Relates to providing performance of duty disability retirement benefits for the employee titles police medic, police medic supervisor, police medic coordinator, bureau director emergency ambulance, and deputy bureau director emergency ambulance in the employ of Nassau county.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6492
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
providing performance of duty disability retirement benefits for the
employee titles police medic, police medic supervisor, police medic
coordinator, bureau director emergency ambulance, and deputy bureau
director emergency ambulance in the employ of Nassau county
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
2 a new section 607-j to read as follows:
3 § 607-j. Performance of duty disability retirement benefits for
4 certain first responders in Nassau county. a. The county of Nassau shall
5 make the benefits provided herein available to the following employee
6 titles in the employ of Nassau county: police medic; police medic super-
7 visor; police medic coordinator; bureau director emergency ambulance;
8 and deputy bureau director emergency ambulance.
9 b. A member shall be entitled to retirement for disability incurred in
10 the performance of duty if, at the time application therefor is filed,
11 he or she is:
12 1. Physically or mentally incapacitated for performance of duty as the
13 natural and proximate result of a disability not caused by his or her
14 own willful negligence sustained in such service and while actually a
15 member of the retirement system; and
16 2. Actually in service upon which his or her membership is based.
17 However, in the case where a member is discontinued from service, either
18 voluntarily, or involuntarily, subsequent to sustaining a disability in
19 such service, application may be made not later than two years after the
20 member is first discontinued from service; and provided that the member
21 meets the requirements of subdivision a of this section and this subdi-
22 vision.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04827-02-1
A. 6492 2
1 c. Application for a performance of duty disability retirement allow-
2 ance for such a member may be made by:
3 1. Such member; or
4 2. The head of the department in which such member is employed; or
5 3. Any person acting on behalf of and authorized by such member.
6 d. 1. After the filing of such an application, such member shall be
7 given one or more medical examinations. No such application shall be
8 approved, however, unless the member or some other person on his or her
9 behalf shall have filed written notice in the office of the comptroller
10 within ninety days after the occurrence which is the basis for the disa-
11 bility incurred in the performance of duty, setting forth:
12 (a) The time when and the place of such occurrence; and
13 (b) The particulars thereof; and
14 (c) The nature and extent of the member's injuries; and
15 (d) His or her alleged disability.
16 2. The notice herein required need not be given:
17 (a) If the notice of such accident shall be filed in accordance with
18 the provisions of the workers' compensation law of any state within
19 which a participating employer in Nassau county shall have its employees
20 located or performing functions and duties within the normal scope of
21 their employment; or
22 (b) If the application for performance of duty disability retirement
23 is filed within one year after the date of the occurrence which forms
24 the basis for the application; or
25 (c) If a failure to file notice has been excused for good cause shown
26 as provided by rules and regulations promulgated by the comptroller.
27 e. If the comptroller determines that the member is physically or
28 mentally incapacitated for the performance of duty pursuant to subdivi-
29 sion b of this section and ought to be retired, such member shall be so
30 retired. Such retirement shall be effective as of a date approved by the
31 comptroller.
32 f. The annual retirement allowance payable upon retirement for disa-
33 bility incurred in the performance of duty shall be a pension of one-
34 half of his or her final average salary plus an annuity which shall be
35 the actuarial equivalent of the member's accumulated contributions, if
36 any.
37 g. If the member, at the time of the filing of an application under
38 the provision of subdivision c of this section, is eligible for a
39 service retirement benefit, then and in that event, he or she may simul-
40 taneously file an application for service retirement in accordance with
41 the provision of section seventy of this chapter, provided that the
42 member indicates on the application for service retirement that such
43 application is filed without prejudice to the application for the
44 retirement for disability incurred in performance of duty.
45 h. Any benefit provided pursuant to this section shall not be consid-
46 ered as an accidental disability benefit within the meaning of section
47 sixty-four of this chapter.
48 i. Any benefit payable pursuant to the workers' compensation law to a
49 member receiving a disability allowance pursuant to this section shall
50 be in addition to such retirement for disability incurred in performance
51 of duty allowance.
52 j. A final determination of the comptroller that the member is not
53 entitled to retirement benefits pursuant to this section shall not in
54 any respect be, or constitute, a determination with regard to benefits
55 payable pursuant to section two hundred seven-c of the general municipal
56 law.
A. 6492 3
1 § 2. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
2 shall be borne by Nassau county.
3 § 3. All past costs incurred due to implementing the provisions of
4 this act will be borne by Nassau county, and may be amortized over a ten
5 year period.
6 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would grant Nassau County Tier 3, 4, 5 and 6 police medics,
police medic supervisors, police medic coordinators, emergency ambulance
bureau directors and deputy bureau directors an enhanced disability
benefit for injuries sustained in the performance of duty. The benefit
for a performance of duty disability would be 50 percent of final aver-
age salary.
If this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $220,000 in the
annual contributions of Nassau County for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2022.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $1.21 million which will
be borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based
on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2022. If
Nassau County elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the
cost for the first year would be $160,000.
These estimated costs are based on 117 affected members employed by
Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $14 million as of
March 31, 2020.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2020 Report of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
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, 2020
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
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 December 30, 2020, and intended for use only
during the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-11,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
