S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10537
I N A S S E M B L Y
July 6, 2022
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Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Abbate) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to establishing a
presumption relating to lung conditions incurred by deputy sheriffs in
cities of one million or more
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
section 207-r to read as follows:
§ 207-R. DISABILITIES OF DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBERS OF A RETIREMENT SYSTEM
IN CERTAIN CASES. 1. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,
SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, BUT EXCEPT
FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY
CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE LUNG,
RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A PERSON PERFORMING
THE DUTIES OF A DEPUTY SHERIFF IN CITIES OF ONE MILLION OR MORE WHERE
SUCH EMPLOYEES ARE DRAWN FROM COMPETITIVE CIVIL SERVICE LISTS, WHO
SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF
SUCH AGENCY, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH
CONDITION, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN THE
PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY
COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBER
RETIRING PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION
SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION EQUAL TO THREE-FOURTHS OF HIS OR HER FINAL AVER-
AGE SALARY.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation, as it relates to the New
York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds (NYCRS), would add a new
General Municipal Law (GML) Section 207-r to provide certain Deputy
Sheriff members of the New York City Employees' Retirement System
(NYCERS) a rebuttable statutory presumption that a partial or total
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14940-02-2
A. 10537 2
disability or death related to a lung disease was incurred in the
performance of duty.
The presumption of causation could be rebutted by competent evidence
to the contrary such as identifying lung disease upon physical examina-
tion at hire.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS PAYABLE: Currently, a Deputy Sheriff who becomes
disabled or dies due to lung disease would be eligible for an applicable
ordinary disability retirement, generally a lifetime payment of 1/3 of
salary, or an lump sum ordinary death benefit, respectively.
Those eligible to receive the performance of duty disability retire-
ment under the proposed legislation would receive a benefit similar to
the current accidental disability retirement afforded to Deputy Sher-
iffs.
The current accidental disability benefit for Tier 4 and Tier 6 NYCERS
Deputy Sheriff members is equal to:
* 75% of final average compensation, where
* the average compensation is computed using five consecutive years of
wages, less
* any applicable Workers' Compensation benefit.
Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, the performance of duty
disability benefit for NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled
from lung disease would be equal to:
* 75% of Final Average Salary (FAS), where
* FAS is defined as 3-Year FAS for Tier 4 and 5-Year FAS for Tier 6,
without
* an explicit Workers' Compensation offset.
The ordinary death benefit for Tier 4 and Tier 6 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff
members is a lump sum payment equal to 3 times the member's salary
multiplied by the member's years of service, up to a maximum of 3 years.
The performance of duty death benefit is generally equal to a lifetime
benefit of 50% of a member's wages earned during the last year of
service, payable to certain beneficiaries.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: There is no data available to estimate
the number of members who might develop and become disabled or die as a
result of lung disease, and potentially benefit from this proposed
legislation. Therefore, the estimated financial impact has been calcu-
lated on a per event basis equal to the increase in the Present Value of
Future Benefits (PVFB) for an average member who could potentially be
diagnosed with disabling lung disease and who would benefit from the
proposed legislation.
In determining the increase in the PVFB for members who could benefit
from the presumption provided by the proposed legislation upon disabili-
ty, it has been assumed that 50% of the members would have retired under
an Ordinary Disability Retirement (ODR) benefit, and the remaining 50%
of members would have continued working and eventually retired for
service if the proposed legislation were not passed.
In determining the increase in the PVFB for beneficiaries who could
benefit from the presumption provided by the proposed legislation upon
death, it has been assumed that 100% of such members would be eligible
for an Ordinary Death Benefit if the proposed legislation 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
due to the proposed legislation would be greater for a member who is not
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yet eligible for an ODR benefit when the disabling lung disease is diag-
nosed.
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 Present Value of future
employer contributions by approximately $394,900, on average for each
occurrence of Performance of Duty Disability Retirement due to lung
disease and $336,100, on average for each occurrence of Performance of
Duty Death due to lung disease.
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 each member.
As there is no data currently available to estimate the number of
members who might be diagnosed with lung disease, 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 Present Value of future employer contributions will be financed over
the same time period used for actuarial losses in accordance with
Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New
York. Using this approach, the additional Present Value of future
employer contributions would be amortized over a closed 15-year period
(14 payments under the One-Year Lag Methodology) using level dollar
payments.
Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect as of June
30, 2021, the enactment of this proposed legislation is estimated to
increase annual employer contributions by approximately $46,700 for each
Performance of Duty Disability Retirement due to lung disease and by
approximately $39,700 for each Performance of Duty Death due to lung
disease.
With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions would
depend upon when members would retire or die due to lung disease but,
generally, increased employer contributions will first occur the second
fiscal year following approval of the performance of duty disability or
death benefit.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2021 (Lag) actuarial valuation of
NYCERS to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2023 employer contrib-
utions.
The 132 NYCERS Deputy Sheriffs as of June 30, 2021 had an average age
of approximately 42.8 years, average service of approximately 12.6
years, and an average salary of approximately $85,200.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the Present Value of
future employer contributions and annual employer contributions
presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods in effect for the Preliminary June 30, 2021 (Lag) actuarial
valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2023 employer
contributions of NYCERS.
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 other exogenous
factors such as investment, contribution, and other risks. If actual
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
A. 10537 4
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 of NYCERS and other
New York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
* The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
Benefit (OPEB) costs.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Michael J. Samet, am the Interim
Chief Actuary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of 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. 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 2022-56 dated May 19,
2022 was prepared by the Interim Chief Actuary for the New York City
Employees' Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only
during the 2022 Legislative Session.