volunteer firefighter from pursuing such volunteer's  normal  occupation
and if the disability is total and of a permanent nature as certified by
the workers' compensation board or other competent authority as approved
by the program sponsor, the volunteer firefighter is entitled to receive
the  benefits  described in this section, regardless of age or length of
service. Such benefits shall begin on the first day of the  first  month
following the establishment of such disability.
At  the  option  of  the  sponsor of the service award program, if the
active volunteer firefighter  becomes  disabled  during  the  course  of
service  as a volunteer while actively engaged in providing line of duty
services as defined in subdivision one of section five of the  volunteer
firefighters'  benefit  law,  an  additional  disability  benefit may be
authorized. Additional disability benefit shall be equal to  the  amount
of  additional  benefits  that the volunteer firefighter would have been
entitled to had he continued  to  earn  years  of  firefighting  service
through his entitlement age if the rate of benefits being provided under
the  service  award  program  at  the time of disability continued to be
provided through the entitlement age.
(f) A volunteer firefighter's retirement income plan may provide that,
in the event of the death of an active volunteer firefighter who  has  a
right  to  a  nonforfeitable percentage of retirement income pursuant to
subdivision (b) of this section, the designated  beneficiaries  of  such
active  volunteer  firefighter  (or  his  estate if no beneficiary is so
designated) shall be  entitled  to  receive  death  benefits  under  the
service  award plan. Such death benefits shall be payable in the form of
a lump sum amount designated by the sponsor as payable  at  death  or  a
percentage  of  the retirement benefits otherwise payable. Such benefits
shall be equal to  the  amount  of  benefits  earned  by  the  volunteer
firefighter under the plan at the date of death.
At  the  option  of  the  sponsor of the service award program, if the
active volunteer firefighter dies during the  course  of  service  as  a
volunteer  while actively engaged in providing line of duty services, as
defined  in  subdivision  one  of  section   five   of   the   volunteer
firefighters' benefit law, additional death benefits may be provided.
(g)  In  the  case  of  a  state-administered service award program, a
service award shall be paid only after an application  is  made  to  the
program administrator and the administrator approves the application.