LBD11119-02-1
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this section, as such date is certified pursuant to section forty-one of
the legislative law.
4. "Participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement
program" shall mean any Triborough bridge and tunnel member who, under
the applicable provisions of subdivision b of this section, is entitled
to the rights, benefits and privileges and is subject to the obligations
of the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program, as appli-
cable to him or her.
5. "Discontinued member" shall mean a participant in the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program who, while he or she was
a Triborough bridge and tunnel member, discontinued service as such a
member and has a right to a deferred vested benefit under subdivision d
of this section.
6. "Administrative code" shall mean the administrative code of the
city of New York.
b. Participation in [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement
program. 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph six of this subdivi-
sion, any person who is a Triborough bridge and tunnel member on the
starting date of the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement
program and who, as such a bridge and tunnel member or otherwise, last
became subject to the provisions of this article prior to such starting
date, may elect to become a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty]
TWENTY-YEAR retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty days
after the starting date of the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR
retirement program, a duly executed application for such participation
with the retirement system of which such person is a member, provided he
or she is such a bridge and tunnel member on the date such application
is filed.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph six of this subdivision, any
person who becomes a Triborough bridge and tunnel member after the
starting date of the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement
program and who, as such a bridge and tunnel member or otherwise, last
became subject to the provisions of this article prior to such starting
date, may elect to become a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty]
TWENTY-YEAR retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty days
after becoming such a bridge and tunnel member, a duly executed applica-
tion for such participation with the retirement system of which such
person is a member, provided he or she is such a bridge and tunnel
member on the date such application is filed.
3. Any election to be a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty]
TWENTY-YEAR retirement program shall be irrevocable.
4. Each Triborough bridge and tunnel member who becomes subject to the
provisions of this article on or after the starting date of the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program shall become a partic-
ipant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program on
the date he or she becomes such a bridge and tunnel member.
5. Where any participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR
retirement program shall cease to be employed by the Triborough bridge
and tunnel authority as a bridge and tunnel member, he or she shall
cease to be such a participant and, during any period in which such
person is not so employed, he or she shall not be a participant in the
[twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program and shall not be
eligible for the benefits of subdivision c of this section.
6. Where any participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR
retirement program terminates service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel
member and returns to such service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel
S. 6976 3
member at a later date, he or she shall again become such a participant
on that date.
c. Service retirement benefits. 1. A participant in the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program:
(i) who has completed twenty or more years of credited service; and
(ii) [who has attained age fifty; and
(iii)] who has paid, before the effective date of retirement, all
additional member contributions and interest (if any) required by subdi-
vision e of this section; and
[(iv)] (III) who files with the retirement system of which he or she
is a member an application for service retirement setting forth at what
time he or she desires to be retired; and
[(v)] (IV) who shall be a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty]
TWENTY-YEAR retirement program at the time so specified for his or her
retirement; shall be retired pursuant to the provisions of this section
affording early service retirement.
2. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
early service retirement benefit for participants in the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program who retire pursuant to
paragraph one of this subdivision shall be a pension consisting of:
(A) an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service,
equal to one-half of his or her final average salary; plus
(B) an amount of credited service, or fraction thereof, beyond such
required minimum period of service equal to one and one-half percent of
his or her final average salary.
(ii) The maximum pension computed without optional modification paya-
ble pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall equal that
payable upon completion of thirty years of service.
d. Vesting. 1. A participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-
YEAR retirement program [who] SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE A DEFERRED
VESTED BENEFIT AS PROVIDED IN THIS SUBDIVISION IF SUCH PARTICIPANT:
(i) discontinues service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel member,
other than by death or retirement; and
(ii) in the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised
plan member, prior to such discontinuance, completed five but less than
twenty years of credited service or, in the case of a participant who is
a New York city revised plan member, has completed ten but less than
twenty years of credited service; and
(iii) has paid, prior to such discontinuance, all additional member
contributions and interest (if any) required by subdivision e of this
section; and
(iv) does not withdraw in whole or in part his or her accumulated
member contributions pursuant to section six hundred thirteen of this
article unless such participant thereafter returns to public service and
repays the amounts so withdrawn, together with interest, pursuant to
such section six hundred thirteen[; shall be entitled to receive a
deferred vested benefit as provided in this subdivision].
2. (i) Upon such discontinuance under the conditions and in compliance
with the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, such deferred
vested benefit shall vest automatically.
(ii) In the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised
plan member, such vested benefit shall become payable on the earliest
date on which such discontinued member could have retired for service if
such discontinuance had not occurred or, in the case of a participant
who is a New York city revised plan member, such vested benefit shall
become payable at age sixty-three.
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3. Such deferred vested benefit shall be a pension consisting of an
amount equal to two and one-half percent of such discontinued member's
final average salary, multiplied by the number of years of credited
service.
e. Additional member contributions. 1. In addition to the member
contributions required by section six hundred thirteen of this article,
each participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement
program in the rank of bridge and tunnel officer shall contribute to the
retirement system of which he or she is a member (subject to the appli-
cable provisions of subdivision d of section six hundred thirteen of
this article) an additional five and fifty one-hundredths percent of his
or her compensation and each participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty]
TWENTY-YEAR retirement program in the rank of sergeant or lieutenant
shall contribute to the retirement system an additional six percent of
his or her compensation earned from all allowable service as a Tribor-
ough bridge and tunnel member rendered on and after the date which is
one hundred eighty days prior to the starting date of the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program. A participant in the
[twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program shall contribute
additional member contributions until the later of (i) the date as of
which he or she has twenty years of credited service as a bridge and
tunnel officer, or (ii) the third anniversary of the date that he or she
last became a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR
retirement program.
2. Commencing with the first full payroll period after each person
becomes a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retire-
ment program, additional member contributions at the rate specified in
paragraph one of this subdivision shall be deducted (subject to the
applicable provisions of subdivision d of section six hundred thirteen
of this article) from the compensation of such participant on each and
every payroll of such participant for each and every payroll period.
3. (i) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of this para-
graph, where any additional member contributions required by paragraph
one of this subdivision are not paid by deductions from a participant's
compensation pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision:
(A) that participant shall be charged with a contribution deficiency
consisting of such unpaid amounts, together with interest thereon at the
rate of five percent per annum, compounded annually; and
(B) such interest on each amount of undeducted contributions shall
accrue from the end of the payroll period for which such amount would
have been deducted from compensation if he or she had been a participant
at the beginning of that payroll period, until such amount is paid to
the retirement system.
(ii) Except as provided in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, no
interest shall be due on any such unpaid additional contributions which
are not attributable to the period prior to the first full payroll peri-
od referred to in paragraph two of this subdivision.
(iii) Should any person who, pursuant to paragraph eight of this
subdivision, has withdrawn any additional member contributions (and any
interest paid thereon) again become a participant in the [twenty-
year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program pursuant to paragraph six
of subdivision b of this section, an appropriate amount shall be
included in such participant's contribution deficiency (including inter-
est thereon as calculated pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this para-
graph) as if such additional contributions had never been made.
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(iv) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this paragraph, no
participant shall be charged interest for any period prior to March
twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred ninety-eight with respect to any contrib-
utions owed with respect to any payroll period beginning prior to such
date.
4. The head of a retirement system which includes participants in the
[twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR retirement program in its membership
may, consistent with the provisions of this subdivision, promulgate
regulations for the payment of such additional member contributions, and
any interest thereon, by such participants (including the deduction of
such contributions, and any interest thereon, from the participant's
compensation).
5. Where a contribution deficiency chargeable to a participant pursu-
ant to paragraph three of this subdivision has not been paid in full
before the effective date of retirement, that participant shall not be
eligible to retire pursuant to subdivision c of this section.
6. Where a contribution deficiency chargeable to a participant pursu-
ant to paragraph three of this subdivision has not been paid in full
before the date of discontinuance of service, that participant shall not
be entitled to a deferred vested benefit pursuant to subdivision d of
this section.
7. Where a participant has not paid in full any contribution deficien-
cy chargeable to him or her pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivi-
sion, and a benefit, other than a refund of member contributions pursu-
ant to section six hundred thirteen of this article or a refund of
additional member contributions pursuant to paragraph eight of this
subdivision, becomes payable under this article to the participant or to
his or her designated beneficiary or estate, the actuarial equivalent of
any such unpaid amount shall be deducted from the benefit otherwise
payable.
7-a. Notwithstanding paragraph six or seven of this subdivision, where
a deficiency chargeable to a participant pursuant to paragraph three of
this subdivision has not been paid in full while the participant is a
Triborough bridge and tunnel member and such participant retires prior
to July first, two thousand eleven, such participant may elect to be
covered by this paragraph. Such participant shall be entitled to the
benefits provided in subdivision c of this section provided that partic-
ipant authorizes the retirement system to deduct from such benefits an
amount which will result in the deficiency, plus associated interest to
date of final payment, being paid in full no later than July first, two
thousand eleven or such earlier date as agreed to by the participant.
Such amount will be deducted in equal installments on a monthly basis.
Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the participant from making a
partial payment of the amount of the deficiency at the time of retire-
ment so as to reduce the monthly payment nor to make a lump sum payment
equal to the amount of the total unpaid balance at any time during the
period of repayment.
8. (i) Such additional member contributions (and any interest thereon)
shall be paid into the contingent reserve fund of the retirement system
of which the participant is a member and shall not for any purpose be
deemed to be member contributions or accumulated contributions of a
member under section six hundred thirteen of this article or otherwise
while he or she is a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-
YEAR retirement program or otherwise, except that, a surplus of such
additional member contributions that are paid into the retirement
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system's contingent reserve fund may be used for the sole purpose of
offsetting a deficit of basic member contributions.
(ii) Should a participant in the [twenty-year/age fifty] TWENTY-YEAR
retirement program who has rendered less than fifteen years of allowable
service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel member cease to hold a posi-
tion as a Triborough bridge and tunnel member for any reason whatsoever,
his or her accumulated additional member contributions made pursuant to
this subdivision (together with any interest thereon paid to the retire-
ment system) may be withdrawn by him or her pursuant to procedures
promulgated in regulations of the board of trustees of the retirement
system, together with interest thereon at the rate of five percent per
annum, compounded annually.
(iii) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, no
member, while he or she is a participant or otherwise, shall have a
right to withdraw such additional member contributions or any interest
thereon from the retirement system.
9. A member who has made the additional contributions specified by
this subdivision may borrow a portion of such contributions, pursuant to
the provisions of section six hundred thirteen-b of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Section 604-c
of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to remove age 50 as an
eligibility requirement for retirement for Tier 4 and Tier 6 members of
the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) who are members
of the respective TBTA 20/50 Plans.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Currently, members of the Tier 4 and 6 TBTA 20/50
Plans are eligible to receive a service retirement benefit upon attain-
ing 20 or more years of credited service and age 50. Tier 4 members who
leave employment with at least five, but less than 20 years of service,
are eligible to receive a vested retirement benefit payable on the date
they would have attained 20 or more years of credited service and age
50. Tier 6 members who leave employment with at least 10, but less than
20 years of credited service are eligible to receive a vested retirement
benefit payable at age 63.
Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, affected members of the
TBTA 20/50 Plans would be eligible to receive a service retirement bene-
fit upon attaining 20 years of credited service, without regard to age.
Tier 4 members who leave employment with at least five, but less than 20
years of credited service, would be eligible to receive a vested retire-
ment benefit payable on the date the member would have completed 20
years of credited service, without regard to age. Tier 6 members who
leave employment with at least 10, but less than 20 years of credited
service would continue to be eligible to receive a vested retirement
benefit payable at age 63.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the anticipated group of
members benefiting from the change in the eligibility requirement and
the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the enactment of
this proposed legislation would increase the Present Value of Future
Benefits (PVFB) by approximately $6.1 million.
Under the Entry Age Normal cost method used to determine the employer
contributions to NYCERS, there would be an increase in the Unfunded
Accrued Liability (UAL) of approximately $7.0 million offset by a
decrease in the Present Value of future employer Normal Cost of $0.9
million.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In accordance with
Section 13-638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York
(ACCNY), new 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 the members who could poten-
tially benefit from the change in the eligibility requirement for
retirement is approximately eight years.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, the increase in UAL was amor-
tized over an eight-year period (seven payments under the One-Year Lag
Methodology (OYLM)) using level dollar payments. This payment plus the
increase in the Normal Cost results in an increase in annual employer
contributions of approximately $1.6 million each year.
CONTRIBUTION TIMING: For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is
assumed that the changes in the PVFB and annual employer contributions
would be reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2020 actuarial
valuation of NYCERS. In accordance with the OYLM used to determine
employer contributions, the increase in employer contributions would
first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2022.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the June 30, 2020 (Lag) actuarial valuation of NYCERS to
determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2022 employer contributions.
The 116 NYCERS Tier 4 TBTA 20/50 Plan members as of June 30, 2020 who
could potentially benefit from the change in the eligibility requirement
for retirement had an average age of approximately 41.8 years, average
service of approximately 15.7 years, and an average salary of approxi-
mately $112,300. As of June 30, 2020, there are no members in the Tier 6
TBTA 20/50 Plan.
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.
The Actuary is proposing a set of changes for use beginning with the
June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCERS 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 increases in the
PVFB and annual employer contributions that are approximately 1% larger
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 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.
* 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
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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 2021-29 dated May 19,
2021 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2021 Legislative Session.
