Montana § 19-13-1007 - Minimum Benefit Adjustment

§ 19-13-1007. Minimum Benefit Adjustment

Minimum benefit adjustment. (1) The following applies to a member with 10 or more years of membership service who has not elected to be covered under 19-13-1010 : (a) For the member or the member's surviving spouse or dependent children, the service retirement benefit provided in 19-13-704 , the disability retirement benefit provided in 19-13-803 , and the survivorship benefit provided in 19-13-902 may not be less than one-half the monthly compensation paid to a newly confirmed, active firefighter of the employer that last employed the member as a firefighter, as provided each year in the budget of that employer. (b) If after a member retires, the employer that last employed the member no longer employs a full-paid firefighter, the member's or survivor's benefit under subsection (1)(a) must be adjusted on the basis of the average monthly compensation paid to all newly confirmed full-paid firefighters, as provided each year in the budgets of those employers that participate in the retirement system and employ a full-paid firefighter. (2) If the employment of a vested member hired before July 1, 1981, who has not elected to be covered under 19-13-1010 is involuntarily discontinued because of the termination of employment of all full-paid firefighters of the employer that employed the member, the member's service retirement benefit provided in 19-13-704 and the member's spouse's or dependent child's survivorship benefit provided in 19-13-902 (1) may not be less than: (a) if the member has earned 20 years or more of membership service, one-half the average monthly compensation paid to all newly confirmed, full-paid firefighters, as provided each year in the budgets of those employers that participate in the retirement system and employ a full-paid firefighter; or (b) if the member has earned more than 5 but less than 20 years of membership service, 2.5% of the average monthly compensation paid to all newly confirmed, full-paid firefighters, as provided each year in the budgets of those employers that participate in the retirement system and employ a full-paid firefighter, for each year of the member's service.