Allows a one-year window for application for a disability retirement for members of the New York state and local employees' retirement system or the New York state and local police and fire retirement system who retired from service on or after after Janury 1, 2021 due to heart disease; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10030
IN SENATE
April 23, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
eligibility for accidental disability benefits under the heart bill;
and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there-
of
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 809 of the retirement and social security law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision d to read as follows:
3 d. (i) A member of the New York state and local employees' retirement
4 system or the New York state and local police and fire retirement system
5 who retired from service on or after January first, two thousand twen-
6 ty-one but before the effective date of this subdivision, and to whom
7 this section otherwise would have been applicable, may submit an appli-
8 cation for an accidental disability retirement allowance that is based
9 on a permanent incapacity caused by a disease of the heart for a period
10 of one year from the effective date of this subdivision. No application
11 filed after the expiration of such one-year period shall be accepted.
12 Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to revive, reopen, or
13 extend the filing period for any member who retired prior to January
14 first, two thousand twenty-one.
15 (ii) Any change in the retirement status of a member or benefits due
16 such member or the member's beneficiaries shall be prospective only from
17 the date of submission of the application.
18 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 363-a of the retirement and social secu-
19 rity law, as amended by section 1 of part LL of chapter 55 of the laws
20 of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
21 2. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any gener-
22 al, special, or local law to the contrary, any condition of impairment
23 of health caused by diseases of the heart, resulting in disability or
24 death to a police officer, presently employed, and who shall have
25 sustained such disability while so employed, shall be presumptive
26 evidence that it was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14507-03-6
S. 10030 2
1 and the natural and proximate result of an accident, unless the contrary
2 be proved by competent evidence.
3 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, a police officer who is not
4 presently employed shall be eligible to apply for accidental disability
5 retirement benefits based upon diseases of the heart only as expressly
6 provided in subdivision d of section eight hundred nine of this chapter.
7 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
8 deemed repealed three hundred sixty-six days after it shall have become
9 a law. Such expiration and repeal shall not affect any applications
10 filed prior to the date of such expiration in accordance with subdivi-
11 sion d of section 809 of the retirement and social security law as added
12 by section one of this act.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow service retirees to apply for an accidental
disability benefit under section 809 of the retirement and social secu-
rity law, which provides benefits for heart disease. They must have
retired on or after January 1, 2021. If approved, increased benefits
will only be paid prospectively, commencing on the date of application.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Retirement
System (NYSLRS), there are 89 benefiting retirees collecting annual
pension payments of approximately $16 million. Should these members
apply and be approved for a 75% accidental disability benefit, annual
pension payments would increase $2.8 million, generating a past service
cost of $30 million. The cost will be shared by the participating
employers in NYSLRS and spread over future billing cycles.
The number of future retirees who could be affected by this legis-
lation cannot be readily determined. The cost of each additional acci-
dental disability benefit approved will depend upon the applicant's age,
service, salary, and plan, but is expected to average 2.5 times the
member's compensation. All future costs will be borne by the state of
New York and local participating employers in NYSLRS.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated April 8, 2026, and intended for use only during
the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-152. As Chief
Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I,
Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with
applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of
Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing
Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it
impairs my objectivity.
