Service Pension Eligibility Requirements for Defined Benefit Retirement Plans

Relief association members must meet several requirements to be eligible for a service pension distribution. Please note that these requirements may be different from or do not apply to disability and survivor benefit distributions. Rules regarding service pension eligibility requirements depend, in part, on the relief association’s pension plan type, state law and relief association bylaw provisions in effect on the date that each member separated from active service and membership.

To be eligible for a service pension from a defined benefit plan, a member must:

  1. separate from active service with the fire department;

  2. reach age 50, or a higher minimum retirement age if specified in the bylaws;

  3. complete at least five years of active fire department service (the bylaws may require a higher minimum service requirement);

  4. complete at least five years of active relief association membership (the bylaws may require a higher minimum membership requirement); and

  5. comply with any additional age, service, or membership conditions prescribed in the bylaws.

The age-50 requirement applies to all service pension distributions from defined benefit plans, including distributions that a member elects to directly rollover into the member’s Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

When a member submits an application for a distribution, the relief association’s board of trustees must determine whether the member has met each of these requirements to be eligible for the distribution. The board of trustees should confirm dates of service, breaks in service, and leaves of absence provided on the application against the fire chief’s annual certification of service credit and against the relief association’s personnel records. If the member incurred a leave of absence or break in service at the end of the individual’s firefighting career and did not resume active service before separating or being terminated, the benefit level when the member began the leave of absence or break in service (i.e., the benefit level when the member last was active) generally is used to calculate the service pension. The board of trustees should also confirm that the member has met the minimum retirement age to receive the distribution.

An appeal process should be in place so that a member can appeal a decision should the board of trustees determine that the member is ineligible to receive the service pension and votes against approval of the distribution.

Additional Resources

More information can be found in a Statement of Position that provides additional information regarding the process, from application to disbursement, of paying a defined benefit lump-sum service pension. Relief associations that operate as a defined benefit plan can refer to our Bylaw Guides, see Article VI, for language on service pensions and eligibility requirements.

Last Updated September 2026