Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 513-7-1-.04 - Qualification for Membership and Creditable Service
(1) To qualify for initial membership in the
Pension Fund, an individual shall meet one of the following,
(a) Be a firefighter who,
(1) Is a permanent compensated employee of a
compliant fire department;
(2)
Works at least 20 hours per week on average (1040 hours annually);
and,
(3) Is state certified or is a
candidate for state certification by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and
Training Council,
(b) Be
a Volunteer firefighter who,
(1) Is enrolled
as a firefighter with a compliant volunteer fire department; and,
(2) Has the principal responsibility of
preventing or suppressing fires,
(c) Be a full-time employee of the Pension
Fund working an average of 30.5 hours per week.
(2) Employees who are not state certified
through the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council and whose only
function is the performance of emergency medical services are not eligible for
membership.
(3) No person under a
sentence of confinement shall be eligible for active membership in the Fund,
nor shall any member of the Fund earn creditable service during a time period
in which the member is incarcerated under a sentence of confinement.
(4) Any individual who does not qualify for
membership under (1) above, or who does not have and principally perform the
duties of a firefighter shall not be eligible for initial or continued
membership in the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund, even though the
individual is employed by a fire department in some other capacity, unless
prior to July 1, 2006 as an employee of a full-time fire department, the
individual principally performed within that fire department a support function
set forth in subpart (5) (a, b and c).
(5) Current members of the Pension Fund who
do not meet the initial membership requirements specified in paragraph (1)
above, and who were admitted to the Fund prior to July 1, 2006 may remain in
the Fund and continue to earn creditable service so long as there is no break
in eligibility based on qualifying employment listed below,
(a) Clerical services for administration of
the department performed by personnel within the fire department;
(b) Communication services for fire
suppression and fire prevention activities performed by personnel within the
fire department; and,
(c) The
maintenance and repair of fire fighting equipment and apparatus performed by
personnel within the fire department.
In the event of a transfer from one department to another, no more than 30 calendar days may lapse where the member is not eligibly employed by a department.
(6) The Board may require evidence of
qualification for initial or continued membership in the Georgia Firefighters'
Pension Fund and of the performance of creditable service certification by the
applicant or member and by the Chief of the department as to the roster of the
department, showing the position held and the duties of the position held.
(a) For membership which requires state
certification the Board shall verify through the Georgia Firefighter Standards
and Training Council, department records, and other means, that qualifications
are met.
(b) For volunteer
firefighters, the Board shall require annual affidavits from department chiefs
that training and attendance requirements set forth in
513-7-1-.08 are met.
(c) For part-time firefighters, the Board
shall require annual affidavits from the department chiefs that requirements in
513-7-1-.08 are met.
(d) For all others, the Board shall require
an initial job description and periodically, on request, reaffirmation of fire
support duties through inquiries of the employing fire department.
(7) Creditable service may be
earned by qualifying firefighters serving in a public fire department that
serves a designated district provided all of the following are met;
(a) The fire department is financed by public
appropriation or subscription and is not privately owned; and,
(b) The fire department has a current
certificate of compliance issued by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and
Training council; and,
(c) The fire
department has been issued an ISO rating as a Class 9 or better under the
current approved ISO rating schedule
(d) A volunteer fire department shall hold no
less than 8 (eight) hours training/fire department activity in at least 10
(ten) months of a calendar year for any member of the department to earn
creditable service for that year.
(8) Credit for prior eligible service may be
granted if the member satisfied the requirements for membership and creditable
service in 513-7-1-.04 at the time such service was rendered. For the member to
be eligible for the purchase of prior eligible service the department with
which credit is being claimed shall have met the requirements set forth above
in 513-7-1-.04(7).
A member shall be entitled to credit for up to ten years of prior eligible service, provided that such person satisfies the following requirements;
(a) The member shall
file with the Board an application for such credit on forms prescribed by the
Board,
(b) Submit required
documentation verifying that creditable service was earned; and,
(c) Pay to the fund an amount sufficient to
grant requested creditable service without creating any actuarially determined
accrued liability against The Fund. This amount will be determined and provided
by Fund Staff, based on the most recent tables provided by the actuary retained
by the Board.
Notes
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