S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8737
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 2, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and  the  general
   municipal  law,  in  relation  to  accidental  disability benefits for
   certain deputy sheriff members in the sheriff's department of  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 retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 607-m to read as follows:
   § 607-M. PERFORMANCE OF DUTY DISABILITY RETIREMENT. A. ANY  MEMBER  OF
 THE  NEW  YORK  CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO IS EMPLOYED BY THE
 CITY OF NEW YORK AS A DEPUTY SHERIFF,  AND  WHO  BECOMES  PHYSICALLY  OR
 MENTALLY INCAPACITATED AS THE NATURAL AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN INJURY,
 AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION, SUSTAINED IN THE PERFORM-
 ANCE  OR  DISCHARGE OF SUCH MEMBER'S DUTIES, SHALL BE PAID A PERFORMANCE
 OF DUTY DISABILITY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO THREE-QUARTERS OF FINAL
 AVERAGE SALARY, SUBJECT TO SECTION 13-176 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE  OF
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
   B.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR OF ANY GENERAL OR
 SPECIAL LAW TO THE CONTRARY, FOR PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SECTION,  A  MEMBER
 COVERED BY THIS SECTION IS INJURED WHEN SUCH MEMBER CONTRACTS HIV (WHERE
 THE  MEMBER  MAY  HAVE  BEEN EXPOSED TO A BODILY FLUID OF A PERSON UNDER
 SUCH MEMBER'S CARE OR TREATMENT, OR WHILE SUCH MEMBER  EXAMINED,  TRANS-
 PORTED  OR OTHERWISE HAD CONTACT WITH SUCH PERSON, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF
 SUCH MEMBER'S DUTIES), TUBERCULOSIS OR HEPATITIS, WILL  BE  PRESUMED  TO
 HAVE  CONTRACTED  SUCH  DISEASE  IN THE PERFORMANCE OR DISCHARGE OF SUCH
 MEMBER'S DUTIES, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 2. The general municipal law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
 207-r to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10889-05-5
 A. 8737                             2
              

 
   §  207-R.  PERFORMANCE  OF  DUTY  DISABILITY RETIREMENT; NEW YORK CITY
 DEPUTY SHERIFFS. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,  SPECIAL
 OR  LOCAL  LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER WHO IS A
 DEPUTY SHERIFF IN THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OF A CITY WITH  A  POPULATION
 OF  ONE  MILLION OR MORE WHERE SUCH EMPLOYEES ARE DRAWN FROM COMPETITIVE
 CIVIL SERVICE LISTS AND WHO  IN  PERFORMANCE  OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S  DUTIES
 CONTRACTS HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) (WHERE SUCH MEMBER MAY HAVE
 BEEN  EXPOSED  TO A BODILY FLUID OF A PERSON UNDER SUCH MEMBER'S CARE OR
 TREATMENT, OR WHILE SUCH MEMBER EXAMINED, TRANSPORTED, RESCUED OR OTHER-
 WISE HAD CONTACT WITH SUCH PERSON, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 DUTIES),  TUBERCULOSIS OR HEPATITIS SHALL BE PRESUMED TO HAVE CONTRACTED
 SUCH DISEASE AS A NATURAL AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN  ACCIDENTAL  INJURY
 RECEIVED  IN  THE  PERFORMANCE OR DISCHARGE OF SUCH MEMBER'S DUTIES, AND
 NOT RESULTING FROM SUCH MEMBER'S WILLFUL NEGLIGENCE, UNLESS THE CONTRARY
 BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide to NYCERS Tier 4  and
 Tier  6 Deputy Sheriffs a rebuttable statutory presumption that a quali-
 fying disability or death related to HIV,  Tuberculosis,  and  Hepatitis
 was  incurred  in  the  performance of duty and provide a performance of
 duty disability benefit equal to 75% of the member's Final Average Sala-
 ry.
 
       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
 2026                 55         187           55         187
 2027                 55         187           112        379
 2028                 55         187           171        577
 2029                 55         187           231        780
 2030                 55         187           293        990
 2031                 55         187           357        1,207
 2032                 55         187           423        1,429
 2033                 55         187           491        1,659
 2034                 55         187           561        1,895
 2035                 55         187           633        2,138
 2036                 55         187           707        2,389
 2037                 55         187           784        2,647
 2038                 55         187           863        2,913
 2039                 55         187           944        3,187
 2040                 0          0             972        3,283
 2041                 0          0             1,001      3,381
 2042                 0          0             1,031      3,483
 2043                 0          0             1,062      3,587
 2044                 0          0             1,094      3,695
 2045                 0          0             1,127      3,805
 2046                 0          0             1,161      3,920
 2047                 0          0             1,196      4,037
 2048                 0          0             1,231      4,158
 2049                 0          0             1,268      4,283
 2050                 0          0             1,306      4,412
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
 A. 8737                             3
 
   The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
   PRESENT  VALUE  OF  BENEFITS:  The  Present  Value  of Benefits is the
 discounted expected value of benefits paid to  current  members  if  all
 assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
 Future new hires are not included in this present value.
 
          INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
                   as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
 Present Value (PV)                 Per Disability      Per Death
 (1) PV of Employer Contributions:        467           1,577
 (2) PV of Employee Contributions:       (48)               0
 Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):          419           1,577
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability      Per Death
 Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        467 K               1,577 K
 Number of Payments:                14                  14
 Amortization Payment:              55 K                187 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
 based  on  preliminary  census  data  collected as of June 30, 2024. The
 census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop  the
 average costs is summarized below.
                                         NYCERS
                Active Members
                - Number Count:          132
                - Average Age:           43.5
                - Average Service:       11.9
                - Average Salary:        94,600
 
   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, active Tier 4 or Tier 6 members
 of NYCERS who are employed as Deputy Sheriffs and become disabled due to
 HIV, Tuberculosis, or Hepatitis  would  generally  be  eligible  for  an
 applicable  ordinary  disability  retirement after attaining 10 years of
 service. The disability benefit is  a  lifetime  payment  equal  to  the
 greatest  of  1/3  of  Final  Average  Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS times
 service, or the service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   Under the proposed legislation, the  performance  of  duty  disability
 benefit  for  Tier  4  or Tier 6 Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled
 from HIV, Tuberculosis, or Hepatitis would be equal to 75% of  FAS  with
 an offset for Workers' Compensation.
   The  ordinary  death  benefit for NYCERS Deputy Sheriffs is a lump sum
 payment generally equal to three  times  the  member's  salary,  plus  a
 refund of member contributions.
   The  performance  of  duty death benefit would generally be equal to a
 lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's wages  earned  during  their  last
 year of service, plus, if applicable, the Special Accidental Death Bene-
 fit (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.
 A. 8737                             4
 
   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 who will benefit 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. In particular, the  increase
 would  be  greater  for a member who is not yet eligible for an ordinary
 disability benefit when disabled.
   The estimated financial impact for disabled members  has  been  calcu-
 lated  assuming  50% would have retired under the current ordinary disa-
 bility benefit, 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). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
 laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
   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 2025-66 dated May 20,
 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Retirement
 Systems  and  Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
 Legislative Session.