Officer Injured In Coney Island Blaze Will Receive Reduced Pension Due To New Rules
Officer Rosa Rodriguez, still recovering from injuries sustained during a Coney Island fire that killed her partner, will receive a reduced disability pension under new NYPD rules.
DNAinfo broke the story:
A pension change enacted five years ago says police officers and firefighters hired after July 2009 who become disabled in the line of duty are no longer eligible for the traditional tax-free pension calculated at three-quarters of their final year’s salary.
Instead, these newer members of New York’s Finest and Bravest will receive pensions equal to 50 percent of their final year’s salary.
And officials say that pension will be further cut by an amount equivalent to half of any Social Security disability payments they receive.
Officer Rosa Rodriguez, a 36-year-old mother of four, joined the force in July 2010 and is making $53,270 a year.
Had she been hired a year earlier, Rodriguez would have received a combined disability pay of $61,552. But because of the new rule, that will be slashed nearly in half, to $37,400.
The outlet notes that Rodriguez will likely be forced to retire due to her injuries.
Sixteen-year-old Marcell Dockery is accused of starting the April 6 fire in 2007 Surf Avenue’s high-rise building because he was bored, and he has been indicted.
