General – Firefly Admin Inc.

Early Withdrawals Not Permitted

September 30, 2024

A volunteer firefighter LOSAP adopted in New York State can not be designed to allow an early withdrawal before the entitlement age. The entitlement age is defined in Section 215(4) as: 4.“Entitlement age” means the age designated by the sponsor at which a program participant is entitled to begin receiving an unreduced service award. In…

Actuarial Practice: Upholding the Standards

August 28, 2024

By Craig Relyea, ASA, MAAA As actuaries, we are accredited members of an organization and subject to professional standards of practice. The Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) are promulgated by the American Academy of Actuaries and are intended to guide actuaries in their work. While Firefly clients are safe to assume that our actuaries are…

Arson is the only crime that will result in loss of LOSAP benefit

June 30, 2024

Section 217(m) of the General Municipal Law states: (m) A participant who is convicted of the crime of arson in any degree as defined in the penal law shall not be eligible to receive benefits from a service award program and shall forfeit any and all rights he or she may have had to past…

Entitlement Age Options

May 31, 2024

At a recent Q&A session, it was asked if a LOSAP participant could be paid at a younger age. Unfortunately, the answer is that the lowest the entitlement age can be under New York State law is age 55. Here is the statute: “Entitlement age” means the age designated by the sponsor at which a…

Enhanced Cancer Coverage & LOD Disability Points

April 30, 2024

Effective January 1, 2019, General Municipal Law Section 205-cc was adopted to provide enhanced cancer disability benefits. The question we are attempting to address with this post is: Would an individual who receives a benefit under this new law also be eligible for LOSAP line-of-duty-disability points? Firefly is not an expert on this law, nor…

LOSAP Information for the 2023 Income Tax Year

February 1, 2024

It is tax time again! The time of year where we get questions about LOSAP and income taxes. Keep in mind that this post is not intended to be tax advice. Firefly Admin Inc. does not provide tax advice, and all participants and beneficiaries who receive a LOSAP benefit are strongly encouraged to consult with…

Participating in more than one LOSAP

October 30, 2023

A frequent question is if an individual can participate in more than one LOSAP at the same time. For volunteer firefighter LOSAPs in New York State, all active volunteer firefighters of a fire department/company that have met the minimum age requirement are eligible to participate in the LOSAP. In fact, participation is automatic unless the…

LOSAP Investment Policy

September 29, 2023

One of the essential documents we require for our role as third-party administrator is a plan document. Each LOSAP should have a detailed plan document that outlines the benefits a participating volunteer firefighter can earn for their service. It is a vitally important document. Without it, confusion and misinformation can quickly set in regarding benefits…

LOSAP II EXPLAINED (DB PLANS)

August 30, 2023

When LOSAP was first adopted in New York State, generally it was administered like a pension plan, where once a participating volunteer reached the entitlement age and collected a benefit, the volunteer was no longer able to earn benefits. In a traditional pension plan, a person generally is not “retired” and “working” at the same…

VESTING AT ENTITLEMENT AGE

July 31, 2023

Section 217(b) of the General Municipal Law is where the vesting requirement for a NY State LOSAP is found. It states: A participant shall have a nonforfeitable right to a percentage of a service award that is not lessthan the percentage determined under the following table: Years of Nonforfeitable Firefighting Service: Less than 5, Percentage=…

Category: General