S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9427
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 7, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DeSTEFANO  --  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 d 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:
   d. The percentage referred to in  this  section  shall  be  determined
 annually  by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all  items,  1982-84=100),  published  by  the
 United  States  bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in  the  one
 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
 adjustment  effective  on  the  ensuing September first. Said percentage
 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent  AND  EFFEC-
 TIVE  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO, SHALL NOT
 EXCEED FIVE PERCENT NOR BE LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.
   § 2. Subdivision d 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:
   d.  The  percentage  referred  to  in this section shall be determined
 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban  consumers,
 CPI-U,  U.S.  city  average,  all  items, 1982-84=100), published by the
 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each  applicable  calendar
 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
 as  determined  from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
 adjustment effective on the ensuing  September  first.  Said  percentage
 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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 A. 9427                             2
 
 shall  not  exceed three percent nor be less than one percent AND EFFEC-
 TIVE THE FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-TWO,  SHALL  NOT
 EXCEED FIVE PERCENT NOR BE LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.
   §  3. Subdivision d of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
   d. The percentage referred to in  this  section  shall  be  determined
 annually  by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all  items,  1982-84=100),  published  by  the
 United  States  bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in  the  one
 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
 adjustment  effective  on  the  ensuing September first. Said percentage
 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent  AND  EFFEC-
 TIVE  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO, SHALL NOT
 EXCEED FIVE PERCENT NOR BE LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.
   § 4. Subdivision d 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:
   d.  The  percentage  referred  to  in this section shall be determined
 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban  consumers,
 CPI-U,  U.S.  city  average,  all  items, 1982-84=100), published by the
 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each  applicable  calendar
 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
 as  determined  from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
 adjustment effective on the ensuing  September  first.  Said  percentage
 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
 shall  not  exceed three percent nor be less than one percent AND EFFEC-
 TIVE THE FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-TWO,  SHALL  NOT
 EXCEED FIVE PERCENT NOR BE LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.
   § 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 2022 the maximum percentage calculated
 for the annual cost of living increase shall  increase  from  three  (3)
 percent to five (5) percent.
   Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
 Retirement System, if this bill is enacted, 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. Such an
 appropriation would be required only when the annual  inflation  exceeds
 6%.
   Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
 Fire Retirement System (PFRS), if this bill is  enacted,  the  increased
 costs  would  be  shared by the State of New York and all of the partic-
 ipating employers in the PFRS. Additional employer  contributions  would
 be required only when the annual inflation exceeds 6%.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 A. 9427                             3
 
 2021  Report  of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
 and 2021 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, 2021
 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  December  23,  2021, and intended for use only
 during the  2022  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2022-36,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.