STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9202
IN SENATE
February 13, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to first grade firefighters and promotions from the fire-
fighter rank
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended
2 by adding a new section 15-110.1 to read as follows:
3 § 15-110.1 Longevity bonuses. a. Notwithstanding any provision of law
4 to the contrary, when a member shall have accrued twenty-five years of
5 uniformed service with the New York city fire department, and retires in
6 any rank, they shall have five per centum of the highest grade of pay
7 under the applicable collective bargaining agreement of such rank in
8 which they retire, added to the applicable salary used for the purposes
9 of computing pension benefits under the plan in which they are enrolled
10 with the New York city fire department pension fund.
11 b. In addition to the increase set forth in subdivision a of this
12 section, commencing with the twenty-sixth year of service and for each
13 year thereafter, such member shall receive an additional one per centum
14 of the highest grade of pay under the applicable collective bargaining
15 agreement of such rank in which they retire for each year exceeding
16 twenty-five years, added to the applicable salary used for the purposes
17 of computing pension benefits under the plan in which they are enrolled
18 with the New York city fire department pension fund, provided, however,
19 that the total additional credit provided by this subdivision does not
20 exceed fifteen per centum and shall be capped upon the completion of
21 thirty-five years of uniformed service with the department.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation, as it relates to the New York City
Fire Pension Fund (FIRE), would increase the salary used for determining
pension benefits for members who retire with at least 25 years of
uniformed FIRE service.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14801-02-6
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EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
Year FIRE
2027 0.0
2028 3.2
2029 6.4
2030 9.8
2031 13.3
2032 16.8
2033 20.5
2034 24.3
2035 28.1
2036 32.0
2037 36.0
2038 40.0
2039 44.1
2040 48.2
2041 52.4
2042 53.6
2043 54.7
2044 55.8
2045 56.8
2046 57.9
2047 58.9
2048 60.0
2049 61.1
2050 62.2
2051 63.4
Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2051 is not shown.
Projected contributions are based on historical experience for Tier
2 members. Future retirement patterns may differ due to a shift in
population from Tier 2 to Tier 3.
The entire increase in employer contributions will be allocated to New
York City.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits (PVFB) is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
The enactment of this proposed legislation is expected to increase the
PVFB by approximately $26.8 million in the first year and every year
thereafter, adjusted for inflation, group demographics, and the actual
experience of benefiting retirees. Each year's PVFB increase will be
recognized in the year benefits are first payable.
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL were recognized as future gain/loss.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss FIRE
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 26.8 M
Number of Payments: 14
Amortization Payment: 3.2 M
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CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
census data collected as of June 30, 2025. The census data for FIRE
active members is summarized below.
FIRE
Active Members
- Number Count: 11,178
- Average Age: 40.3
- Average Service: 13.1
- Average Salary: 141,300
The 2024 salaries used in this analysis were provided by the Uniformed
Firefighters Association and are summarized below. The salaries were
increased with assumed inflation.
* Firefighters would use a highest grade of pay of $140,392.
* Lieutenants would use a highest grade of pay of $157,751.
* Captains would use a highest grade of pay of $179,842.
* Chiefs would use a highest grade of pay of $255,863.
* Marshals would use a highest grade of pay of $223,866.
* Medical Officers would use a highest grade of pay of $235,229.
Data from the prior eleven years of actuarial valuations was used to
estimate the number of retirees who could potentially benefit from this
proposed legislation each year and is summarized below.
Average Number Firefighters Lieutenants Captains Chiefs Marshals*
Number Retired
per Year
At least 25 but
less than 26 years of
service 17 5 3 1 1
At least 26 but
less than 27 years of
service 12 5 3 1 1
At least 27 but
less than 28 years of
service 10 5 2 1 1
At least 28 but
less than 29 years of
service 9 3 2 1 1
At least 29 but
less than 30 years of
service 7 5 3 1 1
At least 30 but
less than 31 years of
service 7 4 3 2 0
At least 31 but
less than 32 years of
service 7 2 2 3 1
At least 32 but
less than 33 years of
service 6 3 3 2 0
At least 33 but
less than 34 years of
service 4 2 2 2 0
At least 34 but
less than 35 years of
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service 4 2 2 4 1
At least 35 years of
service 11 8 8 17 2
* Includes Medical officers.
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: The proposed legislation would increase the
applicable salary used for computing pension benefits for members who
retire with at least 25 years of uniformed FIRE service.
The increase in applicable salary would be equal to:
* 5% for members with at least 25 years of service plus an additional
1% for each year of service exceeding 25, but not more than 15%, multi-
plied by
* The highest grade of pay under the applicable collective bargaining
agreement of the rank in which the member retires.
For example, a Tier 2 firefighter who retires with 32 years of
uniformed FIRE service would receive an increase in their annual pension
of approximately $10,143 (based on adding 12% of the highest pay grade
for firefighters with assumed overtime and salary inflation of $158,622
to the applicable salary used for the benefit calculation). Additional
benefits would then be subject to applicable Cost-of-Living or Esca-
lation increases.
Based on an estimate of the number of FIRE members who are expected to
be impacted by this proposed legislation, the annual increase in FIRE
pension benefits paid will be approximately $2.3 million in the first
year and increase in every year thereafter.
With respect to an individual member, the impact on benefits due to
this proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the member's
age, years of service, retirement cause, and Tier.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems. In addition:
* New entrants were assumed to replace exiting members so that total
payroll increases by 3% each year for impacted groups. New entrant demo-
graphics were developed based on data for recent new hires and actuarial
judgement.
* Future contribution impacts have been developed assuming a homogene-
ous population and a consistent retirement pattern.
* Costs for Tier 3 members have been developed by applying the
increased salary directly to Final Average Salary (i.e., without limit-
ing salaries in the average based on prior years).
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
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
S. 9202 5
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 2026-12 dated February
10, 2026 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retire-
ment Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the
2026 Legislative Session.
