BILL NUMBER: S2028
SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
eligibility for ordinary disability benefits and re-employment of disa-
bility retirees of the New York city police pension fund Tier III plans
 
PURPOSE:
Provides for certain benefits and corrects inequities to the Tier 3
Ordinary Disability benefits of the New York City Police Pension fund.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: This section removes the requirement that Tier 3 police offi-
cers be in receipt of primary social security disability insurance to
qualify for ordinary disability retirement. Rather, it restores the
standard for the police pension fund plans, that the Police Pension
Fund's Medical Board evaluate the officer to determine whether they are
physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of duty and
ought to be retired.
Section 2: This section removes receipt of primary social security disa-
bility insurance as continued eligibility for the benefit. Safeguards
on ordinary disability retirement would instead be governed by the Tier
1 and 2 standard, as the eligibility for the benefit would now, be equi-
table between the Tiers.
Section 3: This act shall be deemed to have been in effect since July 1,
2009, or the inception of the Tier 3 plans.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In July 2009, upon the veto of the Tier 2 extender bill, new entrants to
the New York City Police Pension Fund became governed by Article 14 of
the New York State Retirement and Social Security Law, the Coordinated
Escalator Retirement Plan, also known as Tier 3. All uniformed members
of the NYPD hired on or after July 1, 2009 were defacto placed into a
drastically different pension plan than Tiers 1 and 2.
Among these differences is the restriction that a member be in receipt
of primary social security disability insurance ("SSDI") to be eligible
for ordinary disability retirement - a benefit intended by this legisla-
ture to be available to uniformed members of the service who become
disabled as the result of an incident that does not occur in the line of
duty. Receipt of SSDI is an incredibly high bar for the uniformed
members of the NYPD to attain, as it requires an individual to be perma-
nently disabled from any employment, not solely the inability to perform
the duties of a police officer, which was the standard for Tiers 1 and
2. This mandate could lead to a denial of benefits for members who are
permanently disabled from police work and bravely served and protected
the residents of the City of New York.
When the extension of Tier 2 retirement benefits was vetoed in 2009,
eligibility for benefit was rendered unattainable for the aforementioned
reasons, which was not the legislative intent. Adjusting the eligibil-
ity for ordinary disability retirement would thusly restore the benefit
and correct this inequity.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See the Fiscal Note
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024 - S. 8764-A- REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS/ A. 9515-A
referred to governmental employees
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall be deemed to have been in effect since July 1, 2009.

Statutes affected:
S2028: 506 retirement and social security law