2012 New York Consolidated Laws
GMU - General Municipal
Article 11-A - (214 - 219-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.
    (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.