Firefly Admin Inc.

Latest OSC Audit: Focus Shift to Financial Oversight of LOSAP

January 17, 2024

This week, the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC) issued a press release regarding several audits that were concluded in late December 2023. One was report 2023M-132, which focused on the financial condition of a fire district. Follow this LINK to read the full report. For our purposes, the individual district is not material…

LOSAP & Paid Family Leave

December 22, 2023

New York State established the Paid Family Leave Program (PFL), with benefits beginning effective January 1, 2018. The program provides employees paid time off to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist loved ones when an immediate family member is deployed abroad on active military…

Federal LOSAP Benefit Limitation Increased to $7,500

November 2, 2023

Yesterday, the IRS issued Notice 2023-75, which provides the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments on the dollar limitations for pensions and other benefits like LOSAPs. The limit on the benefit that can be provided in a LOSAP increased from $7,000 to $7,500 for the 2024 tax year. The historical limitations are as follows: Year Limit up to…

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=…

NEW NEW YORK STATE TRAINING STIPEND SHOULD NOT IMPACT LOSAP ELIGIBILITY

June 30, 2023

When the 2023 State Fiscal Year Budget was adopted, the legislation included a new amendment to the General Municipal Law (GML) and Volunteer Firefighter Benefits Law (VFBL) to allow for the payment of training stipends. Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2023 accomplished two things: 1) Amend the GML to provide for the payment of…

CAN EXTENDING THE MAXIMUM YEARS OF SERVICE CREDIT BE “RETROACTIVE”?

May 31, 2023

Prior to 2021, the maximum monthly benefit that could be earned in a defined benefit LOSAP in New York State was essentially $1,200. The statute states, in essence, that the monthly payment cannot exceed an amount equal to $30 for each year of service credit up to a maximum of forty (40) years of service…

THE 80% FUNDING MYTH

April 30, 2023

We recently had a sponsor that inquired about amending their program to improve benefits. The program was exactly 80% funded as of January 1, 2023. One of the questions that came up during the discussion was if the plan was funded well enough to consider an amendment. Normally, it would be preferred for a program…