The Florida Senate

“Average final compensation” for a full-time firefighter means one-twelfth of the average annual compensation of the 5 best years of the last 10 years of creditable service prior to retirement, termination, or death, or the career average as a full-time firefighter since July 1, 1953, whichever is greater. A year shall be 12 consecutive months or such other consecutive period of time as is used and consistently applied.

“Average final compensation” for a volunteer firefighter means the average salary of the 5 best years of the last 10 best contributing years prior to change in status to a permanent full-time firefighter or retirement as a volunteer firefighter or the career average of a volunteer firefighter, since July 1, 1953, whichever is greater.

A retirement trust fund or plan may use a definition of salary other than the definition in this subsection but only if the monthly retirement income payable to each firefighter covered by the retirement trust fund or plan, as determined under s. 175.162(2)(a) and using such other definition, equals or exceeds the monthly retirement income that would be payable to each firefighter if his or her monthly retirement income were determined under s. 175.162(2)(a) and using the definition in this subsection.

Any retirement trust fund or plan which now or hereafter meets the requirements of this chapter shall not, solely by virtue of this subsection, reduce or diminish the monthly retirement income otherwise payable to each firefighter covered by the retirement trust fund or plan.

The member’s compensation or salary contributed as employee-elective salary reductions or deferrals to any salary reduction, deferred compensation, or tax-sheltered annuity program authorized under the Internal Revenue Code shall be deemed to be the compensation or salary the member would receive if he or she were not participating in such program and shall be treated as compensation for retirement purposes under this chapter.

For any person who first becomes a member in any plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, compensation for any plan year shall not include any amounts in excess of the Internal Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17) limitation (as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993), which limitation of $150,000 shall be adjusted as required by federal law for qualified government plans and shall be further adjusted for changes in the cost of living in the manner provided by Internal Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17)(B). For any person who first became a member prior to the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, the limitation on compensation shall be not less than the maximum compensation amount that was allowed to be taken into account under the plan as in effect on July 1, 1993, which limitation shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living since 1989 in the manner provided by Internal Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17)(1991).

No firefighter will receive credit for years or fractional parts of years of service if he or she has withdrawn his or her contributions to the fund for those years or fractional parts of years of service, unless the firefighter repays into the fund the amount he or she has withdrawn, plus interest determined by the board. The member shall have at least 90 days after his or her reemployment to make repayment.

A firefighter may voluntarily leave his or her contributions in the fund for a period of 5 years after leaving the employ of the fire department, pending the possibility of being rehired by the same department, without losing credit for the time he or she has participated actively as a firefighter. If the firefighter is not reemployed as a firefighter, with the same department, within 5 years, his or her contributions shall be returned without interest.

Credited service under this chapter shall be provided only for service as a firefighter, as defined in subsection (8), or for military service and does not include credit for any other type of service. A municipality may, by local ordinance, or a special fire control district may, by resolution, provide for the purchase of credit for military service prior to employment as well as for prior service as a firefighter for some other employer as long as a firefighter is not entitled to receive a benefit for such prior service as a firefighter. For purposes of determining credit for prior service as a firefighter, in addition to service as a firefighter in this state, credit may be given for federal, other state, or county service if the prior service is recognized by the Division of State Fire Marshal as provided under chapter 633, or the firefighter provides proof to the board of trustees that his or her service is equivalent to the service required to meet the definition of a firefighter under subsection (8).

In determining the creditable service of any firefighter, credit for up to 5 years of the time spent in the military service of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be added to the years of actual service if:

“Firefighter” means any person employed solely by a constituted fire department of any municipality or special fire control district who is certified as a firefighter as a condition of employment in accordance with s. 633.35 and whose duty it is to extinguish fires, to protect life, or to protect property. The term includes all certified, supervisory, and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management responsibilities of full-time firefighters, part-time firefighters, or auxiliary firefighters but does not include part-time firefighters or auxiliary firefighters. However, for purposes of this chapter only, the term also includes public safety officers who are responsible for performing both police and fire services, who are certified as police officers or firefighters, and who are certified by their employers to the Chief Financial Officer as participating in this chapter before October 1, 1979. Effective October 1, 1979, public safety officers who have not been certified as participating in this chapter are considered police officers for retirement purposes and are eligible to participate in chapter 185. Any plan may provide that the fire chief has an option to participate, or not, in that plan.

“Volunteer firefighter” means any person whose name is carried on the active membership roll of a constituted volunteer fire department or a combination of a paid and volunteer fire department of any municipality or special fire control district and whose duty it is to extinguish fires, to protect life, and to protect property. Compensation for services rendered by a volunteer firefighter shall not disqualify him or her as a volunteer. A person shall not be disqualified as a volunteer firefighter solely because he or she has other gainful employment. Any person who volunteers assistance at a fire but is not an active member of a department described herein is not a volunteer firefighter within the meaning of this paragraph.