S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6594
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 6, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and  chapter  511
   of  the  laws  of 1988 amending the retirement and social security law
   relating to a reduction in retirement  age  for  certain  members,  in
   relation to a reduced retirement age for certain Triborough bridge and
   tunnel authority employees
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (ii) of subdivision  a  of  section  651  of  the
 retirement  and  social  security  law, as amended by chapter 225 of the
 laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   (ii) For each full year of  covered  employment  [occurring  prior  to
 January  first, two thousand nine] which is subsequent to December thir-
 ty-first, nineteen hundred seventy, his or  her  normal  retirement  age
 shall be reduced by four months.
   §  2.  Section  2  of  chapter  511  of the laws of 1988, amending the
 retirement and social security law relating to a reduction in retirement
 age for certain members, as amended by chapter 225 of the laws of  2006,
 is amended to read as follows:
   §  2. This act shall take effect immediately[, and shall apply only to
 covered employment performed on or before December 31, 2008].
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
 have been in full force and effect on and after December 31, 2008.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   PROVISIONS  OF  PROPOSED  LEGISLATION: This proposed legislation would
 amend Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section  651(a)(ii)  and
 Chapter  511  of  the  Laws  of  1988  to extend special unreduced early
 retirement provisions for certain Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4  Triborough  Bridge
 and  Tunnel  Authority  (TBTA) employees who are members of the New York
 City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS).

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

                                                            LBD09402-02-7

 S. 6594                             2
 
   The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be  the  date  of
 enactment  and  would be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
 and after December 31, 2008.
   MEMBERS IMPACTED BY THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION: The proposed legislation
 would  cover  those  members of NYCERS who are employed in the following
 TBTA job titles (Covered Members):
   * Bridge and Tunnel Officer,
   * Bridge and Tunnel Sergeant,
   * Bridge and Tunnel Lieutenant,
   * Assistant Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer,
   * Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer,
   * Senior Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer, and
   * Bridge and Tunnel Laborer.
   IMPACT ON BENEFITS PAYABLE:  The  proposed  legislation  would  permit
 Covered  Members,  who  otherwise  meet  applicable  service  retirement
 requirements, to retire earlier than their applicable normal  retirement
 age.
   Under  current  law,  a Tier 1 member's normal retirement age is 55. A
 Tier 2, 3 and 4 member's current normal retirement age is  62.  Retiring
 for service prior to these ages would generally result in a reduction of
 the member's annual retirement benefit.
   Under  the  proposed legislation, each year of qualifying TBTA service
 would reduce such normal retirement ages by 4 months (e.g., 12 years  of
 qualifying  TBTA  service  would reduce the applicable normal retirement
 age by 4 years) without subjecting the member to  a  retirement  benefit
 reduction.
   However,  in  no  event  shall  a Tier 1 member retire, other than for
 disability, prior to age 50, and in no event shall a Tier  2,  3,  or  4
 member retire, other than for disability, prior to age 55.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES (APV): With respect to the
 TBTA  members  who would be impacted by this proposed legislation, under
 the actuarial assumptions used in the Preliminary June  30,  2016  (Lag)
 actuarial  valuations  of  NYCERS, the enactment of this proposed legis-
 lation would increase the APV of Benefits (APVB) by  approximately  $1.7
 million.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  In accordance with the
 Administrative Code of the City of  New  York  (ACNY)  Section  13.638.2
 (k-2),  new  Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) attributable to
 benefit changes are to be amortized as determined  by  the  Actuary  but
 generally  over  the remaining working lifetime of those impacted by the
 benefit changes. As of June 30, 2016, the remaining working lifetime  of
 the TBTA members and beneficiaries who would be impacted by the proposed
 legislation is approximately 10 years.
   Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used in the Preliminary
 June 30, 2016 valuation of NYCERS, the enactment of this proposed legis-
 lation  would  increase  annual  employer contributions by approximately
 $300,000 per year beginning in Fiscal Year 2018.
   OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the  initial,  addi-
 tional  administrative  costs of NYCERS to implement the proposed legis-
 lation.
   CENSUS DATA: As of June 30, 2016, there are 1,311 active TBTA  members
 with annual salaries of approximately $126.6 million.
   The  members affected by the proposed legislation consisted of 82 Tier
 4 members with salaries of approximately $8.2 million whose average  age
 and  average service as of June 30, 2016 were 48.9 years and 19.7 years,
 respectively.

 S. 6594                             3
 
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  additional  APVB,  APVSAL  and
 employer  contributions  presented  herein have been calculated based on
 the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the Preliminary June
 30, 2016  (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine  the  Preliminary
 Fiscal Year 2018 employer contributions of NYCERS.
   Employer  contributions  under current methodology have been estimated
 assuming the additional APVB would be  financed  through  future  normal
 contributions  including an amortization of the new UAAL attributable to
 this proposed legislation over a 10 year period (9  payments  under  the
 OYLM Methodology).
   To  determine the impact of the proposed legislation, it was necessary
 to determine who would benefit  actuarially,  by  calculating  for  each
 member,  the  net  APV of future employer costs (i.e., the APVB less the
 APV of future member contributions) under  the  current  Period  Without
 Reduction  Before  Normal  Retirement  Age  (PWRBN)  provisions  and the
 proposed PWRBN provisions. If such net APV  measured  for  the  proposed
 PWRBN  provisions  was  greater than the net APV under the current PWRBN
 provisions, the member was deemed to benefit actuarially.
   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 2017-09 dated April 19,
 2017, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employee's
 Retirement System. This estimate is intended for  use  only  during  the
 2017 Legislative Session.