To:                   Principal Officers

Executive Board Members

Membership

From:              Louis P. DeMici, President

                        Executive Board

Re:                  Retirement Benefits Brochure – Check List

Date:               Monday, July 24, 2006

______________________________________________________________________

Per the request of the membership, the Executive Board has put together a Retirement Benefits Brochure – Check List, (see attachment).

Periodically, the Union will update this check list, should you have any questions please feel free to contract a Union representative.

Thank you.

Posted: H.Q., E-23, E-24, E-25, Communications Division, Fire Marshal’s Division

                         Mechanics Division.     

Danbury Professional

FIRE FIGHTERS, Local 801

240 Main Street - P. O. Box 901
Danbury, Connecticut 06813-0901

203.743.2415 (Office)
203.730.9933 (Fax)

• Be sure to complete years of service in one (1) year increments. Any work less than one (1) full year will not count toward your pension calculations.

• Prior to your retirement be sure to ask to see your Personnel File (Personnel Office-City Hall) and your Department File (Fire Headquarters) before retiring.

• Be sure to ask Personnel to calculate any unused vacation time you are entitled and to list any Holidays that were paid in advance.  Should you feel that the City is not properly calculating your Vacation, Holiday or Longevity properly you need to contact a Union Official prior to your effective retirement date in order for a grievance to be filed on your behalf.

• Be sure to meet with Union Members of the Pension Board prior to submitting your request for a Pension; if you are applying for a “service connected disability” or a “non-service connected disability” you will be required to make Doctor Appointments and the process may take a while before the Pension Board can award a Pension.

• Upon retirement you must inform the Finance Department where you would like your monthly pension check deposited.

• Medical coverage entitlements; this is very important, if under the collective bargaining agreement provides for a PPO or a POS and you are presently enrolled in a Point of Service (coverage within the State of Connecticut) and you plan on moving out of state, you must notify Personnel/Finance that you need to switch your insurance coverage from the POS to a PPO, the PPO allows for coverage nation-wide, regardless of your retirement date you are permitted to implement the change as “retirement” is consider a “qualifying event”.  In addition you need to have the Insurance Department to provide you a written explanation concerning Medicare coverage.

• Upon retirement members are given Certificates, Badge, IAFF Ax, Retirement Party, you need to contact the Union’s Retirement Committee concerning a Party.

• Unused Vacation – Be sure to review as to how much unused vacation leave you have on the books prior to retiring; i.e. 20 vacation days equates to five (5) weeks pay, prior to retirement if you use only one (1) day leaving nineteen days on the books, you would only receive four (4) weeks pay.