S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8942
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 16, 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  retirement  credit  to  emergency  medical  technicians and
   advanced emergency medical technicians  for  a  child  care  leave  of
   absence

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 609 of the retirement and social  security  law  is
 amended by adding a new subdivision i to read as follows:
   I.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER LAW OR CODE PROVISION THAT PROHIBITS A
 MEMBER FROM RECEIVING RETIREMENT CREDIT FOR ANY PERIOD DURING WHICH  THE
 MEMBER  WAS  ABSENT  ON LEAVE WITHOUT PAY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
 SUBDIVISION C OF THIS SECTION, ANY EMT MEMBER, AS DEFINED  IN  PARAGRAPH
 TWO  OF SUBDIVISION A OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE-E OF THIS CHAP-
 TER AND PARAGRAPH ONE OF SUBDIVISION A OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED FOUR-E  OF
 THIS ARTICLE, AS ADDED BY CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN OF THE LAWS
 OF  TWO  THOUSAND,  WHO  IS ABSENT WITHOUT PAY FOR A CHILD CARE LEAVE OF
 ABSENCE PURSUANT TO THE  TERMS  OF  A  COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING  AGREEMENT
 COVERING  THE EMT MEMBER SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR CREDIT FOR SUCH PERIOD OF
 CHILD CARE LEAVE PROVIDED SUCH MEMBER FILES A  CLAIM  FOR  SUCH  SERVICE
 CREDIT  WITH  THE  PENSION  FUND  BY DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
 TWENTY-FIVE OR WITHIN NINETY DAYS FOLLOWING  TERMINATION  OF  THE  CHILD
 CARE  LEAVE,  WHICHEVER IS LATER, AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE PENSION FUND AN
 AMOUNT WHICH SUCH MEMBER WOULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED  DURING  THE  PERIOD  OF
 SUCH  CHILD  CARE  LEAVE, TOGETHER WITH INTEREST THEREON. SERVICE CREDIT
 PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE YEAR OF CRED-
 IT FOR EACH PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED CHILD CARE LEAVE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11193-04-5
 A. 8942                             2
              

 
   SUMMARY: This proposed  legislation  would  permit  Emergency  Medical
 Technicians  of  the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS)
 to apply for and purchase up to one year  of  service  credit  for  each
 period of authorized unpaid childcare leave.
 
        ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
                 by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($)

        Year                 One Year of           One Year of Service
                          Service Purchased        Purchased Per Year
        2026                    600                        600
        2027                    600                      1,200
        2028                    600                      1,900
        2029                    600                      2,500
        2030                    600                      3,200
        2031                    600                      3,900
        2032                    600                      4,600
        2033                    600                      5,300
        2034                    600                      6,100
        2035                    600                      6,900
        2036                    600                      7,700
        2037                    600                      8,500
        2038                    600                      9,300
        2039                    600                     10,200
        2040                      0                     10,500
        2041                      0                     10,900
        2042                      0                     11,200
        2043                      0                     11,500
        2044                      0                     11,900
        2045                      0                     12,200
        2046                      0                     12,600
        2047                      0                     13,000
        2048                      0                     13,300
        2049                      0                     13,700
        2050                      0                     14,200
 
     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 ($)
                Present Value (PV)                 Per Year of Service
                (1) PV of Employer Contributions:  5,100
                (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  5,200
                Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    10,300
 
   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.
 A. 8942                             3
 
                 AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
        Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss       Per Year of Service
        Increase (Decrease) in UAL:                 5,100
        Number of Payments:                            14
        Amortization Payment:                         600
 
   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:                        4,236
        - Average Age:                          36.5
        - Average Service (before purchase):     9.3
        - Average Salary:                     74,000
 
   IMPACT  ON  MEMBER  BENEFITS:  Currently, Emergency Medical Technician
 (EMT) members of NYCERS are not able  to  purchase  service  credit  for
 periods while on authorized unpaid childcare leave.
   Under  the  proposed  legislation,  EMT  members  would be eligible to
 purchase up to one year of service credit for each period of  authorized
 unpaid  childcare  leave, provided that they file a claim within 90 days
 of the termination of such leave (or by December 31, 2025, if later) and
 pay the amount that would have been contributed during such leave,  with
 interest.
   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.
   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
 A. 8942                             4

 procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This Fiscal Note 2025-81 dated June 11,
 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.