2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 11. Cities and Towns › §11-49-106.1. Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.

A. In lieu of terminating employment and accepting a service retirement pension pursuant to Sections 49-101 and 49-106 of this title, any member of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System serving as an active firefighter in a fire department of a participating municipality who has not less than twenty (20) years of creditable service may elect to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan and defer the receipts of benefits in accordance with the provisions of this section.
B. For purposes of this section, creditable service shall include service credit reciprocally recognized pursuant to Sections 49-100.1 through 49-100.8 and Sections 49-101, 49-101.1 and 49-101.2 of this title but for eligibility purposes only.
C. The duration of participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan for active firefighters shall not exceed five (5) years. Participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan must begin the first day of a month and end on the last day of a month. At the conclusion of a member’s participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, the member shall terminate employment with all participating municipalities as a firefighter, and shall start receiving the member’s accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System. Such a member may be reemployed by a participating municipality but only in a position not covered under the System, and receive in-service distributions of such member’s accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System.
D. When a member begins participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, the contribution of the member shall cease. The employer contributions shall continue to be paid in accordance with subsection B of Section 49-122 of this title. Employer contributions for members who elect the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan shall be credited equally to the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System and to the member’s Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan account. The monthly retirement benefits that would have been payable had the member elected to cease employment and receive a service retirement shall be paid into the member’s Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan account.
E. 1. A member who participates in this plan shall be eligible to receive cost-of-living increases.
2. A member who participates in this plan shall earn interest at a rate of two percentage points below the rate of return of the investment portfolio of the System, but no less than the actuarial assumed interest rate as certified by the actuary in the yearly evaluation report of the actuary. The interest shall be credited to the individual account balance of the member on an annual basis.
3. Effective November 1, 2013, the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan account for a member whose first service with a participating municipality of the System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, and who participates for the first time in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after November 1, 2013, and has completed active participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, shall earn interest at a rate equal to the actual rate of return of the investment portfolio of the System, less one (1) percentage point to offset administrative costs of the System as determined by the System.
F. A member in the plan shall receive, at the option of the member, a lump-sum payment from the account equal to the payments to the account or an annuity based upon the account of the member or may elect any other method of payment if approved by the Board of Trustees. If a member becomes so physically or mentally disabled while in, or in consequence of, the performance of his or her duty as to prevent the effective performance of his or her duties that the State Board approves an in-line-of-duty disability pension, the payment from the account shall be an in-line-of-duty disability payment. Notwithstanding any other provision contained herein to the contrary, commencement of distributions under the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan shall be no later than the time as set forth in subsection B of Section 49-106 of this title and a member whose first service with a participating municipality of the System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, and who participates for the first time in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan on or after November 1, 2013, must receive a distribution of the entire remaining balance in the member’s Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan account no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the later of:
1. The calendar year in which the member reaches seventy and one-half (70 1/2) years of age for a member who attains age seventy and one-half (70 1/2) before January 1, 2020, or effective for distributions required to be made after December 31, 2019, but before January 1, 2023, the calendar year in which the member reaches seventy-two (72) years of age for an individual who attains age seventy and one-half (70 1/2) after December 31, 2019, or effective for distributions required to be made after December 31, 2022, the calendar year in which the member reaches seventy-three (73) years of age for an individual who attains age seventy-two (72) after December 31, 2022, or “the applicable age”, as defined in Section 401(a)(9)(C)(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if later; or
2. The actual retirement date of the member.
G. If a member dies while maintaining an account balance in the plan the System shall pay to the designated recipient or recipients of the member, or if there is no designated recipient or if the designated recipient predeceases the member, to the spouse of the member, or if there is no spouse or if the spouse predeceases the member, to the estate of the member a lump-sum payment equal to the account balance of the member. If such member was receiving, or eligible to receive, an in-line-of-duty disability pension at the time of his or her death, payment of the account balance shall be an in-line-of-duty disability payment. If a designated recipient is the surviving spouse of the member, the surviving spouse shall receive his or her portion of the account balance of the member pursuant to subsection F of this section. The surviving spouse, whether or not he or she is a designated recipient of the member, may elect to receive his or her portion of the account balance of the member in the same manner as was applicable to the member.
H. In lieu of participating in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this section, a member may elect to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection as follows:
1. For purposes of this subsection and subsection I of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
a.
“back drop date” means the member’s normal retirement date or the date five (5) years before the member elects to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, whichever date is later,
b.
“termination date” means the date the member elects to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection, and the date the member terminates employment with all participating municipalities as an active firefighter,
c.
“earlier attained credited service” means the credited service earned by a member as of the back drop date, and
d.
“deferred benefit balance” means all monthly retirement benefits that would have been payable had the member elected to cease employment on the back drop date and receive a service retirement from the back drop date to the termination date, all the member’s contributions and one-half (1/2) of the employer contributions from the back drop date to the termination date, with interest based on how the benefit would have accumulated on a compound annual basis as if the member had participated in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this section from the back drop date to the termination date; and
2. At the termination date, the monthly pension benefit shall be determined based on earlier attained credited service and on the final average salary as of the back drop date. The member’s individual deferred option account shall be credited with an amount equal to the deferred benefit balance, the member shall terminate employment with all participating municipalities as a firefighter, and shall start receiving the member’s accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System. Such a member may be reemployed by a participating municipality but only in a position not covered under the System, and receive in-service distributions of such member’s accrued monthly retirement benefit from the System. The provisions of subsections B, C, E, F and G of this section shall apply to this subsection. A member shall not participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to this subsection if the member has elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsections A, B, C, D, E and F of this section.
I. Certain surviving spouses and members shall be eligible to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsection H of this section and this subsection.
1. For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
a.
“back drop election date” means the date the surviving spouse or member elects to commence participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan pursuant to subsection H of this section and this subsection,
b.
“interest” means the actuarial assumed interest rate as certified by the actuary in the yearly evaluation report of the actuary,
c.
“monthly adjustment amount” means the difference between the monthly pension prior to the back drop election and the adjusted monthly pension due to the back drop election,
d.
“back drop pension adjustment amount” means the sum of all the monthly adjustment amounts adjusted for interest from the pension commencement date to the back drop election date, and
e.
“deferred benefit balance adjustment amount” means the interest on the deferred benefit balance from the pension commencement date to the back drop election date.
2. If a member who has more than twenty (20) years of creditable service and is eligible to receive a service retirement pension dies on or after June 4, 2007, and prior to terminating employment, the member’s surviving spouse shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit determined as if the member had elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan in accordance with subsection H of this section on the day immediately preceding such member’s death. Prior to July 1, 2010, the surviving spouse must make any such election within one (1) year from the date of the member’s death. Effective July 1, 2010, the surviving spouse must make any such election within ninety (90) days from the date of the member’s death. If on or after June 4, 2007, such election is made, the monthly pension such surviving spouse is entitled to receive shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subsection H of this section to account for the member’s participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. The surviving spouse may only make this election if the member has not previously elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. For purposes of this election, the surviving spouse must have been married to the firefighter for the thirty (30) continuous months preceding the firefighter’s death; provided, the surviving spouse of a member who died while in, or as a consequence of, the performance of the member’s duty for a participating municipality shall not be subject to the marriage limitation for this election.
3. If a member has more than twenty (20) years of creditable service and is eligible for a retirement for disability monthly pension pursuant to Section 49-109 of this title on or after June 4, 2007, such member shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit determined as if the member had elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan, in accordance with subsection H of this section, on the day immediately preceding the date of the member’s disability retirement, provided such election is made within two (2) years from the date of the member’s disability retirement. The disability monthly pension such member is receiving, or entitled to receive, shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subsection H of this section to account for the member’s participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. The deferred benefit balance such member is entitled to receive shall be reduced by the back drop pension adjustment amount and increased by the deferred benefit balance adjustment amount. The member may only make a back drop election if the deferred benefit balance after the adjustment described in this paragraph is greater than Zero Dollars ($0.00). The member may only make this election if the member has not previously elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.
4. If a member has more than twenty (20) years of creditable service and filed a grievance for wrongful termination occurring on or after June 4, 2007, or is not a member of a collective bargaining organization as a firefighter, is involuntarily terminated and is seeking to have his or her position as a firefighter reinstated through a legal process, but is not reinstated as an active member, such member shall be eligible to elect to receive a benefit determined as if the member had elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan in accordance with subsection H of this section on the day immediately preceding the date of the member’s termination. Such election must be made within two (2) years from the date of the member’s termination as an active member and, if the member’s case pertaining to the member’s termination is on appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction, within such period set by the State Board in its sole discretion. The monthly pension such member is receiving, or entitled to receive, shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subsection H of this section to account for the member’s participation in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan. The deferred benefit balance such member is entitled to receive shall be reduced by the back drop pension adjustment amount and increased by the deferred benefit balance adjustment amount. The member may only make a back drop election if the deferred benefit balance after the adjustment described in this paragraph is greater than Zero Dollars ($0.00). The member may only make this election if the member has not previously elected to participate in the Oklahoma Firefighters Deferred Option Plan.
5. Subparagraphs d and e of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 3 and 4 of this subsection are effective June 4, 2007, provided the Internal Revenue Service issues a favorable determination letter for the System which includes the provisions of such subparagraphs and paragraphs without modification or as modified to conform to any changes required by the Internal Revenue Service as part of its determination letter review process. In the event the Internal Revenue Service does not issue such a determination letter which includes the provisions of such subparagraphs or paragraphs without modification or as modified to conform to any changes required by the Internal Revenue Service as part of its determination letter review process, then subparagraphs d and e of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 3 and 4 of this subsection shall be repealed effective June 4, 2007.
Added by Laws 1989, c. 109, § 1. Amended by Laws 1990, c. 334, § 1, operative July 1, 1990; Laws 1993, c. 353, § 1, emerg. eff. June 10, 1993; Laws 1997, c. 247, § 1, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2003, c. 80, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2003, c. 334, § 2, emerg. eff. May 29, 2003; Laws 2004, c. 546, § 3, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2007, c. 356, § 2, emerg. eff. June 4, 2007; Laws 2008, c. 177, § 1, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2010, c. 438, § 2, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010; Laws 2013, c. 165, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 388, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 281, § 3, emerg. eff. May 12, 2014; Laws 2021, c. 117, § 2, emerg. eff. April 21, 2021; Laws 2022, c. 232, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2023, c. 151, § 2, emerg. eff. May 1, 2023.
NOTE: Laws 2003, c. 128, § 3 repealed by Laws 2003, c. 334, § 5, emerg. eff. May 29, 2003.