Senate Bill S8158

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8158--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   accidental disability retirement for deputy sheriffs
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraph 3 of subdivision e of section 556 of the retire-
 ment and social security law, as added by chapter 165  of  the  laws  of
 1995, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  A pension of two-thirds of [his or her] THE MEMBER'S final average
 salary; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, A DEPUTY SHERIFF SHALL RECEIVE A  PENSION  OF
 THREE-QUARTERS  OF  THEIR  FINAL  AVERAGE  SALARY.  The  payment of such
 pension shall be subject to the provisions of  section  [three  hundred]
 sixty-four of this chapter.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  modify the accidental retirement benefit for deputy
 sheriffs covered under Article 14-B of the Retirement and Social Securi-
 ty Law (RSSL) to  be  three-quarters  of  their  final  average  salary,
 increased  from the current benefit of two-thirds of final average sala-
 ry.
   Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and  Local  Employees'
 Retirement  System  (NYSLERS), if this legislation is enacted during the
 2025 Legislative Session, there would be an increase in accrued  liabil-
 ities  of  approximately $3.14 million, due to the past service accruals
 of affected members, which would be shared by the State of New York  and
 all  local  participating  employers.  This will marginally increase the
 billing rates charged annually to all participating employers, beginning
 with the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01325-03-5
              

 S. 8158--A                          2
 
   In addition to the cost for past service above, there would be a  cost
 for  future  service  accruals  which  would increase the annual billing
 rates for affected members by 0.2% of salary.
   These  estimated costs are based on 3,489 affected members with annual
 salary of approximately $299 million as of March 31, 2024.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.  The  Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated May 15, 2025, and intended for  use  only  during
 the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal Note No. 2025-169. As Chief
 Actuary of the New York State and  Local  Retirement  System,  I,  Aaron
 Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
 ble  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.