S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9496

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 10, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Governmental Employees

AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security  law,  the  education
  law  and  the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation
  to providing cost-of-living adjustments

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivision c of section 78-a of the retirement and social
security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
read as follows:
  c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base  benefit
amount  not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual retirement
allowance defined in subdivision b of this section.   EFFECTIVE  ON  THE
FIRST  DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  SIXTEEN,  SAID COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE  BENEFIT  AMOUNT  NOT  TO  EXCEED
TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
  S 2. Subdivision c of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of  2000,  is  amended  to
read as follows:
  c.  Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base benefit
amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual  retirement
allowance  defined  in  subdivision b of this section.  EFFECTIVE ON THE
FIRST DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  SIXTEEN,  SAID  COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT  SHALL  BE  COMPUTED  ON  A BASE BENEFIT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE  DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
  S  3. Subdivision c of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
  c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base  benefit
amount  not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual retirement
allowance defined in subdivision b of this section.   EFFECTIVE  ON  THE
FIRST  DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  SIXTEEN,  SAID COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE  BENEFIT  AMOUNT  NOT  TO  EXCEED

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD11017-02-5

A. 9496                             2

TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
  S 4. Subdivision c of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
city  of  New  York,  as  added  by  chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is
amended to read as follows:
  c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base  benefit
amount  not  to  exceed  eighteen  thousand  dollars of the annual fixed
retirement allowance defined in subdivision b of this section.    EFFEC-
TIVE  ON THE FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN, SAID COST-OF-
LIVING ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A  BASE  BENEFIT  AMOUNT  NOT  TO
EXCEED  TWENTY-FIVE  THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE
DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would provide an increase in the  defined  benefit  cost-of-
living adjustment (COLA) for New York public retirement systems.  Start-
ing  with  a payment in September 2016 the annual cost of living adjust-
ment will be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed $25,000.
  Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and  Local  Employees'
Retirement  System,  pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social
Security Law, the increased costs would be borne entirely by  the  State
of  New  York  and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to
pay the cost of the provision. If this bill were enacted,  the  increase
in the present value of benefits would be approximately $2.14 billion.
  Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the increased costs would  be  shared  by
the  State  of  New York and the participating employers in the PFRS. If
this bill were enacted, the increase in the present  value  of  benefits
would be approximately $309 million. The estimated first year cost would
be approximately $6.73 million to the State of New York and approximate-
ly $30.3 million to the participating employers in the PFRS.
  Summary of relevant resources:
  The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2015  actuarial  valu-
ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2015
Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes
Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control.
  The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2015
New York State and Local  Retirement  System  Financial  Statements  and
Supplementary Information.
  I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
  This estimate, dated December 4, 2015 and intended for use only during
the  2016  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2016-13, prepared by
the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Employees'  Retirement
System  and  the  New  York  State  and Local Police and Fire Retirement
System.