S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4961--B
     Cal. No. 1341
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 19, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GOUNARDES,  JACKSON,  MANNION  --  read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Civil  Service  and Pensions -- reported favorably from said committee
   and committed to the Committee on  Finance  --  committee  discharged,
   bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
   committee -- committee discharged  and  said  bill  committed  to  the
   Committee  on Rules -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03559-13-1

 S. 4961--B                          2
 
 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
 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
 A PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN THIS STATE, 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. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  none
 of  the  provisions  of  this  act shall be subject to section 25 of the
 retirement and social security law.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would expand the definition of a member who participated  in
 World  Trade  Center  rescue,  recovery  or cleanup operations. The term
 member shall include any person during the  qualifying  period  who  was
 employed  by  a  public employer participating in the New York State and
 Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) irrespective of  whether  the  employee
 was  a  participant  of  the system at that time. The employee must have
 become a participant in NYSLRS since that  time  and  purchased  service
 credit for some or all of qualifying period.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted,  it  would reclassify certain current and
 future retirement benefits. The cost of the revised benefit will  depend
 upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type other-
 wise payable.
 
 Benefit without     None    Ordinary    In Performance     Service
 enactment:                  Disability  of Duty Disability
 
 Cost for WTC        9 times 5 times     2.5 times          2 times
 benefit:            salary  salary      salary             salary

 S. 4961--B                          3
 
   This  bill  would  also lead to more deaths being classified as "acci-
 dental". For each death classified as accidental due to this  bill,  the
 cost  would depend on the age, service, salary, plan, and status at time
 of death. It is estimated that the cost for each  Employees'  Retirement
 System (ERS) member affected would average approximately 3.5 times final
 average  salary.  The estimated cost for each Police and Fire Retirement
 System (PFRS) member would average approximately 11 times final  average
 salary.
   ERS  Costs:  These  costs would be shared by the State of New York and
 the participating employees in the ERS.
   PFRS Costs: These costs would be shared by the State of New  York  and
 the participating employees in the PFRS.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2020  Report  of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2020
 Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.
   The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2020
 New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
 Supplementary Information.
   I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
 fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated May 17, 2021, and intended for  use  only  during
 the  2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2021-142, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill (legislative bill draft 03559-08-1) would amend paragraph  e
 of subdivision 36 in section 2 of the Retirement and Social Security Law
 to  expand  the  term  "member"  to  include  those individuals who were
 employed by a public employer during a qualifying period  of  the  World
 Trade  Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, who later became a
 member of a New York State public retirement system and purchased  prior
 service  credit  during  all or part of a qualifying period of the World
 Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The public employer
 must be a participating employer in a New York State  public  retirement
 system.
   The  annual  cost  to  the  employers of members of the New York State
 Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if  this  bill
 is enacted.
   Member  data  is  from  the  System's  most recent actuarial valuation
 files, consisting of data provided by the employers  to  the  Retirement
 System.   Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
 Annual Report. System assets are as reported in the  System's  financial
 statements and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuari-
 al  assumptions and methods are provided in the System's Actuarial Valu-
 ation Report.
   The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2021-55 dated May 27,  2021
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  of  the  New York State Teachers' Retirement

 S. 4961--B                          4
 
 System and is intended for use only during the 2021 Legislative Session.
 I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the  New  York  State  Teachers'
 Retirement  System.  I  am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
 and  I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
 aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation (see Appendix) would  amend
 Section  2  of  the  Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to permit
 eligible members of the New York City  Retirement  Systems  and  Pension
 Funds  (NYCRS)1  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 employer within the State
 and subsequently purchased such service as a NYCRS member, to be  eligi-
 ble 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
 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 as follows:
 
      NYCRS     Estimated increase in         Estimated increase in
                the average PVFB for          the average PVFB for
                each occurrence of            each occurrence of
                Accidental Disability         Accidental Death due
                Retirement due to a WTC       to a WTC related
                qualifying condition               illness
 
 NYCERS              $101,500                      $358,600
 TRS                 $332,900                      $292,000
 BERS                $68,700                       $156,900
 POLICE              $614,500                      $2,207,700
 FIRE                $656,400                      $2,185,100

 S. 4961--B                          5
 
   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  credible  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
 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 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 as follows:
 
      NYCRS     Estimated Increase in Annual  Estimated Increase in Annual
                Employer Contributions for    Employer Contributions for
                Each Occurrence of            Each Occurrence of
                Accidental Disability         Accidental Death Due to a
                Retirement Due to a WTC       WTC Related Illness
                Qualifying Condition
 
 NYCERS              $12,000                       $42,400
 TRS                 $39,400                       $34,500
 BERS                $8,100                        $18,600
 POLICE              $72,700                       $261,100
 FIRE                $77,600                       $258,500
 
   With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions  would
 depend  upon  when  members  would retire or die due to a WTC qualifying
 condition but, generally, increased employer  contributions  will  first
 occur  the second fiscal year following approval of the Accidental Disa-
 bility Retirement or Accidental Death.
   CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based  on  the  census
 data  used  in the June 30, 2020 (Lag) actuarial valuation of each NYCRS
 to determine  the  respective  Preliminary  Fiscal  Year  2022  employer
 contributions. The analysis was based on members that are currently over
 age  40  on  an age-nearest basis (since this population would have been
 over age 21 as of September 11, 2001).
 
    NYCRS       Count     Average Age   Average Service  Average Salary
    NYCERS     132,874       53.8            15.1            $83,700
    TRS        72,077        52.1            16.2            $96,700
    BERS       22,698        55.2            10.4            $50,400
    POLICE     12,911        46.9            19.3           $144,300
    FIRE        5,430        48.3            21.0           $142,400
 
   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 each respective NYCRS.

 S. 4961--B                          6
 
   In addition, for the purposes of this Fiscal Note we have assumed that
 members have already purchased this service and therefore the only addi-
 tional benefit of this legislation is the qualification for WTC presump-
 tions and benefits.
   The  Actuary  is proposing a set of changes for use beginning with the
 June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations of each NYCRS to determine  the
 respective  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  contribution results that are within 3% of 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 each respective NYCRS  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  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 2021-38 dated June 1,
 2021 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Retirement
 Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use only during
 the 2021 Legislative Session.