City Council Meeting Date: July 7, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Tom Nelson, Northfield Fire Relief Association
Sean Simonson, Northfield Fire Relief Association
Title
Approve the Northfield Fire Relief Association request for fire relief pension benefits
Body
Action Requested:
The City Council approves the Resolution increasing the Pension Benefit Level from $15,000 per year of service to $20,000 per year of service to be effective as of January 1, 2027 and approve amendment of the NFRA bylaws Addendum A to reflect the approved benefit level.
Summary Report:
Over the past year plus, the Northfield Fire Relief Association (NFRA) Trustees have reviewed and discussed increasing the Lump Sum Service Pension Benefit from the current $15,000 benefit level to $20,000 as permitted by Minnesota Statute 424A.02. At its regular monthly meeting held on June 15, 2026, the Trustees voted unanimously in the affirmative to recommend approval of such a change in benefits referenced above and accordingly to draft the amendment to the NFRA by-laws reflecting same. Such by-law amendment will amend "Addendum A-Table LS-06" (Attachment 2).
The Trustees presented this by-law amendment to the full NFRA membership for approval at the NAFRS Joint Powers Board and their June 18, 2026 meeting.
With this pension benefit increase, the NFRA pension plan continues to fully fund operations and its obligations, requiring no municipal (NAFRS and Party) pension contributions (See Financial Summary below)
Summary Plan Description
A NAFRS paid, on-call fire fighter earns an annual pension benefit based upon each year of service (in good standing) as per the attached Addendum A schedule. Full vesting occurs after twenty (20) years of service vesting at a 40% level after the fifth year of service (no vesting prior to completion of year five (5) and increasing four (4) percentage points each year thereafter until full vesting at again, year t...
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