As SVF members prepare for retirement, here are a few important pieces of information:

Eligibility

To be eligible to collect a SVF Plan retirement benefit, a volunteer firefighter must:

1. Separate from the fire department. A firefighter must be separated from active service for at least 30 days.
2. Be at least 50 years old. If a firefighter is younger than age 50, the benefit will be deferred without interest until the member applies after age 50.
3. Meet vesting requirements. A firefighter must have served the minimum number of years to vest their retirement benefit. Vesting is determined by fire department’s vesting schedule.

Applying for Benefits

To apply for the retirement benefit, the member must send PERA the completed items:

1. Notarized SVF Plan Lump-Sum Retirement Application. Only applications with original ink signatures will be accepted.
2. (Optional) W-4R federal tax form and/or W-4MNP Minnesota state tax form. If the member would like to withhold a tax amount other than the default, send the additional tax forms.

Certify Service Credit

The fire chief must certify the total service credit on the SVF Plan Lump-Sum Retirement Application.

• If the member earned additional service credit in the current year, the fire chief should reflect that service in their certification of member’s total service credit.
• PERA will calculate service pension according to the service credit certified on the application.

Benefit Calculation

For volunteer firefighters in the SVF Plan, the retirement benefit is calculated using three factors:

• Years of Service: This is the certified service at the time of separation. The calculation rounds service credit down to a whole year. For example, if a volunteer firefighter has 19 years and 11 months of service, the benefit calculation will round down to 19 years of service.
• Benefit Level: Annual benefit level per year of service in effect at the time of separation.
• Vesting Percentage: The amount a member has vested under their department’s vesting schedule, shown as a percentage (out of 100%). The member’s percentage vested increases with each additional certified year of service, until a full 100% vesting is reached. Any certified, non-concurrent volunteer firefighter service earned at another fire department in the state of Minnesota also counts toward the percent vested, even if the other department does not participate in the SVF Plan.

Years of Service x Benefit Level x Vesting Percentage

For individuals who terminated prior to the fire department joining the SVF Plan, PERA will calculate their benefits according to the relief association’s bylaws.

In 2023, the Minnesota legislature created “vesting service credit,” which changed how PERA determines the vesting percentages for SVF member benefits.

PERA can use non-concurrent volunteer firefighter service earned at any fire department in Minnesota for vesting purposes, even if that department does not participate in the SVF Plan.

SVF Service for Vesting Credit

If all volunteer firefighter service is with SVF-participating departments,

• Vesting service credit is automatically applied.
• The member does not need to take action.

SVF Vesting Example:

A firefighter volunteered at two SVF fire departments during their career:

• 10 years at the Yellow Department from 2005-2015
• 10 years at the Green Department from 2015-2025

For vesting purposes, PERA cannot use the Green's service in the Yellow benefit formula because Green's service occurred after Yellow's service. However, the Green's benefit formula uses Yellow and Green service combined for vesting purposes.

The formula for each SVF benefit is:

Yellow benefit = 10 years (Yellow service) x $500 (Yellow benefit level) x 60% vesting percentage (Yellow service only)

Green benefit = 10 years (Green service) x $700 (Green benefit level) x 100% vesting percentage (Yellow and Green service combined)

Non-SVF Service for Vesting Credit

If any volunteer firefighter service is with a non-SVF department,

• Vesting service credit from the non-SVF fire department is not automatically applied.
• The member must take action and submit the SVF Prior Volunteer Firefighter Service form to PERA for each non-SVF department. The form must be completed and signed by the member, the prior department’s fire chief, and the governing body representative.

Non-SVF Vesting Example:

A firefighter volunteered at two fire departments during their career:

• Five years at the Red Department (not SVF)
• 15 years at the Blue Department (SVF)

For vesting purposes, PERA uses the five years of Red service and the 15 years of Blue service. The Blue benefit is 100% vested with 20 years of combined service.

The formula for the SVF Blue benefit is:

Blue benefit = 15 years (Blue service) x $500 (Blue benefit level) x 100% vesting percentage (Blue and Red service combined)

Note: Since Red Department is not participating in the SVF Plan, PERA does not calculate this benefit.