S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8818
I N S E N A T E
March 15, 2024
___________
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
normal retirement age for police/fire members of the New York city
fire department pension fund
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 17 of section 501 of the retirement and social
security law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended
to read as follows:
17. "Normal retirement age" shall be age sixty-two, for general
members, [and] the age at which a member completes or would have
completed twenty-two years of service, for police/fire members, New York
city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and investi-
gator revised plan members, AND THE AGE AT WHICH A MEMBER COMPLETES
TWENTY YEARS OF SERVICE FOR POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE
NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND.
§ 2. Subdivision d of section 503 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
as follows:
d. The normal service retirement benefit specified in section five
hundred five of this article shall be paid to police/fire members, New
York city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and
investigator revised plan members without regard to age upon retirement
after twenty-two years of service; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH NORMAL
SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT FOR POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF
THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND SHALL BE PAID TO SUCH
MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND WITHOUT REGARD
TO AGE UPON RETIREMENT AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF SERVICE. Early service
retirement shall be permitted upon retirement after twenty years of
credited service or attainment of age sixty-two, provided, however, that
New York city police/fire revised plan members, New York city uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan members and investigator revised plan
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14430-02-4
S. 8818 2
members shall not be eligible to retire for service prior to the attain-
ment of twenty years of credited service.
§ 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 13-379 of the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York, the provisions of this act amend-
ing sections 501 and 503 of the retirement and social security law shall
apply to chapter three of title thirteen of the administrative code of
the city of New York.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would reduce the Normal Retirement
Age for Tier 3 members of the New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) to
be the age at which a member completes twenty years of service.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
Year FIRE
2025 2.5
2026 2.7
2027 2.9
2028 3.2
2029 3.4
2030 3.6
2031 3.9
2032 4.1
2033 4.4
2034 4.7
2035 5.1
2036 5.4
2037 5.9
2038 6.2
2039 6.6
2040 6.9
2041 7.3
2042 7.6
2043 7.0
2044 7.3
2045 7.5
2046 7.7
2047 8.0
2048 8.2
2049 8.5
Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2049 is not shown.
Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted.
The entire increase in employer contributions will be allocated to New
York City.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
as of June 30, 2023 ($ in Millions)
Present Value (PV) FIRE
PV of Benefits: 12.2
PV of Employee Contributions: (2.9)
PV of Employer Contributions: 15.1
Unfunded Accrued Liabilities: 8.4
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AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
FIRE
Number of Payments: 18
Fiscal Year of Last Payment: 2042
Amortization Payment: 0.9 M
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
impacted population is summarized below.
FIRE
Active Members
- Number Count: 5,030
- Average Age: 33.5
- Average Service: 5.5
- Average Salary: 112,400
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, Tier 3 FIRE members who retire
with 20 years of service are eligible to receive an annual benefit that
is equal to 42% of Final Average Salary (FAS), increasing to a maximum
benefit of 50% of FAS after 22 years of service.
Under the proposed legislation, Tier 3 FIRE members who retire with 20
years of service would be eligible to receive the maximum benefit equal
to 50% of FAS.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems except for:
* Retirement rates were adjusted to reflect the earlier payability of
the service retirement benefit associated with the proposed legislation.
* New entrants were assumed to replace exiting members so that total
payroll increases by 3% each year for impacted groups. New entrant demo-
graphics were developed based on data for recent new hires and actuarial
judgement.
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).
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.
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FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-27 dated March 14,
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.
