S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6555
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 17, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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
   providing  a heart disease presumption for certain members employed as
   fire alarm dispatchers

   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 607-m to read as follows:
   §  607-M.  DISABILITIES OF FIRE ALARM DISPATCHERS IN CERTAIN CASES. 1.
 NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL OR LOCAL  LAW  OR
 ADMINISTRATIVE  CODE TO THE CONTRARY, BUT EXCEPT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE
 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT
 OF HEALTH CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE HEART, RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL
 DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A PERSON PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF  A  FIRE  ALARM
 DISPATCHER, A SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL ONE OR A SUPERVIS-
 ING  FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL TWO OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A CITY WITH
 A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A  PHYSICAL
 EXAMINATION  ON  ENTRY  INTO  SUCH  SERVICE OR SUBSEQUENT THERETO, WHICH
 EXAMINATION FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH  CONDITION,  SHALL  BE
 PRESUMPTIVE  EVIDENCE  THAT  IT  WAS  INCURRED  IN  THE  PERFORMANCE AND
 DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A FIRE ALARM  DISPATCH-
 ER,  SUPERVISING  FIRE  ALARM  DISPATCHER  LEVEL ONE OR SUPERVISING FIRE
 ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL TWO MEMBER OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A CITY WITH  A
 POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE RETIRING PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF
 SUBDIVISION  ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION EQUAL TO THREE-
 FOURTHS OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY.
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the city of New York.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07109-02-5
 S. 6555                             2
              

 
   § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
 provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
 of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This proposed legislation would provide to NYCERS Tier 4 and
 Tier 6 Fire Alarm Dispatchers a rebuttable statutory presumption that  a
 qualifying  disability or death related to heart disease was incurred in
 the performance of duty and provide a  performance  of  duty  disability
 benefit equal to 75% of the member's Final Average Salary.
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
             One Incident                  One Incident Per Year
 Year    Disability  Death                    Disability     Death
 2026    57          41                       57             41
 2027    57          41                       115            82
 2028    57          41                       176            125
 2029    57          41                       238            170
 2030    57          41                       302            216
 2031    57          41                       368            263
 2032    57          41                       436            311
 2033    57          41                       506            361
 2034    57          41                       578            412
 2035    57          41                       652            465
 2036    57          41                       729            520
 2037    57          41                       807            576
 2038    57          41                       888            634
 2039    57          41                       972            694
 2040    0           0                        1,001          714
 2041    0           0                        1,031          736
 2042    0           0                        1,062          758
 2043    0           0                        1,094          781
 2044    0           0                        1,127          804
 2045    0           0                        1,161          828
 2046    0           0                        1,195          853
 2047    0           0                        1,231          879
 2048    0           0                        1,268          905
 2049    0           0                        1,306          932
 2050    0           0                        1,345          960
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
   The potential increases 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 Thousands)
 
      Present Value (PV)                   Per Disability    Per Death
      (1) PV of Employer Contributions:    481               343
      (2) PV of Employee Contributions:    (39)              0
      Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):      442               343
 S. 6555                             3
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
      Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss      Per Disability    Per Death
      Increase (Decrease) in UAL:          481 K             343 K
      Number of Payments:                  14                14
      Amortization Payment:                57 K              41 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
 based  on  preliminary  census  data  collected as of June 30, 2024. The
 census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop  the
 average costs is summarized below.
                                         NYCERS
                Active Members
                - Number Count:          178
                - Average Age:           40.9
                - Average Service:       12.1
                - Average Salary:        88,300

   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, active Tier 4 or Tier 6 members
 of NYCERS who are employed as Fire Alarm Dispatchers and become disabled
 due to heart disease would generally be eligible for an applicable ordi-
 nary disability retirement after attaining  10  years  of  service.  The
 disability benefit is generally a lifetime payment equal to the greatest
 of  1/3  of  Final Average Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS times service, or
 the service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   Under the proposed legislation, the  performance  of  duty  disability
 benefit for Tier 4 or Tier 6 Fire Alarm Dispatcher members who are disa-
 bled  from  heart disease would be equal to 75% of FAS without an offset
 for Workers' Compensation.
   The ordinary death benefit for NYCERS Fire Alarm Dispatchers is a lump
 sum payment generally equal to three times the member's salary,  plus  a
 refund  of  member  contributions.  Under  the proposed legislation, the
 performance of duty death benefit would generally be equal to a lifetime
 benefit of 50% of a member's wages earned  during  their  last  year  of
 service, payable to certain beneficiaries.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  The  estimates  presented herein have been
 calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions  and  Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   The  number of members who will benefit from this proposed legislation
 is unknown. The cost of this proposed  legislation  could  vary  greatly
 depending  on  the  number  of  future  members who benefit and on their
 length of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the  increase
 would  be  greater  for a member who is not yet eligible for an ordinary
 disability benefit when disabled.
   The estimated financial impact for disabled members  has  been  calcu-
 lated  assuming  50% would have retired under the current ordinary disa-
 bility benefit, and 50% would have continued  working  if  the  proposed
 legislation were not passed.
   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-
 S. 6555                             4
 
 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 2025-32 dated March 14,
 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.