Interested Departments

The Statewide Volunteer Firefighter (SVF) Pension Plan was created by the Minnesota Legislature in 2010. The plan is administered by PERA for Minnesota’s volunteer firefighters. Joining the SVF Plan is voluntary. The SVF Plan is a Defined Benefit Plan (DBP). Unlike other PERA DBPs, SVF retirement benefits are a one- time, lump-sum payment. The benefit is calculated using a firefighter’s years of service, department’s benefit level at the time of separation, and vesting status.

SVF Plan benefits are funded by the volunteer fire department’s pension assets. When a fire department enrolls in the SVF Plan, the local relief association no longer administers the plan or maintains the plan assets. The State Board of Investment (SBI) invests the pension assets for each fire department in the SVF Plan. The assets of each fire department are maintained separately in the SVF Plan, meaning a fire department’s assets exclusively fund its firefighters’ benefits. 

Relief associations and the fire department’s governing body representative may submit a Cost Analysis for Defined Benefit Plan (insert form link) between April 1 – July 15 for those interested in joining January 1 of the following year.

A fire department’s SVF Plan benefit level is the dollar amount paid for each year of a volunteer firefighter’s certified service. The fire department’s governing body sets the benefit level in the SVF Plan for their volunteer firefighters.

The SVF Plan currently offers benefit levels ranging from $500 to $15,000 per year of credited service. This range is subject to statutory change. Benefit levels are set in $100 increments.

Future Benefit Level Increases

The governing body may approve an increase to the department’s benefit level once per year after the first year of participation. Benefit level increases approved take effect January 1 of the following year. 

Vesting means that a member has qualified for benefits when they reach the minimum allowable age. The SVF Plan has three different vesting schedules, all of which are graded over time. A volunteer firefighter’s vesting percentage is determined by years of service and represents the extent to which they are entitled to a future retirement benefit under the SVF Plan.

Departments that join the SVF Plan effective January 1, 2023, or later, select one of three vesting schedules: 

 Firefighters who have met vesting requirements, separate from service but elect not to collect their benefit are in a deferred status. Deferred retirement benefits and interest depend on whether a firefighter deferred their benefit before or after the department joined the SVF Plan.

• Firefighter separates before department joins: PERA will calculate the firefighter’s retirement benefit according to the relief association’s bylaws. This includes the vesting requirements, benefit level at deferral, interest earnings, and retirement age applicable at the time of deferral.
• Firefighter separates after department joins: No interest is earned on benefits deferred under the SVF Plan. The benefit calculation follows the same formula described in the Benefit Calculation section.
  [Years of Service x Benefit Level at separation x % Vested = Retirement Benefit Amount] 

The Minnesota Department of Revenue offers a supplemental benefit to volunteer firefighters and survivors which will be included in your benefit payment.

• Members receive 10% of the lump-sum payment (up to $1,000)
• Survivors receive 20% of the survivor benefit (up to $2,000)  

The succession of SVF Plan survivor beneficiaries is set in state statute.

A survivor is the:

1. spouse of the member, or if none,
2. the minor child or children of the member, or if none,
3. the estate of the member

The survivor benefit amount is equal to the retirement benefit that would have been payable to the firefighter at age 50 based on their service credit earned as of the date of death.

No beneficiary form is required. 

PERA automatically withholds applicable federal and Minnesota State income taxes from the gross, lump-sum benefit payment. The applicant may elect a different tax when applying for the benefit.

• PERA does not withhold income tax for any state other than Minnesota.
• The applicant may elect to roll their benefit over to another tax-qualified retirement account with no federal or Minnesota state taxes withheld.

To apply for an SVF Plan benefit, see the SVF Plan Retirement Benefits page.

PERA can administer the pension for fire departments that currently pay monthly benefits to their volunteer firefighters.  

• Eligibility for monthly benefits is based on the fire department’s pension plan document.
• Contact your fire chief for a monthly benefit application, if eligible.

The SVF Plan does not currently provide disability benefits.