Authorizes the widow of Gerald J. Sullivan to file an application with the New York state and local police and fire retirement system on behalf of such deceased member and deem such application as timely filed.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7844
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. BASKIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to authorize the widow of Gerald J. Sullivan to file an applica-
tion with the New York state and local police and fire retirement
system on behalf of such deceased member and deem such application as
timely filed
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special
2 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Bonnie E. Sullivan is author-
3 ized to file an application for accidental disability retirement with a
4 firefighters' cancer disability presumption pursuant to section 363-d of
5 the retirement and social security law on behalf of her deceased husband
6 Gerald J. Sullivan who was previously employed by the Buffalo Fire
7 Department and was a performance of duty disability retiree of the New
8 York state and local police and fire retirement system since June 1,
9 2015 pursuant to section 363-c of the retirement and social security law
10 and passed away from cancer on December 17, 2020. Such application if
11 filed with the state comptroller within one year of the effective date
12 of this act shall be deemed as timely filed.
13 § 2. Any additional costs for this act shall be paid by the state of
14 New York.
15 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would authorize Bonnie Sullivan to file an application for
accidental disability retirement pursuant to section 363-d of the
Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) on behalf of their deceased
husband Gerald Sullivan. The current retirement benefit will be recalcu-
lated and payment will be made to Bonnie Sullivan retroactive to June 1,
2015, the date Gerald Sullivan first retired with a performance of duty
disability benefit pursuant to section 363-c of the RSSL.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09509-02-5
S. 7844 2
If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, and
Bonnie Sullivan timely files the required application for accidental
disability retirement, there will be an immediate past service cost of
approximately $240,000 which will be borne by the State of New York as a
one-time payment. This estimate assumes that payment will be made on
March 1, 2026.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
2024 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control. The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
and Supplementary Information.
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated May 7, 2025, and intended for use only during the
2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-171. As Chief Actuary
of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable Actu-
arial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct
and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.
