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Family Benefits

Hawaii Survivor Benefits

Updated July 2021 (COVID-19 related benefits updated April 2021)

COVID-19 BENEFITS

PSOB benefits are available in any State of the U.S., the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands of the U.S., Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the U.S.

ONE-TIME DEATH BENEFITS

There is no state one-time death benefit.

COMPENSATION FOR DEATH OR DISABILITY OF FIREFIGHTERS FROM OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES

The Hawaii Firefighter Cancer Presumptive Law, Act 107, provides compensation for claims of cancer, including leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or cancer of the lung, brain, stomach, esophagus, intestines, rectum, kidney, bladder, prostate, or testes.

Administered through Hawaii Workers’ Compensation (see contact above).

Resource: Firefighter Cancer Presumptive Guide

WORKERS' COMPENSATION

Weekly benefits to dependents determined by number of dependents. Spouse with no dependent children receives 50% of deceased’s average weekly wage; spouse with dependent children receive 66 2/3%. There are reduced benefits for other survivors, depending on their dependency status and relationship to the deceased. The sum of all weekly benefits shall not exceed 66 2/3% of the employee’s average weekly wage.

Contact:
Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Disability Compensation Division
Labor and Industrial Relations
830 Punchbowl Street, Room 209
Honolulu, HI 96813-5080
Phone:(808) 974-6464

Website: labor.hawaii.gov/dcd
E-mail: [email protected]

 Reference: Hawaii Code 386-41

FUNERAL BENEFIT

Employer shall pay funeral expenses not to exceed ten times the maximum weekly benefit rate. Burial expenses shall not exceed five times the weekly benefit rate. Payments paid directly to the mortician and cemetery selected by the family or next of kin. If expenses are prepaid, benefits go directly to the survivors or next of kin.

Contact:
Hawaii Workers’ Compensation Disability Compensation Division
Labor and Industrial Relations
830 Punchbowl Street, Room 209
Honolulu, HI 96813-5080
Phone:(808) 974-6464
Website: labor.hawaii.gov/dcd
E-mail: [email protected]

Reference: Hawaii Code 386-41

RETIREMENT/PENSION PLAN

Most career firefighters are registered in a contributory plan through state of Hawaii Retirement system. Survivors have a range of payment options. The lump sum ordinary death benefit consists of the return of the member’s accumulated constitutions and payment of an amount equal to 50% of the salary earned by the member during the year immediately preceding the death. Monthly benefit payment continues until survivor remarries.

Contact:
Hawaii State Retirement System (HSRS)
City Financial Tower
201 Merchant Street, Suite 1400
Honolulu, HI 96813-2980
Phone: (808) 586-1735 or 888-659-0708 (Members residing on the continental United States)
Fax: (808) 587-5766
Website: ers.ehawaii.gov

ReferenceService Retirement Facts for Police Officers and Firefighters  

EDUCATION BENEFIT - CHILDREN

No Hawaii state benefit.

EDUCATION BENEFIT - SPOUSE

No Hawaii state benefit.

NON-PROFIT OR PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

Hawaii 200 Club

PO Box 4221
Honolulu, HI 96812

Initial presentation plus educational assistance; provides immediate financial assistance and covers all the island. There is very little evidence this organization is still in existence although it appears to be a registered charity.

Kids’ Chance Hawaii

P.O. Box 37873
Honolulu, HI 96837
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: kidschancehawaii.org
Provides scholarships to children of workers who have been catastrophically injured or killed on the job.

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

P.O. Box 498
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Phone: (301) 4471-1365
FAX: (301) 4471-1645
Website: www.firehero.org

The Sarbanes Scholarship Program
Spouses, life partners, children, and stepchildren of firefighters honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial are eligible to apply for the NFFF Sarbanes Scholarship Program along with other partner programs. The NFFF Sarbanes Scholarships are awarded for undergraduate and graduate studies, vocational-technical training, and certification and job training programs. They may be used for study at in-state or out-of-state public and private schools.

The International Association of Fire Fighters

1750 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Website: client.prod.iaff.org/#contentid=1743

The W. H. “Howie” McClennan scholarship provides financial assistance for sons, daughters or legally adopted children of IAFF Union Members killed in the line of duty planning to attend a university, accredited college or other institution of higher learning. Scholarship amount is $2,500 per year, renewable up to 4 consecutive years.

FUNERAL & CREMATION BENEFITS

Dignity Memorial
Phone: (800) 343-4464
Website: www.dignitymemorial.com

Dignity Memorial is a consortium of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers across the United States and Canada. They have a Public Servants Program for first responders and emergency services workers. Dignity provides these services, at no cost, for career and volunteer firefighters who are killed in the line of duty. Also provides “extended counseling” to the grieving family. There is a location finder per state on the website, and funeral directors are encouraged to contact Dignity regarding the first responder program.

Wilbert Funeral Services, Inc.
2913 Gardner Road
Broadview, IL 50155
Phone: (708) 681-7040 (Terry Whitlock)
Website: www.wilbert.com

Wilbert provides complimentary burial vaults (including urns vaults) for fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters through 193 licensee locations. Funeral directors should contact Wilbert for information on obtaining vaults.

DisclaimerThe material contained in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Survivor Benefits website is not the result of legal research, but rather is based on a scan of public documents. We have made every effort to be accurate and timely, but errors may exist. The material on this website is advisory only and should not be cited as evidence or proof that a benefit exists or that our facts are accurate. Always consult the decedent’s fire department for benefits assistance, or a benefits’ attorney. If, in the course of your own research, you see errors of fact, or new benefit information, please pass this information along to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.