S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10350
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 16, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, the education
law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation
to providing cost-of-living adjustments
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision g of section 78-a of the retirement and social
security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
read as follows:
g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, the surviving spouse of a deceased
retired member who retired under an option which provides that benefits
are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after the death of
the retired member, shall be entitled to receive benefits pursuant to
this section. Said benefits shall be [fifty] ONE HUNDRED percent of the
monthly benefits which the pensioner would be receiving pursuant to this
section if living, and shall commence (i) with a payment for the month
of September, two thousand EIGHTEEN, or (ii) the month following the
death of the deceased retired member, whichever is later.
§ 2. Subdivision g of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
read as follows:
g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, the surviving spouse of a deceased
retired member who retired under an option which provides that benefits
are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after the death of
the retired member, shall be entitled to receive benefits pursuant to
this section. Said benefits shall be [fifty] ONE HUNDRED percent of the
monthly benefits which the pensioner would be receiving pursuant to this
section if living, and shall commence (i) with a payment for the month
of September, two thousand EIGHTEEN, or (ii) the month following the
death of the deceased retired member, whichever is later.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11293-06-8
A. 10350 2
§ 3. Subdivision g of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, the surviving spouse of a deceased
retired member who retired under an option which provides that benefits
are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after the death of
the retired member, shall be entitled to receive benefits pursuant to
this section. Said benefits shall be [fifty] ONE HUNDRED percent of the
monthly benefits which the pensioner would be receiving pursuant to this
section if living, and shall commence (i) with a payment for the month
of September, two thousand EIGHTEEN, or (ii) the month following the
death of the deceased retired member, whichever is later.
§ 4. Subdivision g of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
city of New York, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is
amended to read as follows:
g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, the surviving spouse of a deceased
retired member of the New York city employees' retirement system, the
New York city teachers' retirement system, the New York city police
pension fund, the New York city fire department pension fund or the New
York city board of education retirement system who retired under an
option which provides that benefits are to be continued for life to the
surviving spouse after the death of the member, shall be entitled to
receive a benefit pursuant to this section. Said benefit shall be
[fifty] ONE HUNDRED percent of the monthly benefit which the pensioner
would be receiving if living, and shall commence (i) with a payment for
the month of September, two thousand EIGHTEEN, or (ii) the month follow-
ing the death of the deceased retired member, whichever is later.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would provide an increase in the defined benefit cost-of-
living adjustment (COLA) for New York public retirement systems. Start-
ing with a payment in September 2018 the cost of living benefit payable
to a surviving spouse who is eligible for COLA will be increased from
fifty percent to one hundred percent of the benefit that the pensioner
would have received.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System, pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social
Security Law, the increased costs would be borne entirely by the State
of New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to
pay the cost of the provision. If this bill were enacted, the increase
in the present value of benefits would be approximately $1.1 billion.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the increased costs would be shared by
the State of New York and the participating employers in the PFRS. If
this bill were enacted, the increase in the present value of benefits
would be approximately $110 million. The estimated first year cost would
be approximately $2.6 million to the State of New York and approximately
$11 million to the participating employers in the PFRS.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
A. 10350 3
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, 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, 2017
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.
This estimate, dated January 25, 2018, and intended for use only
during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-40,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend subdivision d of Section 532-a of the Education
Law to increase the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) percentage that is
used to determine the COLA payable to eligible retired members. The COLA
percentage would be increased to 100% of the annual inflation as deter-
mined from the increase in the Consumer price Index (CPI) in the one
year period ending on the prior March thirty-first. The current percent-
age is equal to 50% of the annual increase in the CPI. This increase in
the COLA percentage would be effective in September 2018.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System for this benefit is estimated to be $606.8
million or 3.65% of payroll if this bill is enacted.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). System assets are as
reported in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
Actuarial Valuation Report.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2018-19 dated March 30,
2018 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.
I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.