S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4961--B
Cal. No. 1341
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, JACKSON, MANNION -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Civil Service and Pensions -- reported favorably from said committee
and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee -- committee discharged and said bill committed to the
Committee on Rules -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
including certain employees who were employed in public service but
became members of a retirement system at a later date for eligibility
for those who participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
or cleanup operations
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retire-
ment and social security law, as added by chapter 489 of the laws of
2008, is amended to read as follows:
(e) "Participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup
operations" shall mean any member who: (i) participated in the rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site, as
defined in paragraph (f) of this subdivision; (ii) worked at the Fresh
Kills Land Fill in New York; (iii) worked at the New York city morgue or
the temporary morgue on pier locations on the west side of Manhattan;
(iv) manned the barges between the west side of Manhattan and the Fresh
Kills Land Fill in New York; (v) repaired, cleaned or rehabilitated
vehicles or equipment, including emergency vehicle radio equipment owned
by the city of New York that were contaminated by debris in the World
Trade Center site, as defined in paragraph (f) of this subdivision,
regardless of whether the work on the repair, cleaning or rehabilitation
of said vehicles and equipment was performed within the World Trade
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03559-13-1
S. 4961--B 2
Center site, provided such work was performed prior to decontamination
of such vehicles or equipment; or (vi) worked in the following depart-
ments, worksites and titles: (A) New York City Police Department at 11
Metrotec Center in Brooklyn or 1 Police Plaza in Manhattan as a Police
Communication Technician (PCT), Supervisor Police Communication Techni-
cian (SPCT), Principal Police Communication Technician I, Principal
Police Communication Technician II, Principal Police Communication Tech-
nician III, Administrative Manager - Communications, or in the Police
Administrative Aide title series; (B) Fire Department of the City of New
York at 35 Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn, 79th Street Transverse in
Manhattan, 83-98 Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens, 1129 East 180 Street in
the Bronx, 65 Slosson Avenue in Staten Island, 9 Metrotec Center in
Brooklyn, or 25 Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn as Fire Alarm Dispatchers
(FAD), Supervising Fire Alarm Dispatchers I (SFAD), Supervising Fire
Alarm Dispatchers II (Borough Supervisor), Deputy Director & Director
Fire Dispatch Operations, or Assistant Commissioner for Communications;
(C) for the Fire Department of the City of New York's Emergency Medical
Service at 1 or 9 Metrotec Centers in Brooklyn, or 55-30 58 Street in
Maspeth Queens as Emergency Medical Specialist-Level I (EMT), Emergency
Medical Specialist Level II-(Paramedic), Supervising Emergency Medical
Specialist Level I (LT), Supervising Emergency Medical Specialist Level
II (Capt), Deputy Chief EMS Communications, or Division Commander EMS
Communications. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH, THE TERM "MEMBER" SHALL
INCLUDE EACH PERSON WHO DURING THE QUALIFYING PERIOD WAS IN THE EMPLOY-
MENT OF A PUBLIC EMPLOYER WHICH THEN PARTICIPATED FOR SUCH EMPLOYEES IN
A PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN THIS STATE, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE
PERSON WAS A PARTICIPANT IN SUCH SYSTEM AT THAT TIME, PROVIDED THAT THE
PERSON HAS BECOME A PARTICIPANT IN SUCH RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND HAS
PURCHASED SERVICE CREDIT FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THAT INCLUDES SOME OR ALL
OF THE QUALIFYING PERIOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF LAW APPLICABLE
TO SUCH PURCHASE OF SERVICE CREDIT.
§ 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the
retirement and social security law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would expand the definition of a member who participated in
World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The term
member shall include any person during the qualifying period who was
employed by a public employer participating in the New York State and
Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) irrespective of whether the employee
was a participant of the system at that time. The employee must have
become a participant in NYSLRS since that time and purchased service
credit for some or all of qualifying period.
If this bill is enacted, it would reclassify certain current and
future retirement benefits. The cost of the revised benefit will depend
upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type other-
wise payable.
Benefit without None Ordinary In Performance Service
enactment: Disability of Duty Disability
Cost for WTC 9 times 5 times 2.5 times 2 times
benefit: salary salary salary salary
S. 4961--B 3
This bill would also lead to more deaths being classified as "acci-
dental". For each death classified as accidental due to this bill, the
cost would depend on the age, service, salary, plan, and status at time
of death. It is estimated that the cost for each Employees' Retirement
System (ERS) member affected would average approximately 3.5 times final
average salary. The estimated cost for each Police and Fire Retirement
System (PFRS) member would average approximately 11 times final average
salary.
ERS Costs: These costs would be shared by the State of New York and
the participating employees in the ERS.
PFRS Costs: These costs would be shared by the State of New York and
the participating employees 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 May 17, 2021, and intended for use only during
the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-142, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill (legislative bill draft 03559-08-1) would amend paragraph e
of subdivision 36 in section 2 of the Retirement and Social Security Law
to expand the term "member" to include those individuals who were
employed by a public employer during a qualifying period of the World
Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, who later became a
member of a New York State public retirement system and purchased prior
service credit during all or part of a qualifying period of the World
Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The public employer
must be a participating employer in a New York State public retirement
system.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if this bill
is enacted.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Annual Report. System assets are as reported in the System's financial
statements and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuari-
al assumptions and methods are provided in the System's Actuarial Valu-
ation Report.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2021-55 dated May 27, 2021
prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
S. 4961--B 4
System and is intended for use only during the 2021 Legislative Session.
I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation (see Appendix) would amend
Section 2 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to permit
eligible members of the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension
Funds (NYCRS)1 who participated in the Rescue, Recovery, or Cleanup
operations related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on September
11, 2001 as non-members employed by a public employer within the State
and subsequently purchased such service as a NYCRS member, to be eligi-
ble for the applicable WTC presumption.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: There is no data available to estimate
the number of members who might buyback service during qualifying WTC
participation periods and potentially benefit from this proposed legis-
lation. 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 member who is diagnosed with a qualifying
WTC condition and could benefit from the enactment of the proposed
legislation.
In determining the increase in the PVFB for members who could benefit
from the proposed legislation, we have shown the impact due to disabili-
ty and death separately. To value the impact due to disability, it has
been assumed that 100% of the members who would retire with a WTC quali-
fying condition were those who would have retired with an Ordinary Disa-
bility Retirement benefit or Service Retirement benefit, if eligible, if
the proposed legislation were not passed. To value the impact due to
death, it has also been assumed that 100% of the beneficiaries of
members who would die due to a WTC qualifying condition would have been
entitled to receive an Ordinary Death benefit, if the proposed legis-
lation were not passed.
With respect to an individual member, the additional cost of this
proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the member's length
of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the increase in PVFB
due to the proposed legislation would be greater for a member who is not
yet eligible for an Ordinary Disability Retirement benefit when a disa-
bling WTC related event occurs.
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 as follows:
NYCRS Estimated increase in Estimated increase in
the average PVFB for the average PVFB for
each occurrence of each occurrence of
Accidental Disability Accidental Death due
Retirement due to a WTC to a WTC related
qualifying condition illness
NYCERS $101,500 $358,600
TRS $332,900 $292,000
BERS $68,700 $156,900
POLICE $614,500 $2,207,700
FIRE $656,400 $2,185,100
S. 4961--B 5
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 history
of the member.
As there is no credible data currently available to estimate the
number of members who might buyback service during qualifying WTC
participation periods, 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
the same time period used for actuarial losses in accordance with
Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New
York. 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 described
herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation is estimated to
increase annual employer contributions as follows:
NYCRS Estimated Increase in Annual Estimated Increase in Annual
Employer Contributions for Employer Contributions for
Each Occurrence of Each Occurrence of
Accidental Disability Accidental Death Due to a
Retirement Due to a WTC WTC Related Illness
Qualifying Condition
NYCERS $12,000 $42,400
TRS $39,400 $34,500
BERS $8,100 $18,600
POLICE $72,700 $261,100
FIRE $77,600 $258,500
With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions would
depend upon when members would retire or die due to a WTC qualifying
condition but, generally, increased employer contributions will first
occur the second fiscal year following approval of the Accidental Disa-
bility Retirement or Accidental Death.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the June 30, 2020 (Lag) actuarial valuation of each NYCRS
to determine the respective Preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 employer
contributions. The analysis was based on members that are currently over
age 40 on an age-nearest basis (since this population would have been
over age 21 as of September 11, 2001).
NYCRS Count Average Age Average Service Average Salary
NYCERS 132,874 53.8 15.1 $83,700
TRS 72,077 52.1 16.2 $96,700
BERS 22,698 55.2 10.4 $50,400
POLICE 12,911 46.9 19.3 $144,300
FIRE 5,430 48.3 21.0 $142,400
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the PVFB 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 contributions of each respective NYCRS.
S. 4961--B 6
In addition, for the purposes of this Fiscal Note we have assumed that
members have already purchased this service and therefore the only addi-
tional benefit of this legislation is the qualification for WTC presump-
tions and benefits.
The Actuary is proposing a set of changes for use beginning with the
June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations of each NYCRS to determine the
respective Final Fiscal Year 2021 Employer Contributions (2021 A&M). If
the 2021 A&M is enacted it is estimated that it would produce PVFB and
annual employer contribution results that are within 3% of 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 each respective NYCRS 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 methods 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 2021-38 dated June 1,
2021 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use only during
the 2021 Legislative Session.
