Today, August 20, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed bill S1091a / A2239a into law.
Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2021 extend the maximum years of service credit that can be earned in a volunteer firefighter LOSAP from 40 years to 50 years.
The bill amends both Section 218 (defined contribution plans) and Section 219 (defined benefit plans) to include the same language, which is as follows:
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.
Interestingly, the language states that a political subdivision can extend the maximum years of service for which a participant may receive a contribution an additional ten years. That wording is more applicable to a defined contribution plan, where a participant receives a contribution into an account for each year of 50 points earned, rather than a defined benefit plan where a participant earns a monthly benefit instead.
However, the intention seems clear – that a LOSAP can be amended to extend the maximum years of service credit from 40 to 50 years, and that such extension requires voter approval at a mandatory referendum.
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