S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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10565
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 Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to establishing a
special accidental death benefit for deputy sheriff members of the New
York city employees' retirement system
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 208-f of the general municipal
law, as amended by chapter 457 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read
as follows:
a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the special accidental
death benefit provided by this section shall be paid to the widow or
widower or the deceased member's children under the age of eighteen, or,
if a student under the age of twenty-three, if the widow or widower has
died of: (i) a deceased member of a pension or retirement system of a
police department or paid fire department of a city, town or village;
(ii) a deceased paid member of the police force of the police department
of the New York city transit authority; (iii) a deceased paid member of
the police force of the police department of the New York city housing
authority; (iv) a deceased paid member of the uniformed correction force
of the New York city department of correction; (v) a deceased paid
uniformed member of a county sheriff's department (outside the city of
New York); (vi) a deceased employee of the city of New York or the New
York city health and hospitals corporation in a title whose duties are
those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical
technician (as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of
the public health law), or in a title whose duties require the super-
vision of employees whose duties are those of an emergency medical tech-
nician or advanced emergency medical technician (as those terms are
defined in section three thousand one of the public health law); (vii) a
deceased paid bridge and tunnel member of the New York city employees'
retirement system; [or] (viii) a deceased paid member of the uniformed
force of the New York city department of sanitation; OR (IX) A DEPUTY
SHERIFF MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM,
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15082-02-2
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providing the widow or widower is ineligible to receive benefits pursu-
ant to section three hundred sixty-one-a of the retirement and social
security law as amended by chapter seven hundred thirty-three of the
laws of nineteen hundred ninety and the deceased member:
1. Died before the effective date of his or her retirement, as the
natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance
of duty in the service upon which his membership was based, and
2. Did not cause such accident by his or her own willful negligence,
and
3. At the time of such accident was actually a member of: (i) a
pension or retirement system of a police department or paid fire depart-
ment of a city, town or village; (ii) a pension or retirement system
covering the police force of the police department of the New York city
transit authority; (iii) a pension or retirement system covering the
police force of the police department of the New York city housing
authority; (iv) a pension or retirement system covering the uniformed
correction force of the New York city department of correction; (v) a
pension or retirement system covering uniformed members of a county
sheriff's department (outside the city of New York); (vi) a pension or
retirement system covering employees of the city of New York, or the New
York city health and hospitals corporation in a title whose duties are
those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical
technician (as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of
the public health law), or in a title whose duties require the super-
vision of employees whose duties are those of an emergency medical tech-
nician or advanced emergency medical technician (as those terms are
defined in section three thousand one of the public health law); (vii) a
pension or retirement system covering paid bridge and tunnel members of
the New York city employees' retirement system; [or] (viii) a pension or
retirement system covering paid members of the uniformed force of the
New York city department of sanitation; OR (IX) A DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBER
OF THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§ 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Section 208-f
of the General Municipal Law (GML) to provide Special Accidental Death
Benefits (SADB) to eligible beneficiaries of members of the New York
City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) who are employed in certain
Deputy Sheriff titles and die as a natural and proximate result of an
accident sustained in the performance of duty.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Currently, certain beneficiaries of Deputy Sher-
iffs who die as a natural and proximate result of an accident sustained
in the performance of duty are eligible to receive an Accidental Death
Benefit equal to 50% of Final Salary. Such benefit is subject to a Cost-
of-Living Adjustment (COLA) starting after five years, pursuant to
Administrative Code of the City of New York (ACCNY) Section 13-696.
Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, beneficiaries of Deputy
Sheriffs who die as a natural and proximate result of an accident
sustained in the performance of duty would receive an Accidental Death
Benefit equal to 100% of Final Salary, offset by any social security and
workers' compensation benefits paid. For purposes of this Fiscal Note,
and consistent with the assumptions and methods described herein, it is
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assumed that the past four decades' practice of providing 3.0% COLAs on
the SADB each year will be continued in the future.
For purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that SADB under the
proposed legislation would only be provided to members who die in the
performance of duty after the Effective Date.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: There is insufficient data available to
estimate the number of members who may die as a natural and proximate
result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty. 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 could potentially be eligible for SADB provided by
this proposed legislation.
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 $1.1
million, on average, for each eligible Deputy Sheriff who dies as a
natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance
of duty.
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 insufficient data currently available to estimate the
number of eligible members who might die and be eligible for SADB under
the proposed legislation, 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 the same time period used for actuarial losses in accordance with
ACCNY Section 13-638.2(k-2). 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 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 $133,000, on
average, for each eligible Deputy Sheriff who dies as a natural and
proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty.
With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions would
depend upon when members would die as a natural and proximate result of
an accident sustained in the performance of duty but, generally,
increased employer contributions will first occur the second fiscal year
following approval of the Accidental 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 PVFB 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
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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
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.
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 2022-58 dated May 20,
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.