2006 New York Code - Special Accidental Death Benefit.

 
    §  208-f.  Special  accidental death benefit.   a. Notwithstanding any
  other provision of law, the special accidental death benefit provided by
  this section shall be paid to the  widow  or  widower  or  the  deceased
  member's  children under the age of eighteen, or, if a student under the
  age of twenty-three, if the widow or widower has died of: (i) a deceased
  member of a pension or retirement system of a police department or  paid
  fire  department of a city, town or village; (ii) a deceased paid member
  of the police force of the  police  department  of  the  New  York  city
  transit  authority;  (iii) a deceased paid member of the police force of
  the police department of the New York city  housing  authority;  (iv)  a
  deceased  paid  member of the uniformed correction force of the New York
  city department of correction; (v) a deceased paid uniformed member of a
  county sheriff's department (outside the city of New York);  or  (vi)  a
  deceased  employee  of  the city of New York or the New York city health
  and hospitals corporation in a  title  whose  duties  are  those  of  an
  emergency  medical  technician  or advanced emergency medical technician
  (as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the  public
  health  law),  or  in  a  title  whose duties require the supervision of
  employees whose duties are those of an emergency medical  technician  or
  advanced  emergency  medical  technician  (as those terms are defined in
  section three thousand one of the public health law); or (vi) a deceased
  paid bridge and tunnel member of the New York city employees' retirement
  system, providing the widow or widower is ineligible to receive benefits
  pursuant to section three hundred  sixty-one-a  of  the  retirement  and
  social  security law as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the
  laws of nineteen hundred seventy-eight and the deceased member:
    1. Died before the effective date of his or  her  retirement,  as  the
  natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance
  of duty in the service upon which his membership was based, and
    2.  Did  not cause such accident by his or her own willful negligence,
  and
    3. At the time of such accident  was  actually  a  member  of:  (i)  a
  pension  or  retirement  system  of  a  police  department  or paid fire
  department of a city, town or village;  (ii)  a  pension  or  retirement
  system  covering  the  police  force of the police department of the New
  York city transit  authority;  (iii)  a  pension  or  retirement  system
  covering  the police force of the police department of the New York city
  housing authority; (iv) a pension  or  retirement  system  covering  the
  uniformed   correction   force  of  the  New  York  city  department  of
  correction; (v)  a  pension  or  retirement  system  covering  uniformed
  members of a county sheriff's department (outside the city of New York);
  or (vi) a pension or retirement system covering employees of the city of
  New  York,  or  the  New York city health and hospitals corporation in a
  title whose duties are those  of  an  emergency  medical  technician  or
  advanced  emergency  medical  technician  (as those terms are defined in
  section three thousand one of the public health  law),  or  in  a  title
  whose duties require the supervision of employees whose duties are those
  of  an  emergency  medical  technician  or  advanced  emergency  medical
  technician (as those terms are defined in section three thousand one  of
  the  public health law); or (vi) a pension or retirement system covering
  paid  bridge  and  tunnel  members  of  the  New  York  city  employees'
  retirement system.
    b.  The  special  accidental  death benefit shall be paid by the city,
  town or village which employed the deceased member at the time of death,
  and shall consist of a pension which is  equal  to  the  salary  of  the
  deceased  member,  reduced  by the sum of each of the following benefits
  received by the widow or widower or the deceased member's children under
  the age of eighteen, if the widow or widower has died, on account of the
  death of the deceased member:
    1.  Any death benefit and any supplementation thereto paid by the said
  city, town or village in the form of a pension, and
    2. The social security benefit payable on July first, nineteen hundred
  seventy-eight for death occurring prior to July first, nineteen  hundred
  seventy-eight;  or the social security benefit payable immediately after
  death if such death occurs on or  after  July  first,  nineteen  hundred
  seventy-eight. In the event the social security benefit is reduced to an
  amount  less  than  that  noted in this paragraph, the amount of special
  accidental death benefit shall be increased by the amount of the  social
  security reduction.
    3. The workers' compensation benefit.
    In  the  case  of  a  deceased member who died prior to January first,
  nineteen hundred seventy-eight  the  salary  shall  be  increased  by  a
  percentage  which shall be determined on the basis of the consumer price
  index (all items--U.S. city average), published  by  the  United  States
  bureau  of  labor  statistics. The percentage shall be determined as the
  ratio of two indexes, the denominator of which is  the  average  of  the
  twelve  monthly consumer price indexes of the calendar year of the death
  of the member and the numerator of which is the average  of  the  twelve
  monthly  consumer  price  indexes for the calendar year nineteen hundred
  seventy-seven. Said ratio, minus one, shall be expressed as a percentage
  and shall be adjusted to the nearest one-tenth of one per centum.
    c. Commencing July first, two thousand  five  the  special  accidental
  death  benefit  paid  to  a  widow  or  widower or the deceased member's
  children under the age of eighteen or, if a student, under  the  age  of
  twenty-three,  if  the  widow or widower has died, shall be escalated by
  adding thereto an additional percentage of the salary  of  the  deceased
  member  (as  increased  pursuant  to  subdivision  b of this section) in
  accordance with the following schedule:
       calendar year of death
       of the deceased member              per centum
            1977 or prior                    128.8%
            1978                             122.1%
            1979                             115.7%
            1980                             109.4%
            1981                             103.3%
            1982                              97.4%
            1983                              91.6%
            1984                              86.0%
            1985                              80.6%
            1986                              75.4%
            1987                              70.2%
            1988                              65.3%
            1989                              60.5%
            1990                              55.8%
            1991                              51.3%
            1992                              46.9%
            1993                              42.6%
            1994                              38.4%
            1995                              34.4%
            1996                              30.5%
            1997                              26.7%
            1998                              23.0%
            1999                              19.4%
            2000                              15.9%
            2001                              12.6%
            2002                               9.3%
            2003                               6.1%
            2004                               3.0%
            2005                               0.0%
    d.  For  the  purpose  of  this  section,  salary shall be the regular
  compensation earned during the member's last twelve months of service in
  full pay status as a member, or, if he or she had not  completed  twelve
  months of service prior to the date of death, the compensation he or she
  would  have  earned  had he or she worked for the twelve months prior to
  such date, provided, that for the purpose of any  payment  on  or  after
  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-five the term salary shall in no
  case be less than the full  salary  payable  to  a  first  grade  police
  officer  (in  the  case  of  a deceased police officer) or a first grade
  firefighter (in the case  of  a  deceased  firefighter)  employed  by  a
  department or uniformed force described in subdivision c of this section
  on  the  date  of  such employee's death. Provided further, that for the
  purpose of  any  payment  on  or  after  July  first,  nineteen  hundred
  ninety-six  the  term  salary shall in no case be less than the earnings
  that would have been payable to a police superior officer were he or she
  in the highest grade of a supervisory position (in the case of a  police
  superior  officer  deceased  on  or  after  July first, nineteen hundred
  ninety-five who had  been  appointed  to  and  was  serving  in  such  a
  supervisory position) or payable to a fire officer were he or she in the
  highest  grade  of a supervisory position (in the case of a fire officer
  deceased on or after July first, nineteen hundred  ninety-five  who  had
  been  appointed  to  and  was  serving  in  such a supervisory position)
  employed by a department or uniformed force described in  subdivision  c
  of  this  section  on  the  date  of such employee's death, and provided
  further that, for the purpose of  any  payment  on  or  after  September
  tenth, two thousand one, in the case of a police officer, a firefighter,
  a  police superior officer, or fire officer acting in a higher rank, the
  term salary shall in no case be less than the earnings that  would  have
  been payable at the highest grade of such higher rank.
    e.  There  shall  be  appropriated to the local assistance fund in the
  general fund to the department of audit and control an amount  equal  to
  the  special  accidental  death benefits paid pursuant to subdivisions b
  and c of this section  during  each  preceding  state  fiscal  year,  as
  certified  to the comptroller by the appropriate municipal official, for
  the purposes of reimbursing such special accidental death benefits.
    The monies appropriated to the department of  audit  and  control  and
  made  available  pursuant  to this subdivision shall be paid under rules
  and regulations adopted by the comptroller and subject to  the  approval
  of  the  director  of  the  budget  upon  the  audit  and warrant of the
  comptroller on vouchers certified or approved as provided by law.
    f. The special accidental death benefit shall be paid to:
    1. The member's widow  or  widower  to  continue  during  his  or  her
  lifetime.    If  he or she shall leave no widow or widower, or if his or
  her widow or widower shall die before all his or her children shall have
  attained age eighteen or, if students shall have  attained  the  age  of
  twenty-three, or sooner die, then to
    2.  His  or her child or children under age eighteen, or, if students,
  under age twenty-three, divided in such manner as  the  comptroller,  in
  his discretion, shall determine. Such pension shall continue in the same
  amount  as  received  by  the  member's  widow or widower as a joint and
  survivor pension until every such child shall have attained age eighteen
  or sooner die.
    g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  and
  solely  for  the purposes of this section, a member otherwise covered by
  this section shall be deemed to have died as the natural  and  proximate
  result  of  an  accident sustained in the performance of duty upon which
  his or her  membership  is  based,  and  not  as  a  result  of  willful
  negligence  on  his or her part, provided that such member was in active
  service upon which his or her membership is based at the time that  such
  member  was  ordered  to  active duty, other than for training purposes,
  pursuant to Title 10 of the United States Code, with the armed forces of
  the United States, and such member died while on such active duty on  or
  after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand five
  which added this subdivision while serving on such active military duty.