Wyo. Stat. § 15-5-402 (2026)

(a)   As used in this article:

          (i) "Account" means the firemen's pension account
established by W.S. 15-5-202;

          (ii) "Board" means the retirement board established
by W.S. 9-3-404 and includes all the powers and duties
enumerated in W.S. 9-3-401 through 9-3-429;

          (iii) "Compensation" means all salary or wages
payable to a member for service including contributions required
by W.S. 15-5-420. For purposes of computing benefits under this
article, compensation shall include only compensation on which
contributions have been paid pursuant to W.S. 15-5-420 and
15-5-421;

          (iv) "Credited service" means for any member, service
as an employee;

          (v)    "Dependent" means a dependent child or dependent
parent;

          (vi) "Dependent child" means a person who is
unmarried and either:

                 (A)   Has not attained age eighteen (18); or

               (B) Has attained age eighteen (18) but not age
twenty-three (23) and is attending school on a full-time basis;
or

               (C) Has attained age eighteen (18) and is
permanently disabled as the result of a disability which began
before he attained age eighteen (18).

          (vii) "Disability" means a medically determined
physical or mental impairment which renders the member unable to
function as a paid firefighter and which is reasonably expected
to last at least twelve (12) months;

          (viii) "Employee" means any individual regularly
employed and paid by any city, town, county or fire protection
district for devoting his entire time of employment to the care,
operation and requirements of a regularly constituted fire
department;

          (ix) "Employer" means any incorporated municipality,
county or fire protection district offering fire protection or
public safety services employing one (1) or more members;

          (x) "Final average compensation" means one
thirty-sixth (1/36) of the compensation paid to an employee
during any period of thirty-six (36) consecutive months in his
years of credited service in which his compensation was highest;

          (xi)   "Inactive member" means a member who:

                 (A)   Has terminated service;
               (B) Is not eligible to begin receiving a service
or disability pension; and

               (C) Has neither applied for nor received a
refund of his contributions.

          (xii) "Member" means an employee whose compensation
is not subject to the federal old-age, survivors and disability
insurance tax and who either is first hired on or after July 1,
1981 or who elects coverage under the provisions of W.S.
15-5-418;

          (xiii) "Pension system" means the retirement and
disability plans for employees covered under the provisions of
this article or W.S. 15-5-201 through 15-5-209;

          (xiv) "Primary survivor" means any person in the
following order of priority, unless the priority is changed by
the member on a form prescribed by the board and filed with the
board at the time of the member's death:

                  (A)   The surviving spouse; or

               (B) If there is no eligible surviving spouse, a
dependent child, or with the survivor's pension divided among
them in equal shares, all such children, including any resulting
from a pregnancy prior to the member's death.

          (xv) "Retired member" means any member who has
terminated service, other than an inactive member, who is
eligible to receive a service or disability pension under this
article;

          (xvi)    "Accumulated contributions" means:

               (A) For a member who has a vested right to a
service pension or a member initially employed before July 1,
2018, the member's contributions paid from any source;

               (B) For a member who is neither eligible for a
service nor disability pension nor has a vested right to a
service pension and who is initially employed on or after July
1, 2018, only the member's contributions paid by a reduction in
cash salary of the member.