S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4233--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 3, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, GAUGHRAN, KENNEDY -- 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-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06247-03-1
S. 4233--A 2
INATION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF SUCH DEPARTMENT, WHICH EXAMINATION
FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE
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 None Ordinary POD Service Death
enactment: Disability Disability
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:
Membership data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2020 Report of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
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, 2020
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 January 14, 2021, and intended for use only
during the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-22,
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. 4233--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 $189,600 to $1,391,200 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 $613,900.
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 for
the June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine the
Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 employer contribution of FIRE, the enact-
ment of this proposed legislation is estimated to increase annual
employer contributions by an amount ranging from $22,400 to $164,600 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 approximately $72,600. With respect to
the timing, increases in employer contributions would depend upon when
S. 4233--A 4
members begin to receive an accidental benefit due to Parkinson's
Disease but, generally, increased employer contributions will first
occur the second fiscal year following approval of the accident disabil-
ity retirement.
CENSUS DATA: For purposes of this Fiscal Note, it was assumed that the
census data had the same age, gender, and service characteristics as the
census data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valu-
ation of FIRE to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 employer
contribution. Active members' salaries and balances have been adjusted
to reflect estimated salary increases from June 30, 2019 to June 30,
2020.
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 245 retired FIRE members who retired between July 1, 2017
and June 30, 2019 who were receiving a pension benefit, other than Acci-
dental Disability or Accidental Death, as of June 30, 2019 and could
potentially benefit from the proposed legislation. These retired members
had an average age of approximately 56.5 years and an average pension
benefit of approximately $108,400.
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.
The Actuary is proposing a set of changes for use in the June 30, 2019
(Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCRS to determine the Final Fiscal Year
2021 Employer Contributions (2021 A&M). If the 2021 A&M is enacted it is
estimated that it would produce increases in the Present Value of
Employer Contributions and annual employer contributions that are
approximately 2% larger than the results shown above.
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
S. 4233--A 5
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 2021-12 dated March 25,
2021 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Fire
Pension Fund. This estimate is intended for use only during the 2021
Legislative Session.
