New York Disability Lawyer
It can be challenging to navigate the Civil Service Disability Benefits program and application on your own. No matter how much experience you have dealing with state bureaucracy, it can be intimidating and overwhelming to deal with the pension administrators and the massive amount of paperwork necessary to apply for benefits. That’s where NY disability attorneys, like the ones at Rella & Associates, can help.
New York State Disability Retirement Eligibility
The New York State and Local Retirement System provides disability benefits to eligible members. Six critical components determine your disability retirement benefit:
- Your membership tier,
- Your retirement plan,
- Your final average salary,
- Your credited service,
- Your age when you retire, and
- Whether or disability was a result of an on-the-job accident.
How to Qualify for New York State Disability Retirement
There are different types of disability retirement benefits, including ordinary (non-work related) disability benefits, performance of duty disability benefits, and accidental disability benefits. You may not be eligible for each different type of disability retirement benefit.
1. Ordinary Disability Benefits
You must have at least ten years of credited pension service to be eligible. And, you have to prove that you are permanently disabled and unable to perform your job duties.
2. Performance of Duty Disability Benefits
You may be entitled to performance of duty disability if you are no longer able to perform your job duties because of an injury you sustained on the job.
3. Accidental Disability Benefits
“Accident” means something different in the context of disability retirement benefits; and unfortunately, it is difficult to qualify for accidental disability benefits under the judicial interpretations of the term.
Why New York State Disability Retirement Applications Are Denied
If you submit an incomplete or inaccurate disability retirement application, it will be denied. The people reviewing your application will not just accept your account of your symptoms (and how they impact your ability to work). Instead, they will require concrete medical evidence and other substantiating documentation.
At Rella & Associates, NY disability attorneys, we have dedicated years of service to helping New York State employees collect disability retirement successfully. We are here to help you too.