S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6322
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
retirement benefits for general members in the uniformed correction
force of the New York city department of correction
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision d of section 504 of the retirement and social
security law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended
to read as follows:
d. The early service retirement benefit for general members in the
uniformed correction force of the New York city department of
correction, who are not entitled to an early service retirement benefit
pursuant to subdivision c of section five hundred four-a of this article
or subdivision c of section five hundred four-b of this article or
subdivision c of section five hundred four-d of this article, or for
general members in the uniformed personnel in institutions under the
jurisdiction of the department of corrections and community supervision,
as defined in subdivision i of section eighty-nine of this chapter,
shall be a pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times
years of credited service at the completion of twenty-five years of
service, [but not in excess of fifty percent of final average salary]
PLUS ONE-SIXTIETH OF FINAL AVERAGE SALARY TIMES YEARS OF CREDITED
SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE, provided, however, that the provisions
of this section shall not apply to a New York city uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Retirement and
Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 504 by modifying the service retire-
ment benefit calculation formula for uniformed employees of the New York
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08667-02-3
S. 6322 2
City Department of Correction (Correction) who are members of the New
York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) and are subject to the
Early Service Retirement Benefit Plan for General Members pursuant to
RSSL Section 504 (CO-25 Plan). The CO-25 Plan is limited to Tier 3
Correction members who joined NYCERS prior to December 19, 1990 (CO-25
Plan Members).
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Currently, upon reaching 25 or more years of cred-
ited service, CO-25 Plan Members are entitled to a service retirement
pension benefit equal to:
* 50% of Final Average Salary (FAS).
Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, the service retirement
benefit for CO-25 Plan Members who retire for service under RSSL Section
504(d) after the effective date of the proposed legislation with 25 or
more years of credited service would be equal to:
* 50% of FAS for the first 25 years of credited service, plus
* 1/60th of FAS for each additional year of credited service, or frac-
tion thereof, exceeding 25 years (if any).
FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data and actu-
arial assumptions and methods herein, the enactment of this proposed
legislation would increase the present value of future employer contrib-
utions by approximately $4.0 million.
Under the Entry Age Normal cost method used to determine the employer
contributions to NYCERS, there would be an increase in the Unfunded
Accrued Liability (UAL) of approximately $3.9 million and an increase in
the Present Value of Future Employer Normal Cost of $0.1 million.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The enactment of
this proposed legislation would result in an initial increase in annual
employer contributions of approximately $4.3 million which is the result
of an increase in the Normal Cost in addition to the UAL payment.
New UAL attributable to benefit changes are generally amortized over
the remaining working lifetime of those impacted by the benefit changes.
The remaining working lifetime for this group is approximately two years
and the increase in UAL was therefore amortized over a two-year period
(one payments under the One-Year Lag Methodology) using level dollar
payments.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation of NYCERS to deter-
mine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions.
The 21 NYCERS CO-25 Plan Members as of June 30, 2022 had an average
age of approximately 59.9 years, average service of approximately 33.3
years, and an average salary of approximately $158,500.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect
for the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of NYCERS.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the changes
would be reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2022 actuarial
valuation of NYCERS used to determine employer contributions for Fiscal
Year 2024.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, demograph-
ics of the impacted population, and other factors such as investment,
contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu-
arial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those presented
herein.
S. 6322 3
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 of NYCERS and other New
York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
* The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
Benefit (OPEB) costs.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Marek Tyszkiewicz, am the Chief
Actuary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems
and Pension Funds. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a
Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I am a member of NYCERS but
do not believe it impairs my objectivity and 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 2023-29 dated April 12,
2023 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2023 Legislative Session.
