New York Assembly Bill A10172

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/12/26
• Refer: 2/12/26

Caption

Provides a disability presumption to members of public retirement systems

Summary

This bill amends the Retirement and Social Security Law to create a new disability presumption for members of public retirement systems. Under the proposal, a member who has been found by the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board to have a permanent partial disability, or who has been determined by the Social Security Administration to be disabled for substantial gainful activity and approved for Social Security Disability benefits, would be deemed disabled for purposes of qualifying for disability benefits from the public retirement system. The bill is written to override any conflicting law, rule, or regulation and would take effect immediately upon enactment. Although the bill text applies broadly to public retirement systems, the fiscal note specifically discusses its effect on the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, where disability eligibility is currently based on a system determination that a member is physically or mentally incapacitated for gainful employment. The proposal would therefore shift part of the disability eligibility determination away from the retirement system’s own medical review process and toward prior findings by other state or federal agencies.

Impact

The bill would add a new section 810 to the Retirement and Social Security Law, creating a statutory presumption of disability for certain public retirement system members. In practice, this would expand eligibility for disability retirement benefits by requiring retirement systems to treat specified Workers’ Compensation Board and Social Security disability determinations as sufficient proof of disability. The fiscal note indicates potential added costs to participating employers, but the overall fiscal impact cannot be determined because the number of affected retirements is unknown.

Sentiment

The available materials suggest a generally supportive or at least policy-driven rationale for the bill, with no recorded committee transcript or vote data showing opposition or debate. The bill’s purpose is framed as simplifying and standardizing disability eligibility for public employees who already have recognized disability findings from other agencies. At the same time, the fiscal note acknowledges potentially significant and uncertain costs, which is the main cautionary note in the record.

Contention

The principal point of contention is likely fiscal and administrative: the bill would require retirement systems to accept outside disability determinations rather than making their own independent medical judgment, which could increase the number of members qualifying for disability benefits. The fiscal note also highlights uncertainty about the total cost to employers and the retirement system, since the number of eligible members and the size of individual benefits would vary by age, tier, service, and salary. No specific opposition is documented in the provided record, but the cost exposure and change in eligibility standards are the most notable issues.