S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10711
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 1, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Abbate) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   including  certain  employees  who were employed in public service but
   became members of a retirement system at a later date for  eligibility
   for  those who participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
   or cleanup operations
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retire-
 ment  and  social  security  law, as added by chapter 489 of the laws of
 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   (e) "Participated in World Trade Center rescue,  recovery  or  cleanup
 operations"  shall  mean any member who: (i) participated in the rescue,
 recovery, or cleanup operations at  the  World  Trade  Center  site,  as
 defined  in  paragraph (f) of this subdivision; (ii) worked at the Fresh
 Kills Land Fill in New York; (iii) worked at the New York city morgue or
 the temporary morgue on pier locations on the west  side  of  Manhattan;
 (iv)  manned the barges between the west side of Manhattan and the Fresh
 Kills Land Fill in New York;  (v)  repaired,  cleaned  or  rehabilitated
 vehicles or equipment, including emergency vehicle radio equipment owned
 by  the  city  of New York that were contaminated by debris in the World
 Trade Center site, as defined in  paragraph  (f)  of  this  subdivision,
 regardless of whether the work on the repair, cleaning or rehabilitation
 of  said  vehicles  and  equipment  was performed within the World Trade
 Center site, provided such work was performed prior  to  decontamination
 of  such  vehicles or equipment; or (vi) worked in the following depart-
 ments, worksites and titles: (A) New York City Police Department  at  11
 Metrotec  Center  in Brooklyn or 1 Police Plaza in Manhattan as a Police
 Communication Technician (PCT), Supervisor Police Communication  Techni-
 cian  (SPCT),  Principal  Police  Communication  Technician I, Principal
 Police Communication Technician II, Principal Police Communication Tech-
 nician III, Administrative Manager - Communications, or  in  the  Police
 Administrative Aide title series; (B) Fire Department of the City of New
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15094-02-0

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 York  at  35  Empire  Boulevard  in  Brooklyn, 79th Street Transverse in
 Manhattan, 83-98 Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens, 1129 East 180 Street  in
 the  Bronx,  65  Slosson  Avenue  in Staten Island, 9 Metrotec Center in
 Brooklyn,  or  25  Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn as Fire Alarm Dispatchers
 (FAD), Supervising Fire Alarm Dispatchers  I  (SFAD),  Supervising  Fire
 Alarm  Dispatchers  II  (Borough Supervisor), Deputy Director & Director
 Fire Dispatch Operations, or Assistant Commissioner for  Communications;
 (C)  for the Fire Department of the City of New York's Emergency Medical
 Service at 1 or 9 Metrotec Centers in Brooklyn, or 55-30  58  Street  in
 Maspeth  Queens as Emergency Medical Specialist-Level I (EMT), Emergency
 Medical Specialist Level II-(Paramedic), Supervising  Emergency  Medical
 Specialist  Level I (LT), Supervising Emergency Medical Specialist Level
 II (Capt), Deputy Chief EMS Communications, or  Division  Commander  EMS
 Communications.  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH, THE TERM "MEMBER" SHALL
 INCLUDE  EACH PERSON WHO DURING THE QUALIFYING PERIOD WAS IN THE EMPLOY-
 MENT OF A PUBLIC EMPLOYER WHICH THEN PARTICIPATED FOR SUCH EMPLOYEES  IN
 THE  NEW  YORK  CITY  EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK CITY
 TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE  PERSON  WAS  A
 PARTICIPANT  IN  SUCH  SYSTEM AT THAT TIME, PROVIDED THAT THE PERSON HAS
 BECOME A PARTICIPANT IN SUCH RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND HAS PURCHASED SERVICE
 CREDIT FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THAT INCLUDES SOME OR ALL OF THE  QUALIFYING
 PERIOD  IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF LAW APPLICABLE TO SUCH PURCHASE
 OF SERVICE CREDIT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend  Section  2  of
 the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to permit eligible members
 of  the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) and New York
 City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) who participated in  the  Rescue,
 Recovery,  or Cleanup operations related to the World Trade Center (WTC)
 attack on September 11, 2001 as non-members employed by a public employ-
 er within the State and subsequently purchased such service as a  NYCERS
 or TRS member, to be eligible for the applicable WTC presumption.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  OVERVIEW: There is no data available to estimate
 the number of members who might buyback service  during  qualifying  WTC
 participation  periods and potentially benefit from this proposed legis-
 lation. Therefore, the estimated financial impact has been calculated on
 a per event basis equal to the increase in the Present Value  of  Future
 Benefits (PVFB) for an average member who is diagnosed with a qualifying
 WTC  condition  and  could  benefit  from  the enactment of the proposed
 legislation.
   In determining the increase in the PVFB for members who could  benefit
 from the proposed legislation, we have shown the impact due to disabili-
 ty  and  death separately. To value the impact due to disability, it has
 been assumed that 100% of the members who would retire with a WTC quali-
 fying condition were those who would have retired with an Ordinary Disa-
 bility Retirement benefit or Service Retirement benefit, if eligible, if
 the proposed legislation were not passed. To value  the  impact  due  to
 death,  it  has  also  been  assumed  that  100% of the beneficiaries of
 members who would die due to a WTC qualifying condition would have  been
 entitled  to  receive  an Ordinary Death benefit, if the proposed legis-
 lation were not passed.
   With respect to an individual member,  the  additional  cost  of  this
 proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the member's length
 of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the increase in PVFB

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 due to the proposed legislation would be greater for a member who is not
 yet  eligible for an Ordinary Disability Retirement benefit when a disa-
 bling WTC related event occurs.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data and the
 actuarial assumptions and methods described  herein,  the  enactment  of
 this  proposed  legislation  would  increase  the  PVFB by approximately
 $96,400 for NYCERS and $320,700 for TRS, on average for each  occurrence
 of  Accidental  Disability  Retirement due to a WTC qualifying condition
 and $348,300 for NYCERS and $274,000 for TRS, on average for each occur-
 rence of Accidental Death due to a WTC related illness.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS:  Enactment  of  this
 proposed  legislation  would increase employer contributions, where such
 amount would depend on the number of members affected as well  as  other
 characteristics  including the age, years of service, and salary history
 of the member.
   As there is no data currently available  to  estimate  the  number  of
 members  who  might  buyback service during qualifying WTC participation
 periods, the financial impact would be recognized at the time of  event.
 Consequently,  changes  in  employer  contributions  have been estimated
 assuming that the increase in the PVFB will  be  financed  over  a  time
 period  comparable  to that used for actuarial losses in accordance with
 Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the ACCNY. Using this approach, the  additional
 PVFB  would be amortized over a closed 15-year period (14 payments under
 the One-Year Lag Methodology) using level dollar payments.
   Based on the Actuary's actuarial  assumptions  and  methods  described
 herein,  the  enactment  of  this  proposed  legislation is estimated to
 increase annual employer  contributions  by  approximately  $11,400  for
 NYCERS and $37,900 for TRS for each Accidental Disability Retirement due
 to  a  qualifying  WTC condition and by approximately $41,200 for NYCERS
 and for $32,400 for TRS for each Accidental Death due to such condition.
   With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions  would
 depend  upon when members would retire due to a WTC qualifying condition
 but, generally, increased employer contributions will  first  occur  the
 second  fiscal  year  following  approval  of  the Accidental Disability
 Retirement or Accidental Death.
   CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based  on  the  census
 data  used in the Preliminary June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuation of
 NYCERS and TRS to determine the Preliminary Fiscal  Year  2021  employer
 contributions.
   The  analysis  was  based  on  members  that are currently over age 40
 (since this population would have been over age 21 as of  September  11,
 2001).    There  were  134,042 NYCERS members over age 40 as of June 30,
 2019 with an average age of approximately 53.8 years, average service of
 approximately  15.3  years,  and  an  average  salary  of  approximately
 $82,000.  There  were 70,855 TRS members over age 40 as of June 30, 2019
 with an average age of approximately  52.2  years,  average  service  of
 approximately  16.0  years,  and  an  average  salary  of  approximately
 $94,800.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the PVFB and  annual
 employer  contributions  presented  herein have been calculated based on
 the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the  June  30,  2019
 (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year
 2021 employer contributions of NYCERS and TRS.
   For the purposes of this Fiscal Note we have assumed that members have
 already purchased this service and therefore the only additional benefit

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 of  this legislation is the qualification for WTC presumptions and bene-
 fits.
   RISK  AND  UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
 highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, as well  as
 certain  demographic  characteristics of NYCERS and TRS and other exoge-
 nous factors such as investment, contribution, and other risks. If actu-
 al experience deviates from  actuarial  assumptions,  the  actual  costs
 could  differ  from  those presented herein. Costs are also dependent on
 the actuarial methods used, and therefore  different  actuarial  methods
 could  produce  different results. Quantifying these risks is beyond the
 scope of this Fiscal Note.
   Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
   * The  initial,  additional  administrative  costs  to  implement  the
 proposed legislation.
   *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
 Benefit (OPEB) costs.
   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, a
 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Confer-
 ence  of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of the
 American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained
 herein.   To the best of my knowledge, the results contained herein have
 been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles
 and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of  Practice  issued  by
 the Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  Fiscal Note 2020-50 dated June 4,
 2020 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Employees'
 Retirement  System  and  the  New York City Teachers' Retirement System.
 This estimate is intended for  use  only  during  the  2020  Legislative
 Session.