Senate Bill S10471

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10471
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the retirement and social security law, the education
   law and the administrative code of the city of New York,  in  relation
   to providing cost-of-living adjustments

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision g of section 78-a of the retirement and  social
 security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
 read as follows:
   g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
 OF  SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN,  the  surviving spouse of a
 deceased retired member who retired under an option which provides  that
 benefits  are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after the
 death of the retired member,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  benefits
 pursuant  to  this  section.  Said benefits shall be [fifty] ONE HUNDRED
 percent of the monthly benefits which the pensioner would  be  receiving
 pursuant  to  this  section  if  living,  and  shall commence (i) with a
 payment for the month of September, two thousand TWENTY-SEVEN,  or  (ii)
 the  month following the death of the deceased retired member, whichever
 is later.
   § 2. Subdivision g of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of  2000,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
 OF  SEPTEMBER,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN,  the  surviving spouse of a
 deceased retired member who retired under an option which provides  that
 benefits  are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after the
 death of the retired member,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  benefits
 pursuant  to  this  section.  Said benefits shall be [fifty] ONE HUNDRED
 percent of the monthly benefits which the pensioner would  be  receiving
 pursuant  to  this  section  if  living,  and  shall commence (i) with a
 payment for the month of September, two thousand TWENTY-SEVEN,  or  (ii)
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15258-02-6
              

 S. 10471                            2
 
 the  month following the death of the deceased retired member, whichever
 is later.
   §  3. Subdivision g of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
   g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
 OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN,  the  surviving  spouse  of  a
 deceased  retired member who retired under an option which provides that
 benefits are to be continued for life to the surviving spouse after  the
 death  of  the  retired  member,  shall  be entitled to receive benefits
 pursuant to this section. Said benefits shall  be  [fifty]  ONE  HUNDRED
 percent  of  the monthly benefits which the pensioner would be receiving
 pursuant to this section if  living,  and  shall  commence  (i)  with  a
 payment  for  the month of September, two thousand TWENTY-SEVEN, or (ii)
 the month following the death of the deceased retired member,  whichever
 is later.
   § 4. Subdivision g of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
 city  of  New  York,  as  added  by  chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is
 amended to read as follows:
   g. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, EFFECTIVE THE FIRST DAY
 OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND  TWENTY-SEVEN,  the  surviving  spouse  of  a
 deceased  retired  member  of  the  New  York city employees' retirement
 system, the New York city teachers' retirement system, the New York city
 police pension fund, the New York city fire department pension  fund  or
 the New York city board of education retirement system who retired under
 an  option  which provides that benefits are to be continued for life to
 the surviving spouse after the death of the member, shall be entitled to
 receive a benefit pursuant  to  this  section.  Said  benefit  shall  be
 [fifty]  ONE  HUNDRED percent of the monthly benefit which the pensioner
 would be receiving if living, and shall commence (i) with a payment  for
 the  month  of  September,  two thousand TWENTY-SEVEN, or (ii) the month
 following the death of the deceased retired member, whichever is later.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would amend the retirement and social security law (RSSL) to
 increase the defined benefit cost-of-living adjustment  (COLA)  for  New
 York  public  retirement  systems.  Beginning  with  pension payments in
 September 2027, the cost-of-living benefit payable to a surviving spouse
 who is eligible for COLA will be increased from  fifty  percent  to  one
 hundred  percent  of  the  COLA  payment  that  the  retiree  would have
 received.
   Pursuant to section 25 of the RSSL, retrospective  costs  in  the  New
 York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) arising from
 prior service would be borne entirely by the state of New York and would
 require  an  itemized  appropriation  sufficient  to pay the cost of the
 provision.
   Insofar as this bill affects NYSLERS, the present  value  of  benefits
 would increase by approximately $1.8 billion.
   In  NYSLERS,  this benefit improvement will be funded by (1) billing a
 one-time  charge  to  cover  retrospective  benefit  increases  and  (2)
 increasing the billing rates charged annually to cover prospective bene-
 fit increases, as follows:
   (1)  To  fund  retrospective  costs,  the  state  of  New York will be
 required to pay $1.92 billion as of March 1, 2027.
   (2) To fund prospective costs, annual billing  rates  charged  to  all
 participating  employers  in NYSLERS would increase by 0.04% of billable
 salary. Systemwide, annual contributions would increase by approximately
 S. 10471                            3
 
 $5.3 million for the state of New York and $7.9 million  for  the  local
 participating  employers. This permanent annual cost will vary in future
 billing cycles with changes in  the  billing  rate  and  salary  of  the
 affected members.
   Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
 Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), the present value of  benefits  would
 increase by approximately $207 million.
 
 NYSLPFRS                 Increase in present      Increase in required
                           value of benefits          contributions
 Pensioners                    $182 mn                   $  0 mn
 Actives Tiers 1-5 (Closed)    $ 15 mn                   $ 70 mn
 Actives Tier 6 (Open)         $ 10 mn                   $137 mn
   Total                       $207 mn                   $207 mn
 
   Benefit  improvements  will  be funded by increasing the billing rates
 charged annually. The annual billing rate required of all  participating
 employers  in  NYSLPFRS would increase 0.4% of billable salary.  System-
 wide, annual contributions would increase approximately $3.6 million  to
 the  state  of  New  York  and  $15.2 million to the local participating
 employers.   This permanent annual cost  will  vary  in  future  billing
 cycles  with  changes  in  the  billing  rate and salary of the affected
 members.
   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 23, 2026, and intended for use only  during
 the  2026  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-161. As Chief
 Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System  (NYSLRS),  I,
 Aaron  Schottin  Young,  hereby certify that this analysis complies with
 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.