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Understanding Civil Service Disability Pensions

Civil Service Disability Pensions are Complex and Confusing Without a Sharp NY Pension Attorney By Your Side

Navigating the complex civil service disability pension program and application process is extremely difficult, no matter how long you may have worked for NYC or New York State. Though both city and state government offices in New York and many local municipalities provide retirement disability benefits to public employees who can't work due to illness, accidents or other disabilities, actually obtaining those benefits can seem impossible without the help of an experienced, aggressive New York civil servant lawyer. Dealing with intimidating pension administrators and filling out the massive amount of paperwork accurately and thoroughly can be overwhelming. That's where we come in.

New York Civil Service Disability Claims Get Denied Every Day Due to Poor Preparation

We will handle all the finer points of your civil service disability pension case, but here is a basic overview of how the NY Retirement System works, according to the NY State Comptroller's Office. Depending on when you joined or rejoined the NY Retirement System, a corresponding Tier dictates what amount of benefits for which you qualify. In the non-uniform Employees' Retirement System (ERS) there are six length-of-employment Tiers and in the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) there are five.

Which Tier you are in determines the following:

  • Your eligibility for benefits and loans
  • Number of years of creditable service
  • Whether you must contribute toward your benefits
  • The formula that must be used for calculating your benefits
  • Death benefit coverage if you lost a civil servant loved one

Before You Call the NY State Comptroller About Your Civil Service Pension Benefits, Call Us!

If you've already made an attempt to apply for your civil service disability pension through the New York State and local retirement system or the New York City retirement system but have hit a dead-end or your application was denied, call a seasoned civil service attorney in New York. Better yet, before you make one phone call to the NY State Comptroller's Office, call us first. The success of your civil service disability claim depends on navigating the application process properly.

If you are on our side, we will take the precise steps needed for your application to be successful, from the first day of your injury or sickness to settlement, including redetermination hearing and Article 78 appeals, if necessary.

Whether Due to Accident or Incident, Your Civil Service Disability Needs Tough Legal Representation

Unfortunately, a civil service disability pension application that is in any way incomplete or inaccurate will be denied. Retirement system reviewers won't simply accept your or your doctor's account of what happened, but require very specific medical evidence and other substantiating documentation.

To qualify for a Disability Pension, you must prove that you are permanently disabled and unable to perform your job duties. In many instances you must also prove what type of civil servant injury you suffered-a job-related "Accident" or a workplace "Incident." This is a deceptively complicated area of the law, and each application must be filed with the appropriate Retirement System within its strict time limits.

At Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP we have dedicated over 90 years to helping NY State and City workers successfully collect civil service disability pension benefits after becoming disabled. We're here to help you too and all conversations are personalized and confidential. Call us toll-free at (800) 692-3717 or contact us online for a free evaluation. We serve civil servants from Staten Island, Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens to Westchester, Rockland, the Bronx and Manhattan.