The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6930
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 13, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by 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
   primary social security retirement benefits  for  certain  police/fire
   members
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 505 of the retirement and social security  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  18  of  the  laws  of  2012, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 505. Service retirement benefits; police/fire members, New York city
 uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan  members  and  investigator
 revised  plan  members.  a.  The  normal  service retirement benefit for
 police/fire  members,  New  York  city  uniformed  correction/sanitation
 revised  plan  members  and  investigator revised plan members at normal
 retirement age shall be a pension equal to fifty percent of final  aver-
 age salary, less fifty percent of the primary social security retirement
 benefit commencing at age sixty-two, as provided in section five hundred
 eleven  of  this article, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE COMPUTATION OF THE
 NORMAL SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT OF POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS
 OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND, SHALL NOT BE  REDUCED
 BY  THE  PRIMARY  SOCIAL  SECURITY  RETIREMENT BENEFIT COMMENCING AT AGE
 SIXTY-TWO AS PROVIDED IN SECTION FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   b. The early service retirement benefit for police/fire  members,  New
 York  city  uniformed  correction/sanitation  revised  plan  members and
 investigator revised plan members shall be a pension equal  to  two  and
 one-tenths  percent  of  final  average  salary  times years of credited
 service at the completion of twenty years of service or upon  attainment
 of age sixty-two, increased by one-third of one percent of final average
 salary  for  each month of service in excess of twenty years, but not in
 excess of fifty percent of final average salary, less fifty  percent  of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08553-04-1

 A. 6930                             2
 
 the  primary social security retirement benefit commencing at age sixty-
 two as  provided  in  section  five  hundred  eleven  of  this  article,
 provided,  however, that New York city police/fire revised plan members,
 New  York  city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan members and
 investigator revised plan members shall not be eligible  to  retire  for
 service prior to the attainment of twenty years of credited service, AND
 PROVIDED   FURTHER   THAT   THE  EARLY  SERVICE  RETIREMENT  BENEFIT  OF
 POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT
 PENSION FUND SHALL NOT BE REDUCED BY THE PRIMARY SOCIAL SECURITY RETIRE-
 MENT BENEFIT COMMENCING AT AGE SIXTY-TWO AS  PROVIDED  BY  SECTION  FIVE
 HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   c.    A    police/fire    member,    a   New   York   city   uniformed
 correction/sanitation revised plan member  or  an  investigator  revised
 plan  member  who  retires  with twenty-two years of credited service or
 less may become eligible for annual escalation of the service retirement
 benefit if he OR SHE elects to have the payment of his  OR  HER  benefit
 commence on the date he OR SHE would have completed twenty-two years and
 one  month  or  more  of  service. In such event, the service retirement
 benefit shall equal two percent of final average salary for each year of
 credited service, less fifty percent  of  the  primary  social  security
 retirement  benefit  commencing  at age sixty-two as provided in section
 five hundred eleven of this article, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE SERVICE
 RETIREMENT BENEFIT OF POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  NEW
 YORK  CITY  FIRE  DEPARTMENT  PENSION  FUND  SHALL NOT BE REDUCED BY THE
 PRIMARY SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT BENEFIT COMMENCING AT  AGE  SIXTY-TWO
 AS PROVIDED BY SECTION FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   §  2. Section 511 of the retirement and social security law is amended
 by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
   H. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THIS  SECTION
 SHALL  NOT  APPLY TO POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK
 CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND WHO RECEIVE A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENE-
 FIT PURSUANT TO SECTION FIVE HUNDRED FIVE OF THIS ARTICLE OR A  DEFERRED
 VESTED BENEFIT PURSUANT TO SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SIXTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 3. Subdivision c of section 516 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
 as follows:
   c.  The  deferred vested benefit of police/fire members, New York city
 police/fire   revised   plan   members,   New   York   city    uniformed
 correction/sanitation  revised plan members or investigator revised plan
 members shall be a pension commencing at early retirement age  equal  to
 two  and one-tenths percent of final average salary times years of cred-
 ited service, less fifty percent of the primary social security  retire-
 ment  benefit  commencing  at age sixty-two, as provided in section five
 hundred eleven of this article, PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT THE DEFERRED VEST-
 ED BENEFIT OF POLICE/FIRE MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE NEW  YORK  CITY
 FIRE  DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND AND NEW YORK CITY POLICE/FIRE REVISED PLAN
 MEMBERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK  CITY  FIRE  DEPARTMENT  PENSION
 FUND  SHALL  NOT  BE  REDUCED  BY THE PRIMARY SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT
 BENEFIT COMMENCING AT AGE SIXTY-TWO AS PROVIDED BY SECTION FIVE  HUNDRED
 ELEVEN   OF  THIS  ARTICLE.  A  police/fire  member,  a  New  York  city
 police/fire  revised  plan   member,   a   New   York   city   uniformed
 correction/sanitation  revised  plan member or investigator revised plan
 member may elect to receive his OR  HER  vested  benefit  commencing  at
 early  retirement age or age fifty-five. If the vested benefit commences
 before early retirement age, the benefit shall be  reduced  by  one-fif-
 teenth  for each year, if any, that the member's early retirement age is

 A. 6930                             3
 
 in excess of age sixty, and by one-thirtieth for each additional year by
 which the vested benefit commences prior to  early  retirement  age.  If
 such vested benefit is deferred until after such member's normal retire-
 ment age, the benefit shall be computed and subject to annual escalation
 in  the same manner as provided for an early retirement benefit pursuant
 to subdivision c of section five hundred five of this article.
   § 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 13-379 of the  adminis-
 trative  code  of the city of New York, the provisions of this act shall
 apply to chapter three of title thirteen of the administrative  code  of
 the city of New York.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Sections 505,
 511, and 516 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to  elimi-
 nate  the  offset equal to 50% of the primary social security benefit in
 the service, early service, and vested retirement benefits  for  Tier  3
 original,  revised,  and enhanced plan members of the New York City Fire
 Pension Fund (FIRE).
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Currently, the Tier 3 normal  service  retirement,
 early  service retirement, and vested retirement benefits are subject to
 an offset equal to 50% of the primary social security benefit as defined
 in RSSL Section 511 beginning at age 62.
   Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, the offset for such  bene-
 fits would be eliminated resulting in an increase in benefits.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT - SUMMARY: The financial impact will increase as the
 impacted populations of Tier 3 members of FIRE increases over time.  The
 estimated  financial  impact  of  removing the social security offset as
 described above results in an increase in Present Value of Future  Bene-
 fits  (PVFB)  and  an  increase  in the annual employer contributions of
 FIRE. The estimate of these increases for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026
 based on the applicable actuarial assumptions and methods noted  herein,
 are shown in the table below.

                          Increase in                   Increase in
      Fiscal         Present Value of Future     Employer Contributions
      Year                   Benefits                   ($ Millions)
                          ($ Millions)
      2022                    $ 64.7                      $3.9
      2023                    $ 76.3                      $4.5
      2024                    $ 88.6                      $5.1
      2025                    $102.0                      $5.7
      2026                    $116.7                      $6.3
 
   In accordance with Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of
 the  City  of  New  York  (ACCNY),  new Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL)
 attributable to benefit changes are to be amortized as determined by the
 Actuary, but are generally amortized over the remaining working lifetime
 of those impacted by the benefit changes.  As  of  June  30,  2020,  the
 remaining  working  lifetime  of  FIRE  members subject to Article 14 is
 approximately 20 years.
   For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, the increase in the UAL for FIRE
 was amortized over a 20-year period (19 payments under the One-Year  Lag
 Methodology (OYLM)) using level dollar payments.
   CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  For  the  purposes  of  this Fiscal Note, it is
 assumed that the changes in the PVFB and annual  employer  contributions

 A. 6930                             4
 
 would  be  reflected  for  the first time in the June 30, 2020 actuarial
 valuation of FIRE. In  accordance  with  the  One-Year  Lag  Methodology
 (OYLM) used to determine employer contributions, the increase in employ-
 er contributions would first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2022.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The  estimates presented herein are based on the census
 data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2020 (Lag) actuarial valuation  of
 FIRE  to  determine  the  Preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 employer contrib-
 utions.
   The 3,852 FIRE Tier 3 members as of June 30, 2020 had an  average  age
 of approximately 31.6 years, average service of approximately 4.0 years,
 and an average salary of approximately $88,100.
   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 FIRE.
   New entrants were projected to replace the members expected  to  leave
 the active population to maintain a steady-state population. New entrant
 demographics  and future salary increases are consistent with those used
 in projections for the New York City Office of Management and Budget  in
 April 2020 (Preliminary Projections).
   The  Actuary  is proposing a set of changes for use beginning with the
 June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations of FIRE to determine the  Final
 Fiscal  Year  2021 Employer Contributions (2021 A&M). If the 2021 A&M is
 enacted it is estimated that it would produce PVFB and  annual  employer
 contributions results that are not materially different than the results
 shown above.
   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 FIRE 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  meth-
 ods  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 FIRE and other New
 York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
   * Pension costs for future members of FIRE hired on or after 7/1/2024.
   * The impact of this  proposed  legislation  on  Other  Postemployment
 Benefit (OPEB) costs.
   *  Cost  analyses  relating  to  provisions  contained in RSSL Section
 500(c).
   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.

 A. 6930                             5

   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This Fiscal Note 2021-16 dated April 2,
 2021 was prepared by the Chief  Actuary  for  the  New  York  City  Fire
 Pension  Fund.  This  estimate  is intended for use only during the 2021
 Legislative Session.