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S 4402

Provides medical documentation requirement for certain members of PERS, PFRS, and SPRS to receive accidental disability retirement allowance for participation in 9/11 World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations; removes filing deadline.*

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Carmen Amato and 4 co-sponsors

Eliminates filing deadline for WTC-related accidental disability retirement, enabling reconsideration and recalculation for affected PERS, PFRS, and SPRS retirees.

Substituted by A5381 (1R)
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Bill Summary · S 4402

Summary — S-4402 (Substituted by A5381 1R)

Title: Provides medical documentation requirement for certain members of PERS, PFRS, and SPRS to receive accidental disability retirement allowance for participation in 9/11 World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations; removes filing deadline.

Sponsor: Sen. Rachel May
Introduced: February 4, 2025
Status: Reported with committee amendments (6/26/2025); substituted by A5381 (1R) (6/30/2025).

Purpose

To revise eligibility and proof requirements for an accidental disability retirement allowance available to certain current and former members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS), and the State Police Retirement System (SPRS) who participated in World Trade Center (WTC) rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations following 9/11. The bill also removes a prior filing deadline and provides routes for reconsideration or benefit recalculation for affected retirees.

Key provisions

  • Removes the existing statutory filing deadline for submitting a written and sworn statement to establish eligibility for the WTC-related accidental disability presumption.
  • Allows retirees who previously submitted an eligibility form and were denied solely because they filed outside the earlier registration period to petition the respective board of trustees for reconsideration.
  • Permits members who retired with a special retirement allowance or accidental disability allowance to apply for a recalculation to an accidental disability retirement allowance where the disability is later determined to be connected to WTC participation. (Recalculation filing period increased in reprint from 30 to 180 days after the retiree knew or should have known of the disability and its relation.)
  • Broadens acceptable proof that a qualifying condition was not evident on entry to public service: in addition to passing a pre-employment physical, a member/retiree may present “sufficient evidence” of one or more medical examinations or results performed within a reasonable period before or after entry into service that failed to disclose the qualifying condition.
  • The final committee amendments removed earlier provisions that would have (a) extended a new filing window in two-year increments and (b) required the trustees to notify all members/retirants by certified mail.

Who is affected

  • Current and former members and retirees of PFRS and SPRS, and certain members/retirees of PERS, who participated in WTC rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations (defined in statute) and who later developed qualifying conditions (respiratory, gastroesophageal, psychological, skin, certain cancers, etc.).
  • State and local government employers that pay retirement system benefits (local costs spread among municipalities with PFRS-enrolled employees).

Fiscal impact

Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates annual cost increases:
- State: $86,500 to $159,000
- Local governments (municipalities with PFRS employees): $91,500 to $300,000
- Total annual increase: approximately $178,000 to $458,000
(OLS notes PERS costs are not expected to increase materially.)

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Referred to Senate committees (Higher Education; State Government) and reported with amendments by Senate Budget & Appropriations (6/26/2025).
  • Substituted by Assembly bill A5381 (1R) on 6/30/2025 (S-4402 no longer moves forward as the original Senate vehicle).
  • Related / prior-session measures: S-7684, S-6736; companion/related A-6109, A-5381.

Additional context

  • The bill preserves the existing presumption that certain disabilities diagnosed after WTC participation are work-related for members who worked a minimum of eight hours at the WTC site, and establishes specific categories of qualifying conditions.
  • Committee changes narrowed some of the original expansion/notice provisions, instead focusing on removing the filing deadline and allowing petitions/recalculations and broader medical-evidence options.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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