Revision: March 27, 2014, midnight
HB 1152-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
12Mar2014… 0017h
2014 SESSION
10/04
HOUSE BILL 1152-FN
AN ACT terminating the benefit program for call, substitute or volunteer firemen administered by the New Hampshire retirement system.
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill repeals the requirements for the retirement system to administer benefits to eligible call, substitute, or volunteer firemen, and provides for the refunding of remaining funds after the completion of payments to existing beneficiaries.
This bill is a request of the New Hampshire retirement system.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12Mar2014… 0017h
14-2408
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT terminating the benefit program for call, substitute or volunteer firemen administered by the New Hampshire retirement system.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Repeal. RSA 100-A:19, relative to benefits for call, substitute, or volunteer firemen, is repealed.
2 Administration of Benefit Payments to Existing Beneficiaries.
I. For each person receiving an annual allowance under RSA 100-A:19 as of the effective date of this act, the retirement system shall continue to pay the annual allowance to each such person as had been provided under RSA 100-A:19 prior to its repeal.
II. The retirement system shall fund the benefits required under paragraph I with the remaining funds available for RSA 100-A:19 as of the effective date of this act. All such funds shall be transferred to and held in a subtrust of the retirement system which is tax exempt pursuant to Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code.
III. The retirement system shall be reimbursed from available funds in the subtrust a reasonable annual fee for administration of the benefit until payments under paragraph I have terminated.
IV. Upon cessation of all benefit payments under paragraph I, any remaining funds held in the subtrust under paragraph II shall be refunded to the individual call firefighter, governmental entity, or other organization which paid the annual sums under RSA 100-A:19 for the 2013 fiscal year. Said refund shall be paid in a lump sum to the respective fire chief, clerk, or other responsible officer or governmental representative who remitted such annual sums on a pro rata basis based upon the total amounts remitted pursuant to RSA 100-A:19 for the 2013 fiscal year. Each such fire chief, clerk, or other responsible officer or governmental representative shall, in turn, make payments of the refunded sums, on a pro rata basis as reasonably determined, to the individual call firefighter, if then surviving and located by the remitting entity, without unreasonable delay.
3 Retirement System; Annuity Accumulation Fund; Call, Substitute, or Volunteer Firemen Amounts. Amend RSA 100-A:16, II(a) to read as follows:
(a) The state annuity accumulation fund shall be the fund in which shall be accumulated all reserves for the payment of all state annuities payable from contributions made by employers, any amounts transferred thereto from a similar fund under one or more of the predecessor systems, and amounts transferred from the member annuity savings fund, [and all amounts paid to the system by or on account of call, substitute, or volunteer firemen] and from which shall be paid all benefits payable under the system other than those payable from the member annuity savings fund.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.
LBAO
14-2408 Amended 03/19/14
HB 1152-FN FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT terminating the benefit program for call, substitute or volunteer firemen administered by the New Hampshire retirement system.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Retirement System states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2014-0017h), will increase state restricted revenue and expenditures, and may decrease local revenue and expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2015 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county revenue and expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Retirement System states this bill repeals RSA 100-A:19, which requires the System to administer benefits to eligible call, substitute, or volunteer firemen who have become incapacitated as a result of performance of fire duty. The bill provides that individuals receiving such benefits as of the effective date of the act shall continue to receive them following repeal. Also as of the effective date, the System will stop collecting the annual $6 payment from municipalities on behalf of each active participating fireman, and will fund benefits out of existing call fire funds, which shall be transferred to and held in a subtrust of the Retirement System. Currently the System collects approximately $7,000 to $8,000 per year from participating employers and pays benefits totaling approximately $5,000 per year to two recipients. (As of June 30, 2013, call fire funds totaled approximately $70,000.) Under the terms of the bill, the System will continue to make payments from remaining call fire funds until the existing recipients pass away. When this occurs, the System will refund any remaining call fire funds on a pro rata basis to the municipal employers who remitted annual payments. Cessation of the annual $6 payment represents a decrease in local expenditures beginning in FY 2015, while the potential refund of call fire funds represents an indeterminable increase in municipal revenue at some future date. In addition, the bill states that the System shall be reimbursed an annual fee for administration of the benefits. This fee and the associated administrative costs represent a small increase in the System’s restricted revenue and expenditures beginning in FY 2015. The System has not yet determined the fee amount.