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FURS retirement system provides retirement benefits to firefighters employed by first and second-class cities; other cities or rural fire districts that adopt the plan; and to firefighters hired by the Montana Air National Guard on or after October 1, 2001.

FURS Summary of Benefits
Member's Compensation	Hired prior to July 1, 1981:     Highest monthly compensation (HMC) Hired after July 1, 1981:     Highest Average Compensation (HAC) for highest consecutive 36 months.     It is not necessarily the last 36 months of your career.
Years of Service required and/or Age eligible for benefit	20 years regardless of age Age 50 and 5 years of service
Vesting	5 years
Monthly Benefit Formula	Members not electing GABA and hired prior to July 1, 1981 are entitled to the greater of:     i) 50% of HMC plus 2% of HMC for each year over 20;     ii) 2% of HMC for each year of service (under 20). Members hired on or after July 1, 1981 and those electing GABA:     2.5% of HAC per year of service
Guaranteed Annual Benefit Adjustment (GABA)	After the member has completed 12 full months of retirement, the member's benefit increases by a maximum of 3% each January, inclusive of all other adjustments to the member's benefit.
Minimum benefit adjustment (non-GABA)	If hired before July 1, 1997 and member did not elect GABA, the monthly retirement, disability or survivor's benefit may not be less than ½ the compensation of a newly confirmed firefighter employed by the city that last employed the member (provided the member has at least ten years of service credit). If a benefit falls below that minimum, the benefit is increased and paid to the benefit recipient. If a member or retiree elected GABA, the minimum benefit is not available.

FURS Contribution Rates
Hire Date	Member	Employer	State
Hired prior to 7/1/97 and not electing GABA	9.50%	14.36%	32.61%
Hired after 6/30/97 & all previous hires electing GABA	10.70%

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FURS

Member Handbook   This handbook contains valuable retirement information. The pdf file is large and may take some time to download. Available in both readable and printable versions.

FURS is governed by the Montana Codes Annotated, Title 19, Chapter 2 and Chapter 13.

Actuarial Valuation as of June 30, 2011.   A list of assests, liabilities and other information relevant to the FURS trust fund.

Rule Notice   A notice for changes to MPERA Rules that may impact FURS.