S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10603
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 20, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced   by   COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at  request  of  M.  of  A.
   Pheffer Amato) -- read once and referred to the Committee  on  Govern-
   mental Employees
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   the eligibility of certain participants in the New York  city  employ-
   ees'  retirement  system  to  opt into the twenty-five year retirement
   program for EMT members

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  3  of  subdivision  b  of section 604-e of the
 retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 577 of the  laws
 of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  Each EMT member, other than an EMT member subject to paragraph one
 or two of this subdivision, who becomes subject  to  the  provisions  of
 this  article  on  or  after  the  starting date of the twenty-five year
 retirement program shall become a participant in  the  twenty-five  year
 retirement  program  on the date [he or she] SUCH PERSON becomes such an
 EMT member. Provided, however, a person subject to this  paragraph,  and
 who has exceeded age twenty-five upon employment as an EMT member, shall
 be exempt from participation in the improved twenty-five year retirement
 program  if  such  person  elects  not  to  participate by filing a duly
 executed form with the retirement system within one hundred eighty  days
 of  becoming an EMT member. PROVIDED FURTHER, HOWEVER, THAT A PERSON WHO
 HAS OPTED TO BE EXEMPT PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH MAY BECOME  A  PARTIC-
 IPANT  IN THE TWENTY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PROGRAM IF SUCH PERSON FILES A
 DULY EXECUTED ELECTION  FORM  WITH  THE  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  WITHIN  ONE
 HUNDRED  EIGHTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS
 OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR THAT AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH,  PROVIDED  SUCH
 PERSON  IS  AN  EMT  MEMBER ON THE DATE SUCH ELECTION IS FILED, AND SUCH
 PERSON SHALL PAY ALL ADDITIONAL MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS  REQUIRED  PURSUANT
 TO  SUBDIVISION  E OF THIS SECTION FROM THE DATE THAT SUCH PERSON BECAME
 AN EMT MEMBER TO THE DATE SUCH PERSON ELECTS TO BECOME A PARTICIPANT  IN
 THE PROGRAM TOGETHER WITH INTEREST COMPUTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH
 FOUR OF SUBDIVISION E OF THIS SECTION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10284-05-4
 A. 10603                            2
 
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation  would allow eligible Tier 4 and
 Tier 6 EMT Members who previously opted out  of  the  EMT  25-Year  Plan
 another  opportunity to join such Plan by filing an application with the
 New York City Employee's Retirement System (NYCERS) within 180  days  of
 the effective date.
 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
                          Year      NYCERS
                          2025      99
                          2026      87
                          2027      75
                          2028      68
                          2029      (11)
                          2030      (15)
                          2031      (17)
                          2032      (20)
                          2033      (21)
                          2034      (23)
                          2035      (24)
                          2036      (25)
                          2037      (26)
                          2038      (26)
                          2039      (26)
                          2040      (25)
                          2041      (23)
                          2042      (22)
                          2043      (20)
                          2044      (18)
                          2045      (16)
                          2046      (14)
                          2047      (11)
                          2048      (10)
                          2049      (8)
 
    Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2049 is not shown.
 
   The entire increase (decrease) in employer contributions will be
 allocated to New York City.
 
           INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
                   as of June 30, 2023 ($ in Thousands)
 
           Present Value (PV)                 NYCERS
           PV of Benefits:                    382
           PV of Employee Contributions:      270
           PV of Employer Contributions:      112
           Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:      243
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                              NYCERS
           Number of Payments:                4
           Fiscal Year of Last Payment:       2028
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           Amortization Payment:              74 K
 
   Unfunded  Accrued Liability increases were amortized over the expected
 remaining working lifetime of those  impacted  by  the  benefit  changes
 using level dollar payments.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
 census data collected as of June 30, 2023. The census data for  the  EMT
 members  assumed  to  join  one  of  the EMT 25-Year Plans is summarized
 below.
 
                                              NYCERS
           Active Members
           - Number Count:                    7
           - Average Age:                     46.7
           - Average Service:                 24.6
           - Average Salary:                  93,100
 
   IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS AND CONTRIBUTIONS: This proposed legislation
 would provide current EMT members, who previously opted out of  the  EMT
 25-Year Plans, a 180-day opportunity to join such plan.
   Members of the EMT 25-Year Plans would be required to pay Basic Member
 Contributions (BMC), which vary by tier, plus Additional Member Contrib-
 utions  (AMC)  equal  to 6.25% of compensation for all service as a Plan
 participant until attaining 30 years of Allowable Service.
   ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  estimates  presented  herein  have  been
 calculated  based  on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
 of NYCERS.  In addition:
   * Election assumptions and the rates of retirement for the EMT 25-Year
 Plans were assigned based on the bill's provisions including the  eligi-
 bility requirements for retirement under the EMT 25-Year Plans.
   * For purposes of this fiscal note, AMC balances, including physically
 taxing  AMC,  are assumed to offset the AMC payment required to join the
 EMT 25-Year Plan.
   To determine the impact of the elective nature of the proposed  legis-
 lation,  a subgroup of EMT members was developed based on who is assumed
 to benefit actuarially by comparing the  net  present  value  of  future
 employer  costs  of  each  member's benefit under their current plan and
 under the applicable EMT 25-Year Plan.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on  the  actuarial  assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
 graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such  as  invest-
 ment,  contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
 actuarial  assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from   those
 presented  herein.  Quantifying  these risks is beyond the scope of this
 Fiscal Note.
   This Fiscal Note is intended to measure  pension-related  impacts  and
 does  not  include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
 Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any  chapter
 laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky  are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
 Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS but do not believe  it  impairs  our
 objectivity  and  we  meet  the  Qualification Standards of the American
 Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained  herein.
 To  the  best  of  our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
 prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles  and
 A. 10603                            4
 
 procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  Fiscal Note 2024-64 dated May 21,
 2024 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 2024 Legislative Session.