NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8123

Senate Bill S8123

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to disability retirement benefits for certain participants in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 15, 2025	referred to civil service and pensions

2025-S8123 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement and Social Security Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§605 & 507, R & SS L; amd §13-550, NYC Ad Cd

2025-S8123 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that members of the New York city teachers' retirement system with an active membership at the time, who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, and who are determined to have incurred a qualifying condition, be paid a duty disability retirement allowance equal to three-quarters of final average salary.

2025-S8123 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8123

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the retirement and social security law and the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York, in relation to disability retire-
ment benefits for certain participants in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To create a 3/4 FAS disability retirement benefit for NYC TRS members
who participated in WTC rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill amends paragraph 4 of subdivision 6 of Section
605 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), which creates a
performance of duty disability benefit worth 3/4 of final average salary
(FAS) for members of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYS
LRS) or the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYS TRS) who

participated in the World Trade Center (WTC) rescue, recovery, or clean-
up operations and incurred a qualifying WTC condition not caused by such
member's own willful negligence. This bill adds members of the New York
City Teachers Retirement System (NYC TRS) to this paragraph.

Section two of this bill adds this same 3/4 FAS disability retirement
benefit in subdivision h-1 of Section 507 of RSSL.

Section three sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill adds members of the New York City Teachers Retirement System
(NYC TRS) to the same provisions of RSSL that created a 3/4 FAS acci-
dental disability retirement benefit for NYS LRS and NYS TRS members who
participated in the WTC rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations. NYC TRS
currently only receive an accidental disability retirement worth 2/3
FAS. This bill will increase their retirement to 3/4 FAS to align with
NYC TRS members' counterparts in these other retirement systems.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate

2025-S8123 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8123
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN  ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the adminis-
   trative code of the city  of  New  York,  in  relation  to  disability
   retirement  benefits  for  certain  participants 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:
 
   Section  1. Paragraph 4 of subdivision d of section 605 of the retire-
 ment and social security law, as added by chapter 252  of  the  laws  of
 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
 any member who had an active membership in the New York state and  local
 employees'  retirement system [or], the New York state teachers' retire-
 ment system OR THE NEW YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, when  such
 member  participated  in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
 operations, as such participation is defined  in  section  two  of  this
 chapter,  who  incurred  a  qualifying  World Trade Center condition, as
 defined in section two of this chapter, that is determined to have  been
 incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and is the natural and
 proximate  result of an accident not caused by such member's own willful
 negligence, shall be paid a performance of  duty  disability  retirement
 allowance  equal  to three-quarters of final average salary. The payment
 of such pension shall be subject to the provisions of section sixty-four
 of this chapter.
   § 2. Subdivision h-1 of section 507 of the retirement and social secu-
 rity law, as added by chapter 252 of the laws of  2019,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   h-1.  Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contra-
 ry, any member who had an active membership in the New  York  state  and
 local  employees'  retirement  system [or], the New York state teachers'
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07832-01-5

 S. 8123                             2
 
 retirement system OR THE NEW YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, when
 such member participated in World  Trade  Center  rescue,  recovery,  or
 cleanup  operations,  as such participation is defined in section two of
 this chapter, who incurred a qualifying World Trade Center condition, as
 defined  in section two of this chapter, that is determined to have been
 incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and is the natural and
 proximate result of an accident not caused by such member's own  willful
 negligence,  shall  be  paid a performance of duty disability retirement
 allowance equal to three-quarters of final average salary.  The  payment
 of such pension shall be subject to the provisions of section sixty-four
 of this chapter.
   § 3. Section 13-550 of the administrative code of the city of New York
 is amended by adding a new subdivision d-1 to read as follows:
   D-1.  ANY  MEMBER  WHO  SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBDIVISION A OF
 THIS SECTION AND WHO PARTICIPATED IN WORLD TRADE CENTER  RESCUE,  RECOV-
 ERY, OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS DURING THE TIME OF MEMBERSHIP, WHO INCURRED A
 QUALIFYING  WORLD TRADE CENTER CONDITION THAT IS DETERMINED TO HAVE BEEN
 INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY AND IS THE NATURAL AND
 PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT NOT CAUSED BY SUCH MEMBER'S OWN  WILLFUL
 NEGLIGENCE,  SHALL  BE ELIGIBLE FOR A DISABILITY BENEFIT PURSUANT TO THE
 PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH FOUR OF SUBDIVISION D  OF  SECTION  SIX  HUNDRED
 FIVE OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW.
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
 active New York city teachers' retirement system members who are  deter-
 mined  to have incurred a qualifying World Trade Center condition in the
 performance and discharge of duty that  is  the  natural  and  proximate
 result of an accident not caused by such member's own willful negligence
 prior to the effective date of this act.

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