NY S03815

Extends special accidental death benefits to children of deceased uniformed public safety workers (police, fire, corrections, EMS, sanitation) for their lifetime, rather than ending at age 18 or 23 if a student

Eligibility requires the child to have been under age 25 at the time of the member's death and applies only to deaths occurring on or after the effective date

Children of NYPD members who died before the effective date may apply for lifetime benefits if they were under 21 at the member's death, are currently under 30, and no spouse or parent is receiving the benefit

Replaces gendered language ("widow/widower") with gender-neutral terminology ("surviving spouse") throughout the statute

Estimated to increase employer contributions by $100.9 million in the first fiscal year (2026), declining to approximately $11-15 million annually thereafter, with total present value of benefits estimated at $194.6 million across NYC retirement systems