May 2019 – Firefly Admin Inc.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

May 23, 2019

We are taking a few days off. Thank you to all who have served our country, and we remember those who gave their lives.

DC LOSAP ACCOUNTS – CAN PARTICIPANTS DIRECT INVESTMENTS?

May 22, 2019

The last topic we’ll address that stems from the fact that LOSAP assets are municipal assets and not participant assets is the idea of investment direction by the participant. Most are familiar with a typical 401(k), 457 or IRA account, where a menu of investment options are available for the participant to select. Some plans…

LOANS NOT AVAILABLE FROM LOSAP BENEFITS

May 21, 2019

We continue to look at the different ramifications of the fact that the assets reserved for LOSAP benefits are municipal assets and not firefighter assets. Given the last few discussions, this one may seem obvious, but a participant cannot take a loan against his/her LOSAP account balance either. This is an easy answer first because…

LOSAP BENEFITS CANNOT BE ROLLED OVER

May 20, 2019

We’ve recently been discussing the ramifications of the fact that the assets of a LOSAP are not participant assets, but municipal assets. Another ramification is that the benefits paid cannot be rolled over to an IRA. There are other tangential reasons as well, but a main reason why is that the assets are not the…

FEDERAL TAXATION OF LOSAP

May 17, 2019

Benefits paid from a LOSAP are subject to federal income tax as of the date this blog post is being written. In general, any form of compensation is taxable in the year in which it is earned, unless the the Internal Revenue Code specifically exempts it. One of those exemptions are contributions into 401(k) –…

LOSAP & DIVORCE

May 16, 2019

Last time we discussed how LOSAP assets are assets of the sponsoring municipality. One ramification of this is when a participant goes through a divorce. Most people are aware of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO, where pension assets are divided. Many try and divide LOSAP assets in the same way. But since the…

LOSAP ASSETS ARE MUNICIPAL ASSETS

May 15, 2019

A key difference between a LOSAP and a qualified pension plan is that the LOSAP assets are municipal assets. They are not owned by the individual participants, nor are they protected from the general creditors of the municipality. We’ll explore in future posts how this key factor impacts several ways that a LOSAP is administered.

POINTS FOR ATTENDING FIRE DISTRICT MEETINGS

May 14, 2019

A commissioner cannot earn points for attending fire district meetings. This is because activities of the volunteer fire company/department are eligible for points. The same would go for the chief attending the monthly district meeting. The points for attending district meetings should be baked into the officer points that are awarded to the chief.

COULD HUMAN LIFESPAN EXCEED 100 YEARS?

May 13, 2019

An article which ran on CNBC.com on Wednesday May 8th had the following key points: You can read the entire article here: www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/techs-next-big-disruption-could-be-delaying-death.html The intention of this article was to alert investors to an opportunity. If this becomes a reality, it isn’t just the stock prices of these companies that will be increasing, but the contributions…

CAN A LOSAP SPONSOR IMPOSE A ONE-YEAR WAITING PERIOD TO PARTICIPATE?

May 9, 2019

We discussed yesterday that all active volunteer firefighters are eligible to participate in a LOSAP in New York State. The next question is – is a waiting period before an eligible volunteer can begin participating? We believe the answer is no. We have reviewed many plans that will not allow a participant to participate in…

Month: May 2019