Permits surviving spouses of NYC police pension fund members to retain accidental death benefits upon remarriage.
Summary
This bill amends the New York Retirement and Social Security Law and the Administrative Code of the City of New York to change how certain death benefits are paid to survivors of public employees, with a focus on New York City police pension fund members. Its main effect is to allow a surviving spouse of a qualifying NYC Police Pension Fund member to keep receiving accidental death benefits even after remarriage, rather than losing the non-SADB portion of those benefits upon remarriage. The bill also makes related, largely conforming changes to beneficiary definitions and uses gender-neutral language in several provisions.
The bill extends the definition of “eligible beneficiary” for certain NYC retirement and pension provisions to include surviving spouses, children, dependent parents, and other dependents in a specified order of priority, and it adds a new category specifically for NYC police pension fund members. It also amends a separate provision of the Administrative Code governing police pension death benefits so that remarriage no longer terminates a surviving spouse’s pension entitlement in the affected circumstances. The bill takes effect immediately and applies to surviving spouses already in pay status on the effective date as well as to members dying on or after that date.
Impact
The bill would alter survivor-benefit rules in the state retirement law and New York City pension code by preserving accidental death benefit eligibility for remarried surviving spouses of certain NYC police pension fund members. In practical terms, this shifts the distribution of non-SADB death benefits away from lower-priority beneficiaries, such as qualifying children or dependent parents, when a surviving spouse remarries and remains alive. The fiscal note indicates no expected change in employer contribution timing or amount, though it notes that benefit allocation among beneficiaries would change.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support and no recorded opposition in committee, with favorable votes of 32-0 in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and 29-0 in the Assembly Rules Committee. The fiscal note frames the bill as a targeted survivor-benefit adjustment rather than a broad pension expansion, and the overall tone of the materials is technical and supportive. No committee transcript opposition is provided, suggesting limited visible controversy in the available record.
Contention
The main policy issue is who should receive accidental death benefits after a surviving spouse remarries. Support for the bill appears to rest on preserving benefits for widows or widowers of fallen police officers, while the countervailing concern is that remarriage would otherwise redirect the non-SADB portion of benefits to children, dependent parents, or other eligible beneficiaries. The fiscal note also flags a separate, more technical issue: one amended section concerns a class of members whose plan has been closed for decades and is described as generally inoperable, so that portion was not included in the cost estimate.
Permits surviving spouses of certain members to retain accidental death benefits upon remarriage; provides for regaining of any such lost benefits prior to the rule change.
Increases accidental death benefit for surviving spouse or surviving children of certain PERS members and retirants; provides accidental death benefit to beneficiary of certain PERS and PFRS members and retirants; redefines child.
Increases accidental death benefit for surviving spouse or surviving children of certain PERS members and retirants; provides accidental death benefit to beneficiary of certain PERS and PFRS members and retirants; redefines child.
Permits companion to receive PFRS accidental death pension when there is no surviving spouse; requires adjustment of final compensation for calculation of accidental death benefit for surviving spouse, companion, and children of PFRS members.
Permits companion to receive PFRS accidental death pension when there is no surviving spouse; requires adjustment of final compensation for calculation of accidental death benefit for surviving spouse, companion, and children of PFRS members.