To:
PERS
Pension Members
From: Lindsay
Riiff
Date:
October
8, 2019
Subject: Notice of New
Legislation Notice - P.L. 2019 C. 157
The notice below is from the Division of Pension and Benefits and is to be
issued to all PERS members:
This letter serves as notification of a new law that permits certain members and
retirees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS), the State Police
Retirement System (SPRS), and Tiers 1, 2, and 3 of the Public Employees'
Retirement System (PERS), to receive an Accidental Disability Retirement
allowance for a disability resulting from participation in the 9/11 World Trade
Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations.
P.L. 2019, c. 157 (Chapter 157), the Bill Ricci World Trade Center Rescue,
Recovery, and Cleanup Operations Act, permits an active member of the PFRS, the
SPRS, and PERS Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) or Emergency Medical Technicians
(EMTs) to file for an Accidental Disability Retirement if the member is or is to
become totally and permanently disabled due to participation in the rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center between September 11,
2001, and October 11, 2001, regardless of whether the member was enrolled in the
PFRS, SPRS, or PERS at the time of participation or under orders or instruction
by an employer to participate.
MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
Members who were present and worked or volunteered in the rescue, recovery, or
cleanup operations at the World Trade Center must complete and return an
Eligibility Registration Form within two years of the date of enactment of
Chapter 157, or July 8, 2021. Filing this form allows the member the right to
apply for an Accidental Disability Retirement in the future should he/she become
totally and permanently disabled as a direct result of participation in the
rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center. If an
Eligibility Registration Form is not filed by July 8, 2021, the member will not
be permitted to apply for an Accidental Disability Retirement resulting from
participation in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade
Center.
The Eligibility Registration Form is not an application for Accidental
Disability Retirement. Members who have filed an Eligibility Registration Form
and subsequently become totally and permanently disabled must complete an
application for Accidental Disability Retirement and indicate their disability
is due to the participation in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at
the World Trade Center.
QUALIFIYING CONDITIONS
Members submitting an Eligibility Registration Form must certify that they were
present and worked at a location below a line starting from the Hudson River and
Canal Street, east on Canal Street to Pike Street, south on Pike Street to the
East River, and extending to the lower tip of Manhattan, and:
The following medically documented qualifying conditions include:
If you have questions regarding any of the
information provided, please contact the NJDPB's Office of Client Services at
609-292-7524.
Thank you.