Provides for salary bonuses for members of the uniformed service with the New York city fire department who retire with at least twenty-five, thirty or thirty-five years of service.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9306
IN SENATE
February 27, 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 longevity bonuses for members of the uniformed service
with the New York city fire department
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; or
11 b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, when a member
12 shall have accrued thirty years of uniformed service with the New York
13 city fire department, and retires in any rank, they shall have ten per
14 centum of the highest grade of pay under the applicable collective
15 bargaining agreement of such rank in which they retire, added to the
16 applicable salary, used for the purposes of computing pension benefits
17 under the plan in which they are enrolled with the New York city fire
18 pension fund; or
19 c. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, when a member
20 shall have accrued thirty-five years of uniformed service with the New
21 York city fire department, and retires in any rank, they shall have
22 fifteen per centum of the highest grade of pay under the applicable
23 collective bargaining agreement of such rank in which they retire, added
24 to the applicable salary, used for the purposes of computing pension
25 benefits under the plan in which they are enrolled with the New York
26 city fire pension fund.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13848-02-6
S. 9306 2
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.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
Year FIRE
2027 0.0
2028 2.7
2029 5.6
2030 8.5
2031 11.5
2032 14.6
2033 17.8
2034 21.0
2035 24.3
2036 27.7
2037 31.2
2038 34.7
2039 38.2
2040 41.7
2041 45.4
2042 46.4
2043 47.3
2044 48.3
2045 49.2
2046 50.1
2047 51.0
2048 51.9
2049 52.9
2050 53.9
2051 54.8
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 popu-
lation 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 $23.2 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: 23.2 M
Number of Payments: 14
S. 9306 3
Amortization Payment: 2.7 M
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: 141,257
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*
Retired per Year
At least 25 but 55 23 13 4 5
less than 30 years
of service
At least 30 but 27 14 11 13 2
less than 35 years
of service
At least 35 years 11 8 8 17 2
of service
* 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, 10% for members
with at least 30 years of service, or 15% for members with at least 35
years of service, multiplied 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 $8,452 (based on adding 10% 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
S. 9306 4
pension benefits paid will be approximately $2.0 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
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 2026-10 dated February 6,
2026 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2026
Legislative Session.
