NYCPPF Pension Board Update - May 2026

This month, we had 67 cases on the agenda across our 4 unions, with 22 approvals for Accident Disability Retirement, including 5 applications for reclassification and 3 Line Of Duty Death applications under the World Trade Center Disability Bill.

WTC Verifications

Under the new WTC Verification Bill (WTC Legislation S.4554-A/A.5458-A), enacted this past September, the burden is no longer on the member to prove their participation in rescue, recovery and clean-up operations at the WTC and other qualifying sites. Rather, the burden is now on the NYPD to prove, to the satisfaction of a majority of the Board, that the member was not present. This shift essentially guarantees that members' participation will be accepted, without the need for the member to provide any evidence.

Unfortunately, the Police Commissioner's representative on the Board continues to exercise her authority to table these cases for two months, needlessly prolonging an already protracted process. While these unwarranted tables do make disabled members (and the families of deceased members) wait, they do not affect the outcome, and those applications will be approved once the Police Commissioner's representative has exhausted her 2 allotted tables.

These WTC applications are important, not only for the enhanced pension benefits, but because they open the door to economic loss claims filed with the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Our firm has represented thousands of MOS on their WTC disability applications and VCF claims, and are the only firm (to our knowledge) that has substantial experience in both areas.

LOD Injuries

As for our non-WTC applications, the City trustees did have their usual questions about members' LOD injuries and medical records. This month, they questioned one case where a detective was injured while physically controlling a perpetrator during the execution of a search warrant. Because the LOD paperwork did not specify that the perpetrator was resisting, the City trustees were prepared to vote against that member, taking the position that the injury resulted from exertion rather than an accident. Fortunately, we were able to persuade the Board to approve by providing updated statements from the detective and his partner.

Ungaro Cifuni & Jaffe serves as Disability Counsel to the unions representing NYPD detectives, sergeants, lieutenants, captains and above. We strongly encourage members to reach out to us early in the process to ensure that their paperwork is complete, avoiding last minute-stress in the days leading up to the monthly pension board meeting.