S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7884

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 20, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- 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
  disability  retirement  benefits for the presumption of post-traumatic
  stress disorder for certain titles

  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 605-f to read as follows:
  S  605-F. DISABILITY RETIREMENT FOR NEW YORK CITY FIRE ALARM DISPATCH-
ERS AND SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVELS ONE  AND  TWO.  1.    A
MEMBER  EMPLOYED  AS  A  NEW YORK CITY FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER, A NEW YORK
CITY SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL ONE  OR  A  NEW  YORK  CITY
SUPERVISING  FIRE  ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL TWO SHALL BE ENTITLED TO DISA-
BILITY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE, IF, AT THE  TIME  APPLICATION  THEREFOR  IS
FILED,  SUCH MEMBER IS PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY INCAPACITATED FOR PERFORM-
ANCE OF DUTY AS A RESULT OF CONTRACTING POST-TRAUMATIC  STRESS  DISORDER
WHILE SO EMPLOYED AND AS A RESULT OF HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT.
  2.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR OF ANY GENERAL,
SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY MEMBER WHO IS A NEW YORK  CITY
FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER, A NEW YORK CITY SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER
LEVEL ONE OR A NEW YORK CITY SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL TWO
WHO  IS  DIAGNOSED  AS  SUFFERING  FROM  POST-TRAUMATIC  STRESS DISORDER
RESULTING  IN  DISABILITY  TO  SUCH  FIRE  ALARM  DISPATCHER,  PRESENTLY
EMPLOYED,  AND  WHO  SHALL  HAVE  SUSTAINED  SUCH  DISABILITY  WHILE  SO
EMPLOYED, SHALL HAVE SUCH DIAGNOSIS BE PRESUMPTIVE  EVIDENCE  THAT  SUCH
DISABILITY WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS
THE CONTRARY BE PROVEN BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
  3.  THE  ANNUAL  RETIREMENT  ALLOWANCE  PAYABLE  SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE
THREE-QUARTERS OF HIS OR HER FINAL AVERAGE SALARY,  SUBJECT  TO  SECTION
13-176 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, section 50:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08021-04-6
              

S. 7884                             2

  PROVISIONS  OF  PROPOSED  LEGISLATION:  The proposed legislation would
amend the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to add a new Section
605-f that would provide a disability retirement allowance to members of
the New York City Employees' Retirement System  (NYCERS)  who  are  Fire
Alarm Dispatchers and Supervising Fire Alarm Dispatchers, if such member
is  physically  or  mentally  incapacitated for performance of duty as a
result of contracting post-traumatic stress  disorder  (PTSD)  while  so
employed and as a result of his or her employment.
  In  determining  whether  the  PTSD  occurred  while employed and as a
result of his or her employment, the diagnosis of PTSD will be  presump-
tive  evidence  that such disability was incurred in the performance and
discharge of duty, unless  the  contrary  can  be  proven  by  competent
evidence.
  The amount of the annual retirement allowance payable will be equal to
75% of the member's final average salary.
  FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  OVERVIEW: There is no data available to estimate
the number of members who might be diagnosed with PTSD  and  potentially
benefit  from this proposed legislation. Therefore, the estimated finan-
cial impact has been calculated on a "per  event"  basis  equal  to  the
increase  in the Actuarial Present Value (APV) of Benefits (APVB) for an
average member who is diagnosed with PTSD as the result of the enactment
of the proposed legislation. In determining the increase in the APVB, it
has been assumed that 50% of the members who would retire with PTSD were
those who would have retired under  an  Ordinary  Disability  Retirement
benefit and that the remaining 50% of members who would retire with PTSD
were  those who 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 - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data
and assumptions herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation would
increase the APVB by approximately $360,000 for each occurrence of  PTSD
as of June 30, 2016.
  FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  ADDITIONAL  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 characteristics including the age, years of  service,  and  salary
history of the member.
  Based  on the Actuary's actuarial assumptions and methods in effect as
of June 30, 2015, the enactment of this proposed  legislation  is  esti-
mated to increase annual employer contributions by approximately $43,000
for  each  Accidental Disability Retirement due to PTSD. With respect to
the timing, increases in employer contributions would depend  upon  when
members would retire due to PTSD.
  CENSUS  DATA:  As  of  June  30,  2015, the total number of Fire Alarm
Dispatchers and Supervising Fire Alarm Dispatchers who could potentially
benefit from this proposed legislation is 181. The census data used  for
estimates  of  APVB  and  employer  contributions  herein  is a subgroup
consisting of 120 NYCERS Tier 4 active members who currently participate
in the Dispatchers 25-Year plan and were included in the June  30,  2015
(Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCERS to determine the Preliminary Fiscal
Year  2017  employer contributions. These 120 members had an average age
of approximately 40, average service of approximately  12.5  years,  and
average salary of approximately $70,000 as of June 30, 2015.

S. 7884                             3

  ACTUARIAL  ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional APV of benefits and
employer contributions presented herein have been estimated as  of  June
30,  2015  using the actuarial assumptions and methods used to determine
the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2017 employer contributions of NYCERS.
  As  there  is  no  data  currently available to estimate the number of
members who might be diagnosed with PTSD, the financial impact would  be
recognized  at  the time of the event. Consequently, changes in employer
contributions have been estimated assuming that the increase in the  APV
of  Future  Employer  Contributions  will be financed over a time period
comparable to that used for actuarial losses under the Entry Age Actuar-
ial Cost Method. Using this  approach,  the  Additional  APV  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.
  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 Actuaries
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qualifica-
tion  Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actu-
arial opinion contained herein.
  FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2016-20, dated April  18,
2016, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement  System.  This  estimate  is intended for use only during the
2016 Legislative Session.