Does a retired civil servant with 12 of 29 years as a fire fighter qualify for the public servant insurance exemption?

[roydebistam]

My husband is a retired civil servant. He worked 29 years for the air force. 12 of those years were as a fire fighter. He was disqualified from the position due to job related hearing loss. He was cross trained into another civil service air force position. He was also a volunteer firefighter for 9 years. Is he qualified as a public safety employee and eligible for the insurance exemption? 

[Coleen3]

It's hard to say. The IRS puts out a list and the job is not specifically listed, although Federal fire fighter is. See the full list in the answer.

[Coleen3]

Qualified public safety employees.

If you are a qualified public safety employee, distributions made from a governmental defined benefit pension plan aren’t subject to the additional tax on early distributions. You are a qualified public safety employee if you provided police protection, firefighting services, or emergency medical services for a state or municipality, and you separated from service in or after the year you attained age 50.

Expanded exception to the tax on early distributions from a governmental plan for qualified public safety employees. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, in addition to those employees described in Qualified public safety employees, the definition is expanded to include the following: 

Federal law enforcement officers, Federal customs and border protection officers, Federal firefighters, Air traffic controllers, Nuclear materials couriers, Members of the United States Capitol Police, Members of the Supreme Court Police, and Diplomatic security special agents of the United States Department of State.