S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6045--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 21, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STECK, SKOUFIS, CROUCH -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
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 c 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:
c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base benefit
amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual retirement
allowance defined in subdivision b of this section. EFFECTIVE ON THE
FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, SAID COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE BENEFIT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
§ 2. Subdivision c 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:
c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base benefit
amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual retirement
allowance defined in subdivision b of this section. EFFECTIVE ON THE
FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, SAID COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE BENEFIT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
§ 3. Subdivision c of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06801-08-7
A. 6045--A 2
c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base benefit
amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual retirement
allowance defined in subdivision b of this section. EFFECTIVE ON THE
FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, SAID COST-OF-LIVING
ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE BENEFIT AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE DEFINED
IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
§ 4. Subdivision c 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:
c. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be computed on a base benefit
amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual fixed
retirement allowance defined in subdivision b of this section. EFFEC-
TIVE ON THE FIRST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN, SAID COST-OF-
LIVING ADJUSTMENT SHALL BE COMPUTED ON A BASE BENEFIT AMOUNT NOT TO
EXCEED TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF THE ANNUAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE
DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
§ 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 annual cost-of-living adjust-
ment will be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed $21,000.
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 $927 million.
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 $127 million. The estimated first year cost
would be approximately $2.94 million to the State of New York and
approximately $12.3 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, 2016 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2016
Report of the Actuary and the 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
and 2016 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, 2016
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 May 5, 2017, and intended for use only during the
2017 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2017-91, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.