S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8289
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
June 6, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT authorizing the recalculation and adjustment of pension benefits
for Martin Markowitz
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding section 150 of the civil service law,
section 212 of the retirement and social security law, and any other law
to the contrary, Martin Markowitz, a member of the New York city employ-
ees' retirement system, shall not be bound by the pension suspension and
salary requirements otherwise applicable under section 150 of the civil
service law and section 212 of the retirement and social security law
for his work as Brooklyn Borough President from 2009 through 2013. The
New York city employees' retirement system shall reimburse Martin
Markowitz for a lump sum payment made to such retirement system for the
purchase of option insurance for the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013,
such payment representing the difference between the maximum retirement
allowance and the reduced pension amount payable under the retirement
option he selected. There shall be no change in member or beneficiary
health insurance based on the option selected at retirement after the
effective date of this act.
§ 2. The New York city employees' retirement system is hereby directed
and authorized to recalculate and adjust the pension benefit for Martin
Markowitz to include service accruals during the years of service in
2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. If there are any residual or arrear payments
for such years, Martin Markowitz shall be paid via lump sum with no
interest.
§ 3. 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.
LBD11277-03-7
A. 8289 2
PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: The proposed legislation would
revise the pension for Martin Markowitz to be recalculated as if he had
first retired and started to collect his pension as of January 1, 2014.
The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be the Date of
Enactment.
BACKGROUND - GENERAL: Martin Markowitz retired as a Tier 4 member of
the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) on December 30,
2009 with a pension based on 35.5 years of service. For calendar year
2010 to 2013 his pension was suspended in accordance with Retirement and
Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 212 and he paid option insurance for
the period that his pension was suspended. The table below summarizes
these amounts:
Option Insurance
Dates Pension Received Paid
12/30/2009-12/31/2009 $436 $0
1/1/2010-12/31/2010 $20,262 $16,916
1/1/2011-12/31/2011 $20,262 $19,557
1/1/2012-12/31/2012 $27,016 $19,557
1/1/2013-12/31/2013 $20,262 $17,384
If this legislation is passed, Mr. Markowitz would have his pension
recalculated as if he had first retired and started to collect his
pension as of January 1, 2014 (based on 39.5 years of service) and he
would be required to pay back the pension he received prior to January
1, 2014 and he would be reimbursed for the option insurance he paid for
calendar years 2010 to 2013.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES: The estimated financial
impact of this proposal has been calculated as of June 30, 2017 equal to
(1) plus (2) minus (3) minus (4), where:
(1) is the sum of the retirement benefits Mr. Markowitz would have
received from January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017 and the actuarial
present value of the retirement benefits expected to be received in the
future if this proposed legislation were enacted (including the addi-
tional years of service from December 30, 2009 through December 31, 2013
he would have earned had he retired for the first time on January 1,
2014),
(2) is the accumulated value of the amount he would be reimbursed for
the option insurance he paid,
(3) is the accumulated value of the pension payments he received from
December 30, 2009 through December 31, 2013, and
(4) is the sum of the retirement benefits Mr. Markowitz would have
received from January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017 and the actuarial
present value of the retirement benefits expected to be received in the
future if this proposed legislation is not enacted.
Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, 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 $51,000 as of June 30, 2017.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: 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 life-
time of those impacted by the benefit changes.
For this proposed legislation, since Mr. Markowitz is collecting a
pension and therefore has no remaining working lifetime, the entire
increase in UAAL of $51,000 based on the Actuary's actuarial assumptions
A. 8289 3
and methods in effect on June 30, 2016 would be recognized in the first
year.
CONTRIBUTION TIMING: If enacted during the 2017 Legislative Session
before June 30, 2017, the pension payable to Mr. Markowitz would likely
first be reflected in the June 30, 2017 census data. In accordance with
the One-Year Lag methodology used to determine employer contributions,
increased employer contributions would be determined for Fiscal Year
2019.
OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note is the impact on admin-
istrative costs.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: Additional APVB, UAAL and employer
contributions presented herein have been calculated based on the
Actuary's actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the Prelimi-
nary June 30, 2016 (Lag) actuarial valuation used to determine the
Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018 employer contributions of NYCERS.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for, and independent of, the New York City Pension Funds and Retire-
ment Systems. I am a Fellow 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 Qualification Standards of the American Academy
of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2017-17 dated May 18,
2017, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2017 Legislative Session.