NY A08484

Increases special accidental death benefits (SADB) paid to surviving widows, widowers, or children of deceased public employees by adding an additional 3% to the salary percentage escalation for deaths occurring before 2014.

Applies to survivors of uniformed members in New York City Retirement Systems (NYCERS, Police Pension Fund, Fire Pension Fund) and certain other public employees including police officers, firefighters, correction officers, transit workers, and bridge/tunnel workers.

Benefit recipients include surviving spouses until death, or children under age 18 (or under 23 if attending school), with payments made on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Estimated to increase annual costs by approximately $438,000 statewide for the Police and Fire Retirement System and approximately $2.7 million annually for New York City retirement systems.

Takes effect July 1, 2014, with actuarial present value of benefits increasing by approximately $30.9 million to $41.9 million depending on interest rate assumptions used.