BILL NUMBER: S9512                  Revised 7/27/22

SPONSOR: KAMINSKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act granting retroactive eligibility to apply for retirement benefits
for former New York City firefighter Casey Skudin

 
PURPOSE:

To allow Angela Skudin to file an option election form on behalf of her
deceased husband.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Authorizes the widow of Casey Skudin to file a retirement
option election on behalf of her deceased husband.

Section 2. Provides that Casey Skudin's time as a lifeguard and teacher
shall be included in computing the twenty years in service of the
uniformed force of the fire department.

              

Section 3. Provides that, for the purposes of determining eligibility
for benefits and the amount of benefits he is entitled to from the New
York City fire department Pension Fund, Casey Skudin shall be deemed to
have been in service of the uniformed force of the fire department for
twenty years.

Section 3. Provides Casey Skudin's date of retirement and authorizes
Angela Skudin to apply for his full service credit.

Section 4. Sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A beloved New York City firefighter, father, and husband, Casey Skudin,
was tragically killed when a tree limb fell onto his car in Asheville,
North Carolina while vacationing with his family. Skudin was a highly-
decorated firefighter who joined the department after the 2001 terror
attack on the World Trade Center. He was stationed at Ladder 137 on
Rockaway Beach and won multiple medals for rescues off the Rockaways, as
well as for helping residents during Superstorm Sandy. Casey was awarded
the Fire Chief Association Memorial Medal for bravery in 2010 after he
dived into the ocean during a rainstorm with heavy gusts to rescue a
surfer who had been trapped underwater.

Casey served the department with distinction, but did not reach the
20-years required for his full pension from the New York City fire
department pension fund. He would have reached this milestone in October
of 2022. This bill provides that Casey shall be deemed to have served in
the department for 20 years for the purposes of determining retirement
benefits, that his widow shall be authorized to file a retirement option
election on his behalf in order to receive the full benefits he would
have been entitled to, and the filing shall be considered timely
received.

 
PRIOR HISTORY:

New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None for the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.