S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5771
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 20, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   the  eligibility  of certain participants in the New York city employ-
   ees' retirement system to opt into  the  twenty-five  year  retirement
   program for EMT members

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph 3 of  subdivision  b  of  section  604-e  of  the
 retirement  and social security law, as added by chapter 577 of the laws
 of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
   3. Each EMT member, other than an EMT member subject to paragraph  one
 or  two  of  this  subdivision, who becomes subject to the provisions of
 this article on or after the  starting  date  of  the  twenty-five  year
 retirement  program  shall  become a participant in the twenty-five year
 retirement program on the date [he or she] SUCH PERSON becomes  such  an
 EMT  member.  Provided, however, a person subject to this paragraph, and
 who has exceeded age twenty-five upon employment as an EMT member, shall
 be exempt from participation in the improved twenty-five year retirement
 program if such person elects  not  to  participate  by  filing  a  duly
 executed  form with the retirement system within one hundred eighty days
 of becoming an EMT member. PROVIDED FURTHER, HOWEVER, THAT A PERSON  WHO
 HAS  OPTED  TO BE EXEMPT PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH MAY BECOME A PARTIC-
 IPANT IN THE TWENTY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PROGRAM IF SUCH PERSON FILES  A
 DULY  EXECUTED  ELECTION  FORM  WITH  THE  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM WITHIN ONE
 HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE  LAWS
 OF  TWO  THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE THAT AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH, PROVIDED SUCH
 PERSON IS AN EMT MEMBER ON THE DATE SUCH ELECTION  IS  FILED,  AND  SUCH
 PERSON  SHALL  PAY ALL ADDITIONAL MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIRED PURSUANT
 TO SUBDIVISION E OF THIS SECTION FROM THE DATE THAT SUCH  PERSON  BECAME
 AN  EMT MEMBER TO THE DATE SUCH PERSON ELECTS TO BECOME A PARTICIPANT IN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06971-02-5
              

 A. 5771                             2
 
 THE PROGRAM TOGETHER WITH INTEREST COMPUTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH
 FOUR OF SUBDIVISION E OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation  would allow eligible Tier 4 and
 Tier 6 EMT Members who previously opted out of the EMT 25-Year  Plan,  a
 second  opportunity  to join such Plan by filing an application with the
 New York City Employee's Retirement System (NYCERS) within 180  days  of
 the effective date.
 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
                     Year      NYCERS
 
                     2026      102
                     2027      85
                     2028      72
                     2029      67
                     2030      (5)
                     2031      (9)
                     2032      (12)
                     2033      (14)
                     2034      (17)
                     2035      (19)
                     2036      (20)
                     2037      (21)
                     2038      (22)
                     2039      (23)
                     2040      (22)
                     2041      (21)
                     2042      (20)
                     2043      (18)
                     2044      (17)
                     2045      (15)
                     2046      (13)
                     2047      (11)
                     2048      (9)
                     2049      (8)
                     2050      (6)
 
   Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
 
   The entire increase (decrease) in employer contributions will be allo-
 cated to New York City.
   PRESENT  VALUE  OF  BENEFITS:  The  Present  Value  of Benefits is the
 discounted expected value of benefits paid to  current  members  if  all
 assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
 Future new hires are not included in this present value.
 
          INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
                   as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
 
              Present Value (PV)                 NYCERS
 
              (1) PV of Employer Contributions:  145.1
 A. 5771                             3
 
              (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  249.4
              Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    394.5
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes  in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life-
 time of those impacted using level dollar payments.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                                 NYCERS

              Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        221.6 K
              Number of Payments:                4
              Amortization Payment:              67.7 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based  on  preliminary
 census  data  collected  as  of  June  30, 2024. The census data for the
 impacted population is summarized below.
 
                                                 NYCERS
 
              Active Members
              - Number Count:                    7
              - Average Age:                     47.1
              - Average Service:                 24.9
              - Average Salary:                  89,300
 
   IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS AND CONTRIBUTIONS: This proposed legislation
 would provide current EMT members, who previously opted out of  the  EMT
 25-Year Plans, a 180-day opportunity to join such plan.
   Members of the EMT 25-Year Plans would be required to pay Basic Member
 Contributions (BMC), which vary by tier, plus Additional Member Contrib-
 utions  (AMC)  equal  to 6.25% of compensation for all service as a Plan
 participant until attaining 30 years of Allowable Service.
   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:
     * Election assumptions and the  rates  of  retirement  for  the  EMT
 25-Year Plans were assigned based on the bill's provisions including the
 eligibility requirements for retirement under the EMT 25-Year Plans.
     * For purposes of this fiscal note, existing AMC balances, including
 physically taxing AMC, are assumed to offset the AMC payment required to
 join the EMT 25-Year Plan.
   To  determine the impact of the elective nature of the proposed legis-
 lation, a subgroup of EMT members was developed based on who is  assumed
 to  benefit  actuarially  by  comparing  the net present value of future
 employer costs of each member's benefit under  their  current  plan  and
 under the applicable EMT 25-Year Plan.
   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.
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   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.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2025-05 dated February 3,
 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Retirement
 Systems  and  Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
 Legislative Session.