N.Y. General Municipal Law § 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.