S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5513
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- 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.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04962-02-3
              

 S. 5513                             2
 
   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
 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: 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  $2.6
 million. This calculation does not reflect the offset for a Social Secu-
 rity death benefit, if any, payable to Ms. Rivera.
   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.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: 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  imme-
 diately.  The  enactment  of  this  proposed legislation would therefore
 result in an increase in Fiscal  Year  2025  employer  contributions  of
 approximately $2.9 million.
   CENSUS  DATA:  As  of June 30, 2022, Ms. Rivera would be approximately
 age 44 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 estimates presented herein have
 been  calculated  based  on  the actuarial assumptions and methods to be
 used for the Preliminary Fiscal  Year  2024  employer  contributions  of
 POLICE.
   For  the  purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the changes
 would be reflected for the first time in the  June  30,  2023  actuarial
 valuation  of POLICE used to determine employer contributions for Fiscal
 Year 2025.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on  the realization of the actuarial assumptions used. If actual
 experience deviates from actuarial assumptions, the actual  costs  could
 differ from those presented herein.
 S. 5513                             3
 
   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 costs.
   STATEMENT  OF  ACTUARIAL  OPINION:  I, Marek Tyszkiewicz, am the Chief
 Actuary for, and independent of, the New York  City  Retirement  Systems
 and  Pension  Funds. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a
 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I am a member of NYCERS but
 do not believe it impairs my objectivity and 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 2023-08 dated March 3,
 2023 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for  the  New  York  City  Police
 Pension  Fund.  This  estimate  is intended for use only during the 2023
 Legislative Session.