44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION TO CONDUCT AN ACTUARIAL STUDY OF INCREASING THE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS ON THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS RETIREMENT FUND.

WHEREAS, the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act provides a pension annuity to members who attain age fifty-five and who have at least ten years or more of service credit; and

WHEREAS, member is defined in the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act as a volunteer nonsalaried firefighter who is listed as an active member on the rolls of a fire department and whose first year of service credit was accumulated no later than the year in which he attained the age of forty-five; and

WHEREAS, excluded from the definition of member in the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act is any volunteer nonsalaried firefighter who has been retired by or is receiving an annuity from any other retirement pension or annuity plan created and established by the state or any of its political subdivisions, except the state police pension fund; and

WHEREAS, Article 20, Section 22 of the constitution of New Mexico provides that benefits paid by the public employees retirement system may not be increased unless adequate funding is provided; and

WHEREAS, amending the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act to allow membership to persons whose first year of volunteer firefighter service occurs when the person is over the age of forty-five will result in a benefit increase that will have an actuarial impact on the volunteer firefighters retirement fund; and

WHEREAS, amending the Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Act to allow membership to persons who are receiving an annuity from another state system will result in a benefit increase that will also have an actuarial impact on the volunteer firefighters retirement fund;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the fire chief of each volunteer firefighter department be requested to gather information regarding the number and age of volunteer firefighters who began service after the age of forty-five and determine how many volunteer firefighters have or will retire from another state system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state fire marshal work in cooperation with each volunteer firefighter department in gathering this information and provide this information to the public employees retirement association by July 1, 1999; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public employees retirement association request an actuarial study of the financial impact of increasing the number of volunteer firefighters by allowing persons whose first year of service occurs after the age of forty-five and persons who are receiving an annuity from another state system to become members of the volunteer firefighters retirement fund and that the cost of such an actuarial study be paid for by the state fire marshal and those affected volunteer fire departments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state fire marshal for dissemination to the chief of each volunteer fire department and to the executive director of the public employees retirement association.