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Volusia County Council approves amendment to volunteer firefighters pension plan, authorizes transfer to insurer
Summary
The council voted 7–0 to amend the volunteer firefighters pension plan, freeze future membership, permit an insurance-company buyout of liabilities, and return surplus funds to the Fire Rescue District fund after the transfer.
The Volusia County Council unanimously approved Jan. 9 an amendment to the county’s volunteer firefighters pension plan that freezes future participation and creates a process to transfer remaining benefit liabilities to an insurance company.
Ryan Ocowski, the county chief financial officer, presented the measure and said the pension advisory board supported the change. The action would freeze benefits as of Sept. 30, 2024; vest current participants for benefits already earned; and provide members with an informed choice about how to receive their payments if the county pursues an insurance-company buyout of the obligation.
Ocowski described a competitive procurement process for selecting an insurer and said the advisory board would be delegated authority to select among timely insurance bids because of the time-sensitive pricing nature of annuity markets. The county’s actuaries will prequalify potential bidders for a 24-hour bid window, then the advisory board would meet to select a contract.
The amendment also authorizes transferring plan assets in safekeeping at Wells Fargo into Fidelity so Fidelity can sell assets and return proceeds to the Fire Rescue District Fund once the insurer assumes the remaining liabilities. Ocowski said staff will follow federal due-diligence practices, rely on actuarial analysis and the state guaranty association as an additional beneficiary protection.
Councilman David Santiago moved approval; Councilman Jake Johansen seconded. The council approved the amendment 7–0.
Why this matters: The action rearranges an existing retirement liability into a structure (insurance-company annuity buyout) intended to secure benefit payments and allow the county to return any surplus to the Fire Rescue District Fund. The county said the step reflects actuarial work and legal/process protections to preserve member benefits.
Implementation: Ocowski said staff and the advisory board will communicate options to participants (60-day election period) and then complete the procurement and transfer process to an insurer if that proves actuarially and contractually appropriate.
