Could a fire district enroll a chief who applied after age 50 and pay for his prior retirement service?

Plain-English summary

West Feliciana Parish's Fire Protection District No. 1 asked about enrolling its fire chief in the Firefighters' Retirement System after his application was denied because he had passed age 50. The chief had become a full-time district employee at 49 and applied later. In 2000, the attorney general's office concluded that he was eligible because he was under 50 when he became an employee within the statute's definition. The opinion expressly assumed he met all other membership requirements and that the retirement system's trustees approved his application.

The trustees were willing to admit him if he purchased prior service credit. The office said the district could contribute only its employer portion of that purchase. It could not use public funds to pay the chief's employee portion.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Fire district boards at the time

The opinion allowed the district to pay its share of the chief's prior service credit purchase. It rejected district payment of the employee share, citing its earlier opinion on public retirement contributions.

Fire chiefs at the time

The office treated the chief's age when he became a qualifying employee as decisive for the age question. It did not make membership automatic: the chief still had to meet other requirements, and the retirement board had to approve the application.

Retirement system trustees at the time

The opinion said the board of trustees held discretion over membership eligibility under La. R.S. 11:2252(12). Its conclusion was conditional on board approval.

Common questions

Q: Did applying after age 50 automatically disqualify this chief?
A: The opinion said no. He began qualifying employment at 49, though approval remained with the retirement system's trustees.

Q: Could the fire district buy all of the chief's missed service credit?
A: No. The opinion allowed only the district's employer contribution portion, leaving the employee portion outside what the district could pay.

Q: Was the chief guaranteed admission to the retirement system?
A: No. The opinion assumed he met the remaining requirements and said the trustees had to approve his application.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 11:2253 stated an age 50 limit for becoming a member, subject to a merger exception. The office looked at when the chief became an employee and cited the trustees' eligibility role under La. R.S. 11:2252(12). For prior service credit, it read La. R.S. 11:2254 and La. R.S. 11:158 together with separate employer and employee contribution rules. It also considered the Louisiana Constitution's public funds provision when limiting what the district could pay.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 11:2253 (membership age rule)
• La. R.S. 11:2252(12) (trustee eligibility role)
• La. R.S. 11:2254 and La. R.S. 11:158 (prior service credit)
• Article 7, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution (public funds analysis)
• Attorney General Opinion 98-193 (employee portion of prior service contributions)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0375

Original opinion text

October 24, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-375

90 - A - 2 PUBLIC FUNDS - LOANS, PLEDGE AND
Ms. Gevena Landrum
GRANTS
Chairperson
Art. 7, Sec. 14 of La. Const.
Fire Protection District No. 1 of La. R.S. 11:2252; La. R.S. 11:2253; La. R.S. 11:2254; La. R.S.
West Feliciana Parish
11:158; La. R.S. 11:103; La. R.S. 11:62
Post Office Box 1190
Fire Chief of Fire Protection District No. 1 of West Feliciana Parish is
St. Francisville, LA 70775
eligible for membership in the Firefighters' Retirement System. The
District may only pay its portion of the Fire Chief's purchase of prior service credit.
Dear Ms. Landrum:

We received your request for an opinion on behalf of Fire Protection District No. 1 of West Feliciana Parish (hereafter referred to as the "District"). The District would like to enroll its Fire Chief in the Firefighters' Retirement System even though he is over the age of 50. It is our understanding from the facts contained in your request and from speaking with an representative of the District and the Firefighters' Retirement System that the Fire Chief became a full time employee of the District in 1997. He was 49 years old at the time. He inquired about applying for membership in the Firefighters' Retirement System after becoming a full time employee but was told to wait a year before doing so. We do not know the reason why he was told to wait. He applied for membership in 1999 but his application was denied on the basis that he was over the age of 50. The board of trustees of the Firefighters' Retirement System is now willing to allow the Fire Chief to enroll in the system provided that he purchases his prior service credit. The District would like to contribute to the purchase.

Article 7, Section 14(A) prohibits the donation of public funds. However, Article 7, Section 14(B) authorizes the use of public funds for pension and insurance programs for the benefit of public employees. Article 7, Section 14 was interpreted by the Louisiana Supreme Court in City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Risk Management Agency, Inc., 439 So.2d 399 (La. 1983) to mean that such contributions must be made pursuant to a legal obligation.

We must first consider if the Fire Chief is truly eligible for membership in the Firefighters' Retirement System. La. R.S. 11:2252, et seq. addresses the Firefighters' Retirement System. La. R.S. 11:2253 provides for the composition of the system's members and provides as follows:

However, no person who has attained age 50 or over shall become a member of the system, unless the person becomes a member by reason of a merger.

The Fire Chief is not and has not been a participant in another state retirement system so there is no merger. Membership in the Firefighters' Retirement System is a

Page 2

Ms. Geneva Landrum
Opinion No. 00-375
Page 2

mandatory condition of employment for any person who becomes an employee, as defined within the statute, on or after January 1, 1980. The statute does, however, make an exception to this general rule. La. R.S. 11:2252(12) states as follows:

… In any case of doubt the board of trustees shall be the soul judge as to eligibility for membership.

Therefore, it is our opinion that the Fire Chief is eligible for membership because at the time he became an employee, as that term is defined in La. R.S. 11:2252, he was under the age of 50. Our opinion, assumes, of course, that the Fire Chief meets all other requirements for membership in the retirement system and that the board of trustees for the Firefighters' Retirement Systems approves the Fire Chief's application for membership. Eligibility for membership is at the discretion of the board of trustees of the Firefighters' Retirement System.

La. R.S. 11:2254 specifically provides that any active contributing member of the Firefighters' Retirement System is entitled to receive credit for service as an employee provided that such service credit is purchased under the provisions of La. R.S. 11:158. La. R.S. 11:158C specifies what is to be paid into the retirement system and refers to employee and employer contributions as part of the purchase price. La. R.S. 11:103 provides that the required employer contribution for each fiscal year, commencing with fiscal year ending 1997, for the Firefighters' Retirement System is 9%. La. R.S. 11:62 provides that the required employee contribution to the Firefighters' Retirement System is 8 %. Our office previously opined that a political subdivision may not pay an employee's portion of retirement contributions for prior service credit. See Attorney General Opinion 98-193. Therefore, it is our opinion that the District may only pay its portion of the Fire Chief's purchase of prior service credit.

We trust that this adequately responds to your request. If you have any questions, please contact our office.

With kindest regards.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ____
TINA VICARI GRANT
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

RPI/TVG/crt

Page 3

Ms. Geneva Landrum
Opinion No. 00-375
Page 3

OPINION NUMBER 00-375

SYLLABUS

90 - A - 2 PUBLIC FUNDS - LOANS, PLEDGE AND GRANTS

Art. 7, Sec. 14 of La. Const.
La. R.S. 11:2252; La. R.S. 11:2253; La. R.S. 11:2254; La. R.S. 11:158; La. R.S. 11:103; La. R.S. 11:62

Fire Chief of Fire Protection District No. 1 of West Feliciana Parish is eligible for membership in the Firefighters' Retirement System. The District may only pay its portion of the Fire Chief's purchase of prior service credit.

Ms. Gevena Landrum
Chairperson
Fire Protection District No. 1 of
West Feliciana Parish
Post Office Box 1190
St. Francisville, LA 70775

DATE RECEIVED: 09/20/00

DATE RELEASED: October 24, 2000

AUTHOR: TINA VICARI GRANT
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL