AB 1383 provides firefighters with a fair path to a safer retirement

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OPINION – Firefighters face extreme risk on a daily basis, running into danger to protect our communities from fires, hazardous spills, natural disasters and medical emergencies.

For decades, firefighters could count on retiring at an age that reflected the dangers of the job. That’s no longer the case. This is an outcome that is becoming less attainable for the younger generations joining the fire service.

Younger firefighters now face longer careers, even as wildfires intensify in size and frequency, and the risks they take every day only increase. That’s why the fire service is united in our strong support for Assembly Bill 1383 (McKinnor), a bill that strengthens retirement security for firefighters by lowering the retirement age from 57 to 55.

AB 1383 makes targeted, narrow adjustments that recognize fiscal realities while working to protect retention, recruitment and the overall well-being of the fire service.

It is important to clarify that AB 1383 aligns our state retirement policy with federal IRS limits and protects local control established under PEPRA by making key provisions subject to local bargaining. Nothing in this measure is retroactive, and costs are shared between the employer and the employee.

AB 1383 is intentionally designed to be flexible, responsible and locally driven. The reality of the matter is that it makes two targeted and prospective adjustments and restores the ability for local governments and bargaining units to negotiate retirement terms.

This approach ensures that every community can make decisions based on its own resources and priorities, rather than being forced into a one-size-fits-all solution.

Lowering the retirement age is not about individual benefit; it is about protecting the health of all firefighters and ensuring their readiness when disaster strikes. We continue to learn more about how dangerous this profession really is, particularly when it comes to the deadly effects of cancer.

Every year cancer takes more of our members, colleagues, and friends – this last year alone over half of the line of duty deaths of firefighters in California were cancer-related. Every day spent on this job means more exposures to structure and vehicle fires, lithium-ion battery fires, full of deadly, potent carcinogens such as PFAS, asbestos, benzene, hydrogen fluoride and more.

Studies have repeatedly shown that firefighters suffer elevated rates of cancer and in 2022 the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer formally recognized the very profession of firefighting as a Group 1 known human carcinogen.

When retirement reforms were passed in 2012, they didn’t fully account for the long-term health risks firefighters face. This bill takes reasonable, measured steps to balance both the security of retirement funds and protect the health of the men and women who have stepped up to protect us all.

On April 24, 2025, more than 300 firefighters from every corner of California came together united in support of AB 1383 with one message: “Strengthening retirement security for firefighters is essential to our health and safety”.

That day it was clear; the support for AB 1383 is not limited by party lines. California legislators from both sides of the aisle recognize and support protecting those who protect us.

For my generation, our earned retirement acknowledged the sacrifices made in service to others. AB 1383 restores that fairness and ensures our communities are protected by a workforce that is healthy, prepared, and supported.

Brian K. Rice is president emeritus of California Professional Firefighters and a retired Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department firefighter.