S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8012--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 9, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and  the  general
   municipal  law,  in relation to disability retirement benefits for the
   presumption of Parkinson's Disease for paid firefighters
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 363-ff to read as follows:
   §  363-FF.  FIREFIGHTER  CERTAIN  IMPAIRMENTS  OF HEALTH; PRESUMPTION.
 NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER  TO  THE  CONTRARY,
 ANY  CONDITION  OF  IMPAIRMENT  OF HEALTH CAUSED BY PARKINSON'S DISEASE,
 RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A PAID FIREFIGHTER,
 WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO FIREFIGHTER
 SERVICE, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH  CONDI-
 TION,  SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVEN
 BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE, SUCH DISABILITY OR DEATH (A) WAS  CAUSED  BY  THE
 NATURAL  AND  PROXIMATE  RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT, NOT CAUSED BY SUCH FIRE-
 FIGHTER'S OWN WILLFUL NEGLIGENCE, AND (B) WAS SUSTAINED IN THE  PERFORM-
 ANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY.
   §  2.  The  general  municipal  law is amended by adding a new section
 207-kkk to read as follows:
   § 207-KKK. DISABILITIES OF FIREFIGHTERS IN CERTAIN  CITIES  CAUSED  BY
 PARKINSON'S DISEASE.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAP-
 TER  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED BY
 PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH TO
 A PAID MEMBER OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A CITY WITH A  POPULATION  OF  ONE
 MILLION  OR  MORE, OR ANY RETIRED MEMBER OF SUCH DEPARTMENT WHO HAS BEEN
 RETIRED FOR TWO OR LESS YEARS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL  EXAM-
 INATION  ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF SUCH DEPARTMENT, WHICH EXAMINATION
 FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION,  SHALL  BE  PRESUMPTIVE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14993-03-0

 S. 8012--A                          2
 
 EVIDENCE  THAT  IT WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY
 UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   §  3.  The  board  of  trustees  of  the New York city fire department
 pension fund shall take appropriate administrative action  to  implement
 the intent of section two of this act.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would amend both the General Municipal Law and the Retire-
 ment and Social Security Law to provide firefighters with a  presumption
 that  any  disability  or  death  resulting  from  impairments of health
 related to Parkinson's Disease are the result of an  accident  sustained
 in  the performance of duty, unless the contrary can be proven by compe-
 tent evidence.
   Insofar as it will affect the New York State and Local Police and Fire
 Retirement System (PFRS), if this bill is enacted it would lead to  more
 disabilities  and  deaths  being classified as "accidental". The cost of
 the revised benefit will depend upon the applicant's age, service, sala-
 ry, plan and benefit type otherwise payable.
 
 Benefit without                 Ordinary    IPOD
 enactment:            None      Disability  Disability  Service    Death
 
 Cost for revised      9 times   5 times     2.5 times   2 times    11 times
 benefit:              salary    salary      salary      salary     salary
 
   However, we  anticipate  that  few  additional  accidental  disability
 retirements  and death benefits will be granted, and thus, the resulting
 costs are expected to be negligible. All costs will  be  shared  by  the
 State  of New York and 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, 2019 actuarial valu-
 ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2019
 Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2019  Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2015,
 2016,  2017, 2018 and 2019 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, 2019
 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 fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated February 6,  2020,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2020  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2020-52,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL:  This proposed legislation as it relates to the New
 York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) would amend the General Municipal Law
 (GML) to add a new Section 207-kkk to provide a statutory presumption to

 S. 8012--A                          3
 
 certain FIRE members and retirees who  become  physically  incapacitated
 for performance of duty, or die, while so employed, or within 2 years of
 their respective date of retirement, due to Parkinson's Disease.
   A  qualifying  FIRE member or retiree who dies or suffers from a disa-
 bility due to Parkinson's Disease, absent  evidence  of  such  condition
 upon  physical  examination at hire, would be provided with a rebuttable
 presumption that such disability was incurred  in  the  performance  and
 discharge  of  duty.  The  presumption of causation could be rebutted by
 competent evidence to the contrary.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: There is no data  available  to  estimate
 the  number of members or eligible retirees who might develop and become
 disabled or die due to Parkinson's Disease, and potentially benefit from
 this proposed legislation.   Therefore, the estimated  financial  impact
 has  been  calculated  on a per event basis equal to the increase in the
 Present Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) for an average  affected  member
 who is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease as the result of the enactment
 of  the  proposed  legislation  and  who would benefit from the proposed
 legislation.
   In determining the increase in the PVFB, it has been assumed that 100%
 of the members who would retire with Parkinson's  Disease  would  retire
 under  ordinary  disability if the proposed legislation were not passed.
 Due to the progressive nature of Parkinson's Disease,  the  increase  in
 PVFB does not include any cost for additional death benefits.
   With  respect  to  an individual member or eligible retiree, the addi-
 tional cost of this proposed legislation varies greatly.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census  data  and  the
 actuarial  assumptions  and  methods  described herein, the enactment of
 this proposed legislation would increase the PVFB by an  amount  ranging
 from $181,700 to $1,351,200 if an eligible firefighter who could benefit
 from the proposed legislation develops Parkinson's Disease.  The average
 increase in PVFB for a single eligible member who could benefit from the
 proposed legislation is approximately $594,400.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: Enactment of this
 proposed legislation would increase employer contributions,  where  such
 amount  would  depend on the number of members affected as well as other
 characteristics including the age, years of service, and salary of  each
 member.
   As  there  is  no  data  currently available to estimate the number of
 members who might be diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease,  the  financial
 impact  would  be recognized at the time of event. Consequently, changes
 in employer contributions have been estimated assuming that the increase
 in the PVFB will be financed over a time period used for actuarial loss-
 es in accordance with Section 13-638.2(k-2) of  the  ACCNY.  Using  this
 approach,  the  additional PVFB would be amortized over a closed 15-year
 period (14 payments under the  One-Year  Lag  Methodology)  using  level
 dollar payments.
   Based  on the Actuary's actuarial assumptions and methods in effect as
 of June 30, 2019, the enactment of this proposed  legislation  is  esti-
 mated  to  increase  annual  employer contributions by an amount ranging
 from $21,500 to $159,800 if a  qualifying  member  develops  Parkinson's
 Disease.  The  average  increase  in annual employer contributions for a
 single member who could benefit from the proposed legislation is approx-
 imately $70,300.   With respect to the  timing,  increases  in  employer
 contributions  would  depend upon when members begin to receive an acci-
 dental benefit due to  Parkinson's  Disease  but,  generally,  increased

 S. 8012--A                          4
 
 employer contributions will first occur the second fiscal year following
 approval of the accident disability retirement.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The  estimates presented herein are based on the census
 data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuation  of
 FIRE  to  determine  the  Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 employer contrib-
 ution.
   There are 11,244 active FIRE members as of June  30,  2019  who  could
 potentially  benefit from the proposed legislation. These active members
 had an average age of  approximately  40.5  years,  average  service  of
 approximately  13.8  years,  and  an  average  salary  of  approximately
 $118,900.
   There are 250 retired FIRE members who retired between  July  1,  2017
 and June 30, 2019 who were receiving a pension benefit, other than Acci-
 dental  Disability,  as  of  June 30, 2019 and could potentially benefit
 from the proposed legislation. These retired members had an average  age
 of  approximately  56.2 years and an average pension benefit of approxi-
 mately $109,000.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the Present Value of
 future  employer  contributions  and   annual   employer   contributions
 presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions
 and  methods  in effect for the June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations
 used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 employer contribution
 of FIRE.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, as well as
 certain demographic characteristics of FIRE and other exogenous  factors
 such  as investment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience
 deviates from actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ  from
 those  presented herein. Costs are also dependent on the actuarial meth-
 ods used,  and  therefore  different  actuarial  methods  could  produce
 different  results.  Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this
 Fiscal Note.
 Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
   * The  initial,  additional  administrative  costs  to  implement  the
 proposed legislation.
   * The  impact  of  this  proposed  legislation on Other Postemployment
 Benefit (OPEB) costs.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief  Actu-
 ary  for,  and  independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems and
 Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of  Actuaries,  an  Enrolled
 Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974, a
 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Confer-
 ence  of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of the
 American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained
 herein.  To  the best of my knowledge, the results contained herein have
 been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles
 and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of  Practice  issued  by
 the Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2020-35 dated May 7, 2020
 was  prepared  by  the  Chief Actuary for the New York City Fire Pension
 Fund. This estimate is intended for use only during the 2020 Legislative
 Session.