PRINTER'S NO. 821
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.797
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY BENHAM, HILL-EVANS, HARKINS, McNEILL, KENYATTA,
KHAN, PIELLI, DEASY, STEELE, GIRAL, BOROWSKI, OTTEN, MAYES,
CERRATO, SANCHEZ, SALISBURY, ABNEY, FRANKEL AND KINKEAD,
MARCH 3, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MARCH 3, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of May 25, 1933 (P.L.1050, No.242), entitled
"An act creating and establishing a fund for the care,
maintenance, and relief of aged, retired and disabled
employes of the bureau of fire in cities of the second class;
creating a board for the management thereof; providing the
mode and manner of payment to beneficiaries, and for the care
and disposition of its funds; and providing for the transfer
and payment of all moneys and securities in existing funds in
similar boards superseded by the fund and board herein
created," further providing for requirements of membership,
for married persons and pensions to surviving spouses and for
eligibility of surviving spouses.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 9, 9.2(b) and (d) and 9.3(d) of the act
of May 25, 1933 (P.L.1050, No.242), referred to as the Second
Class City Firemen Relief Law, are amended to read:
Section 9. Any individual eligible to membership in such
fund, as aforesaid, shall be required--
(1) To sign an acceptance of the provisions of this act,
which acceptance shall contain an agreement, on the part of the
one so signing, that upon resignation or dismissal from the
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22 employ of said bureau of fire, he shall thereby relinquish and
forfeit all rights to participate in said fund; and no
employment shall be granted an applicant to a position which
would make him eligible as a member of said fund until such
acceptance and agreement is signed by him.
(2) To contribute to said fund six per centum of his rated
monthly wages, which shall be deducted from his wages by the
city controller from the payroll for the last pay period of each
month, and paid into the fund. All beneficiaries of the fund
shall, in addition thereto, pay the sum of one dollar a month
into the said fund, and in the case of active members, the city
controller shall deduct said contribution from the payroll of
the last pay period of each month and the secretary of the fund
shall deduct the sum of one dollar from the pension paid each
pensioner. The amount so collected shall be paid into the
firemen's relief and pension fund and out of the funds of the
firemen's relief and pension fund there shall be paid to the
beneficiary of any deceased member of the fund, the sum of one
thousand two hundred dollars.
When any member of the fund shall resign or be dismissed from
service there shall be paid to him from the fund a sum of money
equal to all dues paid by him into the fund, without interest.
When any member of the fund shall die in active service there
shall be paid from the fund a sum of money equal to all dues
paid by him into the fund, without interest, to his widow, if
there be such widow, or in the absence of such widow to such
person or persons as he shall have designated on a form prepared
and approved by the board for such purpose, or in the absence of
such widow and such designation to his estate. When any
beneficiary shall die before he has received pension payments
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30 equal in amount to his total contributions to the fund, there
shall be paid a sum of money equal to the difference between the
amount of his said contributions and the amount he shall have
received as pension payments, without interest, to his widow, if
there be such widow or in the absence of such widow to such
person or persons as he shall have designated on a form prepared
and approved by the board for such purpose, or in the absence of
such widow and such designation to his estate.
In addition when any member of the fund shall die as a result
of injuries incurred while in the performance of his duties,
there shall be paid to his widow from the fund monthly sums in
amounts which, together with any payments received under [ "The
Pennsylvania Workmen's ] the "Workers' Compensation Act" or "The
Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act," will be equal to fifty
per centum of his salary at the time of his death. Such monthly
payments shall continue for five hundred weeks[ , or until the
widow shall remarry, ] or until her death, whichever shall first
occur.
In the event there are surviving children but no widow, or
after the payments herein provided for the widow have been
discontinued by reason of the end of the five hundred week
period [or her remarriage] or death, each unmarried child of the
deceased member under the age of eighteen years shall thereafter
receive payments equal to twenty-five per centum of the payments
above provided for the widow, but in no case shall total
payments to one family be more than fifty per centum of his
salary at the time of his death. Where there is only one child,
the minimum monthly payments shall be sixty dollars. Where the
maximum amount is payable, it shall be divided equally among the
children entitled thereto. The payments for each child shall
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30 terminate upon his reaching the age of eighteen years or his
marriage or death: Provided, That the board may continue
indefinitely payments to a dependent incompetent child. These
payments shall consist of any payments received under [ "The
Pennsylvania Workmen's ] the "Workers' Compensation Act" or "The
Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act," supplemented by the
necessary amounts from the pension fund. In the event there are
no surviving children or no widow entitled to receive the
payments provided for in this act, any dependent parents of the
member shall receive the payments the widow would have received
had she survived [and not remarried].
Regular employes shall serve at least fifteen days in each
month and appear on all payrolls of said bureau of fire in said
month in order to be credited for one month's service for
pension under this act. In the event, however, that such regular
employe served one or more days in any month while serving as a
substitute employe prior to becoming a regular employe, such
regular employe shall be given a full month's credit for the day
or days in every month so served as a substitute: Provided, That
the dues for each month so credited are paid in full.
Payments to the widows and children of members killed while
on duty shall first be made on and after July 1, 1959.
Section 9.2. Married Persons; Pension to Surviving Spouse.--
* * *
(b) Such surviving spouse shall be entitled to receive
payments commencing the first day of the month in which the
death of the deceased spouse occurs, and shall continue to and
terminate upon the death of such surviving spouse[ , unless such
surviving spouse shall remarry ], in which event the board may
allocate the pension to dependent children or parents as
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30 provided in this act: Provided, however, That in no case shall
total payments to a member or his survivors or his estate be
less than the deceased member's contribution into the fund.
* * *
(d) In the event there is no surviving spouse[ ,] or the
surviving spouse dies [ or remarries] while receiving payments
under this section, and where there are dependent children of
the deceased member of the fund, the board may pay to each such
dependent child twenty-five per centum of the pension earned by
the deceased member until each such child attains the age of
eighteen or marries or dies: Provided, That the board may
indefinitely continue payments to a dependent incompetent child.
Where the sums payable to dependent children under this section
are equal to the maximum pension to which the widow would be
entitled, it shall be divided equally among the children
entitled thereto. In the event there are no surviving children
or no widow entitled to receive the payments provided for in
this act, any dependent parents of the deceased member shall
receive the monthly payments the widow would have received had
she survived [and not remarried]. In the event that there are no
surviving children, widow or dependent parents entitled to
receive the payments provided for in this act, the deceased
member's contributions or the remainder of his contributions
shall be paid to his estate.
* * *
Section 9.3. * * *
(d) In the event there is no surviving spouse or the
surviving spouse dies [ or remarries] and where there are
dependent children of the deceased member of the fund, the board
may pay to each such dependent child twenty-five per centum of
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30 the pension earned by the deceased member until each such child
attains the age of eighteen or marries or dies: Provided, That
the board may indefinitely continue payments to a dependent
incompetent child. Where the sums payable to dependent children
under this section are equal to the maximum pension to which the
widow would be entitled, it shall be divided equally among the
children entitled thereto. In the event there are no surviving
children or no widow entitled to receive the payments provided
for in this act, any dependent parents of the deceased member
shall receive the monthly payments the widow would have received
had she survived [and not remarried]. In the event that there
are no surviving children, widow or dependent parents entitled
to receive the payments provided for in this act, the deceased
member's contributions or the remainder of his contributions
shall be paid to his estate.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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