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Actuarial Practice: Upholding the Standards

August 28, 2024

By Craig Relyea, ASA, MAAA As actuaries, we are accredited members of an organization and subject to professional standards of practice. The Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) are promulgated by the American Academy of Actuaries and are intended to guide actuaries in their work. While Firefly clients are safe to assume that our actuaries are…

About the bioluminescent beetle (aka firefly)

July 31, 2024

A more personal post today. I logged in to write the July 2024 blog post and first checked the weather for the weekend. That is when I saw this article on Spectrum News 1: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/weather/2024/07/31/the-bioluminescent-beetles-and-how-we-can-protect-them The property I grew up on was secluded at the end of a dead-end street. Our driveway was not paved…

Entitlement Age Options

May 31, 2024

At a recent Q&A session, it was asked if a LOSAP participant could be paid at a younger age. Unfortunately, the answer is that the lowest the entitlement age can be under New York State law is age 55. Here is the statute: “Entitlement age” means the age designated by the sponsor at which a…

Enhanced Cancer Coverage & LOD Disability Points

April 30, 2024

Effective January 1, 2019, General Municipal Law Section 205-cc was adopted to provide enhanced cancer disability benefits. The question we are attempting to address with this post is: Would an individual who receives a benefit under this new law also be eligible for LOSAP line-of-duty-disability points? Firefly is not an expert on this law, nor…

Who must certify the annual points listing?

March 31, 2024

It is the time of year when we receive this question often – who is the one who must certify the annual points earned by the volunteers? Ultimately, the law does not specify a specific person or title. General Municipal Law Section 219-a(c) states: Each volunteer fire company shall furnish to the governing board of…

LOSAP & Paid Family Leave

December 22, 2023

New York State established the Paid Family Leave Program (PFL), with benefits beginning effective January 1, 2018. The program provides employees paid time off to bond with a new child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist loved ones when an immediate family member is deployed abroad on active military…

Federal LOSAP Benefit Limitation Increased to $7,500

November 2, 2023

Yesterday, the IRS issued Notice 2023-75, which provides the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments on the dollar limitations for pensions and other benefits like LOSAPs. The limit on the benefit that can be provided in a LOSAP increased from $7,000 to $7,500 for the 2024 tax year. The historical limitations are as follows: Year Limit up to…

Participating in more than one LOSAP

October 30, 2023

A frequent question is if an individual can participate in more than one LOSAP at the same time. For volunteer firefighter LOSAPs in New York State, all active volunteer firefighters of a fire department/company that have met the minimum age requirement are eligible to participate in the LOSAP. In fact, participation is automatic unless the…

LOSAP Investment Policy

September 29, 2023

One of the essential documents we require for our role as third-party administrator is a plan document. Each LOSAP should have a detailed plan document that outlines the benefits a participating volunteer firefighter can earn for their service. It is a vitally important document. Without it, confusion and misinformation can quickly set in regarding benefits…

LOSAP II EXPLAINED (DB PLANS)

August 30, 2023

When LOSAP was first adopted in New York State, generally it was administered like a pension plan, where once a participating volunteer reached the entitlement age and collected a benefit, the volunteer was no longer able to earn benefits. In a traditional pension plan, a person generally is not “retired” and “working” at the same…

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