FIREFIGHTERS’ AND RESCUE SQUAD WORKERS’ PENSION …

1 YourretirementbenefitsFIREFIGHTERS AND RESCUE SQUADWORKERS PENSION FUNDD epartment of State TreasurerRaleigh, NCRevised January 2014 firefighters AND RESCUE SQUAD WORKERS PENSION FUND january 2014 Your Retirement BenefitsNORTH CAROLINADEPARTMENT OF STATE TREASURERRETIREMENT SYSTEMS DIVISIONJANET COWELLSTATE TREASURERSTEVEN C. TOOLEDIRECTORW elcome to the North Carolina Retirement Systems!The Department of State Treasurer, which administers the retirement systems for firefighters and RESCUE SQUAD workers, is committed to pro-viding you with information to will help you make informed decisions about your financial future. I encourage you to become familiar with the benefits described in this handbook outlines the benefits available to you as a member of the firefighters and RESCUE SQUAD Workers PENSION also encourage you to visit our website, , for retirement resources.

2 You can also contact the North Carolina Retirement Systems if you have additional questions. Our customer service representatives can assist with the status of an application or answer questions about you for your service to North ,Janet Cowell1-877-508-9110 Toll-free919-508-5360 (Raleigh and RESCUE SQUAD workers PENSION fundjanuary 2014 Your Retirement Benefits3 Your Retirement BenefitsContents PageYour PENSION Fund benefits in Brief ..4 Becoming a Member of the PENSION Fund ..4 Who Pays for the Fund ..5 Benefit Amountand Eligibility Requirements .. 5 Disability Status ..5 If You Leave the Department or SQUAD Before Retirement ..6 Effect of Annexation.)

3 6 How benefits are Paid ..6 Payments to Beneficiaries ..6 Receiving Your Monthly Benefit ..7 Creditable Service and Service Purchase Provisions ..7 Refund of Contributions ..8 Lack of Qualification ..8 Default of the Fund ..8 Rejoining the Fund ..8 Reemployment after Retirement ..9 Income Tax ..9 Retirement benefits ..9 Death benefits ..10 Important Information to Remember ..10 ORBIT .. 10 Administration and Funding ..11 How to Contact Us ..13 Contents PageDISCLAIMER: The availability and amount of all benefits you might be eligible to receive is governed by Retirement Sys-tem law. The information provided in this handbook cannot alter, modify or otherwise change the controlling Retirement System law or other governing legal documents in any way, nor can any right accrue to you by reason of any information provided or omission of information provided herein.

4 In the event of a conflict between this information and Retirement System law, Retirement System law and RESCUE SQUAD workers PENSION fundjanuary 2014 Your Retirement Benefits4 Your PENSION Fund benefits in Brief Membership depen-dent on meeting eli-gibility requirements (see below). Shared cost of retire - ment benefits between you and the General Fund (see page 5). Monthly payments at retirement are a set amount (see page 5). Monthly PENSION benefit at age 55 with 20 years of credit as a firefighter or RESCUE SQUAD worker (see page 5). Disability status for qualifying, eligible members (see page 5). Line-of-duty disability benefits for qualifying eli-gible members (see page 5).

5 This section only highlights the PENSION Fund. The following pages describe it in a Member of the PENSION FundYou can enroll as a member of the PENSION Fund if you meet the eligibility requirements stated FirefightersTo be an eligible firefighter, you must be 18 or older and belong to a fire department that: is rated by the Fire Insurance Rating Bureau and is certified by the Department of Insur-ance as not less than a Class 9S department, files a roster annually with the North Carolina State Firemen s Association, which is forward-ed to the PENSION Fund by January 31 each year, and holds training sessions at least 4 hours monthly for which members are required to attend at least 36 hours per Sessions for firefighters are defined as sessions or drills that prepare firefighters for, or increase their knowledge in, fire prevention, fire suppression, or protection of life and RESCUE SQUAD WorkersTo be an eligible RESCUE SQUAD worker .

6 You must be 18 or older and belong to a RESCUE SQUAD that: is eligible for membership in the North Car-olina Association of RESCUE and Emergency Medical Services, Inc., and files a roster annually with the North Carolina Association of RESCUE and Emergency Medical Services, Inc., which is forwarded to the Pen-sion Fund by January 31 each year. Eligible RESCUE SQUAD workers must attend a min-imum of 36 hours of training sessions each sessions for RESCUE SQUAD workers are defined as any sessions or drills that prepare res-cue SQUAD workers for, or increase their knowl-edge in, RESCUE , emergency medical services, in-jury prevention, or protection of life and property.

7 Enrollment in the PENSION Fund To become a member of the PENSION Fund, you must: complete an enrollment application (Form 350) through your department or SQUAD , and mail it with your first payment (contributions are $10 per month) to the PENSION Fund Office address on page 13 of this handbook. Your enrollment date will be effective in the month in which the PENSION Fund receives both your ap-plication and contribution. firefighters and RESCUE SQUAD workers PENSION fundjanuary 2014 Your Retirement Benefits5 Who Pays for the FundYour contributions to the PENSION Fund, the in-vestment earnings on total contributions, and an annual appropriation from the State Gener-al Fund pay the cost of providing your PENSION Fund benefits .

8 Your share of the cost is $10 monthly. Members normally must pay into the PENSION Fund for 20 years, or a maximum of $2,400, to receive a monthly benefit at Amount and Eligibility RequirementsThe present PENSION Fund benefit is $170 per monthYou may apply for monthly PENSION Fund ben-efits after you: have 20 years of creditable service as a fire-fighter or RESCUE SQUAD worker , reach age 55, and terminate paid duties as a firefighter or RESCUE SQUAD service is defined as eligible service for any period during which you paid and main-tained contributions in the Fund or for which you purchased service credit in the service as either a firefighter or res-cue SQUAD worker counts toward membership in the Fund.

9 However, if you work and/or volunteer both as a firefighter and as a RESCUE SQUAD work-er during the same month, you can only receive one month of PENSION Fund credit for that StatusAfter 10 years of creditable service, if you become totally and permanently disabled (as approved by the PENSION Fund s Medical Review Board) and can no longer perform the du-ties of a firefighter or RESCUE SQUAD worker , you are eligible for dis-ability retirement status. If your disability is the result of a non-duty related activity, you must continue to pay $10 per month into the Fund un-til you have paid for 20 years or $2,400. At age 55, you may apply to receive your monthly ben-efit provided you have made contributions for 20 you become totally and permanently disabled (as approved by the PENSION Fund s Medical Re-view Board) while performing your duties as a firefighter or RESCUE SQUAD worker , you may apply to receive a monthly PENSION when you reach age 55.

10 After being approved for a line-of-duty dis-ability, you will no longer have to make contribu-tions to the PENSION : In order to be properly credited, your con-tributions for a calendar year must be received by the PENSION Fund by March 31 of the follow-ing year. Prior year contributions received after March 31 will be returned. To receive credit for the period for which the contributions were re-turned, you must purchase the service credit as described under the Prior Service purchase pro-visions referenced on page and RESCUE SQUAD workers PENSION fundjanuary 2014 Your Retirement Benefits6 How benefits are PaidTo begin receiving benefits , you must complete and submit to the PENSION Fund: Form 6FR, Retiring from the firefighters and RESCUE SQUAD Workers PENSION Fund Form 170, Authorizing Direct Deposit These forms are available on the ORBIT must apply for benefits .