S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10029
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 29, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Employees
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   authorizing police/fire members of the New York city  fire  department
   pension fund to obtain credit for service as an EMT member
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 513 of the  retire-
 ment  and  social  security  law, as added by chapter 890 of the laws of
 1976, is amended to read as follows:
   2. (I) A police/fire member shall be eligible  to  obtain  credit  for
 service  with  a public employer described in paragraph one only if such
 service, if rendered prior to July first, nineteen  hundred  seventy-six
 by  a police/fire member who was subject to article eleven of this chap-
 ter, would have been eligible for credit in the  police/fire  retirement
 system or plan involved.
   (II)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A
 MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND SUBJECT TO THIS
 ARTICLE SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN CREDIT FOR ANY PERIOD  OF  ALLOWABLE
 SERVICE  RENDERED AS AN EMT MEMBER, AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH
 ONE OF SUBDIVISION A OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED FOUR-E OF THIS  CHAPTER,  AS
 ADDED  BY  CHAPTER  577  OF THE LAWS OF 2000, WHICH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDES
 SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED FORCE OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND  SUCH  SERVICE
 SHALL  BE  DEEMED  TO  BE  IN SERVICE OF THE UNIFORMED FORCE OF THE FIRE
 DEPARTMENT FOR PURPOSES OF ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS AND TO DETERMINE THE
 AMOUNT OF BENEFITS UNDER THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND,
 PROVIDED THAT SUCH MEMBER PAYS OR TRANSFERS INTO THE NEW YORK CITY  FIRE
 DEPARTMENT  PENSION  FUND  ALL MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS SET FORTH IN SECTION
 FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE PLUS INTEREST, AT A RATE OF  FIVE
 PERCENT  PER  ANNUM.  FOR A MEMBER WHO TRANSFERS SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
 THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE
 DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND OR FOR A MEMBER WHO WITHDRAWS SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS
 FROM THE NEW YORK  CITY  EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM,  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 MEMBERSHIP IN THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL CEASE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07873-06-2
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 UPON SUCH TRANSFER OR WITHDRAWAL AND SUCH MEMBER SHALL RETAIN NO CREDIT-
 ED SERVICE IN SUCH SYSTEM.
   (III)  THE  PROVISIONS  OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL APPLY TO A MEMBER WITH
 TEN OR MORE YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE IN THE NEW  YORK  CITY  EMPLOYEES'
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM, NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED
 THIRTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL: This proposed legislation would amend subdivision c
 of section 513 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to allow
 New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) members  subject  to  Article  14
 (Tier  3, Tier 3 Modified, and Tier 3 Enhanced) to obtain service credit
 for service rendered as an emergency medical technician (EMT)  with  the
 New  York  City  Employee's  Retirement System (NYCERS) that immediately
 precedes service in FIRE. If properly  transferred  or  purchased,  such
 service  shall  be deemed to be FIRE service for purposes of determining
 the eligibility for benefits (including the determination of the  number
 of  years  of required member contributions) and for determining benefit
 amounts.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   BACKGROUND: Currently, the purchase or transfer of service rendered as
 a NYCERS EMT member does not provide an  additional  service  retirement
 benefit for FIRE members subject to Article 14.
   IMPACT  ON  BENEFITS:  Under  the  proposed legislation, eligible FIRE
 members would be able to purchase or transfer service earned as  an  EMT
 member  and  have  that  service  count  for purposes of determining the
 eligibility for benefits and for determining benefit  amounts  in  FIRE.
 Upon  attaining  eligible  service  credit  with  FIRE, the member would
 relinquish prior membership and applicable benefits with NYCERS.
   IMPACT ON PAYABILITY: Including EMT service towards eligibility  would
 increase and/or accelerate the payability date of benefits.
   MEMBER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  Eligible  FIRE  members with EMT service imme-
 diately preceding their FIRE service would have to pay, via purchase  or
 transfer  from  NYCERS, applicable Article 14 member contributions, plus
 5.0% annual interest for such purchased or transferred  service.  Member
 contributions  made as a NYCERS EMT member that exceed the amount needed
 for the applicable Article 14 contributions with interest would, if  not
 otherwise  utilized for a separate vested benefit, be refunded with 5.0%
 annual interest.
   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  Present  Value  of  Future
 Benefits  (PVFB) by approximately $14.9 million and decrease the Present
 Value of member contributions of approximately  $0.9  million.  The  net
 result  is  an increase in the Present Value of future employer contrib-
 utions of approximately $15.8 million.
   Under the Entry Age Normal cost method used to determine the  employer
 contributions  to  FIRE,  there  would  be  an  increase in the Unfunded
 Accrued Liability (UAL) of  approximately  $33.5  million  offset  by  a
 decrease  in  the  Present Value of future employer Normal Cost of $17.7
 million.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In  accordance  with
 Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York
 (ACCNY) , new UAL attributable to benefit changes are to be amortized as
 determined by the Actuary but are generally amortized over the remaining
 working  lifetime  of  those impacted by the benefit changes. As of June
 A. 10029                            3
 
 30, 2021, the remaining working lifetime of  the  current  FIRE  Tier  3
 members potentially eligible to purchase EMT service is approximately 20
 years.
   For  the  purposes  of this Fiscal Note, the increase in UAL was amor-
 tized over a 20-year period (19 payments under the One-Year Lag  Method-
 ology  (OYLM))  using  level  dollar  payments. This payment offset by a
 decrease in the Normal Cost results in an increase  in  annual  employer
 contributions of approximately $3.2 million each year. The average annu-
 al employer cost per member included in this fiscal note is approximate-
 ly $2,600 per year.
   CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  For  the  purposes  of  this Fiscal Note, it is
 assumed that the  changes  in  the  Present  Value  of  future  employer
 contributions  and  annual employer contributions would be reflected for
 the first time in the Final June 30, 2021 actuarial valuation  of  FIRE.
 In  accordance  with  the OYLM used to determine employer contributions,
 the increase in employer  contributions  would  first  be  reflected  in
 Fiscal Year 2023.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The  estimates presented herein are based on the census
 data used in the June 30, 2021 (Lag)  actuarial  valuation  of  FIRE  to
 determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2023 employer contributions.
   There are an estimated 1,224 active FIRE Tier 3 members as of June 30,
 2021  who  could  potentially  benefit  from the proposed legislation by
 purchasing service earned as an EMT member. These active members had  an
 average age of approximately 31.5 years, average service of approximate-
 ly  4.5 years (before purchasing any additional service), and an average
 salary of approximately $89,000. On average, the 1,224 active FIRE  Tier
 3  members  would  be able to purchase 3.0 years of service earned as an
 EMT member with an estimated purchase cost  of  $8,300  per  former  EMT
 member as of June 30, 2021.
   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, 2021 (Lag)  actuarial  valuations
 used  to  determine  the  Preliminary Fiscal Year 2023 employer contrib-
 utions 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 employer costs for service  purchased  by  future  FIRE  Tier  3
 members  for  service  earned as an EMT member. However, as noted above,
 the average annual employer cost per member included in this Fiscal Note
 is approximately $2,600 per year.
   * The  initial,  additional  administrative  costs  to  implement  the
 proposed legislation.
   *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
 Benefit costs.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Michael J. Samet,  am  the  Interim
 Chief  Actuary  for,  and  independent  of, the New York City Retirement
 Systems and Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and
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 a Member of the American Academy of 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 2022-29 dated April 20,
 2022 was prepared by the Interim Chief Actuary for  the  New  York  City
 Fire  Pension  Fund.  This  estimate is intended for use only during the
 2022 Legislative Session.