Senate Bill S7180A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7180--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Civil  Service  and  Pensions  in
   accordance  with  Senate  Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee
 
 AN ACT authorizing Jonathan Grossman to apply for a recalculation of his
   retirement benefits
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, Jona-
 than Grossman, who joined the New York city teachers' retirement  system
 as  a  Tier I member on January 1, 1972, who retired from such system on
 September 28, 2010, and who for reasons not ascribable to his own negli-
 gence had his retirement benefits calculated without the inclusion of  a
 lump  sum  payment  for  accumulated vacation, shall have his retirement
 benefits recalculated with such lump sum  payments,  including  interest
 accruing  from  the  date of retirement, if he shall file an application
 therefor with the state comptroller on or before one year of the  effec-
 tive date of this act.
   § 2. All past service costs of implementing the provisions of 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:  This  proposed  legislation would allow Jonathan Grossman, a
 retired Tier 1 member of the New York City Teachers'  Retirement  System
 (TRS)  to  have his retirement benefits recalculated to include his lump
 sum payment for accumulated vacation in the  calculation  of  his  final
 average salary.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06773-03-4
 S. 7180--A                          2
              

 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
                 by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($)
 
                     Year               TRS
                     2025                 0
                     2026           342,000
                     2027                 0
                     2028                 0
                     2029                 0
                     2030                 0
                     2031                 0
                     2032                 0
                     2033                 0
                     2034                 0
                     2035                 0
                     2036                 0
                     2037                 0
                     2038                 0
                     2039                 0
                     2040                 0
                     2041                 0
                     2042                 0
                     2043                 0
                     2044                 0
                     2045                 0
                     2046                 0
                     2047                 0
                     2048                 0
                     2049
 
   The entire initial increase in employer contributions of $342,000 will
 be allocated to New York City.
 
           EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
                            as of June 30, 2024
 
           Present Value (PV)                     TRS
           PV of Benefits:                    $ 309,000
           PV of Employee Contributions:              0
           PV of Employer Contributions:        309,000
           Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:        309,000
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                                 TRS
           Number of Payments:                    1
           Fiscal Year of Last Payment:          2026
           Amortization Payment:              $ 342,000
 
   Since  Mr. Grossman is retired and collecting a pension, and therefore
 has no remaining working  lifetime,  the  entire  increase  in  Unfunded
 Accrued Liabilities would be recognized immediately.
   CENSUS  DATA:  The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
 census data collected as of June 30,  2023.  The  census  data  for  the
 impacted population is summarized below.
 S. 7180--A                          3

                                              TRS
           Receiving Members
           - Number Count:                       1
           - Average Age:                     76.0
 
   BACKGROUND:  Mr.  Grossman retired as a Tier 1 TRS member on September
 28, 2010. He  currently  receives  an  annual  retirement  allowance  of
 $103,495  per  year under the 50% Joint and Survivor with Pop-Up payment
 option.
   If the proposed  legislation  is  passed,  Mr.  Grossman's  retirement
 allowance would be recalculated to include in his final average salary a
 lump  sum payment he received for unused vacation time, which is a bene-
 fit that is generally not afforded to TRS retirees. The additional cost,
 less any required member contributions paid by Mr. Grossman, to fund the
 increased retirement allowance associated with the proposed  legislation
 would be paid by the City of New York.
   Tier  1  TRS  members  are  generally  permitted  to take an actuarial
 reduction of their retirement  allowance  to  account  for  deficits  in
 member  contributions.  For  purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed
 that Mr.  Grossman would not pay any owed member contributions resulting
 from the recalculation. Based on  this  assumption  and  application  of
 other  Tier  1  benefit calculation provisions, it is estimated that Mr.
 Grossman's annual retirement allowance would increase to $114,514.  This
 annual increase would apply prospectively as well as retroactively, less
 any  payments previously made, to Mr. Grossman's September 28, 2010 date
 of retirement.
   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 2025 employer contributions of the impacted
 retirement systems.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on  the  actuarial  assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
 graphics of the impacted population and other factors  such  as  invest-
 ment,  contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
 actuarial  assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from   those
 presented  herein.  Quantifying  these risks is beyond the scope of this
 Fiscal Note.
   This Fiscal Note is intended to measure  pension-related  impacts  and
 does  not  include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
 Postemployment Benefits).
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy  of
 Actuaries.  We  are  members of NYCERS but do not believe it impairs our
 objectivity and we meet the  Qualification  Standards  of  the  American
 Academy  of  Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
 To the best of our 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 2024-01 dated January 5,
 2024 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 2024 Legislative Session.