Colorado § 31-31-705 - Affiliation by volunteer pension plans.

§ 31-31-705. Affiliation by volunteer pension plans.

(1) The board is authorized to make affiliation agreements with governing bodies that provide pension plans for volunteer firefighters to administer such plans and manage the funds of such plans for investment. The fire and police pension association may require periodic renewal of the agreement.

(2) The fire and police pension association has the following responsibilities in connection with a volunteer firefighter pension plan that has an agreement with the association pursuant to subsection (1) of this section:

(a) Investing the assets of the plan, including determining the allocation of assets;

(b) Collecting and accounting for contributions to the plan;

(c) Distributing benefits provided under the plan as directed by the governing body or its agent and issuing tax forms and filing tax reports regarding distributions;

(d) Conducting actuarial valuations and financial audits of the plan on at least a biannual basis or as required by regulatory bodies or by law;

(e) Maintaining records and reporting the investments, assets, and benefits of the plan as required by statute or by regulatory bodies;

(f) Authorizing the payment of expenses of the plan from the assets of the plan. Any expenses that are incurred by the fire and police pension association that are directly related to the association's administration of the plan shall be paid from that plan's assets. Any expenses incurred by the association that are attributable to more than one plan administered by the association shall be allocated to each plan on an equitable basis as determined by the association. The allocated expense shall be paid from the assets of each plan.

(g) Taking such other actions as may be allowed or required by statute.

(3) The governing body of a volunteer pension plan or its local pension board has the following responsibilities when the plan is affiliated with the fire and police pension association pursuant to subsection (1) of this section:

(a) Establishing eligibility for and the amount of benefits to be received by members and beneficiaries of the plan, including the determination of base benefits, years of service under the plan, marital status, and continuing eligibility of retirees and survivors;

(b) Electing options for the allocation of assets, if such options are provided by the fire and police pension association;

(c) Maintaining records of the terms and provisions of the plan as they may be adopted and amended;

(d) Making determinations regarding benefit improvements, if any; and

(e) Periodically certifying information required by the fire and police pension association to administer the plan benefits.

(4) A governing body that provides pension benefits for volunteer firefighters may terminate its affiliation with the fire and police pension association upon giving written notice to the association at least sixty days prior to the end of any quarter of a calendar year. The association may allow a shorter notice period. The association may terminate the affiliation of a volunteer plan upon sixty days written notice to the governing body for failure to fulfill its responsibilities to the plan or its failure to renew an affiliation agreement.

Source: L. 96: Entire article added with relocations, p. 926, § 1, effective May 23. L. 2014: Entire section amended, (SB 14-024), ch. 51, p. 233, § 3, effective March 20.

Editor's note: This section was formerly numbered as § 31-30-1005 (1)(k).

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 31-31-705 is similar to § 31-30-1005 as it existed prior to the 1996 amendment that relocated parts 3 through 10 of article 30, relevant cases construing the provisions of that section have been included in the annotations to this section.

Health insurance benefits may also be provided to retirees covered by the Policemen's and Firemen's Pension Reform Act. The provisions of this act indicate that the fund's administrative board may contract with carriers to provide this type of coverage. The act does not specify the manner in which these benefits are to be funded, nor does it specify the extent of coverage which may be provided. Colo. Springs Fire Fighters v. Colo. Springs, 784 P.2d 766 (Colo. 1989).

Rules promulgated by fund's administrative board to enable it to review whether an employer had elected to continue rank escalation benefits after January 1, 1980, fit squarely within the board's express statutory authority under subsection (1)(j). Pueblo v. Fire and Police Pension Ass'n, 827 P.2d 597 (Colo. App. 1992).

Hearing held by fund's administrative board to review and ascertain the character or nature of the city's determination regarding continuation of rank escalation benefits was critical to the board's ability to carry out its statutory obligations, first, to members eligible for benefits under pension plans affiliated with FPPA and, second, to the state in distributing its contributions to such plans. Pueblo v. Fire and Police Pension Ass'n, 827 P.2d 597 (Colo. App. 1992).

Actions taken by fund's administrative board under its rules were limited to interpreting acts taken by the employer, and the dispositive actor in setting the scope of pension benefits, undisputably a local policy issue, continued under the rules, to the city as the employer. Pueblo v. Fire and Police Pension Ass'n, 827 P.2d 597 (Colo. App. 1992).

As "gatekeeper" of state moneys, fund's administrative board must insure that employers maintain a level of annual contributions to pay earned benefits to present and future plan members and see that no state moneys are used to fund a continuation of full rank escalation benefits after January 1, 1980. Pueblo v. Fire and Police Pension Ass'n, 827 P.2d 597 (Colo. App. 1992).