Types of Grants for Ohio Police & Fire Disability

Service-Incurred Grants

According to Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(1) and (2), if the performance of your official duties has caused your disabling condition and you are an eligible Police & Fire member, then there is no minimum of service required to be eligible for disability retirement. In other words, your coverage is effective from the first day you began your police officer or firefighter duties (i.e. "day-one" coverage). Police & Fire divides service-incurred disability retirement grants into types: (1) permanent and total awards; and (2) partial awards. These awards vary according to the degree of disability and the loss of earning capacity.

Statutory Presumption. Under Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(3)(a), Police & Fire presumes that certain types of disabilities are "duty-related." For instance, cardiovascular, chronic respiratory, and heart diseases are presumed to have occurred in the course of your employment as a police officer or firefighter. In order for this presumption to apply, however: (1) you must have a report of your pre-employment physical on fire (or file the report with your application) with Police & Fire; (2) the report of your pre-employment physical confirms that your condition did not exist at the time you became a Police & Fire member; and (3) no other competent evidence reveals that the disease existed at the time you became a Police & Fire member.

Also, Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(3)(b) provides that a member of a fire department who becomes disabled due to a diagnosis of cancer is presumed to have contracted the disease in the course of his/her employment under certain circumstances. The presumption can be rebutted under R.C. 742.38(D)(3)(c)(i)-(v) if the firefighter had the type of cancer before joining the fire department; if the firefighter had significant exposures outside the scope of the employment that would otherwise have been a cause or progression of the cancer; if competent scientific evidence proves the firefighter’s claimed exposures to specific carcinogens would not have caused the type of alleged cancer; if the firefighter was not exposed to a Group 1 or 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer; and if the firefighter is 70 years of age or older.

Firefighter members of OP&F should also take notice that if you have been diagnosed with cancer, you likely also have an Ohio workers’ compensation claim, as well, that can be filed and approved. See Ohio Revised Code 4123.68(X)(1), and BWC Form C-265.

Contact Charles Zamora or Abbie Hogan as soon as possible. Time limits to file a claim could bar the claim.

Permanent and Total Disability Awards

Under Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(1)(a) and (b), permanent and total disability means you are unable to perform either your official police or fire duties, or the duties of any gainful occupation for which you are reasonably fit by training, experience, and accomplishments, and there is no present indication of recovery. Under 742.39(A), the annual benefit for a permanent and total disability is 72 percent of your average annual salary.

"Average annual salary" is defined as being the average of the three (3) highest years of salary, earnings, or compensation, regardless of when in your career the highest years occurred, but is subject to certain statutory and administrative limitations. Accordingly, not all salary, earnings, or compensation may necessarily be used in the calculation. The calculation of the average annual salary is used for all calculations of disability granted by Police & Fire.

Partial Disability Awards

Under Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(2), partial disability means you are disabled to the extent you are unable to perform your official police or fire duties and your earning capacity is impaired. It is anticipated you will be able to supplement your benefit with earnings from other gainful employment.

Calculations of partial disability awards are set forth in Ohio Revised Code 742.39(B) and are made as follows:

If you have fewer than 25 years of service credit, the annual benefit payable under a partial disability grant is set by the Police & Fire Board of Trustees to be a certain percentage of your "average annual salary." The maximum percentage the Board can award someone with fewer than 25 years of service is 60 percent.

If you have 25 or more years of service credit, then the Board of Trustees determines your partial disability. The amount of your annual benefit, however, is set by law to be equal to your normal service retirement pension, but cannot exceed 72 percent of your "average annual salary." The way to determine the annual benefit is to multiply the average annual salary by a percentage equal to 60 percent plus 1.5 percent for each year of service from 26 to 33. For instance, 28 years equals a 64.5 percent award (60 percent for the first 25 years, plus 4.5 percent for 3 additional years at 1.5 percent for each of those 3 additional years).

Non-Service Incurred Grants

According to Ohio Revised Code 742.38(D)(4), if your disability is not job-related, you may qualify for an off-duty disability retirement benefit. To be eligible, you must have at least five (5) years of service credit. You may purchase or restore credit in order to meet the five-year requirement.

To be eligible for an off-duty disability retirement, the disability must prevent you from performing your official duties and impair your earning capacity. The Police & Fire Board of Trustees sets the annual benefit to be a certain percentage of your "average annual salary" but, according to Ohio Revised Code 742.39(C), cannot exceed 60 percent.