Provides certain enhanced disability retirement benefits for Kyle Brower relating to participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations, and who retired in 2013.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6856
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 25, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to provide certain enhanced disability retirement benefits for
Kyle Brower relating to participation in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the
2 contrary, Kyle Brower, a retired member of the New York state teachers'
3 retirement system who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recov-
4 ery, or cleanup operations, as such participation is defined in section
5 2 of the retirement and social security law, who incurred a qualifying
6 World Trade Center condition, as defined in such section, that is deter-
7 mined to have been incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and
8 is the natural and proximate result of an accident not caused by such
9 member's own willful negligence, and who retired for disability in 2013,
10 shall be paid a performance of duty disability retirement allowance
11 equal to three-quarters of final average salary and shall have his
12 retirement benefit recalculated as of 2013 if he shall file a written
13 request to that effect with the head of the New York state teachers'
14 retirement system within one year of the effective date of this act. The
15 payment of such pension shall be subject to the provisions of section 64
16 of the retirement and social security law.
17 § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
18 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the
19 retirement and social security law.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow Kyle Brower, a retired member of the New York
State Teachers' Retirement System who has a qualifying World Trade
Center condition, to receive a performance of duty disability retirement
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10741-03-5
S. 6856 2
benefit equal to three-quarters of final average salary, instead of the
ordinary disability benefit he has been receiving. Mr. Brower's pension
would be recalculated prospectively and with retroactive adjustment to
payments made since his date of retirement of July 9, 2013. Mr. Brower
must file a written request with the head of the New York State Teach-
ers' Retirement System within one year of the effective date of this
bill.
The cost of this benefit is equal to the increase in the present value
of liabilities, which is estimated to be $937,000. This cost would be
borne by the employers of members of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
as of June 30, 2024, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
be found in the System's Annual Report for fiscal year ended June 30,
2024. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuarial assump-
tions and methods will be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation
Report as of June 30, 2024.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2025-15 dated March 24,
2025 prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teach-
ers' Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2025
Legislative Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the
New York State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the Ameri-
can Academy of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards of the
American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained
herein.
