S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6582
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 6, 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
   disability retirement of certain New York city correction members
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph 1 of  subdivision  b  of  section  507-a  of  the
 retirement  and social security law, as added by chapter 452 of the laws
 of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
   1. Have at least ten years of total  service  credit,  EXCEPT  THAT  A
 MEMBER  IN  THE  UNIFORMED  PERSONNEL OF THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF
 CORRECTION MAY FILE AN APPLICATION WITHOUT REGARD TO LENGTH OF  SERVICE,
 and
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation would modify disability benefits
 for certain correction officers with less  than  10  years  of  credited
 service  to  allow  eligibility for such benefits without having to show
 that the disability resulted from a work-related accident.

          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
           by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
                          Year       NYCERS
                          2026      0.4
                          2027      0.4
                          2028      0.4
                          2029      0.4
                          2030      0.4
                          2031      0.4
                          2032      0.4
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05748-02-5
 A. 6582                             2
              

 
                          2033      0.5
                          2034      0.5
                          2035      0.5
                          2036      0.6
                          2037      0.6
                          2038      0.7
                          2039      0.7
                          2040      2.1
                          2041      2.2
                          2042      2.3
                          2043      2.4
                          2044      2.5
                          2045      2.6
                          2046      2.7
                          2047      2.8
                          2048      2.9
                          2049      3.0
                          2050      3.1
   Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted.
 For Fiscal Year 2051 and beyond, the expected increase in normal cost as
 a level percent of pay for impacted new entrants is approximately 0.19%.
   The entire increase in employer contributions will be allocated 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 Millions)
 
                 Present Value (PV)                NYCERS
                 (1) PV of Employer Contributions:    0.7
                 (2) PV of Employee Contributions:    0.0
                 Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):      0.7
 
   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:     (11.3) M
                 Number of Payments:             14
                 Amortization Payment:           (1.3) M
 
   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:                 1,976
                 - Average Age:                  38.3
                 - Average Service:              6.3
                 - Average Salary:               118,400
 A. 6582                             3
 
   IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS:  Currently,  correction  officers  who  are
 determined to be disabled by the NYCERS' Medical Board, and have accumu-
 lated at least 10 years of service credit, are eligible for an immediate
 ordinary  disability  retirement (ODR) allowance equal to the greater of
 1/3  of Final Average Salary (FAS), or 1/60th of FAS multiplied by cred-
 ited service.
   If the correction officer is also eligible for Service Retirement, the
 ODR benefit cannot be less than the  retirement  allowance  for  Service
 Retirement.
   Under the proposed legislation, the ODR benefit would become available
 to  disabled correction officers, subject to approval under the applica-
 ble statutes and  procedures  established  by  NYCERS,  irrespective  of
 service credit accumulation.
   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.
   * The proposed Section 507-a benefit is assumed to only  be  available
 to eligible correction officers prospectively on and after the effective
 date of the legislation.
   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 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 2025-24 dated February
 28, 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retire-
 ment Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only  during  the
 2025 Legislative Session.