Relates to the ordinary disability benefit for enhanced plan members of the New York city fire department pension fund

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Robert Jackson

The bill changes ordinary disability benefits specifically for enhanced-plan FDNY Pension Fund members, affecting eligibility, calculation, or administration.

PRINT NUMBER 10436A

Summary of Bill S 10436 (2025-2026) – New York

Purpose and intent

This bill relates to the ordinary disability benefit for enhanced plan members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Pension Fund.

In broad terms, it seeks to modify eligibility, calculation, or administration of ordinary disability benefits specifically for members enrolled in the “enhanced plan” within the FDNY Pension Fund.

Key provisions and changes (as implied by title)

The bill addresses ordinary disability benefits, which are typically benefits paid to members who are unable to perform their duties due to medical conditions but are not considered total or duty-related disability.

The focus is restricted to enhanced plan members, indicating a targeted change to benefits for a subset of retirees or active members who are enrolled in a special/or enhanced benefit option within the FDNY Pension Fund.

Potential changes that such a bill could include (based on common pension reforms):

Altering the minimum service or medical eligibility criteria for ordinary disability.
Modifying the benefit calculation (e.g., benefit amount, duration, or indexing) for enhanced plan members.
Adjusting reporting, medical evaluation, or administrative processes for determining ordinary disability.
Aligning enhanced plan ordinary disability provisions with other NYC or state pension standards.

Note: The exact textual provisions are not provided in the summary you supplied. The bill’s title indicates the substantive focus is the ordinary disability benefit specifically for enhanced plan members of the FDNY Pension Fund.

Who would be affected

Primary affected group: Enhanced plan members of the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund. This could include active, deferred, or retired members who are enrolled in the enhanced plan option.

Secondary effects may extend to the FDNY Pension Fund administration and those evaluating disability claims (e.g., medical professionals, pension fund staff) due to any changes in eligibility, calculation, or procedures.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Status: As of 2026-05-15, the bill has been referred to the Civil Service and Pensions committees.

Sponsor: Co-sponsor Robert Jackson.

Path forward: The committees would review for jurisdiction, public hearing if applicable, and potential amendments before moving to floor action in the Senate. If advanced, it would proceed to the Assembly and ultimately to the governor for signature or veto, following New York’s standard legislative process.

Practical implications and considerations

If enacted, the changes could alter monthly disability benefits (either amount or duration) for those in the enhanced plan, impacting financial planning for affected members.

Administrative changes could affect processing times for disability determinations and the handling of medical documentation.

The specificity to “enhanced plan” members suggests an effort to tailor benefits within the FDNY Pension Fund rather than broad reform applicable to all NYC firefighters.

If you’d like, I can pull the exact text of S 10436 and provide a line-by-line analysis of the proposed changes, including any defined terms and fiscal impact estimates.