S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9591
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 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
   affording  certain  police/fire  members  who  are members of the fire
   department pension fund to continue in service past normal  retirement
   age  with  an  additional  pension benefit for each year of additional
   service
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 503-a to read as follows:
   §  503-A. EXTRA PENSION SERVICE CREDITS. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION
 OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A POLICE/FIRE MEMBER WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE  NEW
 YORK  CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND MAY CONTINUE IN SERVICE PAST THE
 DATE THAT HE OR SHE ATTAINS NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE.  IN  SUCH  EVENT  AND
 UPON  HIS  OR  HER  RETIREMENT  FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, THERE SHALL BE
 ADDED TO HIS OR HER ANNUAL PENSION TO WHICH HE OR SHE SHALL UPON HIS  OR
 HER  RETIREMENT BE ENTITLED AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT COMPUTED AT THE RATE OF
 ONE-FORTIETH OF HIS OR HER FINAL SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF SUCH ADDITIONAL
 SERVICE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide Tier 3 members of the
 New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) an additional  1/40th  of  "final
 salary"  benefit  for  each  year of credited service beyond 22 years of
 service.
 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
           by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
                                Year   FIRE
                                2025   42.6
                                2026   46.3
                                2027   50.0
                                2028   53.9
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10130-04-4
 S. 9591                             2
 
                                2029   58.1
                                2030   62.5
                                2031   67.1
                                2032   71.9
                                2033   76.8
                                2034   81.9
                                2035   87.2
                                2036   92.6
                                2037   98.0
                                2038  103.6
                                2039  109.1
                                2040  114.7
                                2041  120.2
                                2042  125.7
                                2043  116.8
                                2044  122.2
                                2045  127.4
                                2046  132.5
                                2047  137.6
                                2048  142.4
                                2049  147.2
    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:                    627.2
                PV of Employee Contributions:        0.8
                PV of Employer Contributions:      626.4
                Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:      138.9
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
                                                     FIRE
                  Number of Payments:                  18
                  Fiscal Year of Last Payment:       2042
                  Amortization Payment:            14.3 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
 S. 9591                             3
 
   IMPACT  ON  MEMBER  BENEFITS: This proposed legislation would increase
 the annual pension for members who retire for service, ordinary disabil-
 ity, or accidental disability by 1/40th of Final Salary for  each  addi-
 tional  year  of  credited  service,  or  fraction thereof, exceeding 22
 years.  For  the  purposes  of  this  Fiscal Note, Final Salary has been
 interpreted as the member's  pensionable  earnings  in  their  final  12
 months of service.
   This benefit would be subject to the applicable Cost-of-Living Adjust-
 ment or Escalation adjustments.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  The  estimates  presented herein have been
 calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions  and  Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems. In addition:
   * The probability of Tier 3 members working beyond 22 years of service
 was  increased  to  recognize  the impact the proposed legislation would
 have on retirement behavior.
   * 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).
   This Fiscal Note does not include cost analyses relating to provisions
 contained in Retirement and Social Security Law Section 500(c).
   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.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-43  dated  April  9,
 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.