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Pensions Commission Shifts Fire Relief Association Bill From Policy Change to Study
The Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement adopted an amendment turning proposed fire relief association changes into a study of membership and vesting rules.
The latest version of the fire relief association legislation replaces direct policy changes and shifts to a proposal for a formal study, following the adoption of a delete-everything amendment by the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement (LCPR) on April 21.
The amendment replaces language in SF 4766/HF 4723 and incorporates key elements of a related proposal, SF 4767/HF 4724. Together, the bills address who can participate in local fire relief associations and how quickly members qualify for full pension benefits. The associations serve as pension plans for volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters across Minnesota. Sen. Judy Seeberger (DFL-Woodbury) and Rep. Pete Johnson (DFL-Duluth) sponsor the bills.
Original versus amended proposal
Under the original language in SF 4766, fire relief associations would be required to include emergency medical providers working in local fire departments as members. Current law allows, but does not require, their inclusion.
The bill also would grant those employees retroactive service credit to their original date of hire. For example, an emergency medical provider hired in 2016 would enter the fire relief association with 10 years of service.
Under SF 4767, vesting schedules would be shortened. It would reduce the requirement for full vesting from a maximum of 20 years to 10 years, phased in over three years.
With the adopted SF 4766 delete-everything amendment (pdf), the bill instead requires the LCPR’s executive director to convene a work group to study both proposals: shortening vesting schedules to a maximum of 10 years and requiring fire relief associations to include emergency medical providers. It also would consider whether similar changes should apply to the Public Employees Retirement Association’s statewide volunteer firefighter plan. The proposed working group would include a representative of the League of Minnesota Cities.
The group would be required to report recommendations to the commission by early 2027.
Previous hearing and testimony
The delete-everything amendment followed an April 14 LCPR hearing in which commission members expressed support for the proposals’ overall goals but raised concerns about specific provisions.
For SF 4766, members questioned the retroactive service credit provision. For SF 4767, concerns focused on the three-year phase-in period and potential financial liability for cities. Shorter vesting schedules could cause a relief association to fall below funding thresholds, requiring a municipality to contribute funds to restore the plan to at least 90% funded.
During that hearing, State Auditor Julie Blaha testified that she supports the concept but would like the proposal to be vetted by the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor’s Fire Relief Association Working Group.
What’s next
Both bills were laid over for inclusion in the omnibus pensions and retirement bill. The commission is not subject to standard committee deadlines and can act on pension legislation up to the constitutional adjournment date of May 18.