2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 11-A - Service Award Programs › 218 - Requirements and Benefits Under a Defined Contribution Plan Service Award Program.

§  218.  Requirements  and  benefits under a defined contribution plan
service award program. (a) An  active  volunteer  firefighter's  service
award  program  that  is a defined contribution plan shall be subject to
minimum  and  maximum  contribution  requirements  as   set   forth   in
subdivision (b) of this section. In determining whether such minimum and
maximum  contribution  requirements  have  been  satisfied, all benefits
provided under all service award programs instituted by a sponsor  shall
be considered as one program.
(b) The sponsor of a defined contribution plan shall contribute to the
plan a fixed amount of money, as determined by the sponsor, on behalf of
each participant who is credited with a year of service. The minimum and
maximum  contribution  requirements  for  a defined contribution service
award program shall be as follows. The minimum contribution shall be one
hundred twenty dollars per year of  service.  The  maximum  contribution
shall  be twelve hundred dollars per year of service. The maximum number
of years of service for which a participant may receive  a  contribution
shall  be  forty years. The sponsor shall appropriate annually an amount
sufficient to pay the contributions. 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) The benefit payable to a participant  in  a  defined  contribution
plan  shall  be  the resulting amount from a defined annual contribution
made by the  sponsor  less  necessary  administrative  costs  and  shall
include  interest and/or other earnings resulting from investment of the
annual contribution. The governing board of the sponsor  may  retain  an
actuary  to  provide  advice  with  respect  to the investment of annual
contributions or any other aspect of the program and  the  cost  thereof
shall  constitute  a  necessary  administrative  cost  of  the  program.
Benefits shall be available when the participating volunteer firefighter
reaches entitlement age or at the time  permanent  total  disability  is
established.
(d)  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 approved by
the sponsor of the service award program, 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, the sponsor
may  provide  an  additional  disability  benefit  in the event that any
active volunteer firefighter  becomes  disabled  during  the  course  of
service  as  a  volunteer  while actively engaged in providing a line of
duty services, as defined in subdivision one  of  section  five  of  the
volunteer  firefighters'  benefit law. The additional disability benefit
shall be an amount equal to an amount stated  in  the  referendum  under
which the program was established or amended and payable to the disabled
firefighter  monthly  for  life. The plan sponsor shall provide the plan
annually  with  the  additional  funds  necessary  to  accommodate  this

additional  disability benefit or the sponsor may purchase an annuity or
make other provisions to effectuate the additional disability benefit.
(e)  A  volunteer  firefighter's  retirement income plan shall 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  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 services 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 by
the sponsor. The amount of such death benefit shall  be  stated  in  the
referendum  under  which  the program was established or amended. In the
event of the death of an active volunteer firefighter 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, such death benefit amount shall be
paid by the sponsor to the plan for distribution to the  beneficiary  or
the estate if no beneficiary is designated.
(f)  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.