S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8879
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 9, 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, in  relation  to
   providing  a  heart  disease  presumption  for certain New York police
   department traffic enforcement agents

   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-i to read as follows:
   §  607-I.  DISABILITIES;  HEALTH  PRESUMPTION.  A. NOTWITHSTANDING THE
 PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR  ADMINISTRATIVE  CODE
 TO  THE  CONTRARY,  BUT  EXCEPT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE WORKERS' COMPEN-
 SATION 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  MEMBER  IN  THE  EMPLOY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK POLICE
 DEPARTMENT IN THE TITLES OF  TRAFFIC  ENFORCEMENT  AGENT  I  OR  TRAFFIC
 ENFORCEMENT  AGENT  II, WHERE SUCH MEMBER SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL
 EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF SUCH DEPARTMENT, WHICH EXAMINA-
 TION FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION, SHALL BE  PRESUMP-
 TIVE  EVIDENCE  THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF
 DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,  SPECIAL,  OR  LOCAL
 LAW OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER EMPLOYED BY THE
 CITY  OF  NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT AS A TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AGENT I OR
 TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AGENT II WHO SHALL BE RETIRED PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVI-
 SION  A  OF THIS SECTION SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION EQUAL TO THREE-QUARTERS
 OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY.
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the city of New York.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10780-04-5
 A. 8879                             2
 
              

   § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
 provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
 of section twenty-five of this chapter.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation  would provide Tier 4 and Tier 6
 Traffic Enforcement Agents with a rebuttable statutory presumption  that
 a  qualifying  disability or death related to heart disease was incurred
 in the performance of duty and provide a performance of duty  disability
 benefit equal to 75% of Final Average Salary.
 
       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          39          26              39              26
     2027          39          26              80              53
     2028          39          26              122             81
     2029          39          26              165             110
     2030          39          26              209             140
     2031          39          26              255             170
     2032          39          26              302             202
     2033          39          26              350             234
     2034          39          26              400             267
     2035          39          26              451             301
     2036          39          26              504             337
     2037          39          26              559             373
     2038          39          26              615             411
     2039          39          26              673             449
     2040          0           0               693             463
     2041          0           0               714             477
     2042          0           0               735             491
     2043          0           0               757             506
     2044          0           0               780             521
     2045          0           0               803             537
     2046          0           0               827             553
     2047          0           0               852             569
     2048          0           0               878             586
     2049          0           0               904             604
     2050          0           0               931             622
 
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
 
 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:    333               222
 A. 8879                             3
 
   (2) PV of Employee Contributions:    (11)              0
   Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):      322               222
 
   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:          333 K             222 K
   Number of Payments:                  14                14
   Amortization Payment:                39 K              26 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:             2,430
                   - Average Age:              46.3
                   - Average Service:          9.2
                   - Average Salary:           55,000
 
   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, active Tier 4 or Tier 6 members
 who are employed as Traffic Enforcement Agents and become  disabled  due
 to  heart disease would generally be eligible for an applicable ordinary
 disability retirement after attaining 10 years of service. The disabili-
 ty 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 Traffic Enforcement Agent members who are
 disabled from heart disease would be equal to  75%  of  FAS  without  an
 offset for Workers' Compensation.
   The  ordinary  death  benefit for Traffic Enforcement Agents 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, payable to certain bene-
 ficiaries.
   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-
 A. 8879                             4
 
 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 2025-76 dated June 6,
 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.