SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3607

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 17, 2025

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3607.

As reported, this bill extends accidental death benefits for survivors of certain State Police Retirement System (SPRS) retirees.

     Under current law, the surviving spouse or child of a retired member of the SPRS who died on or before July 8, 2019, and had been receiving an accidental disability retirement allowance is permitted to apply to receive accidental death benefits if the retired member had a qualifying condition or impairment of health due to World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations.

     This bill removes the limitation that only a surviving spouse or child of a qualifying SPRS retiree who died before July 8, 2019, is eligible, so that the provisions will apply regardless of when the SPRS retiree died.  In addition, this bill establishes eligibility for a surviving spouse or child of a qualifying SPRS member who had been receiving an ordinary disability retirement, a special retirement, or a service retirement.  This bill prohibits a written and sworn statement from being required when applying for the accidental death benefits.

     Under current law, a spouse or child is only eligible for accidental death benefits if the member's or retiree's death was the result of a qualifying condition or impairment of health which the medical board determines to be caused by participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations.  This bill also allows the World Trade Center Health Program to make this determination.

     Under current law, the spouse of a deceased retired member who is receiving a pension due to the death of that member on or before July 8, 2019, is eligible to apply to the board of trustees and, upon approval of the application by the board, will receive the accidental death benefits if the surviving spouse submits sufficient documentation that the deceased retiree would have qualified for a retirement.  This bill also allows the spouse to apply if the member did qualify for retirement or if the member previously filed the required written and sworn statement.

     This bill requires notification to SPRS surviving spouses and children of the changes made by the bill by certified mail within 60 days after the bill’s effective date.

     Under current law, a surviving spouse, former surviving spouse, or surviving child, or any legal guardian of the surviving child, must submit an application not later than two years after the effective date of the law.  This bill allows survivors to submit an application not later than two years after the date of the member or retiree’s death, or two years after the effective date of this bill, whichever is later.

     Under current law, a surviving spouse or former surviving spouse or surviving child, or any legal guardian of the surviving child, is prohibited from being granted a retroactive payment based upon the difference between the benefit the person would have received if the benefit had been applicable on the date of death of the retiree and the benefit that the person has received from that date of death to the effective date of the law.  This bill also provides that these survivors are prohibited from being granted a retroactive payment based upon the difference between the benefit the person would have received if the benefit had been applicable on the date of death of the retiree and the benefit that the person has received from that date of death to the date of the application approval if the date of approval is later than the effective date of the law.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services estimates that extending accidental death benefits to certain survivors of State Police Retirement System retirees will annually increase State costs by $321,000 to $1.7 million to pay for the one-time enhanced accidental death payout, the annual accidental death retirement allowance, and the State-paid healthcare coverage for qualifying survivors.

      Data from the State Troopers Fraternal Association and the Board of Trustees for the State Police Retirement System indicate that in total four to 21 survivors of qualifying State troopers may ultimately receive accidental death benefits due to the bill’s provisions.

      Data from the Retired Pension Member dataset on the State Transparency website indicates that the average final compensation is approximately $128,000 for State troopers whose survivors are likely to qualify for the benefits under the bill’s provisions.