S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8529
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 8, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation  to  disabilities
   of deputy sheriffs in certain cities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 207-r to read as follows:
   § 207-R. DISABILITIES OF DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBERS OF A RETIREMENT SYSTEM
 IN  CERTAIN  CITIES.  1.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,
 SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, BUT  EXCEPT
 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY
 CONDITION  OF  IMPAIRMENT  OF  HEALTH  CAUSED  BY DISEASES OF THE HEART,
 RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH  TO  A  PAID  EMPLOYEE
 PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF A DEPUTY SHERIFF IN THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OF
 A CITY OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, WHERE SUCH EMPLOYEE IS DRAWN FROM COMPET-
 ITIVE  CIVIL  SERVICE LISTS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINA-
 TION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF  SUCH  DEPARTMENT,  WHICH  EXAMINATION
 FAILED  TO  REVEAL  ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE
 EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF  DUTY,
 UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBER
 RETIRING  PURSUANT  TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION
 SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION EQUAL TO THREE-FOURTHS OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S  FINAL
 AVERAGE SALARY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: The proposed legislation would provide certain Deputy Sheriff
 members  or  retirees  (within five years of their respective retirement
 date) of the New York  City  Employees'  Retirement  System  (NYCERS)  a
 rebuttable  statutory  presumption  that  a  qualifying partial or total
 disability or death related to a  heart  disease  was  incurred  in  the
 performance of duty.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10301-03-4
              

 S. 8529                             2
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
                One Incident        One Incident Per Year
      Year    Disability  Death     Disability     Death
 
      2025      55        167         55           167
      2026      55        167         113          340
      2027      55        167         171          518
      2028      55        167         232          701
      2029      55        167         294          889
      2030      55        167         359          1,083
      2031      55        167         425          1,283
      2032      55        167         493          1,489
      2033      55        167         563          1,701
      2034      55        167         636          1,920
      2035      55        167         710          2,145
      2036      55        167         787          2,377
      2037      55        167         866          2,615
      2038      55        167         947          2,861
      2039      0         0           976          2,947
      2040      0         0           1,005        3,035
      2041      0         0           1,035        3,126
      2042      0         0           1,066        3,220
      2043      0         0           1,098        3,317
      2044      0         0           1,131        3,416
      2045      0         0           1,165        3,519
      2046      0         0           1,200        3,624
      2047      0         0           1,236        3,733
      2048      0         0           1,273        3,845
      2049      0         0           1,312        3,961
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2049 is not shown.
 
   The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
 
           EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
                   as of June 30, 2023 ($ in Thousands)
 
 Present Value (PV)                 Per Disability      Per Death
 PV of Benefits:                    429                 1,416
 PV of Employee Contributions:      (40)                0
 PV of Employer Contributions:      469                 1,416
 Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:      469                 1,416
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
      Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability  Per Death
      Number of Payments:                14              14
      Amortization Payment:              55 K            167 K
 
   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.
 
                                         NYCERS
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      Active Members
      - Number Count:                    150
      - Average Age:                     42.3
      - Average Service:                 11.2
      - Average Salary:                  81,500
 
   IMPACT  ON  MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a New York City Deputy Sheriff
 who becomes disabled due to a heart disease would  be  eligible  for  an
 applicable  ordinary disability retirement, generally a lifetime payment
 of 1/3 of salary.   The ordinary death benefit is  a  lump  sum  payment
 generally equal to three times the member's salary.
   Under  the  proposed  legislation,  the performance of duty disability
 benefit for NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled from a  heart
 disease would be equal to:
   * 75% of Final Average Salary (FAS), where
   *  FAS  is defined as 3-Year FAS for Tier 4 and 5-Year FAS for Tier 6,
 without
   * an explicit Workers' Compensation offset.
   Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty death  benefit
 would  generally  be  equal  to  a lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's
 wages earned during the last year of service, plus, if  applicable,  the
 Special  Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) payable under General Municipal
 Law section 208-f.
   SADB for Deputy Sheriffs was enacted by Chapter 720  of  the  Laws  of
 2023 and all accidental deaths are assumed to qualify for SADB.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  The  estimates  presented herein have been
 calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions  and  Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   The  number  of  members and eligible retirees who will benefit in the
 future from this fiscal note is  unknown.  The  cost  of  this  proposed
 legislation could vary greatly depending on the number of future members
 who  benefit and on their length of service, age, and salary history. In
 particular, the increase would be greater for a member who  is  not  yet
 eligible  for  an  ODR benefit when the disabling heart disease is diag-
 nosed.
   The estimated financial impact for disabled members  has  been  calcu-
 lated assuming 50% would have retired under an Ordinary Disability bene-
 fit,  and  50%  would have continued working if the proposed legislation
 were not passed.
   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
 S. 8529                             4

 procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice  issued  by  the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-12 dated February 7,
 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.