Senate Bill S9203

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9203
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 13, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, MARTINEZ, MARTINS, PALUMBO, RHOADS, CANZON-
   ERI-FITZPATRICK,  WEIK  --  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, in  relation  to
   service  retirement  of  members  of the New York city fire department
   pension fund

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraph 2 of subdivision b of section 510 of the retire-
 ment and social security law, as amended by chapter 18 of  the  laws  of
 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   2. (I) The first day of the month following the date on which a member
 completes or would have completed twenty-five years of credited service,
 with  respect to service retirement benefits for police/fire members and
 their  beneficiaries,  New  York  city  uniformed  correction/sanitation
 revised  plan  members  and  their beneficiaries or investigator revised
 plan members and their beneficiaries, EXCEPT FOR  UNIFORMED  MEMBERS  OF
 THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND AND THEIR BENEFICIARIES.
   (II)  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  THE  MONTH  FOLLOWING THE DATE ON WHICH THE
 UNIFORMED MEMBER BECOMES ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE  RETIREMENT  BENEFITS  FOR
 UNIFORMED MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT PENSION FUND.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation grants earlier Escalation eligibil-
 ity  for Tier 3 FIRE members who retire for service by allowing for Full
 Escalation at 20 years of service instead of 25 years of service.
 
          EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
           by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
 
                     Year      FIRE
                     2027      22.6
                     2028      23.3
                     2029      24.8

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

                                                            LBD13847-02-6
 S. 9203                             2
 
                     2030      26.4
                     2031      28.1
                     2032      29.9
                     2033      31.8
                     2034      33.7
                     2035      35.7
                     2036      37.9
                     2037      40.2
                     2038      42.6
                     2039      44.7
                     2040      46.7
                     2041      48.8
                     2042      50.7
                     2043      52.4
                     2044      46.1
                     2045      48.1
                     2046      49.9
                     2047      51.7
                     2048      53.5
                     2049      55.3
                     2050      57.2
                     2051      59.2
   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 1.82%.
   The entire increase 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, 2025 ($ in Millions)
 
              Present Value (PV)                 FIRE
 
              (1) PV of Employer Contributions:  246.5
              (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  (7.5)
              Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    239.0
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes  in  UAL  for  active  members  were amortized over the expected
 remaining  working  lifetime  of  those  impacted  using  level   dollar
 payments.    UAL  attributable to inactive members was recognized in the
 first year.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                                 FIRE

              Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        79.3 M
              Number of Payments:                17
              Amortization Payment:              8.3 M
              Additional One-time Payment:       0.8 M
 S. 9203                             3
 
   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.
 
                                                 FIRE
              Active Members
              - Number Count:                    6,510
              - Average Age:                     34.5
              - Average Service:                 6.4
              - Average Salary:                  118,200
              Term. Vested Members
              - Number Count:                    16
              - Average Age:                     38.3
 
   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Tier 3 FIRE members who retire for service
 are potentially eligible for the  following  benefit  adjustments  after
 retirement:
   *  Cost-of-Living  Adjustments  (COLA)  which  are based on 50% of the
 change in Consumer Price Index (CPI), limited to between 1% and 3%,  and
 applied to the first $18,000 of the maximum retirement allowance.
   *  Escalation  which  is  based  on  100%  of the change in CPI and is
 applied to the entire  benefit.  Yearly  increases  (or  decreases)  are
 limited  to  3%,  although any such excess is banked and applied cumula-
 tively to the benefit in subsequent years.  Members eligible  for  Esca-
 lation are also eligible for COLA, if COLA is greater.
   Currently,  Tier  3  FIRE  members who retire for service are eligible
 for:
   * Full Escalation, if commencing their service retirement  benefit  on
 or  after  the  date  they  attain  (or would have attained) 25 years of
 service.
   * Partial Escalation, if commencing their service  retirement  benefit
 up to three years prior to their Full Escalation date, wherein 1/36th of
 Full  Escalation is granted for each month that commencement succeeds 22
 years of service.
   * COLA, if commencing their service benefit at 22 years or fewer.
   Under the proposed legislation, Tier 3 FIRE members who commence their
 service retirement benefit on or after the date they  attain  (or  would
 have  attained)  20  years  of  service would be eligible for Full Esca-
 lation.
   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:
   * Retirement rates were adjusted to reflect the earlier payability  of
 Full Escalation granted by the proposed legislation.
   *  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.
   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.
 S. 9203                             4
 
   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.
   This Fiscal Note does not include cost analyses relating to provisions
 contained in Retirement and Social Security Law Section 500(c).
   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 2026-09 dated February 6,
 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.