LBD15146-07-6
S. 10002 2
the primary social security retirement benefit as provided in section
five hundred eleven of this article. The service retirement benefit for
general members at normal retirement age with twenty or more years of
service who first become members of the New York state and local employ-
ees' retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve at
normal retirement age shall be a pension equal to the sum of thirty-five
per centum and one-fiftieth of final average salary for each year of
service in excess of twenty, but not in excess of thirty, times final
average salary times years of credited service, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT
SUCH MEMBERS MAY RETIRE WITHOUT REDUCTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT
UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF
THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.
c. The early service retirement benefit for general members, except
for general members whose early retirement benefit is specified in
subdivision d of this section, shall be the service retirement benefit
specified in subdivision a or b of this section, as the case may be,
without social security offset, reduced by one-fifteenth for each of the
first two years by which early retirement precedes age sixty-two, plus a
further reduction of: (1) one-thirtieth; or (2) one-twentieth for
members who first join the New York state and local employees' retire-
ment system on or after January first, two thousand ten, for each year
by which early retirement precedes age sixty, provided however, that for
members who first become members of the New York state and local employ-
ees' retirement system on or after the effective date of the chapter of
the laws of two thousand twelve which amended this subdivision, the
early service retirement benefit for general members, except for general
members whose early retirement benefit is specified in subdivision d of
this section, shall be the service retirement benefit specified in
subdivision a or b of this section, as the case may be, without social
security offset, reduced by six and one-half per centum for each year by
which early retirement precedes age sixty-three. At age sixty-two, the
benefit shall be reduced by fifty percent of the primary social security
retirement benefit, as provided in section five hundred eleven of this
article, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MEMBERS MAY RETIRE WITHOUT
REDUCTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST
FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF
SERVICE.
§ 3. Paragraphs 1 and 3 of subdivision i of section 603 of the retire-
ment and social security law, paragraph 1 as amended by section 8 of
part B of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, paragraph 3 as added by chap-
ter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
1. A member of a teachers' retirement system or the New York state and
local employees' retirement system who has met the minimum service
requirements but who has less than thirty years of credited service or a
member who first joins the New York state and local employees' retire-
ment system or the New York state teachers' retirement system on or
after January first, two thousand ten may retire prior to normal retire-
ment age, but no earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in which
event, unless such person is a member of the New York city teachers'
retirement system who is otherwise eligible for early service retirement
pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this article,
the amount of [his or her] THEIR retirement benefit otherwise computed
without optional modification shall be reduced in accordance with the
following schedule, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MEMBER MAY RETIRE WITH-
OUT REDUCTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST
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FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF
SERVICE:
(i) for each of the first twenty-four full months that retirement
predates age sixty-two, one-half of one per centum per month; provided,
however, that for members who first join the New York state and local
employees' retirement system or the New York state teachers' retirement
system on or after January first, two thousand ten, such amounts shall
be equal to one-fifteenth per year; and
(ii) for each full month that retirement predates age sixty, one-quar-
ter of one per centum per month; provided, however, that for members who
first join the New York state and local employees' retirement system or
the New York state teachers' retirement system on or after January
first, two thousand ten, such amounts shall be equal to one-twentieth
per year, but in no event shall retirement be permitted prior to attain-
ment of age fifty-five.
3. A member of a public retirement system of the state who has met the
minimum service requirement, but who is not a New York city transit
authority member, as defined in paragraph one of subdivision a of
section six hundred four-b of this article, may retire prior to normal
retirement age, but no earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in
which event, the amount of [his or her] THEIR retirement benefit
computed without optional modification shall be reduced by six and one-
half per centum for each year by which early retirement precedes age
sixty-three, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MEMBER MAY RETIRE WITHOUT
REDUCTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST
FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF
SERVICE.
§ 4. Subdivisions a, a-1 and t of section 603 of the retirement and
social security law, subdivision a as amended by section 3 of part EE of
chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, subdivision a-1 as added and subdivision
t as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as
follows:
a. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred
four of this article shall be payable to members who have met the mini-
mum service requirements upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-
two, other than members who are eligible for early service retirement
pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-b of this article,
subdivision c of section six hundred four-c of this article, subdivision
d of section six hundred four-d of this article, subdivision c of
section six hundred four-e of this article, subdivision c of section six
hundred four-f of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred
four-g of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-h of
this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this arti-
cle, or subdivision c of section six hundred four-j of this article,
provided, however, a member of a teachers' retirement system or the New
York state and local employees' retirement system [who first joins such
system before January first, two thousand ten or a member who is a
uniformed court officer or peace officer employed by the unified court
system who first becomes a member of the New York state and local
employees' retirement system before April first, two thousand twelve]
may retire without reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment
of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more
years of service, provided, however, that a uniformed court officer or
peace officer employed by the unified court system who first becomes a
member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system on
or after January first, two thousand ten and retires without reduction
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of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least fifty-five years
of age and completion of thirty or more years of service pursuant to
this section shall be required to make the member contributions required
by subdivision f of section six hundred thirteen of this article for all
years of credited and creditable service, provided further that the
preceding provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a New York
city revised plan member.
a-1. For members who first become a member of a public retirement
system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve, the
service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred four of this
article shall be payable to members who have met the minimum service
requirements upon retirement and have attained age sixty-three,
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MEMBER MAY RETIRE WITHOUT REDUCTION OF
THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF
AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.
t. Members who join the New York state teachers' retirement system on
or after January first, two thousand ten, shall be eligible to retire
without reduction of [his or her] THEIR retirement benefit upon attain-
ment of at least [fifty-seven] FIFTY-FIVE years of age and completion of
thirty or more years of service. Members who retire pursuant to the
provisions of this subdivision shall be required to make the member
contributions required by subdivision g of section six hundred thirteen
of this article for all years of credited and creditable service. [The
provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to members who first
become a member of the New York state teachers' retirement system on or
after April first, two thousand twelve.]
§ 5. Subdivisions a and b-1 of section 604 of the retirement and
social security law, subdivision a as amended and subdivision b-1 as
added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
a. The service retirement benefit at normal retirement age for a
member with less than twenty years of credited service, or less than
twenty-five years credited service for a member who joins the New York
state teachers' retirement system on or after January first, two thou-
sand ten, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of final
average salary times years of credited service. Normal retirement age
for members who first become members of a public retirement system of
the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve shall be age
sixty-three, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MEMBER MAY RETIRE WITHOUT
REDUCTION OF THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT LEAST
FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF
SERVICE.
b-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
service retirement benefit for members with twenty or more years of
credit service who first become a member of a public retirement system
of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve at age sixty-
three OR FOR MEMBERS WHO HAVE ATTAINED AT LEAST FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE
AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE shall be a pension
equal to the sum of thirty-five per centum and one-fiftieth of final
average salary for each year of service in excess of twenty times final
average salary times years of credited service. In no event shall any
retirement benefit payable without optional modification be less than
the actuarially equivalent annuitized value of the member's contrib-
utions accumulated with interest at five percent per annum compounded
annually to the date of retirement.
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§ 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the
retirement and social security law.
§ 7. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
the amendments to subdivision a of section 603 of the retirement and
social security law made by section four of this act shall not affect
the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire there-
with.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow Tier 5 and Tier 6 members in the New York State
and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) to retire prior to
normal retirement age without reduction of their retirement benefit upon
attainment of at least age 55 and completion of 30 years of service.
Insofar as this bill affects NYSLERS, the present value of benefits
would increase by approximately $2.1 billion.
Benefit improvements will be funded by increasing the billing rates
charged annually. The annual contribution required by all participating
employers in NYSLERS would increase 0.9% of billable salary, or approxi-
mately $130 million to the state of New York and $190 million to the
local participating employers. The annual billing rates for Tier 6
members would further increase by 0.2% of salary (for a 1.1% total annu-
al rate increase).
Required contributions will increase significantly as Tier 6 grows.
Employer costs would vary according to plan coverage and salary reported
in Tier 6.
These estimated costs are based on 344,860 affected members in NYSLERS
with annual salary of approximately $18 billion as of March 31, 2025.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated April 1, 2026, and intended for use only during
the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-179. As Chief
Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I,
Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with
S. 10002 6
applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of
Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing
Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it
impairs my objectivity.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Bill Description:
This fiscal note is prepared for legislative bill draft #15146-06-6.
This bill would amend various sections of Retirement and Social Security
Law to permit Tier 5 and 6 members of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System (NYSTRS) to retire with an unreduced benefit upon
attainment of at least age 55 and 30 years of service credit. Tier 5
members are currently able to retire with an unreduced benefit upon
attainment of at least age 57 and 30 years of service credit. Tier 6
members are currently unable to retire with an unreduced benefit until
attainment of age 63, regardless of service credit.
Cost:
The annual cost to the participating employers of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be $371.5 million or 1.79%
of payroll if this bill is enacted.
The System's "new entrant rate," a hypothetical employer contribution
rate that would be charged if we started a new retirement system without
any assets, is equal to 5.52% of pay under the current Tier 6 benefit
structure. This can be thought of as the long-term expected employer
cost of Tier 6, based on current actuarial assumptions. For the proposed
change to the Tier 6 benefit structure under this bill, this new entrant
rate is estimated to increase to 7.29% of pay, an increase of 1.77% of
pay.
Data:
Member data as of June 30, 2025, prepared for the most recent actuari-
al valuation was used in determining this cost. The most recent data
distributions and statistics can be found in the System's Annual Report
for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. System assets are as reported
in the System's financial statements which can be found in the System's
Annual Report. This data will also be provided in the System's Actuarial
Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025.
Methods and Assumptions:
A summary of actuarial assumptions and methods will be provided in the
System's Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025. Further details
can be found in the most recent Recommended Actuarial Assumptions 2025
Report.
Actuarial Certification:
We, the undersigned actuaries for the New York State Teachers' Retire-
ment System, certify the following:
1. The actuarial assumptions, methods, and data used are reasonable
for the purposes of this fiscal note, internally consistent and are in
accordance with standards of practice prescribed by the Actuarial Stand-
ards Board and generally accepted actuarial principles and procedures.
2. We relied on member data supplied by the participating employers of
the New York State Teachers' Retirement System and assets as supplied in
the annual Financial Statements by NYSTRS' Finance Department.
3. Results were prepared based on our current understanding of the
proposal as of the date of this fiscal note. If the language or our
understanding of the proposal changes, the results could change and
require the issuance of a new fiscal note. The next annual update of the
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actuarial valuation could also produce different results. Results should
not be relied upon for any other purpose.
4. This fiscal note was prepared in accordance with New York State
Retirement and Social Security Law, New York State Education Law, appli-
cable Internal Revenue Code, and accepted actuarial standards of prac-
tice as of the date of this fiscal note. This fiscal note does not
constitute a legal opinion on the viability of this legislative
proposal.
5. We are members of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society
of Actuaries, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
We are currently compliant with the Continuing Professional Development
Requirement of the Society of Actuaries.
Fiscal Note Identification:
This Fiscal Note, 2026-6, revised March 30, 2026, was prepared by the
Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System
and is intended for use only during the 2026 Legislative Session.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation, as it relates to the New York City
Retirement Systems and Pension Funds (NYCRS) would provide an unreduced
early retirement benefit for Tier 6 NYCRS members who attain age 55 and
have at least 30 years of credited service.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
Year NYCERS TRS BERS TOTAL
2027 15.6 123.9 4.9 144.4
2028 16.6 129.4 5.1 151.1
2029 17.7 135.4 5.3 158.4
2030 18.8 141.9 5.5 166.2
2031 19.9 148.9 5.7 174.5
2032 21.1 156.4 6.0 183.5
2033 22.3 164.4 6.2 192.9
2034 23.6 173.2 6.5 203.3
2035 24.8 182.6 6.7 214.1
2036 26.2 192.7 7.0 225.9
2037 27.5 203.4 7.3 238.2
2038 28.9 214.9 7.6 251.4
2039 30.4 227.0 8.0 265.4
2040 31.8 239.7 8.3 279.8
2041 33.4 252.8 8.6 294.8
2042 35.0 266.3 9.0 310.3
2043 36.6 280.0 9.3 325.9
2044 38.3 293.9 9.7 341.9
2045 40.0 307.8 10.1 357.9
2046 35.8 321.5 9.3 366.6
2047 37.6 283.4 9.8 330.8
2048 39.4 296.3 10.2 345.9
2049 41.2 308.8 10.7 360.7
2050 43.0 320.8 11.2 375.0
2051 44.7 332.4 11.7 388.8
Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted.
For Fiscal Year 2052 and beyond, the expected increase in normal cost as
a level percent of pay for impacted new entrants is approximately 0.12%
for NYCERS, 0.95% for TRS, and 0.19% for BERS.
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The initial increase in employer contributions of $144.4 million is
estimated to be $136.7 million for New York City and $7.7 million for
the other obligors of NYCRS.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
Future new hires are not included in this present value.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
as of June 30, 2025 ($ in Millions)
Present Value (PV) NYCERS TRS BERS
(1) PV of Employer
Contributions: 192.0 1,431.5 57.2
(2) PV of Employee
Contributions: (8.4) (308.5) (8.9)
Total PV of Benefits
(1) + (2): 183.5 1,123.0 48.2
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life-
time of those impacted using level dollar payments.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
NYCERS TRS BERS
Increase (Decrease)
in UAL: 59.5 M 527.5 M 11.6 M
Number of Payments: 19 20 19
Amortization Payment: 6.0 M 51.5 M 1.2 M
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
census data collected as of June 30, 2025. The census data for the
impacted population is summarized below.
NYCERS TRS BERS
Active Members
- Number Count: 28,288 41,556 13,592
- Average Age: 32.0 32.5 27.8
- Average Service: 4.9 5.9 1.5
- Average Salary: 83,500 90,400 34,900
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, Tier 6 NYCRS members are eligi-
ble for unreduced service retirement under the Tier 6 basic plan upon
attainment of age 63 with at least 5 years of credited service. Members
may retire as early as age 55 with a reduction of 6.5% for each year
that retirement precedes age 63.
Under the proposed legislation, Tier 6 members would be eligible for
unreduced service retirement under the Tier 6 basic plan upon attainment
of age 55 with at least 30 years of credited service.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems. In addition:
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* New entrants were assumed to replace exiting members so that total
payroll increases by 3% each year for impacted groups. New entrant demo-
graphics were developed based on data for recent new hires and actuarial
judgement.
* Retirement rates were adjusted on and after age 55 and 30 years of
service to reflect the change in the plan provisions.
* In systems where the 55/30 plan was not available, assumptions were
applied based on current plan offerings.
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 2026-64 dated April 17,
2026 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2026
Legislative Session.
