{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-100.1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-49-100.1","heading":"Definitions","body":"As used in this article:\n\n1. \"System\" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and\n\nRetirement System and all predecessor municipal firefighters pension\n\nand retirement systems;\n\n2. \"Article\" means Article 49 of this title;\n\n3. \"State Board\" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and\n\nRetirement Board;\n\n4. \"Local board\" means the local firefighters pension and\n\nretirement boards;\n\n5. \"Fund\" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and\n\nRetirement Fund;\n\n6. \"Member\" means all eligible firefighters of a participating\n\nmunicipality or a fire protection district who perform the essential\n\nfunctions of fire suppression, prevention, and life safety duties in\n\na fire department. The term \"member\" shall include but not be\n\nlimited to the person serving as fire chief of any participating\n\nmunicipality, provided that a person serving as fire chief of a\n\nparticipating municipality shall meet the age, agility, physical and\n\nother eligibility requirements required by law at the time said\n\nperson becomes a member of the System. Effective July 1, 1987, a\n\nmember does not include a \"leased employee\". The term \"leased\n\nemployee\" means any person (other than an employee of the recipient)\n\nwho pursuant to an agreement between the recipient and any other\n\nperson (\"leasing organization\") has performed services for the\n\nrecipient (or for the recipient and related persons determined in\n\naccordance with Section 414(n)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of\n\n1986, as amended) on a substantially full-time basis for a period of\n\nat least one (1) year, and such services are performed under primary\n\ndirection or control by the recipient. Contributions or benefits\n\nprovided a leased employee by the leasing organization which are\n\nattributable to services performed for the recipient employer shall\n\nbe treated as provided by the recipient employer. A leased employee\n\nshall not be considered an employee of the recipient if the\n\nrequirements of the safe harbor provisions of Section 414(n)(5) of\n\nthe Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are satisfied.\n\nEffective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the\n\nparticipating municipality that the individual's services are to be\n\nperformed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall\n\nnot be a member regardless of any classification as a common law\n\nemployee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental\n\nagency, or any court of competent jurisdiction;\n\n7. \"Normal retirement date\" means the date at which the member\n\nis eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's\n\naccrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day\n\nfollowing the date the member completes twenty (20) years of\n\ncredited service. If the member's employment continues past the\n\nnormal retirement date of the member, the actual retirement date of\n\nthe member shall be the first day following the date the member\n\nterminates employment with more than twenty (20) years of credited\n\nservice;\n\n8. \"Credited service\" means the period of service used to\n\ndetermine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to\n\na member. Credited service shall consist of the period during which\n\nthe member participated in the System or the predecessor municipal\n\nsystems as an active employee in an eligible membership\n\nclassification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the\n\npredecessor municipal systems which was credited under the\n\npredecessor municipal systems; provided, however, \"credited service\"\n\nfor members from a fire protection district shall not begin accruing\n\nbefore July 1, 1982;\n\n9. \"Participating municipality\" means a municipality, county\n\nfire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 351 of\n\nTitle 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or fire protection district which\n\nis making contributions to the System on behalf of its firefighters.\nTitle 11. Cities and Towns Page 513\n\nfor members from a fire protection district shall not begin accruing\n\nbefore July 1, 1982;\n\n9. \"Participating municipality\" means a municipality, county\n\nfire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 351 of\n\nTitle 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or fire protection district which\n\nis making contributions to the System on behalf of its firefighters.\n\nAll participating municipalities shall appoint a fire chief who\n\nshall supervise and administer the fire department;\n\n10. \"Disability\" means the complete inability of the\n\nfirefighter to perform any and every duty of the firefighter's\n\nregular occupation; provided further, that once benefits have been\n\npaid for twenty-four (24) months the provisions of Section 49-110 of\n\nthis title shall apply to the firefighter;\n\n11. \"Executive Director\" means the managing officer of the\n\nSystem employed by the State Board;\n\n12. \"Eligible employer\" means any municipality with a municipal\n\nfire department, any county fire department organized pursuant to\n\nsubsection D of Section 351 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes or\n\nany fire protection district with an organized fire department;\n\n13. \"Entry date\" means the date as of which an eligible\n\nemployer joins the System. The first entry date pursuant to this\n\narticle shall be January 1, 1981;\n\n14. \"Final average salary\" means the average paid gross salary\n\nof the firefighter for normally scheduled hours over the highest\n\nsalaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60)\n\nmonths of credited service. Gross salary shall not include payment\n\nfor accumulated sick or annual leave upon termination of employment,\n\nany uniform allowances or any other compensation for reimbursement\n\nof out-of-pocket expenses. Only salary on which the required\n\ncontributions have been made may be used in computing the final\n\naverage salary. Effective January 1, 1988, gross salary shall\n\ninclude any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 125 of\n\nthe Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Gross salary shall\n\ninclude any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 457 of\n\nthe Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any amount of\n\nnonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal\n\nRevenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1998, for\n\npurposes of determining a member's compensation, any contribution by\n\nthe member to reduce the member's regular cash remuneration under\n\nSection 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,\n\nshall be treated as if the member did not make such an election.\n\nOnly salary on which required contributions have been made may be\n\nused in computing final average salary.\n\nIn addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding\n\nany other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or\n\nafter July 1, 2002, the annual gross salary of each \"Noneligible\n\nMember\" taken into account under the System shall not exceed the\n\nEconomic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (\"EGTRRA\")\n\nannual salary limit. The EGTRRA annual salary limit is Two Hundred\n\nThousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for\n\nincreases in the cost of living in accordance with Section\n\n401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The\n\nannual salary limit in effect for a calendar year applies to any\n\nperiod, not exceeding twelve (12) months, over which salary is\n\ndetermined (\"determination period\") beginning in such calendar year.\n\nIf a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months,\n\nthe EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the\n\nnumerator of which is the number of months in the determination\n\nperiod, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes\n\nof this subsection, a \"Noneligible Member\" is any member who first\n\nbecame a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1,\n\n1996.\ndetermination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months,\n\nthe EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the\n\nnumerator of which is the number of months in the determination\n\nperiod, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes\n\nof this subsection, a \"Noneligible Member\" is any member who first\n\nbecame a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1,\n\n1996.\n\nFor plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference\n\nto the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal\n\nRevenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA salary limit\n\nset forth in this subsection.\n\nEffective June 9, 2010, gross salary shall also include gross\n\nsalary, as described above, for services, but paid by the later of\n\ntwo and one-half (2 1/2) months after a firefighter's severance from\n\nemployment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date\n\nthe firefighter terminated employment, if it is a payment that,\n\nabsent a severance from employment, would have been paid to the\n\nfirefighter while the firefighter continued in employment with the\n\nparticipating municipality.\n\nEffective June 9, 2010, any payments not described above shall\n\nnot be considered gross salary if paid after severance from\n\nemployment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one-half\n\n(2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the\n\nend of the calendar year that includes the date of severance from\n\nemployment, except payments to an individual who does not currently\n\nperform services for the participating municipality by reason of\n\nqualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5)\n\nof the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent\n\nthese payments do not exceed the amounts the individual would have\n\nreceived if the individual had continued to perform services for the\n\nparticipating municipality rather than entering qualified military\n\nservice.\n\nEffective June 9, 2010, back pay, within the meaning of Section\n\n1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as\n\ngross salary for the year to which the back pay relates to the\n\nextent the back pay represents wages and compensation that would\n\notherwise be included in this definition.\n\nEffective for years beginning after December 31, 2008, gross\n\nsalary shall also include differential wage payments under Section\n\n414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;\n\n15. \"Accrued retirement benefit\" means two and one-half percent\n\n(2 1/2%) of the firefighter's final average salary multiplied by the\n\nmember's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years;\n\n16. \"Beneficiary\" means a member's surviving spouse or any\n\nsurviving children, including biological and adopted children, at\n\nthe time of the member's death. The surviving spouse must have been\n\nmarried to the firefighter for the thirty (30) continuous months\n\npreceding the firefighter's death provided a surviving spouse of a\n\nmember who died while in, or as a consequence of, the performance of\n\nthe member's duty for a participating municipality, shall not be\n\nsubject to the marriage limitation for survivor benefits. A\n\nsurviving child of a member shall be a beneficiary until reaching\n\neighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the\n\nchild is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or\n\nprivate school or any institution of higher education. Any child\n\nadopted by a member after the member's retirement shall be a\n\nbeneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the\n\nthirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any\n\nchild who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and\n\nsuch member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance\n\nof the member's duty as a firefighter shall not be subject to the\n\nthirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary\nbeneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the\n\nthirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any\n\nchild who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and\n\nsuch member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance\n\nof the member's duty as a firefighter shall not be subject to the\n\nthirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary\n\nshall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this\n\narticle;\n\n17. \"Contributions\" means payments remitted to the System\n\npursuant to Section 49-122 or subsection A of Section 49-138 of this\n\ntitle. Contributions shall not include payments made to repurchase\n\ncredited service pursuant to Section 49-117.1 of this title,\n\npayments made to transfer credited service from another retirement\n\nsystem pursuant to subsection A of Section 49-117.2 or Section 49-\n\n117.3 of this title, or payments made to purchase prior military\n\nservice credit pursuant to subsection E of Section 49-138 of this\n\ntitle;\n\n18. \"Accumulated contributions\" means the sum of all\n\ncontributions made by a member to the System and includes both\n\ncontributions deducted from the compensation of a member and\n\ncontributions of a member picked up and paid by the participating\n\nmunicipality of the member. Accumulated contributions shall not\n\ninclude any interest on the contributions of the member, interest on\n\nany amount contributed by the municipality or state and any amount\n\ncontributed by the municipality or state; and\n\n19. \"Limitation year\" means the year used in applying the\n\nlimitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,\n\nwhich year shall be the calendar year.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"d45b41b448e490072cddea45f28f7fe3d17c42269b53d3a015f705db6cf9d1b3","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-48-106","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-100.10"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}