Senate Bill S8825

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8825
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 21, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT  relating  to  granting  retroactive  eligibility  to  apply  for
   enhanced  Tier  3  status  to former New York City police officer Mark
   Rivera
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Notwithstanding  the provisions of any general or special
 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Mark Rivera who was  previously
 employed  by the New York City police department as a police officer and
 was a Tier 3 member of the Police Pension Fund at the time of his  death
 on  March 21, 2015 shall be eligible to apply for membership in Enhanced
 Tier 3, if within one year from the effective date of this act,  Abigail
 Rivera,  the widow of Mark Rivera, shall file with the retirement system
 an application for membership Enhanced Tier  3  of  the  Police  Pension
 Fund,  and  Abigail  Rivera  may also file for any retirement options or
 death benefits that would have been available to Mark Rivera if  he  had
 been  a  member of Enhanced Tier 3 on the date of his death. Any amounts
 paid by the police pension fund to Mark Rivera, his  estate  or  Abigail
 Rivera  prior  to the filing of the application for benefits pursuant to
 this act shall be deducted from the benefit payable thereafter.
   § 2. All costs pursuant to this act shall be borne by the City of  New
 York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL:  This proposed legislation would permit Ms. Rivera,
 within one year of the effective date, to posthumously elect the Tier  3
 Enhanced  Plan  on  behalf  of  Police Officer Mark Rivera, her deceased
 husband, and to apply for any benefits applicable to such Plan.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   BACKGROUND: Officer Rivera died as a Tier 3 Revised member of the  New
 York  City Police Pension Fund (POLICE) on March 21, 2015. His surviving
 spouse, Ms. Rivera, received an ordinary death benefit equal to  a  lump
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11212-02-2
              

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 sum  benefit  based  on salary and member contributions according to the
 provisions of a Tier 3 revised member.
   After  his  death,  beginning  in  September  8,  2016, certain Tier 3
 Revised members could elect to join the  Tier  3  Enhanced  Plan  which,
 among other things, extended the statutory presumptions contained in the
 Heart  Bill  (General  Municipal  Law  (GML)  §  207-k) to Enhanced Plan
 members pursuant to Chapter 298 of the Laws of 2016. Tier 3 police offi-
 cers became eligible to participate in the Enhanced Plan  on  April  10,
 2017 pursuant to Part SSS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017.
   If this legislation is passed, Officer Rivera's death could potential-
 ly  be  deemed as a Line-of-Duty death under such presumption, entitling
 his spouse to receive an Accidental Death Benefit pursuant to Retirement
 and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section  509  and  a  Special  Accidental
 Death Benefit (SADB) under GML Section 208-f, less any amount previously
 paid as an ordinary death benefit.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - PRESENT VALUES: The estimated financial impact of
 this proposal has been calculated as the difference between the  present
 value of (1) and (2), where:
   (1)  is the Accidental Death and SADB benefits Officer Rivera's spouse
 could potentially receive  if  the  proposed  legislation  were  enacted
 (retroactive to the date of death on March 21, 2015), and
   (2)  is  the  value  of  the amount of ordinary death benefits already
 paid.
   Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods described  herein,  the
 enactment  of this proposed legislation would increase the Present Value
 of Future Benefits (PVFB) and the Unfunded Accrued  Liability  (UAL)  of
 POLICE  by approximately $2.5 million. This calculation does not reflect
 the offset for a Social Security death benefit, if any, payable  to  Ms.
 Rivera.
   FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In accordance with
 Administrative  Code  of  the  City  of   New   York   (ACCNY)   Section
 13-638.2(k-2),  new  UAL attributable to benefit changes are to be amor-
 tized as determined by the Actuary  but  generally  over  the  remaining
 working lifetime of those impacted by the benefit changes.
   For purposes of this Fiscal Note, since Officer Rivera is deceased and
 therefore  has no remaining working lifetime, the entire increase in UAL
 would be recognized immediately.
   CONTRIBUTION TIMING: For the purposes  of  this  Fiscal  Note,  it  is
 assumed  that  the  changes in the UAL and annual employer contributions
 would be reflected for the first time in the  June  30,  2022  actuarial
 valuation  of  POLICE.  In  accordance with the One-Year Lag Methodology
 (OYLM) used to determine employer contributions, the increase in employ-
 er contributions would be reflected in Fiscal Year 2024.
   CENSUS DATA: As of June 30, 2021, Ms. Rivera  would  be  approximately
 age  43  and  is  not  receiving  an annual pension. Additional data was
 provided by POLICE which was not audited but was checked for reasonable-
 ness. Below is a summary of the data provided:
   * Ordinary Death Benefit Lump Sum: $167,000
   * Accidental Death Annual Benefit (City): $25,343
   * SADB Annual Benefit at Date of Death (State): $58,854
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the  PVFB  presented
 herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and meth-
 ods  in  effect for the June 30, 2021 (Lag) actuarial valuations used to
 determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year  2023  employer  contributions  of
 POLICE.
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   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  the  Plan 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 POLICE 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 Qualifica-
 tion  Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actu-
 arial 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 2022-19 dated  April  12,
 2022  was  prepared  by  the Interim Chief Actuary for the New York City
 Police Pension Fund. This estimate is intended for use only  during  the
 2022 Legislative Session.