S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9634
 
                             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
   removing  eligibility or receipt of primary social security disability
   benefits as a condition for ordinary disability retirement for certain
   members

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision c-1 of section 506 of the retirement and social
 security law, as added by chapter 298 of the laws of 2016, is amended to
 read as follows:
   c-1.  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subdivision a or b
 of this section, the ordinary disability benefit for  a  New  York  city
 enhanced  plan member in active service who is not eligible for a normal
 retirement benefit, has completed five years or more  of  service,  [and
 has been determined to be eligible for primary social security disabili-
 ty benefits] shall be a pension equal to the greater of (i) thirty-three
 and  one-third  percent  of final average salary, or (ii) two percent of
 final average salary times years of credited service not  in  excess  of
 the  maximum  years  of  service  for computing service retirement, such
 benefit in each case to be reduced by one hundred percent of  any  work-
 ers' compensation benefits payable. A BENEFIT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS
 OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL NOT BE CONDITIONED UPON ELIGIBILITY FOR, OR
 RECEIPT OF, PRIMARY SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation  modifies  Ordinary   Disability
 Retirement  (ODR)  eligibility  for Tier 3 members of POLICE and FIRE by
 removing the requirement of being eligible for primary  Social  Security
 disability benefits (SSDI).
 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
           by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
                  Year      POLICE    FIRE     TOTAL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14127-02-4
 S. 9634                             2
 
                  2025         3.1     0.3       3.4
                  2026         3.4     0.3       3.7
                  2027         3.8     0.4       4.2
                  2028         4.3     0.4       4.7
                  2029         4.8     0.5       5.3
                  2030         5.3     0.5       5.8
                  2031         5.8     0.5       6.3
                  2032         6.2     0.6       6.8
                  2033         6.5     0.6       7.1
                  2034         6.9     0.7       7.6
                  2035         7.3     0.7       8.0
                  2036         7.6     0.8       8.4
                  2037         8.0     0.8       8.8
                  2038         8.4     0.9       9.3
                  2039         8.7     1.0       9.7
                  2040         9.1     1.0      10.1
                  2041         9.3     1.1      10.4
                  2042         9.7     1.1      10.8
                  2043        10.0     1.1      11.1
                  2044        10.4     1.2      11.6
                  2045        10.9     1.3      12.2
                  2046        11.3     1.3      12.6
                  2047        11.7     1.4      13.1
                  2048        12.1     1.4      13.5
                  2049        12.6     1.5      14.1
    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)       POLICE       FIRE
                      PV of Benefits:         44.7        4.5
        PV of Employee Contributions:          0.0        0.0
        PV of Employer Contributions:         44.7        4.5
        Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:          1.4        0.5
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                          POLICE           FIRE
                Number of Payments:           16             18
       Fiscal Year of Last Payment:         2040           2042
              Amortization Payment:        0.2 M          0.1 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.
 
                                        POLICE            FIRE
                 Active Members
                 - Number Count:        19,938           5,028
 S. 9634                             3
 
                 - Average Age:           32.7            33.5
                 - Average Service:        6.1             5.5
                 - Average Salary:     107,200         112,400
 
   IMPACT  ON  ELIGIBILITY:  Currently,  active  Tier  3  POLICE and FIRE
 enhanced plan members with at least five years of credited  service  are
 only eligible for an ODR benefit if they are approved for primary Social
 Security disability benefits (SSDI).
   Under  the  proposed legislation, Tier 3 POLICE and FIRE enhanced plan
 members with at least five years of credited service would  be  eligible
 for an ODR benefit, irrespective of SSDI eligibility.
   The  formula  for  calculating Enhanced Plan ODR benefits would remain
 unchanged.
   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:
   * 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.
   *  For  purposes of this Fiscal Note, it has been assumed that 100% of
 members exiting for ODR under current ODR rates would be ineligible  for
 SSDI.
   *  It is assumed that the Medical Board will be responsible for deter-
 mining the eligibility for ODR benefits in place of  the  SSDI  require-
 ment.
   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.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-47 dated  April  25,
 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.