2025 Legislative Update

On May 23, Governor Walz signed the 2025 Omnibus Pension and Retirement Bill into law. All of the Fire Relief Association Working Group proposals were included in the bill, plus some additional changes affecting relief associations that were initiated by other groups or organizations. The bill:

  • Changes the March 31 reporting deadline to June 30, so all relief associations have the same reporting deadline to the OSA.
  • Allows distributions from defined contribution plans as soon as practicable following a firefighter’s separation from service, instead of requiring the firefighter to be at least age 50. This change goes into effect on January 1, 2026, and requires the relief association to amend its bylaws. We will be sending more detail to defined contribution plan trustees this summer. Note that firefighters in defined benefit plans must still be at least age 50 to receive a retirement benefit distribution. If you're not sure of your relief association's plan type, learn more in our topic on relief association plan types.
  • Removes authority to deposit member dues or contributions into the special fund and updates municipal contribution calculations to no longer include these amounts.
  • Updates direct rollover language for consistency with Internal Revenue Code and clarifies the rollover notice requirement relief associations must provide to retiring firefighters.
  • Increases the maximum allowable benefit level to $20,000 per year of service.
  • Clarifies fire and supplemental state aid provisions with respect to fire departments having part-time firefighters.
  • Repeals the relief association Investment Business Recipient Disclosure reporting requirement.
  • Clarifies the full vesting requirement if a relief association were to dissolve, defines when during a plan termination any interest allocations to deferred members end, and updates when a relief association is involuntarily dissolved.

We will send by email this summer additional information to relief association officers on these changes. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact our Pension Division team.

Last Updated May 2025