Contact: Nadine Kottom-Dale | 612-391-7000

Saint Paul, MN - "Fire relief associations’ pension investments rebounded after a tough year. In 2023, we saw a 14.2 percent average rate of return," Auditor Blaha said. "The trends are good for communities' commitment to supporting firefighters, and the safety they provide.”

A fire relief association is a governmental entity that receives and manages public money to provide retirement benefits to firefighters and first responders. These associations operate independently of their affiliated city or town fire department and are governed by their own board of trustees. Relief associations must meet various reporting requirements with the Office of the State Auditor and other state and federal agencies. They qualify to receive state aid based on completing these annual reports.

Most firefighters in Minnesota work on a volunteer or paid-on-call basis and often balance their service with other full-time careers. Relief associations pay retirement benefits to these firefighters after they have completed a minimum length of fire department service and have met additional minimum requirements.

“In Minnesota, relief association service pensions are an important tool to help recruit and retain firefighters and reward them for serving,” remarked Auditor Blaha.

Some highlights from the 2023 report include:

• Relief associations held $645.2 million in net assets at the end of 2023, representing accrued benefits for 14,899 firefighters.
• Relief associations received $27.0 million in state aid and $5.1 million in municipal contributions.
• A total of $31.6 million in service pensions was paid out by 252 different relief associations.
• The average lump sum benefit level for relief associations during 2023 was $2,594 per year of service.
• Investment gains totaled $80.2 million in 2023, an increase from the $101.9 million in investment losses during 2022.

View the Fire Relief Association Financial and Investment Report on the OSA website.