As used in this article:

1. "System" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System and all predecessor municipal firefighters pension and retirement systems;

2. "Article" means Article 49 of this title;

3. "State Board" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement Board;

4. "Local board" means the local firefighters pension and retirement boards;

5. "Fund" means the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement Fund;

6. "Member" means all eligible firefighters of a participating municipality or a fire protection district who perform the essential functions of fire suppression, prevention, and life safety duties in a fire department. The term "member" shall include but not be limited to the person serving as fire chief of any participating municipality, provided that a person serving as fire chief of a participating municipality shall meet the age, agility, physical and other eligibility requirements required by law at the time said person becomes a member of the System. Effective July 1, 1987, a member does not include a "leased employee". The term "leased employee" means any person (other than an employee of the recipient) who pursuant to an agreement between the recipient and any other person ("leasing organization") has performed services for the recipient (or for the recipient and related persons determined in accordance with Section 414(n)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) on a substantially full-time basis for a period of at least one (1) year, and such services are performed under primary direction or control by the recipient. Contributions or benefits provided a leased employee by the leasing organization which are attributable to services performed for the recipient employer shall be treated as provided by the recipient employer. A leased employee shall not be considered an employee of the recipient if the requirements of the safe harbor provisions of Section 414(n)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are satisfied. Effective July 1, 1999, any individual who agrees with the participating municipality that the individual's services are to be performed as a leased employee or an independent contractor shall not be a member regardless of any classification as a common law employee by the Internal Revenue Service or any other governmental agency, or any court of competent jurisdiction;

7. "Normal retirement date" means the date at which the member is eligible to receive the unreduced payments of the member's accrued retirement benefit. Such date shall be the first day following the date the member completes twenty (20) years of credited service. For a member whose first employment with a participating employer of the System occurs on or after November 1, 2013, such date shall be the first day following the date the member completes twenty-two (22) years of credited service and has attained the age of at least fifty (50) years. If the member's employment continues past the normal retirement date of the member, the actual retirement date of the member shall be the first day following the date the member terminates employment with more than twenty (20) years of credited service, or with respect to members who are required to complete twenty-two (22) years of service, the first day following the date the member terminates employment with more than twenty-two (22) years of service and who has also attained the age of at least fifty (50) years;

8. "Credited service" means the period of service used to determine the eligibility for and the amount of benefits payable to a member. Credited service shall consist of the period during which the member participated in the System or the predecessor municipal systems as an active employee in an eligible membership classification, plus any service prior to the establishment of the predecessor municipal systems which was credited under the predecessor municipal systems; provided, however, "credited service" for members from a fire protection district shall not begin accruing before July 1, 1982;

9. "Participating municipality" means a municipality, county fire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 351 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or fire protection district which is making contributions to the System on behalf of its firefighters. All participating municipalities shall appoint a fire chief who shall supervise and administer the fire department;

10. "Disability" means the complete inability of the firefighter to perform any and every duty of the firefighter's regular occupation; provided further, that once benefits have been paid for twenty-four (24) months the provisions of Section 49-110 of this title shall apply to the firefighter;

11. "Executive Director" means the managing officer of the System employed by the State Board;

12. "Eligible employer" means any municipality with a municipal fire department, any county fire department organized pursuant to subsection D of Section 351 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes or any fire protection district with an organized fire department;

13. "Entry date" means the date as of which an eligible employer joins the System. The first entry date pursuant to this article shall be January 1, 1981;

14. "Final average salary" means the average paid gross salary of the firefighter for normally scheduled hours over the highest salaried thirty (30) consecutive months of the last sixty (60) months of credited service. Gross salary shall not include payment for accumulated sick or annual leave upon termination of employment, any uniform allowances or any other compensation for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. Only salary on which the required contributions have been made may be used in computing the final average salary. Effective January 1, 1988, gross salary shall include any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Gross salary shall include any amount of elective salary reduction under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any amount of nonelective salary reduction under Section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Effective July 1, 1998, for purposes of determining a member's compensation, any contribution by the member to reduce the member's regular cash remuneration under 132(f)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall be treated as if the member did not make such an election. Only salary on which required contributions have been made may be used in computing final average salary.

In addition to other applicable limitations, and notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, the annual gross salary of each "Noneligible Member" taken into account under the System shall not exceed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA") annual salary limit. The EGTRRA annual salary limit is Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00), as adjusted by the Commissioner for increases in the cost of living in accordance with Section 401(a)(17)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The annual salary limit in effect for a calendar year applies to any period, not exceeding twelve (12) months, over which salary is determined ("determination period") beginning in such calendar year. If a determination period consists of fewer than twelve (12) months, the EGTRRA salary limit will be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months in the determination period, and the denominator of which is twelve (12). For purposes of this subsection, a "Noneligible Member" is any member who first became a member during a plan year commencing on or after July 1, 1996.

For plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2002, any reference to the annual salary limit under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, shall mean the EGTRRA salary limit set forth in this subsection.

Effective June 9, 2010, gross salary shall also include gross salary, as described above, for services, but paid by the later of two and one-half (2 1/2) months after a firefighter's severance from employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date the firefighter terminated employment, if it is a payment that, absent a severance from employment, would have been paid to the firefighter while the firefighter continued in employment with the participating municipality.

Effective June 9, 2010, any payments not described above shall not be considered gross salary if paid after severance from employment, even if they are paid by the later of two and one-half (2 1/2) months after the date of severance from employment or the end of the calendar year that includes the date of severance from employment, except payments to an individual who does not currently perform services for the participating municipality by reason of qualified military service within the meaning of Section 414(u)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to the extent these payments do not exceed the amounts the individual would have received if the individual had continued to perform services for the participating municipality rather than entering qualified military service.

Effective June 9, 2010, back pay, within the meaning of Section 1.415(c)-2(g)(8) of the Income Tax Regulations, shall be treated as gross salary for the year to which the back pay relates to the extent the back pay represents wages and compensation that would otherwise be included in this definition.

Effective for years beginning after December 31, 2008, gross salary shall also include differential wage payments under Section 414(u)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;

15. "Accrued retirement benefit" means two and one-half percent (2 1/2%) of the firefighter's final average salary multiplied by the member's years of credited service not to exceed thirty (30) years;

16. "Beneficiary" means a member's surviving spouse or any surviving children, including biological and adopted children, at the time of the member's death. The surviving spouse must have been married to the firefighter for the thirty (30) continuous months preceding the firefighter's death provided a surviving spouse of a member who died while in, or as a consequence of, the performance of the member's duty for a participating municipality, shall not be subject to the marriage limitation for survivor benefits. A surviving child of a member shall be a beneficiary until reaching eighteen (18) years of age or twenty-two (22) years of age if the child is enrolled full time and regularly attending a public or private school or any institution of higher education. Any child adopted by a member after the member's retirement shall be a beneficiary only if the child is adopted by the member for the thirty (30) continuous months preceding the member's death. Any child who is adopted by a member after the member's retirement and such member dies accidentally or as a consequence of the performance of the member's duty as a firefighter shall not be subject to the thirty-month adoption requirement. This definition of beneficiary shall be in addition to any other requirement set forth in this article;

17. "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all contributions made by a member to the System and includes both contributions deducted from the compensation of a member and contributions of a member picked up and paid by the participating municipality of the member. Accumulated contributions shall not include any interest on the contributions of the member, interest on any amount contributed by the municipality or state and any amount contributed by the municipality or state; and

18. "Limitation year" means the year used in applying the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which year shall be the calendar year.

Added by Laws 1980, c. 352, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981. Amended by Laws 1982, c. 320, § 1, operative July 1, 1982; Laws 1985, c. 222, § 1, emerg. eff. July 8, 1985; Laws 1987, c. 236, § 142, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1988, c. 267, § 1, operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1990, c. 143, § 1, emerg. eff. May 1, 1990; Laws 1991, c. 323, § 1, emerg. eff. June 12, 1991; Laws 1992, c. 390, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 126, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 84, § 1, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 1994, c. 300, § 1, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 1996, c. 208, § 1, emerg. eff. May 21, 1996; Laws 1998, c. 299, § 1, emerg. eff. May 28, 1998; Laws 1999, c. 193, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 327, § 1, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 398, § 1, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 128, § 1, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2010, c. 438, § 1, emerg. eff. June 9, 2010; Laws 2011, c. 279, § 1, emerg. eff. May 19, 2011; Laws 2012, c. 364, § 1; Laws 2013, c. 165, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2013, c. 388, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2013.