2023 Texas Statutes › Vernon's Civil Statutes › Title 109 - Pensions › Article 6243e. Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act › Section 14. Disability Retirement

Sec. 14.  DISABILITY RETIREMENT.  (a)  A member of a retirement system is eligible for retirement for disability if the member becomes physically or mentally disabled, except as the result of a condition the member had on the date the member became an employee or volunteer, in or in consequence of the performance of the member's duties as an employee or volunteer of the fire department included within the coverage of the retirement system.
(b)  An application for disability retirement must be filed with the board of trustees of the retirement system of which the applicant is a member.  The application must contain a sworn statement of the member's medical condition, signed by a physician attending the member, and a sworn statement of the circumstances under which the disability arose, signed by the member or another person who has reason to know those circumstances.  The application also may contain other pertinent information to enable the board to determine whether the member is eligible for disability retirement.
(c)  A board of trustees may require an applicant for disability retirement to be medically examined by one or more physicians of the board's choice but may not require the applicant to pay the cost of a medical examination required under this subsection.
(d)  If a board of trustees determines that an applicant for disability retirement meets the eligibility requirements for disability retirement from the retirement system, the board shall retire the member.
(e)  Except as provided by Subsection (f) of this section, monthly benefits payable for disability retirement are $100 to a retiree whose service was not exclusively as a volunteer and $25 to a retiree whose service was exclusively as a volunteer.
(f)  A board of trustees established under this Act may, in accordance with Section 7 of this Act:
(1)  expand the circumstances under which disability retirement benefits become payable;
(2)  require periodic medical examinations of, periodic vocational rehabilitation examinations of, or periodic financial information from disability retirees to determine whether the retiree remains eligible to receive disability retirement benefits; or
(3)  determine formulas for computing benefits, classes of permissible beneficiaries, and other requirements for payment of disability retirement benefits, as long as the minimum benefits payable to a retiree who remains eligible for disability retirement resulting from the performance of duty are not less than the amounts provided by Subsection (e) of this section.
(g)  The vested accrued benefit of a retiree under this section who is retired as of the determination date is subject to the terms established by the retirement system as those terms exist on the determination date and is payable to the retiree only if the retiree meets the eligibility requirements established by the board of trustees under this section.
(h)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a disability retirement benefit is not a vested accrued benefit until a member becomes disabled under the terms of the retirement system.