As used in this article:
1. "System" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and
Retirement System and all predecessor municipal firefighters pension
and retirement systems;
2. "Article" means Article 49 of this title;
3. "State Board" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and
Retirement Board;
4. "Local board" means the local firefighters pension and
retirement boards;
5. "Fund" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and
Retirement Fund;
6. "Member" means all eligible firefighters of a participating
municipality or a fire protection district who perform the essential
functions of fire suppression, prevention, and life safety duties in
a fire department. The term "member" shall include but not be
limited to the person serving as fire chief of any participating
municipality, provided that a person serving as fire chief of a
participating municipality shall meet the age, agility, physical and
other eligibility requirements required by law at the time said
person becomes a member of the System. Effective July 1, 1987, a
member does not include a "leased employee". The term "leased
employee" means any person (other than an employee of the recipient)
who pursuant to an agreement between the recipient and any other
person ("leasing organization") has performed services for the
recipient (or for the recipient and related persons determined in
accordance with Section 414(n)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended) on a substantially full-time basis for a period of
at least one (1) year, and such services are performed under primary
direction or control by the recipient. Contributions or benefits
provided a leased employee by the leasing organization which are
attributable to services performed for the recipient employer shall
be treated as provided by the recipient employer. A leased employee
shall not be considered an employee of the recipient if the
requirements of the safe harbor provisions of Section 414(n)(5) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are satisfied.
Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the
participating municipality that the individual's services are to be
performed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall
not be a member regardless of any classification as a common law
employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental
agency, or any court of competent jurisdiction;
7. "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the member
is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's
accrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day
following the date the member completes twenty (20) years of
credited service. If the member's employment continues past the
normal retirement date of the member, the actual retirement date of
the member shall be the first day following the date the member
terminates employment with more than twenty (20) years of credited
service;
8. "Credited service" means the period of service used to
determine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to
a member. Credited service shall consist of the period during which
the member participated in the System or the predecessor municipal
systems as an active employee in an eligible membership
classification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the
predecessor municipal systems which was credited under the
predecessor municipal systems; provided, however, "credited service"
for members from a fire protection district shall not begin accruing
before July 1, 1982;
9. "Participating municipality" means a municipality, county
fire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 351 of
Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or fire protection district which
is making contributions to the System on behalf of its firefighters.
All participating municipalities shall appoint a fire chief who
shall supervise and administer the fire department;
10. "Disability" means the complete inability of the
firefighter to perform any and every duty of the firefighter's
regular occupation; provided further, that once benefits have been
paid for twenty-four (24) months the provisions of Section 49-110 of
this title shall apply to the firefighter;
11. "Executive Director" means the managing officer of the
System employed by the State Board;
12. "Eligible employer" means any municipality with a municipal
fire department, any county fire department organized pursuant to
subsection D of Section 351 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes or
any fire protection district with an organized fire department;
13. "Entry date" means the date as of which an eligible
employer joins the System. The first entry date pursuant to this
article shall be January 1, 1981;
14. "Final average salary" means the average paid gross salary
of the firefighter for normally scheduled hours over the highest
salaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60)
months of credited service. Gross salary shall not include payment
for accumulated sick or annual leave upon termination of employment,
any uniform allowances or any other compensation for reimbursement
of out-of-pocket expenses. Only salary on which the required
contributions have been made may be used in computing the final
average salary. Effective January 1, 1988, gross salary shall
include any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 125 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Gross salary shall
include any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 457 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any amount of
nonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1998, for
purposes of determining a member's compensation, any contribution by
the member to reduce the member's regular cash remuneration under
Section 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
shall be treated as if the member did not make such an election.
Only salary on which required contributions have been made may be
used in computing final average salary.
In addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding
any other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or
after July 1, 2002, the annual gross salary of each "Noneligible
Member" taken into account under the System shall not exceed the
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA")
annual salary limit. The EGTRRA annual salary limit is Two Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for
increases in the cost of living in accordance with Section
401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The
annual salary limit in effect for a calendar year applies to any
period, not exceeding twelve (12) months, over which salary is
determined ("determination period") beginning in such calendar year.
If a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months,
the EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of months in the determination
period, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes
of this subsection, a "Noneligible Member" is any member who first
became a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1,
1996.
For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference
to the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA salary limit
set forth in this subsection.
Effective June 9, 2010, gross salary shall also include gross
salary, as described above, for services, but paid by the later of
two and one-half (2 1/2) months after a firefighter's severance from
employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date
the firefighter terminated employment, if it is a payment that,
absent a severance from employment, would have been paid to the
firefighter while the firefighter continued in employment with the
participating municipality.
Effective June 9, 2010, any payments not described above shall
not be considered gross salary if paid after severance from
employment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one-half
(2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the
end of the calendar year that includes the date of severance from
employment, except payments to an individual who does not currently
perform services for the participating municipality by reason of
qualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent
these payments do not exceed the amounts the individual would have
received if the individual had continued to perform services for the
participating municipality rather than entering qualified military
service.
Effective June 9, 2010, back pay, within the meaning of Section
1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as
gross salary for the year to which the back pay relates to the
extent the back pay represents wages and compensation that would
otherwise be included in this definition.
Effective for years beginning after December 31, 2008, gross
salary shall also include differential wage payments under Section
414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
15. "Accrued retirement benefit" means two and one-half percent
(2 1/2%) of the firefighter's final average salary multiplied by the
member's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years;
16. "Beneficiary" means a member's surviving spouse or any
surviving children, including biological and adopted children, at
the time of the member's death. The surviving spouse must have been
married to the firefighter for the thirty (30) continuous months
preceding the firefighter's death provided a surviving spouse of a
member who died while in, or as a consequence of, the performance of
the member's duty for a participating municipality, shall not be
subject to the marriage limitation for survivor benefits. A
surviving child of a member shall be a beneficiary until reaching
eighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the
child is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or
private school or any institution of higher education. Any child
adopted by a member after the member's retirement shall be a
beneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the
thirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any
child who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and
such member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance
of the member's duty as a firefighter shall not be subject to the
thirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary
shall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this
article;
17. "Contributions" means payments remitted to the System
pursuant to Section 49-122 or subsection A of Section 49-138 of this
title. Contributions shall not include payments made to repurchase
credited service pursuant to Section 49-117.1 of this title,
payments made to transfer credited service from another retirement
system pursuant to subsection A of Section 49-117.2 or Section 49-
117.3 of this title, or payments made to purchase prior military
service credit pursuant to subsection E of Section 49-138 of this
title;
18. "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all
contributions made by a member to the System and includes both
contributions deducted from the compensation of a member and
contributions of a member picked up and paid by the participating
municipality of the member. Accumulated contributions shall not
include any interest on the contributions of the member, interest on
any amount contributed by the municipality or state and any amount
contributed by the municipality or state; and
19. "Limitation year" means the year used in applying the
limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
which year shall be the calendar year.
Added by Laws 1980, c. 352, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981. Amended by Laws
1982, c. 320, § 1, operative July 1, 1982; Laws 1985, c. 222, § 1,
emerg. eff. July 8, 1985; Laws 1987, c. 236, § 142, emerg. eff. July
20, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 267, § 1, operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1990,
c. 143, § 1, emerg. eff. May 1, 1990; Laws 1991, c. 323, § 1, emerg.
eff. June 12, 1991; Laws 1992, c. 390, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9,
1992; Laws 1993, c. 126, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 1993; Laws 1994, c.
84, § 1, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 1994, c. 300, § 1, eff. July 1,
1994; Laws 1996, c. 208, § 1, emerg. eff. May 21, 1996; Laws 1998,
c. 299, § 1, emerg. eff. May 28, 1998; Laws 1999, c. 193, § 1, eff.
July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 327, § 1, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2002,
c. 398, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 128, § 1, eff. July 1,
2003; Laws 2010, c. 438, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010; Laws 2011,
c. 279, § 1, emerg. eff. May 19, 2011; Laws 2012, c. 364, § 1; Laws
2013, c. 165, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 388, § 2, eff.
Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2022, c. 232, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2022; Laws 2025,
c. 142, § 1, emerg. eff. May 12, 2025.‹ Prev All Oklahoma sections Next ›
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