S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 4888--A

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 30, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
  Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
  in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
  amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
  tee

AN  ACT  to  authorize the New York city employees' retirement system to
  consider the application for disability retirement benefits from Peter
  DiMario

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the application
for disability retirement benefits of Peter DiMario, who was employed by
the  New  York  city  off-track betting corporation from June 1984 until
December 2010 when such corporation closed, and is a member of  the  New
York city employees' retirement system, which for reasons not ascribable
to  his  own negligence has been denied a disability retirement from the
New York city  employees'  retirement  system,  shall  be  accepted  for
consideration  by  the  New York city employees' retirement system as if
such application had been filed in a timely manner on March 7, 2011.
  S 2. All costs associated with the implementation of this act shall be
borne by the state.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION:  The proposed legis-
lation would authorize the New York City  Employees'  Retirement  System
("NYCERS")  to  accept  for  consideration an application for Disability
Retirement benefits from Peter DiMario.
  BACKGROUND: Mr. DiMario became a Tier IV member of NYCERS on June  18,
1984  and is covered under the provisions of Retirement and Social Secu-
rity Law ("RSSL") Article 15.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01789-03-4

              

S. 4888--A                          2

  RSSL Article 15, Section 605 provides that an application for Disabil-
ity Retirement must be filed either:
  (a)  By  a  vested  member incapacitated as the result of a qualifying
World Trade Center condition as defined in RSSL Section 2, at any  time,
or
  (b)  Within  three months from the last date the member was being paid
on the payroll or,
  (c) In the case of a member who was placed on a leave of  absence  for
medical reasons without pay, either voluntarily or involuntarily, at the
time  he/she  ceased  being paid, not later than twelve months after the
date the employee receives notice that  his/her  employment  status  has
been terminated.
  In  the  case  of Mr. DiMario, under current law, he would have had to
file pursuant to the preceding basis (b) (i.e., within three  months  of
his last day of pay). His last day of pay was December 7, 2010.
  However,  Mr.  DiMario  filed for Disability Retirement on October 25,
2011, more than three months after his last day of pay. Since his appli-
cation was not timely filed, NYCERS informed Mr. DiMario that  it  could
not be processed.
  The proposed legislation, if enacted, would authorize NYCERS to accept
for consideration his application for Disability Retirement as if it had
been filed in a timely manner on March 7, 2011.
  All  costs  associated with the implementation of this proposed legis-
lation would be borne by New York State.
  The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be  the  Date  of
Enactment.
  FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES: The estimated financial
impact has been calculated based on the difference between (1) the bene-
fits Mr. DiMario would receive if this proposed legislation were enacted
and his application for Disability Retirement were approved and (2)  the
benefits Mr. DiMario would otherwise be entitled to receive.
  The  difference  in  estimated costs is intended to provide a sense of
the ultimate financial impact.
  The difference in first year employer contributions reflects both  the
difference  in  costs  and the impact of the actuarial valuation assump-
tions initially in use.
  Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, on an
estimated cost basis, the enactment of this proposed  legislation  would
increase  the  Actuarial  Present  Value  of  Benefits  ("APVB") and the
Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability ("UAAL") of NYCERS by approximately
$245,000 as of June 30, 2013.
  On an actuarial valuation basis Mr. DiMario is currently considered to
be entitled to a Vested Benefit and assumed to have  a  life  expectancy
similar  to  a  Service (rather than Disability) retiree. If Mr. DiMario
were treated as a Disability Retiree with life expectancy of a Disabili-
ty Retiree (assuming he were approved), the  APVB  and  UAAL  of  NYCERS
would increase by approximately $215,000 as of June 30, 2013.
  FINANCIAL  IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER COSTS AND ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIB-
UTIONS: In accordance with Section 13.638.2(k-2) of  the  Administrative
Code  of the City of New York ("ACNY"), new UAAL attributable to benefit
changes are to be amortized as determined by the Actuary  but  generally
over  the  remaining  working  lifetime of those impacted by the benefit
changes.
  For this proposed legislation, Mr. DiMario is inactive  and  therefore
the entire increase in UAAL based on the Actuary's actuarial assumptions

S. 4888--A                          3

and methods in effect on June 30, 2013 of $245,000 (on an estimated cost
basis) should be recognized in the first year.
  Similarly,  as  of  June  30,  2013,  based on the actuarial valuation
assumptions and methods then in effect, the proposed  legislation  would
increase  the  first  year's  employer  contributions  by  approximately
$215,000.
  CONTRIBUTION TIMING: If enacted during the  2014  Legislative  Session
and  if  his  application  for Disability Retirement were approved on or
before June 30, 2014, his status as a Disability  Retiree  would  likely
first  be reflected in the June 30, 2014 census data. In accordance with
the One-Year Lag methodology used to determine  employer  contributions,
increased  employer contributions would be consistent with the increased
employer costs and would be determined for Fiscal Year 2016.
  If enacted during the 2014 Legislative Session, and if his application
for Disability Retirement were approved after June 30, 2014  but  on  or
before  June  30,  2015, his status as a Disability Retiree would likely
first be reflected in the  June  30,  2015  census  data  and  increased
employer contributions would be determined for Fiscal Year 2017.
  ACTUARIAL  ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS: The additional APVB and UAAL for
employer contribution purposes presented herein have been calculated  by
comparing the APVB of a Vested Benefit as determined for actuarial valu-
ation  purposes  (i.e., using a Service Retirement mortality table) with
the APVB of a Disability Retirement benefit as determined for  actuarial
valuation  purposes  (i.e.,  using  a  Disability  Retirement  mortality
table).
  The additional APVB for employer cost purposes (i.e.,  additional  APV
of  future  employer costs and additional annual employer costs) reflect
an assumption that Mr. DiMario's life expectancy is more consistent with
a Disability Retirement mortality table.
  For purposes of determining the APVB of a Disability Retirement  bene-
fit,  we  have  assumed that Mr. DiMario would elect to have his benefit
paid in the form of a 100% joint & survivor benefit which is the  option
he elected on his Disability Retirement application.
  In  addition to the actuarial assumptions described above, all results
presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods in effect for the June 30, 2013 (Lag)  actuarial  valuations
used to determine Fiscal Year 2015 employer contributions of NYCERS.
  ECONOMIC  VALUES OF BENEFITS: The actuarial assumptions used to deter-
mine the financial impact of the proposed legislation discussed in  this
Fiscal  Note  are those appropriate for budgetary models and determining
annual employer contributions to NYCERS.
  However, the economic assumptions (current and proposed) that are used
for determining employer contributions  do  not  develop  risk-adjusted,
economic  values  of  benefits.  Such  risk-adjusted, economic values of
benefits would likely differ significantly from those developed  by  the
budgetary models.
  STATEMENT  OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Robert C. North, Jr., am the Chief
Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am a Fellow  of  the
Society  of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of  Actuaries
to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
  FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  estimate is intended for use only
during the 2014 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal  Note  2014-05,  dated
February  4,  2014  prepared  by the Chief Actuary for the New York City
Employees' Retirement System.