Albany, NY – New York State Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato has once again proven herself to be a leader in helping governmental employees. Most recently, she succeeded in getting the heroic men and women of the FDNY a 20-year retirement plan, something that had been thought by many to be unobtainable. Members of the FDNY who were hired before July 2009 were eligible to retire after 20 years of service, while those hired after were mandated to work a longer period of time. Pheffer Amato refused to allow this inequity to continue and passed A.5861 to ensure all FDNY members had the same retirement option. The bill currently awaits the signing of Governor Kathy Hochul.

“It was completely unacceptable for the men and women who worked side-by-side with each other in the same firehouse to not be equal. We have a recruitment and retention issue across the field - and this was one way I was determined to address that,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato. “Changing to a 20-year plan makes us competitive with neighboring localities. We know the men and women in the FDNY are the best, which is why we passed A.5861 to show them that New York State values their dedication and wants them to have the best option for a career and retirement. God bless our firefighters,” commented the Assemblywoman.

“Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato has time and time again gone above and beyond for our members. She has proven to be the person who can actually get things done for NYC firefighters. On behalf of the UFA we are incredibly grateful for her work in spearheading this pension fight and establishing this level of equity among firefighters,” said Bobby Eustace, Vice President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, one of the unions that represents the men and women in the FDNY.

During the 2025 Legislative Session, Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato succeeded in amending the retirement law to enact a flat 20-year plan for all members of the NYPD (A.3968 in the State budget), NYC Sanitation workers (A.6942), and NYC Correctional Officers (A.6942).The bill is sponsored and carried in the State Senate by Robert Jackson.