S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9943
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 27, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GOTTFRIED  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT  relating  to  granting  retroactive  eligibility  to  apply  for
   enhanced  Tier  3  status  to former New York City police officer Mark
   Rivera
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Notwithstanding  the provisions of any general or special
 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Mark Rivera who was  previously
 employed  by the New York City police department as a police officer and
 was a Tier 3 member of the Police Pension Fund at the time of his  death
 on  March 21, 2015 shall be eligible to apply for membership in Enhanced
 Tier 3, if within one year from the effective date of this act,  Abigail
 Rivera,  the widow of Mark Rivera, shall file with the retirement system
 an application for membership Enhanced Tier  3  of  the  Police  Pension
 Fund,  and  Abigail  Rivera  may also file for any retirement options or
 death benefits that would have been available to Mark Rivera if  he  had
 been  a  member of Enhanced Tier 3 on the date of his death. Any amounts
 paid by the police pension fund to Mark Rivera, his  estate  or  Abigail
 Rivera  prior  to the filing of the application for benefits pursuant to
 this act shall be deducted from the benefit payable thereafter.
   § 2. All costs pursuant to this act shall be borne by the City of  New
 York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL:  The proposed legislation would permit Ms.  Rivera,
 within one year of the effective date, to posthumously elect the Tier  3
 Enhanced  Plan  on  behalf of her deceased husband, and to apply for any
 benefits applicable to such Plan.
   Effective Date for this proposed legislation: Upon enactment.
   BACKGROUND - GENERAL: Mark Rivera died as a Tier 3 Revised  member  of
 the  New  York  City Police Pension Fund (POLICE) on March 21, 2015. His
 surviving spouse, Ms. Rivera, received an ordinary death  benefit  equal
 to a lump sum benefit based on salary and member contributions according
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14214-02-8

 A. 9943                             2
 
  to the provisions of a Tier 3 revised member.
   After  his  death,  beginning  in  September  8,  2016, certain Tier 3
 Revised members could elect to join the  Tier  3  Enhanced  Plan  which,
 among other things, extended the statutory presumptions contained in the
 Heart  Bill  (General  Municipal  Law  (GML)  §  207-k) to Enhanced Plan
 members pursuant to Chapter 298 of the Laws of 2016. Tier 3 police offi-
 cers became eligible to participate in the Enhanced Plan  on  April  10,
 2017 pursuant to Part SSS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017.
   If this legislation is passed, Officer Rivera's death could potential-
 ly  be  deemed as a Line of Duty death under such presumption, entitling
 his spouse to receive an Accidental Death Benefit pursuant to Retirement
 and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section  509  and  a  Special  Accidental
 Death Benefit (SADB) under GML Section 208-f, less any amount previously
 paid as an ordinary death benefit.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT - ACTUARIAL  PRESENT VALUES: The estimated financial
 impact of this proposal has been calculated as of June 30, 2017 equal to
 (1) minus (2), where:
   (1) is the sum of the  Accidental  Death  and  SADB  benefits  Officer
 Rivera's spouse would have received from March 21, 2015 through June 30,
 2017 and the actuarial present value of the retirement benefits expected
 to  be received by his spouse in the future if this proposed legislation
 were enacted, and
   (2) is the value of the amount  of  ordinary  death  benefits  already
 paid.
   Based  on  the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the
 enactment of this proposed legislation, to  the  extent  Ms.  Rivera  is
 awarded  the  Accidental Death and SADB benefits for her lifetime, would
 increase the Actuarial Present Value of Benefits (APVB) and the Unfunded
 Accrued Liability (UAL) of POLICE by approximately $1.9  million  as  of
 June 30, 2017. This calculation does not reflect the offset for a Social
 Security death benefit, if any, payable to Ms. Rivera.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In accordance with
 Section 13.638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York
 (ACCNY), new UAL 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 Officer Rivera is deceased and
 therefore has no remaining working lifetime, the entire increase in  UAL
 of $1.9 million would be recognized in the first year.
   CENSUS  DATA:  These  estimates  are  based on data provided by POLICE
 which was not audited but was checked for  reasonableness.  Below  is  a
 summary of the data provided:
   * Ordinary Death Benefit Lump Sum: $167,000
   * Accidental Death Benefit (City): $25,343
   * SADB (State): $58,854
   CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  If  enacted during the 2018 Legislative Session
 before June 30, 2018, the benefits payable to Ms.  Rivera  would  likely
 first  be reflected in the June 30, 2018 census data. In accordance with
 the One-Year Lag Methodology used to determine  employer  contributions,
 increased employer contributions will be reflected in Fiscal Year 2020.
   OTHER  COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note is the impact on admin-
 istrative costs.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: Additional APVB, UAl, and  employer
 contributions  presented  herein  has  been calculated based on the same
 actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2016  (Lag)
 actuarial  valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018

 A. 9943                             3
 
 employer contributions of POLICE, including an annual Actuarial Interest
 Rate (AIR) assumption of 7.0% (net of Investment Expenses). Please  note
 these assumptions and methods are subject to change as this valuation is
 not considered final until the end of the City's Fiscal Year 2018.
   STATEMENT  OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
 ary for, and independent of, the New York City  Retirement  Systems  and
 Pension  Funds.  I  am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled
 Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security  Act  of  1974
 (ERISA),  a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of
 the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification  Stand-
 ards  of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opin-
 ion contained herein. To the best of my knowledge, the results contained
 herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuari-
 al principles and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards  of  Prac-
 tice issued by the Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This Fiscal Note 2018-05 dated February
 16, 2018, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Police
 Pension Fund. This estimate is intended for use  only  during  the  2018
 Legislative Session.