S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6766--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT in relation to granting retroactive tier IV membership in the New
York city employees' retirement system to Ryan D. O'Connor
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
Ryan D. O'Connor, an employee of the metropolitan transportation author-
ity metro-north railroad as of April 26, 2023 and a member of the metro-
politan transportation authority defined benefit pension plan, who was
employed with the New York city transit authority from January 19, 2012
through April 25, 2023 and who was a member of the New York city
employees' retirement system through April 25, 2023, who for reasons
not ascribable to his own negligence, failed to become a member of such
retirement system during such employment with the New York city transit
authority until September 10, 2012, shall be deemed to have joined the
New York city employees' retirement system from January 19, 2012 and
shall be granted Tier IV status in such retirement system, if, within
one year of the effective date of this act, he shall file a written
request with the New York city employees' retirement system.
§ 2. No contributions made to the New York city employees' retirement
system by Ryan D. O'Connor shall be returned or refunded to him pursuant
to this act.
§ 3. All past service costs of implementing the provisions of this act
shall be borne by the city of New York.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07071-06-4
S. 6766--A 2
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would permit Ryan D. O'Connor, a
vested Tier 6 member of the New York City EmployeesÆ Retirement System
(NYCERS), to elect, by filing an application with NYCERS within one year
of the effective date, membership in the Tier 4 NYCERS 57/5 Plan.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($)
Year NYCERS
2025 0
2026 65,100
2027 0
2028 0
2029 0
2030 0
2031 0
2032 0
2033 0
2034 0
2035 0
2036 0
2037 0
2038 0
2039 0
2040 0
2041 0
2042 0
2043 0
2044 0
2045 0
2046 0
2047 0
2048 0
2049 0
While the past service costs for this member would normally be borne
by the New York City Transit Authority, the proposed legislation assigns
such costs to the City of New York.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
as of June 30, 2024 ($)
Present Value (PV) NYCERS
PV of Benefits: 58,900
PV of Employee Contributions: 0
PV of Employer Contributions: 58,900
Unfunded Accrued Liabilities: 58,900
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
NYCERS
Number of Payments: 1
Fiscal Year of Last Payment: 2026
Amortization Payment: 65,100
S. 6766--A 3
Since Mr. O'Connor is a deferred vested member and therefore has no
remaining working lifetime, the entire increase in Unfunded Accrued
Liabilities would be recognized immediately.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
census data collected as of June 30, 2023. The census data for the
impacted population is summarized below.
NYCERS
Term. Vested Members
- Number Count: 1
- Average Age: 37
BACKGROUND: Mr. O'Connor commenced employment with the New York City
Transit Authority on January 19, 2012 and subsequently joined NYCERS in
September 2012. In the nine-month period between the commencement of his
employment and the date on which he joined NYCERS, Chapter 18 of the
Laws of 2012, or Tier 6, was enacted. Therefore, Mr. O'Connor joined
NYCERS as a Tier 6 member. The proposed legislation would allow Mr.
O'Connor to apply for a retroactive NYCERS membership date of January
19, 2012, which would entitle him to Tier 4 membership, without a refund
of past Tier 6 contributions, in the NYCERS 57/5 Plan.
A change from Tier 6 to Tier 4 would result in an earlier date of
retirement eligibility, lower overall prospective employee contribution
rates, a larger benefit, and a three-year (as opposed to a five-year)
final average salary.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems.
Per the proposed legislation, Mr. O'Connor is currently a Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) Metro-North employee. For the purposes of
this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that Mr. O'Connor will transfer his
NYCERS membership to his pension plan at the MTA. Therefore, the cost
reflected in this Fiscal Note is based on the additional reserves that
will be required to be transferred from NYCERS, considering Chapter 717
of the Laws of 2023.
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
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
S. 6766--A 4
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-61 dated May 15,
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.
