Your purchase supports our mission to honor America’s fallen fire heroes; support their families, colleagues, and organizations; and work to reduce preventable firefighter death and injury.
Search
Close this search box.
Family Benefits

Montgomery County Survivor Benefits

Updated March 2023

ONE-TIME DEATH BENEFIT

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

Volunteer Members

Contact:
John Hardison, LOSAP Administrator
Public Safety Headquarters
100 Edison Park Drive
2nd Floor – DOVS
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 240-777-2428
E-mail: [email protected]

In the event of an active volunteer’s death in the line of duty, the designated beneficiary, beneficiaries or estate must receive the following lump sum immediate payment of $15,000 toward funeral expenses. The county will pay an additional amount, not to exceed $15,000 in funeral expenses to the designated beneficiary to cover funeral costs not reimbursed by the state of Maryland. Such payment shall be in addition to any benefit or other payments.

In the event of an active volunteer’s death in the line of duty, his/her surviving spouse or domestic partner, or estate if there is no spouse or partner, qualifies for a $5,000 death benefit if the volunteer has met either the years of service requirement for length of service benefit or the requirements for a disability benefit.

Career Members

Contact:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service
Randy Wheeler, Division Chief
Administrative Services
100 Edison Park Dr.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: (240) 777-2400

In the event of a bargaining unit employee’s death in the line of duty, the designated beneficiary, beneficiaries or estate must receive the following lump sum immediate payment of $15,000 toward funeral expenses. The county will pay an additional amount, not to exceed $15,000 in funeral expenses to the designated beneficiary to cover funeral costs not reimbursed by the state of Maryland.

Disposition of Employee’s Unused Accumulated Leave
In the event of an employee’s death, the employee’s estate or designated beneficiary or beneficiaries, if permissible by law, must be paid for the employee’s unused leave as follows (Note: The designated beneficiary must be as specified by the employee or deisgnated under the employee’s retirement of of Montgomery County, if not named specifically):

  • Unused Annual Leave – Unused Annual Leave will be paid in total at the employee’s current rate of pay.
  • Unused Compensatory Leave– Unused Compensatory Leave will be paid at the employee’s current rate of pay, less any indebtedness to the county.
  • Unused Sick Leave – Unused Sick Leave will be paid at 100% value if the employee’s death results from a service-connected accident or illness or at 50% if the accident or illness is non-service connected.

INSURANCE BENEFIT

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

Volunteer Members

Contact:
John Hardison, LOSAP Administrator
Public Safety Headquarters
100 Edison Park Drive
2nd Floor – DOVS
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 240-777-2428
E-mail: [email protected]

Life Insurance Benefit
Montgomery County provides life insurance coverage with a basic death benefit of $125,000.

Career Members

Contact:
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service
Randy Wheeler, Division Chief
Administrative Services
100 Edison Park Dr
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: (240) 777-2400

Life Insurance Benefit
Beginning January 1, 2012, for each full or part time employee eligible for life insurance coverage, the county must provide term life insurance coverage equal to the employee’s earnings (as defined in the group insurance certificate) rounded up to the nearest thousand dollars. The county will offer each eligible employee the opportunity to buy additional optional life insurance at full cost during open enrollment.

Accidental Death & Disability Insurance Benefit
Beginning January 1, 2012, for each full or part time employee eligible for life insurance coverage, the county must provide an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) benefit. The AD&D benefit includes:

  • AD&D insurance of eight times earnings, up to $600,000 for a loss of life that is a direct result of an accidental injury sustained in the performance of county employment. A lower amount may be payable for certain dismemberment resulting from accidental bodily injury.
  • AD&D insurance of four times earnings, up to $300,000 for a loss of life that is not a direct result of an accidental injury sustained in the performance of county employment. A lower amount may be payable for certain dismemberment resulting from accidental bodily injury.

DISABILITY BENEFIT

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

Contact:
John Hardison, LOSAP Administrator
Public Safety Headquarters
100 Edison Park Drive
2nd Floor – DOVS
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 240-777-2428
E-mail: [email protected]

Disability Benefit – Volunteer Members
A volunteer qualifies for a disability benefit of $345 per month for life if:

  • He/She becomes disabled as a direct result of active participation as a local fire rescue department volunteer.
  • The disability prevents him/her from pursuing their normal occupation.
  • The state workman’s compensation commission finds that the disability is total and permanent and is a direct result of the above items.

SURVIVOR BENEFIT

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service

Contact:
John Hardison, LOSAP Administrator
Public Safety Headquarters
100 Edison Park Drive
2nd Floor – DOVS
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 240-777-2428
E-mail: [email protected]

Survivor Benefit – Volunteer Members
A volunteer’s surviving spouse or partner shall be entitled to a monthly award payment equal to 50% of the line-of-duty death benefit or 50% of the disability benefit until the death or remarriage of the spouse or until the death of the partner or establishment of another domestic partnership.


REAL ESTATE TAX CREDIT

Contact:
Montgomery County Department of Finance
255 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (240) 777-8950
E-mail: [email protected]
website: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/finance

Montgomery County provides a credit of 100% of the county real property tax on the dwelling of a surviving spouse of a fallen law enforcement officer or fallen rescue worker, who has not remarried, if:

  1. The dwelling was owned by the fallen law enforcement officer or fallen rescue worker at the time of their death; or if
  2. The fallen law enforcement officer or rescue worker or the surviving spouse was domiciled in the state as of the date of the fallen law enforcement officer or rescue worker’s death, and the dwelling was acquired by the surviving spouse within 2 years of the fallen law enforcement officer or rescue worker’s death; or if
  3. The dwelling was acquired after the surviving spouse qualified for a credit for a former dwelling under one of the subsections above, to the extent of the previous credit.

Application:The application for the tax credit should be submitted to the Division of Treasury by April 1, to receive the tax credit for the next taxable year.
Authority: Montgomery County Code, Chapter 52, Article 1, Section 52-18N.


NON-PROFIT OR PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

Contact:
HEROES, Inc.
1100 G Street, NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 638-6658
Website: www.heroes-inc.org

Serves families in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. Offers $5,000 for immediate expenses; $6,000 for funeral expenses. Further assistance provided shortly after death, including professional counseling. Also provides college scholarship including room and board, tuition, books and associated fees for children and spouses in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. Renewable for a total of four years of undergraduate education.
 


Disclaimer: The 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.