S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7181
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 18, 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
   permitting  certain  twenty-five  year  retirement  program dispatcher
   members to file elections not to participate

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 604-e of the retirement and social security law, as
 added  by  chapter  576  of the laws of 2000, is amended by adding a new
 subdivision f to read as follows:
   F. 1.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  A
 DISPATCHER MEMBER WHO EXCEEDED AGE THIRTY UPON EMPLOYMENT AS A DISPATCH-
 ER  MEMBER AND FAILED TO FILE THEIR ELECTION NOT TO PARTICIPATE WITH THE
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF BECOMING A DISPATCH-
 ER MEMBER, AS REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPH  THREE  OF  SUBDIVISION  B  OF  THIS
 SECTION, MAY FILE SUCH AN ELECTION WITH THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE
 HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   2.  THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL POST, AND ANNOUNCE ON ITS HOMEPAGE THE
 POSTING OF, THE  FORM  AND  CORRESPONDING  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  DISPATCHER
 MEMBERS  TO ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE ON ITS WEBSITE NO LATER THAN THIRTY
 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   3. IF THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM FAILS TO POST AND ANNOUNCE  THE  FORM  AND
 CORRESPONDING INSTRUCTIONS NO LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE  OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AS PRESCRIBED BY PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS SUBDI-
 VISION, THE PERIOD FOR A DISPATCHER MEMBER TO ELECT NOT  TO  PARTICIPATE
 PRESCRIBED  BY  PARAGRAPH  ONE  OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE EXTENDED BY
 SIXTY  DAYS  FOR  EACH  MONTH  OR  PART  THEREOF  THAT  SUCH  FORM   AND
 INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT POSTED TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM'S WEBSITE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11083-01-3


              

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7181--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- 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, in relation to
   permitting certain  twenty-five  year  retirement  program  dispatcher
   members to file elections not to participate
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 604-e of the retirement and social security law, as
 added by chapter 576 of the laws of 2000, is amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision f to read as follows:
   F.  1.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY, A
 DISPATCHER MEMBER WHO EXCEEDED AGE THIRTY UPON EMPLOYMENT AS A DISPATCH-
 ER MEMBER AND FAILED TO FILE THEIR ELECTION NOT TO PARTICIPATE WITH  THE
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF BECOMING A DISPATCH-
 ER  MEMBER,  AS  REQUIRED  BY  PARAGRAPH  THREE OF SUBDIVISION B OF THIS
 SECTION, MAY FILE SUCH AN ELECTION WITH THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE
 HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   2. THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL POST, AND ANNOUNCE ON ITS HOMEPAGE  THE
 POSTING  OF,  THE  FORM  AND  CORRESPONDING  INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISPATCHER
 MEMBERS TO ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE ON ITS WEBSITE NO LATER THAN  THIRTY
 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   3.  IF  THE  RETIREMENT SYSTEM FAILS TO POST AND ANNOUNCE THE FORM AND
 CORRESPONDING INSTRUCTIONS NO LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AS PRESCRIBED BY PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS  SUBDI-
 VISION,  THE  PERIOD FOR A DISPATCHER MEMBER TO ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE
 PRESCRIBED BY PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVISION  SHALL  BE  EXTENDED  BY
 SIXTY   DAYS  FOR  EACH  MONTH  OR  PART  THEREOF  THAT  SUCH  FORM  AND
 INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT POSTED TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM'S WEBSITE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11083-03-3
              

 S. 7181--A                          2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Section 604-e
 of the Retirement and Social Security Law to allow New York City Employ-
 ees' Retirement System (NYCERS) Tier  4  and  Tier  6  members  who  are
 members  of a Dispatcher 25-Year Retirement Plan and were older than age
 30 when they joined the plan, another 180-day period to opt out  of  the
 plan.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   BACKGROUND:  Currently, Tier 4 or Tier 6 NYCERS members who exceed age
 30 upon being mandated into a Dispatcher 25-Year Plan, have  the  option
 to  irrevocably opt out of the plan within 180 days. Members who opt out
 of the plan are generally placed into one of the Tier 4 or Tier 6 under-
 lying plans.
   Under the proposed legislation, such members who failed to opt out  of
 the  Plan  in the original 180 days would have another 180-day period in
 which to opt out of the Plan.
   For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that  members  who
 opt  out  of  the Dispatcher 25-Year Plan under the proposed legislation
 would be entitled to an immediate refund  of  excess  Additional  Member
 Contributions (AMC), with interest.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the anticipated group of
 members opting out of the Dispatcher  25-Year  Plan  and  the  actuarial
 assumptions and methods described herein, the enactment of this proposed
 legislation  would  result in an increase in the present value of future
 employer contributions of approximately $4.3 million.
   This net increase is a result of an increase in the Present  Value  of
 Future  Benefits  of  approximately  $2.4  million  (which  includes the
 assumed refund of AMC balances) and a decrease in the present  value  of
 member contributions of approximately $1.9 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 $2.3 million and an increase in
 the  present  value of future employer Normal Cost of approximately $2.0
 million.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  The  enactment  of
 this  proposed legislation would result in an initial increase in annual
 employer contributions of approximately $422,000 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 14  years
 and  the  increase  in UAL was therefore amortized over a 14-year period
 (13 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.
   There  were  53  members  as of June 30, 2022 who have been assumed to
 benefit under the proposed legislation. These members had an average age
 of approximately 46.0  years,  average  service  of  approximately  13.0
 years, and an average salary of approximately $78,900.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
 been  calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used for
 the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of NYCERS.
   To determine the impact of the elective nature of the proposed  legis-
 lation,  a  subgroup of members was developed based on who is assumed to
 S. 7181--A                          3

 benefit actuarially by comparing the net present value of future employ-
 er costs of each member's benefit under their  current  plan  and  under
 their applicable underlying plan.
   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.
   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 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  2023-66  dated  June  1,
 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.