N.Y. General Municipal Law § 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. 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) 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.