N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 2 § 155.11

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 50, December 11, 2024

Section 155.11 - Distribution

(a) Unless a participant elects to be paid his or her service award in an optional actuarially equivalent form on the written application for distribution he or she files with the administrator, the service award shall be paid to the participant in the form of a monthly payment straight life annuity. The amount of the monthly straight life annuity payment shall be 1/12 of the benefit amount times the years of firefighting service credited to the participant as of the effective date of the commencement of payment of his or her service award.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a participant shall be entitled to apply for and receive distribution of a service award only when the participant has attained the entitlement age. A written application for distribution must be received by the administrator from a participant before payments shall commence to the participant. The participant shall, on such written application, specify the date as of which payment shall commence and shall select the form of payment of his or her service award. The date as of which payment shall commence may be the first day of any month commencing within the 90-day period immediately following the date the written application is received by the administrator. A participant may file an application for distribution of his or her service award within the 90-day period immediately preceding the date on which he or she will attain the entitlement age and specify the date as of which payment shall commence, which date shall be:

(1) no earlier than the date of attainment of the entitlement age and acquiring a nonforfeitable right to a service award; and

(2) no later than 90 days after the date of attainment of the entitlement age and acquiring a nonforfeitable right to a service award.

(c) The date as of which payment of a service award shall commence shall not be on or before the last day of the first calendar year for which a participant qualified for a year of firefighting service credit.

(d) The administrator shall approve an application for distribution based on the terms of the sponsor's adoption or transfer agreement, the records maintained by the administrator and, in the case of disability or death, such additional records or information as the administrator may require. The administrator, in its sole discretion, may require the sponsor, the appropriate volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department or the participant to verify or supply any information the administrator deems necessary to determine entitlement to distribution of a service award.

(e) The number and types of optional forms of payments of a service award available under a State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program shall be at the sole discretion of the administrator subject to the approval of the Comptroller. Program sponsors and volunteer fire companies or volunteer fire departments whose volunteer firefighters participate in a State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program shall be promptly notified by the administrator in writing of any changes in the optional forms of payment. Participants shall then be promptly notified about such changes by the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department.

(f) For determining the payments of a service award to a participant under an actuarially equivalent form of payment, the program actuary shall use the actuarial assumptions used to calculate the annual program costs payable by the sponsor during the calendar year in which the payments of the service award to the participant or the participant's beneficiary shall commence.

(g)

(1) In the event that a participant becomes totally and permanently disabled as certified by the workers' compensation board or by any other competent authority approved by the administrator, and the disability prevents the participant from pursuing his or her normal occupation, the participant shall be entitled to apply for and receive distribution of his or her service award regardless of whether the participant has reached the entitlement age or acquired a nonforfeitable right to a service award. The participant may select one of the optional forms of payment available under the State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program in case of disability. The value of the service award shall be determined on the basis of the years of volunteer firefighter service credited to the participant as of the effective date of commencement of payment of the service award. The amount of payments shall be calculated so as to be actuarially equivalent to the present value of the payments as if they commenced at the entitlement age.

(2) If a State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program includes an optional additional disability benefit that the sponsor has elected to provide for a participant who becomes disabled during the course of service as an active volunteer firefighter while actively engaged in providing a line of duty service, then, in the event that a participant becomes totally and permanently disabled as a result of such cause and such total and permanent disability is certified by the workers' compensation board or by any other competent authority approved by the administrator, the participant shall be entitled to apply for and receive distribution of a service award equal to the amount of additional benefits that the participant would have been entitled to had he or she continued to earn years of firefighting service through his or her entitlement age if the rate of benefits being provided under the State-administered defined benefit service award program at the time of disability continued to be provided through the entitlement age.

(h)

(1) In the event of the death of a participant who has acquired a nonforfeitable right to a service award and who has not previously received distribution of any portion of his or her service award, the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the participant or, if no beneficiary has been designated, the participant's estate, shall be entitled to apply for and receive distribution of the participant's service award. The applicant may select one of the optional forms of payment available under the State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program in case of death. The value of the service award shall be determined on the basis of the years of volunteer firefighter service credited to the participant as of the effective date of commencement of payment of the service award. The amount of the payments shall be calculated so as to be actuarially equivalent to the present value of the payments as if they commenced at the entitlement age.

(2) If a State-administered defined benefit volunteer firefighter service award program includes an optional additional death benefit that the sponsor has elected to provide for a participant who dies during the course of service as an active volunteer firefighter while actively engaged in providing a line of duty service, then, in the event that a participant dies as a result of such cause, the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the participant shall be entitled to apply for and receive distribution of a service award in an amount equal to the amount of such optional additional death benefit.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 2 § 155.11