Senate Bill S9594

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9594
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal law,  in  relation  to  disability
   retirement benefits for the presumption of amyotrophic lateral sclero-
   sis  for paid members of a fire department in a city with a population
   of one million or more

   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  CAUSED  BY  AMYOTROPHIC  LATERAL   SCLEROSIS.
 NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER TO THE CONTRARY,
 ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF  HEALTH  CAUSED  BY  AMYOTROPHIC  LATERAL
 SCLEROSIS  RESULTING  IN  TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A PAID
 MEMBER OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF  ONE  MILLION
 OR  MORE,  OR ANY RETIRED MEMBER OF SUCH DEPARTMENT WHO HAS BEEN RETIRED
 FOR FIVE OR LESS YEARS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A  PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION
 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 OF DUTY UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE
 PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 2. The board of trustees  of  the  New  York  city  fire  department
 pension  fund  shall take appropriate administrative action to implement
 the intent of section one of this act.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide certain  members  and
 retirees  of  the  New  York  City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE) a rebuttable
 statutory presumption that a qualifying partial or total  disability  or
 death related to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was incurred in the
 performance of duty.
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15009-02-4
 S. 9594                             2
 
                Year           One            One Incident
                               Incident       Per Year
                2025           231            231
                2026           231            468
                2027           231            713
                2028           231            965
                2029           231            1,225
                2030           231            1,492
                2031           231            1,768
                2032           231            2,051
                2033           231            2,344
                2034           231            2,645
                2035           231            2,955
                2036           231            3,274
                2037           231            3,603
                2038           231            3,942
                2039           0              4,060
                2040           0              4,182
                2041           0              4,307
                2042           0              4,437
                2043           0              4,570
                2044           0              4,707
                2045           0              4,848
                2046           0              4,993
                2047           0              5,143
                2048           0              5,297
                2049           0              5,456
 
   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 Incident
                PV of Benefits:                    1,951
                PV of Employee Contributions:      0
                PV of Employer Contributions:      1,951
                Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:      1,951
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
                Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Incident
                Number of Payments:                14
                Amortization Payment:              231 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 the  statutory  presumption  provided in this bill is unknown. The esti-
 mates presented herein are based on preliminary census data collected as
 of June 30, 2023. The census data for  the  potentially  impacted  popu-
 lation used to develop the average costs is summarized below.
 
                                                   FIRE
           Active Members
           - Number Count:                         10,720
           - Average Age:                          40.8
           - Average Service:                      13.9
 S. 9594                             3
 
           - Average Salary:                       139,500
           Receiving Members (within five years of retirement)
           - Number Count:                         2,483
           - Average Age:                          54.3
 
   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a FIRE member who becomes disa-
 bled due to ALS would be eligible for an applicable ordinary  disability
 retirement,  generally a lifetime payment based on salary (generally 1/3
 of salary for Tier 3 members and 1/2 of salary for Tier 2  members),  or
 the service retirement benefit if greater. The ordinary death benefit is
 a  lump  sum payment generally equal to three times the member's salary.
 Currently, FIRE retirees who become disabled, or die,  after  retirement
 due to ALS are not eligible to reclassify their existing benefit.
   Under  the  proposed  legislation,  the performance of duty disability
 benefit for eligible FIRE members and retirees who are disabled from ALS
 would generally be equal to:
   * 75% of Final Average Salary (FAS), where
   * FAS is defined as 1-Year FAS for Tier 2 and 3-Year FAS for TIER 3.
   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.
   ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  estimates  presented  herein  have  been
 calculated  based  on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
 of the impacted retirement system.
   The number of members  who  will  benefit  in  the  future  from  this
 proposed  legislation  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.
   The estimated financial impact for members has been calculated  assum-
 ing eligible members die in the year following the valuation date.
   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  2024-60  dated  May  15,
 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.