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Committee hears testimony on expanding public‑safety retirement eligibility to state firefighters
Summary
House Bill 1112 would add state firefighters to the state public safety defined‑benefit retirement plan; PERS staff and the North Dakota Forest Service described a small affected population and an immaterial actuarial cost.
House Bill 1112, which would expand the definition of "firefighter" so certain state‑employed firefighters can join the public safety defined‑benefit retirement plan, was heard by the House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee with neutral and supportive testimony from retirement system staff and firefighting agencies.
Derek Holbein, chief operating and financial officer for the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System (NDPERS), testified in a neutral capacity on actuarial implications. Holbein said the bill would make state firefighters eligible for the state public safety plan and allow normal retirement at age 55 with three years of service or via the "rule of 85." He said the actuary initially estimated four individuals would be affected (based on July 1, 2023, data) and that the number has since risen to seven, but that the change produces an immaterial fiscal impact: an actuarial gain to the main plan of roughly $39,000 and an actuarial loss to the public safety plan of about $71,000, with no material change to employer contribution rates and thus no fiscal note attached.
Tom Clays, state forester for the North Dakota Forest Service, and Ryan Meline, the forest service's fire management officer, described the training, fitness testing, long assignments and hazardous exposures faced by state wildland firefighters. Meline said wildland firefighters commonly work extended national assignments of 21 days plus travel and cited research the witnesses said links multi‑year exposure to an increased risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. The Forest Service argued that the bill covers a limited, fitness‑qualified group of employees and helps recruitment and retention.
Rebecca Fricke, executive director of NDPERS, answered committee questions about the difference in disability benefits between a defined‑benefit and defined‑contribution plan: in the DB public safety plan, a disability benefit generally pays 25% of an individual's final average salary for life while the DC plan offers account distributions that stop when the account is exhausted.
Testimony from the North Dakota Firefighters Association and local chiefs supported the bill as recognition of firefighters' risks and a retention tool. The committee did not vote on HB1112 during this hearing.
If enacted, the bill would move a small group of state employees from the main NDPERS defined‑benefit plan into the state public safety plan; sponsors and witnesses urged attention to overlapping bills that amend the same sections of code so final enacted language reflects legislative intent.
