It is official. Those members of our Association who do not belong to the Fire & Rescue Pension Fund can purchase their time now. The Association, along with certain individuals, asked the General Assembly to allow those members who belong to a rescue/EMS department to purchase their prior service. We have, in the past, been allowed to do so and we have members who stated that they did not receive notification about purchasing prior service. I have asked the Association Office to notify every member that an open enrollment for the purchase of prior service is now available for the Pension Fund starting October 1, 2000 and running through March 31, 2001. It is your responsibility to contact the Fire & Rescue Pension Fund Office. The Pension Fund Coordinator is Marie Hinton and her office is located in Raleigh. This is the best investment that any member of the Association can invest in. We thank the members of the General Assembly who supported the bill.
(Please note: Additional information regarding the Pension Fund is at the bottom of this page)
The forty-fourth annual convention is just around the corner. A tremendous amount of work goes into setting up and running an event like this as well as all the many hours of training each team puts into getting ready for competition. This training is not only for the competition, it helps sharpen the skills of members and teams on everyday calls. If you have never been to a convention, you are missing a lot and if you regularly attend we hope to see you there again in September.
On a closing note, don't forget to join the Brotherhood before it's too late. Giving $1.00 to a fellow members family is a small token and the return to your family can be very helpful.
The Gates County Rescue Squad Auxiliary hosted the May NCAR&EMS Area I meeting. During the meeting, the auxiliary presented service pins to many members. Listed, are a few who have been and are still active members that have served many years. 25 years --- Marie Evans and Vicky Hollowell, 30 years --- Atmill Felton and Walter Benton, 35 years --- Durwood Evans. Thanks to all the others, too, who are building their years.
| NUM | NAME | SQUAD | DOD | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #654 | Denny Lamar Wood Jackson | County Rescue Squad | June 05, 2000 | 62 |
| #655 | Grief G. Jones | Eden Rescue Squad | June 12, 2000 | 77 |
| #656 | Richard Tyndall | Comfort Rescue Squad | June 16, 2000 | 65 |
| #657 | Haynes B. Long | Tabor City Rescue Squad | June 18, 2000 | 82 |
| #658 | James C. Atkinson | Faison Fire & Rescue | May 19, 2000 | 77 |
| #659 | Samuel R. Morgan | Henderson County Rescue | July 02, 2000 | 47 |
| #660 | Heyward Crawford | Graham County Rescue | July 03, 2000 | 73 |
MEMORANDUM FROM THE NC DEPT OF STATE TREASURER
This is a copy of a memorandum, dated July 10, 2000, we received from the State of North Carolina, Department of State Treasurer, Retirement Systems Division.
| TO: | All Eligible Fire Departments and Rescue Squads, County Fire Marshals, North Carolina State Firemen's Association, and North Carolina Association of Rescue and EMS |
| FROM: | Marie P. Hinton, Pension Fund Coordinator |
| SUBJECT: | Recent Legislation |
This is to advise that the General Assembly recently enacted the budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. Included in the budget was an increase in the monthly benefit amount payable from the Firemen's and Rescue Squad Workers' Pension Fund, from $146.00 to $151.00, effective July 1, 2000.
Also included, was a Section which allows Full-time County Fire Marshals (whose sole duty is to act as fire marshal of the county) to participate in the Firemen's and Rescue Squad Workers' Pension Fund, provided the county board of commissioners certified the fire marshal's attendance at no less than 36 hours of all drills and meetings in each calendar year.
The item that will interest most of the eligible active firemen and rescue squad workers is a Section that provides an "Open Enrollment" for membership in the Firemen's and Rescue Squad Workers' Pension Fund. This provision will allow ALL eligible firemen or rescue squad workers to purchase prior service by making a lump sum payment of ten dollars ($10.00) per month retroactively to the time he or she first became eligible, plus interest at the rate of 8% compounded annually for each year of retroactive service purchased. Upon making this lump sum payment, the date of membership shall be the same as if he or she had made application for membership at the time they were first eligible. This provision will be available only during the period from October 1, 2000 through March 31, 2001. All applications to purchase such service must be received on or before March 31, 2001. Any fireman or rescue squad worker who has applied for prior service within the aforementioned time parameters must make payment no later than June 30, 2001. In the event payment is not made by June 30, 2001, the cost will revert to the calculation based on the provisions now in place. This item will be of particular interest to those qualifying individuals who are age 35 and older.
If you are eligible and wish to make application, please contact Marie Hinton, Pension Fund Coordinator, at 919/508-5360.