S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7389
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 19, 2023
                                ___________
 
 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  New  York  city  transit authority employees for
   performance of duty disability retirement

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 607-b of the retirement and social security law is
 amended by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows:
   A-1. ANY MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM  WHO
 IS  EMPLOYED BY THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND WHO PARTICIPATED
 IN WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS, AS DEFINED
 IN SECTION TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, WHO, ON OR AFTER SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH, TWO
 THOUSAND ONE, BECOMES  PHYSICALLY  OR  MENTALLY  INCAPACITATED  FOR  THE
 PERFORMANCE  OF  DUTIES AS THE NATURAL AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN INJURY
 SUSTAINED IN THE PERFORMANCE OR DISCHARGE OF HIS  OR  HER  DUTIES  AS  A
 RESULT  OF  SUCH PARTICIPATION IN WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY OR
 CLEANUP OPERATIONS SHALL  BE  PAID  A  PERFORMANCE  OF  DUTY  DISABILITY
 RETIREMENT  ALLOWANCE  EQUAL  TO THREE-QUARTERS OF FINAL AVERAGE SALARY,
 SUBJECT TO SECTION 13-176 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE CITY OF  NEW
 YORK.  ANY  MEMBER  WHO HAS MADE APPLICATION OR WHO, AFTER THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, MAKES APPLICATION FOR SUCH PERFORMANCE OF DUTY
 PENSION SHALL  BE  ENTITLED  TO  INVOKE  THE  MEDICAL  REVIEW  PROCEDURE
 PROVIDED  FOR IN SUBDIVISION E OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED FIVE OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE, SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN SUCH SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend  provisions  of
 the  Retirement  and  Social  Security Law (RSSL) to grant New York City
 Transit Authority (NYCTA) active and retired employees, who are or  were
 members  of  the  New  York  City  Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS)
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08375-03-3
              

 A. 7389                             2
 
 subject to RSSL Article 15, and have incurred a World Trade Center (WTC)
 Qualifying Condition, a performance of duty disability retirement equiv-
 alent to 75% of the member's Final Average Salary (FAS) prospectively as
 of the effective date.
   The  proposed  legislation  would  further  permit such eligible NYCTA
 members and retirees to utilize  the  Final  Medical  Review  procedures
 pursuant  to  RSSL Section 605-e to appeal from the NYCERS Medical Board
 WTC disability benefit determinations.
   Finally, the bill appears to grant such  eligible  NYCTA  members  and
 retirees the ability to utilize the presumptions for infectious diseases
 pursuant  to  subsection b of RSSL Section 607-b.  Costs associated with
 granting these presumptions have not been included in this Fiscal Note.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Currently, the WTC disability benefit for eligible
 NYCTA WTC retirees is generally equal  to  a  lifetime  payment  of  the
 greatest  of  1/3 of FAS, 1/60th of FAS for each year of service, or the
 service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   Under the proposed legislation, the WTC disability benefit for  eligi-
 ble  NYCTA WTC retirees would be revised to equal a retirement allowance
 of 75% of FAS, less any applicable Workers' Compensation benefit.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW:  The  bill,  if  enacted,  would  provide
 increased  benefits  for  46  pensioners  who have been approved for WTC
 benefits. The bill also potentially provides for increased benefits  for
 an  unknown  number of future pensioners, who have submitted a qualified
 WTC Notice of Participation. Although there are currently  approximately
 1,300  active  and  retired NYCTA members who have submitted a qualified
 WTC Notice of Participation Form, the number of members from this  group
 who  could  potentially  benefit  from  this proposed legislation in the
 future cannot be readily determined.
   The additional estimated financial impact for the  unknown  number  of
 future  pensioners  who could benefit has been calculated on a per event
 basis equal to the increase in the  present  value  of  future  employer
 contributions  for an average member who could be approved for WTC bene-
 fits and who is assumed to benefit from the proposed legislation.
   In determining the increase  in  the  present  value  for  the  future
 members who are assumed to benefit from the proposed legislation, it has
 been  assumed  that  50%  of  the  members  would have retired under the
 current Accidental Disability Retirement benefit and that the  remaining
 50%  would  have  continued working if the proposed legislation were not
 passed.
   With respect to an individual member,  the  additional  cost  of  this
 proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the member's length
 of service, age, and salary history.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data and the
 actuarial assumptions and methods described  herein,  the  enactment  of
 this  proposed  legislation  would  increase the Present Value of Future
 Benefits for 46 pensioners who have been approved for  WTC  benefits  by
 approximately $9.5 million.
   In  addition,  the  enactment  of this proposed legislation would also
 increase the present value of future employer contributions by  approxi-
 mately  $262,600,  on average, for each additional approval of WTC bene-
 fits for members who are assumed to benefit  from  the  proposed  legis-
 lation.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: Enactment of this
 proposed legislation would increase employer contributions,  where  such
 amount  would  depend on the number of members affected as well as other
 A. 7389                             3
 
 characteristics including the age, years of service, and salary  history
 of each member.
   The  46  pensioners  have no remaining working lifetime, and therefore
 the entire increase in Unfunded Accrued Liability  would  be  recognized
 immediately.  The enactment of this proposed legislation would therefore
 result in an increase in Fiscal  Year  2024  employer  contributions  of
 approximately $10.5 million.
   Based  on  the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the
 enactment of this proposed legislation is estimated to  increase  annual
 employer contributions by approximately $31,100, on average for each new
 WTC benefit provided under this proposed legislation.
   Since  there  is insufficient data currently available to estimate the
 number of members who might be approved for WTC benefits, the  financial
 impact  would  be recognized at the time of event. Consequently, changes
 in employer contributions for those NYCTA members not yet  approved  for
 WTC benefits have been estimated assuming that the increase in the pres-
 ent  value  of  future  employer contributions would be amortized over a
 closed 15-year period (14 payments under the One-Year  Lag  Methodology)
 using level dollar payments.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The  estimates presented herein are based on the census
 data used in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation of NYCERS  to  deter-
 mine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions.
   The  46  NYCERS  pensioners subject to Article 15 who are currently in
 receipt of WTC disability benefits had an average age  of  approximately
 64.3  years and an average maximum retirement allowance of approximately
 $38,700.
   The approximate 1,300 active members who have submitted WTC Notice  of
 Participation  Forms  are  a subset of the 9,219 NYCTA employees who are
 active members in NYCERS as of June 30, 2022 whose date  of  appointment
 is  prior to September 11, 2001, and who are not currently entitled to a
 WTC benefit equal to 75% of FAS and, therefore, could potentially  bene-
 fit  from  the  proposed  legislation. These 9,219 active members had an
 average age of approximately 57.0 years, average service of approximate-
 ly 23.9 years, and an average salary of approximately $99,600.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
 been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used  for
 the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of NYCERS.
   For  the  purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the changes
 would be reflected for the first time in the  June  30,  2022  actuarial
 valuation  of NYCERS used to determine employer contributions for Fiscal
 Year 2024.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, demograph-
 ics of the impacted population, and other factors  such  as  investment,
 contribution,  and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu-
 arial assumptions, the actual costs could differ  from  those  presented
 herein.
   Costs  are also dependent on the actuarial methods used, and therefore
 different actuarial methods could produce different results. Quantifying
 these risks is beyond the scope of this Fiscal Note.
   Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
   *  The  initial  additional  administrative  costs  to  implement  the
 proposed legislation.
   *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
 Benefit costs.
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   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Marek  Tyszkiewicz,  am  the  Chief
 Actuary  for,  and  independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems
 and Pension Funds. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries  and  a
 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I am a member of NYCERS but
 do  not  believe  it impairs my objectivity and I meet the Qualification
 Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render  the  actuarial
 opinion  contained  herein.  To  the  best  of my 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  2023-47  dated  May  12,
 2023  was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
 Retirement System.  This estimate is intended for use  only  during  the
 2023 Legislative Session.