NY S04554

Eliminates the verification requirement for Tier 1 and Tier 2 NYC Police Pension Fund members who filed timely notices of participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or clean-up operations after September 11, 2001

Creates a presumption that members who filed a timely, fully sworn notice of participation have a qualifying World Trade Center condition, unless proven otherwise by competent evidence adopted by the board of trustees

Removes the requirement for members' former employers to have an opportunity to be heard on reclassification applications

Estimated cost increase of $71,000 per disability incident and $272,000 per death incident in employer contributions annually, with potential cumulative costs reaching $990,000 for disabilities and $3.8 million for deaths per year by 2040

Of 31,945 Notices of Participation submitted to POLICE, only 1,940 have been verified to date, with approximately 50 known cases where WTC disability benefits were approved medically but did not meet verification requirements