STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6606--B
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 27, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, GOLDFEDER -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.
2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means -- 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
members of the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program for Triborough
bridge and tunnel members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision e of section 604-c of the
2 retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 661 of the
3 laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
4 1. In addition to the member contributions required by section six
5 hundred thirteen of this article, each participant in the twenty-
6 year/age fifty retirement program in the rank of bridge and tunnel offi-
7 cer shall contribute to the retirement system of which he or she is a
8 member (subject to the applicable provisions of subdivision d of section
9 six hundred thirteen of this article) an additional five and fifty one-
10 hundredths percent of his or her compensation and each participant in
11 the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program in the rank of sergeant or
12 lieutenant shall contribute to the retirement system an additional six
13 percent of his or her compensation earned [from] for all allowable
14 service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel member rendered on and after
15 the date which is one hundred eighty days prior to the starting date of
16 the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program and all credited service
17 after such person ceases to be a participant but before he or she again
18 becomes a participant pursuant to paragraph six of subdivision b of this
19 section. A participant in the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09868-05-6
A. 6606--B 2
1 shall contribute additional member contributions until the later of (i)
2 the date as of which he or she has twenty years of credited service as a
3 bridge and tunnel officer, or (ii) the third anniversary of the date
4 that he or she last became a participant in the twenty-year/age fifty
5 retirement program.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply only to
7 new employees within the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA).
FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: This proposed legislation would
amend paragraph 1 of subdivision e of section 604-c of the Retirement
and Social Security Law (RSSL) to require that Additional Member
Contributions (AMC) for a period of non-participation be made by a
member of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) 20-Year/Age
50 Retirement Plan (TBTA 20/50 Plan) who ceases to be a participant and
later again becomes a participant of the TBTA 20/50 Plan.
The effective date of the proposed legislation would be the date of
enactment and would apply only to new employees within the TBTA.
BACKGROUND: Members in the New York City Employees' Retirement System
(NYCERS) TBTA 20/50 Plan must be employed in a TBTA Eligible Position to
be eligible to participate. A TBTA Eligible Position is a position held
by a Tier 4 or Tier 6 member who is employed as a TBTA Bridge and Tunnel
Officer, Sergeant or Lieutenant in a non-managerial position. To
participate in the TBTA 20/50 Plan, in addition to Basic Member Contrib-
utions, AMC must be made at the rate of 5.5% of gross wages for Officers
and 6.0% of gross wages for Sergeants and Lieutenants until the later of
(1) 20 years of Credited Service in a TBTA Eligible Position, or (2) the
third anniversary of participation in the TBTA 20/50 Plan.
If a TBTA 20/50 Plan member gets promoted to a managerial position, he
or she is no longer eligible to participate in that Plan. Subsequently,
if the member is reassigned to a non-managerial position, making the
member once again eligible to participate in the TBTA 20/50 Plan, the
member is then able to retire with full TBTA 20/50 Plan benefits despite
not having contributed AMC during the period the member spent in the
managerial position.
This proposed legislation, if enacted, would require a member who
spends a portion of his or her career in a non-participating managerial
position and then returns to a TBTA Eligible Position to contribute AMC
for the period of time that the member was in that managerial position.
For purposes of developing the analysis herein, the Actuary has
assumed that the required AMC rate for this period of time would be
deemed to be equal to the AMC rate last paid by the member while a
participant in the TBTA 20/50 Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: Enactment of
this legislation would result in a future reduction in the Actuarial
Present Value of Benefits (APVB) and employer contributions to NYCERS
and would be based on the number of members affected, the number of
years they were in non-participating positions, and the gross wages
during the non-participating periods. Based on the assumptions herein,
the savings in the APVB, if this legislation is enacted, would be
approximately $60,000 per member at the date of retirement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER COSTS: Enactment of this proposed legis-
lation could decrease employer contributions, where such amounts would
depend on the number of members affected, the number of years they were
in non-participating positions, and their gross wages during the non-
participating years.
A. 6606--B 3
The increase in the assets of NYCERS as a result of the additional AMC
paid in any year would be treated as an actuarial gain and be amortized
over 15 years. Based on the assumptions herein, the cost savings would
be approximately $7,000 per year per affected member.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: Decreases in employer
contributions would ultimately be comparable to the decreases in employ-
er costs.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The approximate savings per member
in the APVB has been estimated assuming that:
* The member had been in a managerial position for 10 years
* The member's gross wages at the end of the 10-year period was
$100,000
* The member had received increases in gross wages of 4.0% per year
during the 10-year period
* The AMC rate was 6.0% of gross wages, and
* AMC are accumulated at the rate of 5.0% per year.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuar-
ies, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qual-
ification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the
actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This estimate is intended for use only
during the 2016 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal Note 2016-07, dated
March 9, 2016 prepared by the Chief Actuary of the New York City Employ-
ees' Retirement System.