S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9200--A
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 3, 2016
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MARKEY, SIMANOWITZ, CERETTO, MILLER, COOK,
MOSLEY, KAMINSKY, COLTON, RUSSELL, SOLAGES, DenDEKKER, SKOUFIS, BLAKE,
ROBINSON, ZEBROWSKI, GUNTHER, SALADINO, McDONOUGH, MONTESANO, RAIA,
GRAF, BRABENEC -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, CROUCH,
HYNDMAN, LUPINACCI, MAGEE, PEOPLES-STOKES, RAMOS, SIMON, THIELE --
read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees --
reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the retirement and social
security law, in relation to increasing certain special accidental
death benefits
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision c of section 208-f of the general municipal
law, as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
follows:
c. Commencing July first, two thousand [fifteen] SIXTEEN the special
accidental death benefit paid to a widow or widower or the deceased
member's children under the age of eighteen or, if a student, under the
age of twenty-three, if the widow or widower has died, shall be esca-
lated by adding thereto an additional percentage of the salary of the
deceased member (as increased pursuant to subdivision b of this section)
in accordance with the following schedule:
calendar year of death
of the deceased member per centum
1977 or prior [207.5%] 216.7%
1978 [198.5%] 207.5%
1979 [189.8%] 198.5%
1980 [181.4%] 189.8%
1981 [173.2%] 181.4%
1982 [165.2%] 173.2%
1983 [157.5%] 165.2%
1984 [150.0%] 157.5%
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13853-04-6
A. 9200--A 2
1985 [142.7%] 150.0%
1986 [135.7%] 142.7%
1987 [128.8%] 135.7%
1988 [122.1%] 128.8%
1989 [115.7%] 122.1%
1990 [109.4%] 115.7%
1991 [103.3%] 109.4%
1992 [97.4%] 103.3%
1993 [91.6%] 97.4%
1994 [86.0%] 91.6%
1995 [80.6%] 86.0%
1996 [75.4%] 80.6%
1997 [70.2%] 75.4%
1998 [65.3%] 70.2%
1999 [60.5%] 65.3%
2000 [55.8%] 60.5%
2001 [51.3%] 55.8%
2002 [46.9%] 51.3%
2003 [42.6%] 46.9%
2004 [38.4%] 42.6%
2005 [34.4%] 38.4%
2006 [30.5%] 34.4%
2007 [26.7%] 30.5%
2008 [23.0%] 26.7%
2009 [19.4%] 23.0%
2010 [15.9%] 19.4%
2011 [12.6%] 15.9%
2012 [9.3%] 12.6%
2013 [6.1%] 9.3%
2014 [3.0%] 6.1%
2015 [0.0%] 3.0%
2016 0.0%
S 2. Subdivision c of section 361-a of the retirement and social secu-
rity law, as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2015, is amended to
read as follows:
c. Commencing July first, two thousand [fifteen] SIXTEEN the special
accidental death benefit paid to a widow or widower or the deceased
member's children under the age of eighteen or, if a student, under the
age of twenty-three, if the widow or widower has died, shall be esca-
lated by adding thereto an additional percentage of the salary of the
deceased member, as increased pursuant to subdivision b of this section,
in accordance with the following schedule:
calendar year of death
of the deceased member per centum
1977 or prior [207.5%] 216.7%
1978 [198.5%] 207.5%
1979 [189.8%] 198.5%
1980 [181.4%] 189.8%
1981 [173.2%] 181.4%
1982 [165.2%] 173.2%
1983 [157.5%] 165.2%
1984 [150.0%] 157.5%
1985 [142.7%] 150.0%
1986 [135.7%] 142.7%
1987 [128.8%] 135.7%
1988 [122.1%] 128.8%
A. 9200--A 3
1989 [115.7%] 122.1%
1990 [109.4%] 115.7%
1991 [103.3%] 109.4%
1992 [97.4%] 103.3%
1993 [91.6%] 97.4%
1994 [86.0%] 91.6%
1995 [80.6%] 86.0%
1996 [75.4%] 80.6%
1997 [70.2%] 75.4%
1998 [65.3%] 70.2%
1999 [60.5%] 65.3%
2000 [55.8%] 60.5%
2001 [51.3%] 55.8%
2002 [46.9%] 51.3%
2003 [42.6%] 46.9%
2004 [38.4%] 42.6%
2005 [34.4%] 38.4%
2006 [30.5%] 34.4%
2007 [26.7%] 30.5%
2008 [23.0%] 26.7%
2009 [19.4%] 23.0%
2010 [15.9%] 19.4%
2011 [12.6%] 15.9%
2012 [9.3%] 12.6%
2013 [6.1%] 9.3%
2014 [3.0%] 6.1%
2015 [0.0%] 3.0%
2016 0.0%
S 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend both the General Municipal Law and the Retire-
ment and Social Security Law to increase the salary used in the computa-
tion of the special accidental death benefit by 3% in cases where the
date of death was before 2016.
Insofar as this bill would amend the Retirement and Social Security
Law, it is estimated that there would be an additional annual cost of
approximately $462,000 above the approximately $10.6 million current
annual cost of this benefit. This cost would be shared by the State of
New York and all participating employers of the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership date used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2015
Report of the Actuary and the 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes
Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2015
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
A. 9200--A 4
This estimate, dated January 28, 2016 and intended for use only during
the 2016 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2016-51, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
Fiscal Note. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION - OVERVIEW: With respect to the
City of New York (the City), this proposed legislation would amend
General Municipal Law (GML) Section 208-f.c to increase certain Special
Accidental Death Benefits (SADB) for line-of-duty widows/widowers, chil-
dren, and/or certain other individuals (Eligible Beneficiaries) of
former uniformed employees of the City and the New York City Health and
Hospitals Corporation, and for certain former employees of the Tribor-
ough Bridge and Tunnel Authority who were members of certain New York
City Retirement Systems (NYCRS).
The effective date of the proposed legislation would be July 1, 2016.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS - SADB RECIPIENTS: With respect to the NYCRS, the
proposed legislation would impact the SADB payable to certain survivors
of members of the:
New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS),
New York City Police Pension Fund (POLICE), or
New York Fire Department Pension Fund (FIRE),
and who were employed by one of the following employers in certain
positions:
New York City Police Department - Uniformed Position,
New York City Fire Department - Uniformed Position,
New York City Housing Authority - Uniformed Position,
New York City Transit Authority - Uniformed Position,
New York City Department of Correction - Uniformed Position,
New York City - Uniformed Position as Emergency Medical Technician
(EMT),
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation - Uniformed Position as
EMT, or
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority - Bridge and Tunnel Position.
DESCRIPTION OF BENEFITS PAYABLE: Under the GML, the basic SADB is
defined to equal:
The salary of the deceased member at date of death (or, in certain
instances, a greater salary based on rank or other status)(Final Sala-
ry), less:
Any death benefit as adjusted by any Supplementation or Cost-of-Living
Adjustment (COLA) paid by the NYCRS to the member's survivors,
Any death benefit paid by Social Security to the member's survivors,
and
Any Worker's Compensation benefit paid to the member's survivors.
The SADB is paid to the deceased member's surviving widow or widower,
if alive. If the widow/widower is no longer alive, then the SADB is paid
to the deceased member's children until age eighteen or while attending
school until age twenty-three. If neither a widow/widower nor a child is
alive, then the SADB may be paid to certain other individuals if eligi-
ble in accordance with certain laws related to the World Trade Center
attack.
The GML also provides that the SADB is subject to escalation based on
the calendar year of death of the member. Each year since Calendar Year
1977 the SADB has been increased by an additional cumulative, incre-
mental percentage of Final Salary. For example, for a covered member
deceased in Calendar Year 1979, the SADB cumulative percentage is 189.8%
of Final Salary as of July 1, 2015.
A. 9200--A 5
Under the proposed legislation, the additional, incremental percentage
of Final Salary to be effective July 1, 2016 would 3.0%.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER PAYMENTS: With respect to the NYCRS, since
these SADB are provided on a pay-as-you-go basis, the additional annual
employer payments expected to be paid during the first year, if the
proposed legislation is enacted, would equal approximately $2.9 million.
These additional payments represent an increase of approximately 4.4%
in the estimated SADB payments during the first year.
The SADB payments made by the NYCRS who are reimbursed by the City.
Historically, the State of New York (the State) reimbursed the City
for most GML Section 208.f payments. However, it is the understanding of
the Actuary that since 2009 the State has limited its reimbursement to a
fixed amount. Should this amount not be increased, then the additional
cost of this proposed legislation would be borne entirely by the City of
New York.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES OF BENEFITS (APBV): With
respect to the Eligible Beneficiaries of deceased NYCRS members who
would be impacted by this proposed legislation, under the actuarial
assumptions used in the June 30, 2015 (Lag) actuarial valuations of the
NYCRS, including an Actuarial Interest Rate (AIR) assumption of 7.0% per
annum, the enactment of this proposed legislation would increase APVB by
approximately $34.6 million as of June 30, 2016.
OTHER COSTS: The enactment of this proposed legislation would also be
expected to result in modest increases in administrative expenses of
NYCERS, POLICE, FIRE, the employers and certain New York City agencies.
CENSUS DATA: The financial impact of the proposed legislation is based
upon the census data for such Eligible Beneficiaries provided by the
NYCRS and adjusted, as necessary, to prepare the computations and for
consistency with other data.
The following table shows, by Retirement System, the number of
deceased members with Eligible Beneficiaries as reported by the NYCRS
and the estimated annual SADB rate prior to the increase proposed to be
effective as of July 1, 2016.
Table 1
SADB Census Data as Reported by the NYCRS
($ Millions)
Retirement System Number of Deceased Annual SADB Rate Prior
Members with Eligible To Proposed July 1, 2016
Survivors Increase
NYCERS 32 $1.9
POLICE 331 20.6
FIRE 621 43.8
Total 984 $66.3
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: Additional APVB have been computed
based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June
30, 2015 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCERS, POLICE, and FIRE used to
determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2017 employer contributions,
including an Actuarial Interest Rate (AIR) assumption of 7.0% per annum
(net of Investment Expenses).
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuar-
ies, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qual-
A. 9200--A 6
ification 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 estimate is intended for use only
during the 2016 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal Note 2016-13, dated
March 29, 2016, prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City
Employees' Retirement System, the New York City Police Pension Fund and
the New York Fire Department Pension Fund.