Provides a performance of duty presumption for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for paid members of a fire department in a city with a population of one million or more.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8229
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to disability
retirement benefits for the presumption of amyotrophic lateral sclero-
sis for paid members of a fire department in a city with a population
of one million or more
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 207-r to read as follows:
3 § 207-r. Disabilities caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
4 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to the contrary,
5 any condition of impairment of health caused by amyotrophic lateral
6 sclerosis resulting in total or partial disability or death to a paid
7 member of a fire department in a city with a population of one million
8 or more, or any retired member of such department who has been retired
9 for five or less years, who successfully passed a physical examination
10 on entry into the service of such department, which examination failed
11 to reveal any evidence of such condition, shall be presumptive evidence
12 that it was incurred in the performance of duty unless the contrary be
13 proved by competent evidence.
14 § 2. The board of trustees of the New York city fire department
15 pension fund shall take appropriate administrative action to implement
16 the intent of section one of this act.
17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide certain members and
retirees of the New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) a rebuttable
statutory presumption that a qualifying partial or total disability or
death related to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was incurred in the
performance of duty.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01265-02-5
A. 8229 2
ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
One One Incident
Year Incident Per Year
2026 299 299
2027 299 604
2028 299 917
2029 299 1,236
2030 299 1,562
2031 299 1,896
2032 299 2,237
2033 299 2,585
2034 299 2,942
2035 299 3,306
2036 299 3,678
2037 299 4,058
2038 299 4,447
2039 299 4,845
2040 0 4,952
2041 0 5,062
2042 0 5,174
2043 0 5,288
2044 0 5,406
2045 0 5,525
2046 0 5,648
2047 0 5,773
2048 0 5,901
2049 0 6,031
2050 0 6,165
Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
New York City.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
Future new hires are not included in this present value.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
Present Value (PV) Per Incident
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 2,527
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: 0
Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 2,527
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss Per Incident
A. 8229 3
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 2,527 K
Number of Payments: 14
Amortization Payment: 299 K
CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
the statutory presumption provided in this proposed legislation is
unknown. The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary census
data collected as of June 30, 2024. The census data for the potentially
impacted population used to develop the average costs is summarized
below.
FIRE
Active Members
-Number Count: 10,691
-Average Age: 40.7
-Average Service: 13.7
-Average Salary: 143,400
Receiving Members (within five years of retirement)
-Number Count: 2,592
-Average Age: 54.1
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a FIRE member who becomes disa-
bled due to ALS would be eligible for an applicable ordinary disability
retirement, generally a lifetime payment of 1/3 of Final Average Salary
(FAS) for Tier 3 members and 1/2 of FAS for Tier 2 members, or the
service retirement benefit if greater. The ordinary death benefit is a
lump sum payment generally equal to three times the member's salary,
plus a return of member contributions. Currently, FIRE retirees who
become disabled, or die, after retirement due to ALS are not eligible to
reclassify their existing benefit.
Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty disability
benefit for eligible FIRE members and retirees (within five years of
retirement) who are disabled from ALS would generally be equal to 75% of
FAS. The performance of duty death benefit for eligible members or reti-
rees would generally be equal to a lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's
wages earned during the last year of service, plus, if applicable, the
Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) payable under General Municipal
Law section 208-f.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems.
The number of members who will benefit from this proposed legislation
is unknown. The cost of this proposed legislation could vary greatly
depending on the number of future members who benefit and on their
length of service, age, and salary history. The estimated financial
impact for members has been calculated assuming eligible members die in
the year following the valuation date.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those
presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this
Fiscal Note.
This Fiscal Note is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
A. 8229 4
Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our
objectivity, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
To the best of our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2025-44 dated April 17,
2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
Legislative Session.
