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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on March 22, 2009 at 3:12pm

Minimum physical agility standards coupled with a medical exam establishes whether or not you can do the job. The persons own personal physical fitness level that is supported through the medical doctors observations is enough to give you the stay or go option. This is a good way to deal with this; having someone evaluated by an independent third party, not yourself. This makes the decision easy on your part and takes away any subjectivity as well as protecting the liability issues for your department and municipality. bz

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Permalink Reply by Michael Simpson on March 22, 2009 at 3:40pm

sorry thought i was clear we do not have any kind of retirement after years served ea 20 25 30 years of service. some states around us i know have a retirement plan set in place with some minor benefits for the vol also. this is what i am curious in to see what other states offer and if anyone knows how it finally got pushed the the legs.

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Permalink Reply by Rescue601 on March 22, 2009 at 5:15pm

I am confused ... you are a volunteer so why would there be any retirement benefits?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Simpson on March 22, 2009 at 5:23pm

there are several states atleast in the south that currently do a small bit for vol also

apparrantly the only people that deserve any kind of retirement after oh say 30 years of service is somebody that got paid for those years?

we are not talking a full retiremnet plan just something to say hey thanks for the lifelong job you did.

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Permalink Reply by drew on March 22, 2009 at 5:24pm

Oklahoma has a retirement system for their volunteers, not sure how it works but I would look there.

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Permalink Reply by Rescue601 on March 22, 2009 at 5:34pm

My point was you aren't paid so why would you expect a retirement benefit. I am a volunteer myself for a combination department, so don't take it the wrong way. With these economic times I just think its highly unlikely that there would be any money left for a program such as this.

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Permalink Reply by Alex McPhedran on March 22, 2009 at 7:42pm

best oplace to look for info is the NVFC.org website. They represent the volunteer community and can show you what other states are doing. In my state of Maine we are trying to get a Length of Service Award Program stated. It started with an acturial(?sp) by a grouup called Penflex. Drop me a line on my e mail address and I will get you up to speed. rfdso615@hotmail.com

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Permalink Reply by Paul Young on March 22, 2009 at 7:46pm

Contact the Texas State Firemens and Firemarshalls Association. They have pension program that, although it's not a huge bonus, it is a decent addition to a fixed income. Try www.sffma.org for details. As far as getting a pension for volunteering, I think that is a huge Thank You from the state that you have given a good chunk of your life to. I personally find it arrogant to think that a pension is only for career firefighters. Having been on both sides of the ledger, volly and paid, and having known firefighters that gave 30 years of service, I see nothing wrong with it. How is it paid for? The department has dues, per member, that are paid annualy. A portion of these dues are then meted out to eligible members, who have to serve a certain amount of time to collect.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Klaene on March 22, 2009 at 8:15pm

NM has a volunteer retirement program with no contributions. it pays $100/mo for 10 years of service, $200 for 25 years of service. you must attend 75% of all drills, all meetings and (all calls for which the chief holds you responsible for ).

at this legislation session they changed some of the attendance requirements but I am not sure the governor has signed it yet so it may not be a done deal yet. Basically I think the changes are going to 50% in stead of 75%

The payouts were set up about 25 years ago when the law first past and we have been trying to get things improved ever since.

If these changes actually get written in I suspect we will look at increasing the payout rate in the future ( a tougher battle)

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