Superseded 7/1/2023)

Superseded 7/1/2023
49-16-201.  System membership — Eligibility.

(1)  A firefighter service employee who performs firefighter service for an employer participating in this system is eligible for service credit in this system upon the earliest of:

Terms Used In Utah Code 49-16-201

  • Board: means the Utah State Retirement Board established under Section 49-11-202. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Disability: means the complete inability, due to objective medical impairment, whether physical or mental, to perform firefighter service. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Firefighter service: means employment normally requiring an average of 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled employment per year rendered by a member who is:
(i) a firefighter service employee trained in firefighter techniques and assigned to a position of hazardous duty with a regularly constituted fire department; or
(ii) the state fire marshal appointed under Section 53-7-103 or a deputy state fire marshal. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Firefighter service employee: means an employee of a participating employer who provides firefighter service under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Member: means a person, except a retiree, with contributions on deposit with a system, the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, or with a terminated system. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Participating employer: means an employer that meets the participation requirements of Section 49-16-201. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Plan: means the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan created by Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, the New Public Employees' Tier II Defined Contribution Plan created by 4, the New Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Defined Contribution Plan created by 4, or the defined contribution plans created under Section 49-11-801. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Regularly constituted fire department: means a fire department that employs a fire chief who performs firefighter service for at least 2,080 hours of regularly scheduled paid employment per year. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Service credit: means :
    (a) the period during which an employee is employed and compensated by a participating employer and meets the eligibility requirements for membership in a system or the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan, provided that any required contributions are paid to the office; and
    (b) periods of time otherwise purchasable under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • System: means the Firefighters' Retirement System created under this chapter. See Utah Code 49-16-102
  • Tier I: means a system or plan under this title for which:
    (a) an employee is eligible to participate if the employee initially enters regular full-time employment before July 1, 2011; or
    (b) a governor or legislator who initially enters office before July 1, 2011. See Utah Code 49-11-102
  • Volunteer firefighter: means any individual who is not regularly employed as a firefighter service employee, but who:
    (i) has been trained in firefighter techniques and skills;
    (ii) continues to receive regular firefighter training; and
    (iii) is on the rolls of a legally organized volunteer fire department that provides ongoing training and serves a political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 49-16-102
    (a)  July 1, 1971, if the firefighter service employee was employed by the participating employer on July 1, 1971, and the participating employer was participating in this system on that date;

    (b)  the date the participating employer begins participating in this system if the firefighter service employee was employed by the participating employer on that date; or

    (c)  the date the firefighter service employee is hired to perform firefighter services for a participating employer, if the firefighter:

    (i)  initially enters employment before July 1, 2011; or

    (ii)  has service credit accrued before July 1, 2011, in a Tier I system or plan administered by the board.
  • (2) 

    (a) 

    (i)  A participating employer that has public safety service and firefighter service employees that require cross-training and duty shall enroll the dual purpose employees in the system in which the greatest amount of time is actually worked.

    (ii)  The employees shall either be full-time public safety service or full-time firefighter service employees of the participating employer.

    (b) 

    (i)  Before transferring a dual purpose employee from one system to another, the participating employer shall receive written permission from the office.

    (ii)  The office may request documentation to verify the appropriateness of the transfer.

    (3) 

    (a)  A person hired by a regularly constituted fire department on or after July 1, 1971, who does not perform firefighter service is not eligible for service credit in this system.

    (b)  The nonfirefighter service employee shall become a member of the system for which the nonfirefighter service employee qualifies for service credit.

    (c)  The service credit exclusion under this Subsection (3) may not be interpreted to prohibit the assignment of a firefighter with a disability or partial disability to a nonfirefighter service position.

    (d)  If Subsection (3)(c) applies, the firefighter service employee remains eligible for service credit in this system.

    (4)  An allowance or other benefit may not be granted under this system that is based upon the same service for benefits received under some other system.

    (5)  Service as a volunteer firefighter is not eligible for service credit in this system.

    (6)  An employer is eligible to participate in this system if the employer:

    (a)  maintains a regularly constituted fire department; or

    (b)  is the Department of Public Safety created in Section 53-1-103 that employs the state fire marshal appointed under Section 53-7-103.

    (7)  Beginning July 1, 2011, a person who is initially entering employment with a participating employer and who does not have service credit accrued before July 1, 2011, in a Tier I system or plan administered by the board may not participate in this system.

    Amended by Chapter 254, 2015 General Session