Bill Text: NY A08115 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to provisions affecting accidental disability benefits for police and fire members, New York city uniformed correction and sanitation revised plan members and investigator revised plan members.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-21 - substituted by s6550 [A08115 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A08115-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8115--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      May 30, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Governmental  Employees  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law,  in  relation  to  provisions
          affecting  accidental disability benefits for police/fire members, New
          York city uniformed correction/sanitation  revised  plan  members  and
          investigator revised plan members
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 209-ff to read as follows:
     3    §  209-ff.  Provisions relating to certain accidental disability bene-
     4  fits. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions  of  subdivisions  a  and  b  of
     5  section  five hundred seven of the retirement and social security law, a
     6  police/fire  member  in  active  service,  a  New  York  city  uniformed
     7  correction/sanitation revised plan member in active service or an inves-
     8  tigator  revised plan member in active service shall be eligible for the
     9  accidental disability benefit provided  in  such  section  five  hundred
    10  seven,  regardless of whether he or she is eligible for a normal service
    11  retirement  benefit.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  the  terms
    12  "police/fire  member"  and "active service" shall have the same meanings
    13  as defined in section five hundred one  of  the  retirement  and  social
    14  security law.
    15    2. Notwithstanding the provision of any general, special or local law,
    16  charter or administrative code to the contrary, subdivision d of section
    17  five  hundred  seven of the retirement and social security law shall not
    18  apply to retired police/fire members, retired New  York  city  uniformed
    19  correction/sanitation  revised  plan  members  and  retired investigator
    20  revised plan members who receive accidental disability retirement allow-
    21  ances. Such retirees shall be subject to post retirement  medical  exam-
    22  inations,  and  where  applicable, modification of retirement allowance,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11535-04-7

        A. 8115--A                          2
     1  following such examinations, in the  same  manner  and  under  the  same
     2  conditions  prescribed  by  law immediately prior to the first of April,
     3  two   thousand   twelve   for   retired   New   York   city    uniformed
     4  correction/sanitation  revised  plan  members, and prior to the first of
     5  July, two thousand nine for  retired  police/fire  members  and  retired
     6  investigator revised plan members.
     7    §  2.  Section 81 of chapter 18 of the laws of 2012 shall not apply to
     8  this act.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill will allow certain uniformed members  of  public  retirement
        systems  who  are subject to the provisions of Article 14 of the Retire-
        ment and Social Security Law to be eligible to file  for  an  accidental
        disability  benefit  regardless  of  whether he or she is eligible for a
        normal service retirement benefit. The bill would  also  allow  retirees
        who  are receiving an accidental disability pension to continue to do so
        despite being disapproved from receiving a federal social security disa-
        bility pension.
          If this bill is enacted, insofar as it affects the New York State  and
        Local Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), there are fewer than 100
        Tier  3  members  that  are  subject to the provisions of Article 14 who
        could possibly be affected.
          It is estimated that there will be few, if any, accidental  disability
        retirees affected, thus we anticipate that the cost to state of New York
        and the participating in the PFRS would be negligible.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
        change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2016  actuarial  valu-
        ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2016
        Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2016  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
        Report.
          The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
        and 2016 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, 2016
        New York State and Local  Retirement  System  Financial  Statements  and
        Supplementary Information.
          I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
        fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
          This  estimate,  dated  May 26, 2017, and intended for use only during
        the 2017 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2017-98,  prepared  by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          PROVISIONS  OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the New York City
        Police Pension Fund (POLICE), the New York  City  Employees'  Retirement
        System  (NYCERS),  the  proposed legislation would add Section 209-ff to
        the General Municipal Law  (GML)  to  permit  POLICE,  FIRE  and  NYCERS
        Members  who  are  subject  to Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL)
        Article 14 (Eligible Members) and who would be ineligible for disability
        retirement benefits solely on account of being  eligible  for  a  normal
        service retirement benefit to be eligible for disability benefits.
          The  proposed  legislation  would also relax the safeguards provisions
        regarding  restrictions  on  post-retirement  employment  for   Eligible
        Members  who are awarded Accident Disability Retirement (ADR), and would

        A. 8115--A                          3
        also make the process for reducing or eliminating an ADR  benefit  based
        on post-retirement earnings more onerous.
          Currently,  Eligible Members receiving ADR benefits are subject to the
        safeguards provision contained in  RSSL  section  507(d).  RSSL  section
        507(d)  restricts ADR recipients who have not reached age 65 from engag-
        ing in employment or business activity that would render them ineligible
        for social security disability benefits. It is the understanding of  the
        Actuary  that ceasing to be disabled or earning above a threshold amount
        determined by the Social Security Administration,  set  at  $13,560  per
        year  in  2016  for  non-blind individuals, would result in an automatic
        cessation of ADR benefits.
          Where applicable, Eligible Members who would have been deemed ineligi-
        ble for social security disability may be permitted to receive ADR bene-
        fits while being placed on a preferred eligible  list  for  purposes  of
        reemployment  at  a salary grade not to exceed that from which the indi-
        vidual retired. Once an offer of employment is made, ADR benefits  would
        cease.
          Under  the  proposed legislation, RSSL section 507(d) safeguards would
        become inapplicable to Eligible  Members,  and  a  medical  examination,
        followed by the conditions prescribed by safeguards provisions in effect
        for the relevant POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS titles who became members prior
        to  the  application  or RSSL Article 14 would be required before an ADR
        benefit reduction or suspension could occur.
          Although subject to varying applicable safeguards provisions, relevant
        POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS titles that joined prior to the  application  of
        RSSL  Article  14  are  generally  subject to two alternative safeguards
        processes. Where an ADR recipient has not yet reached the minimum age of
        service retirement and the sum of ADR retirement benefits  and  post-re-
        tirement  earnings  exceed the salary of the title next higher than that
        held at the time of retirement, the ADR pension is automatically reduced
        by the  amount  exceeding  such  salary  rate.  The  second  alternative
        involves  a medical examination to determine disability level, the Board
        of Trustee review and approval, to reduce the ADR  amount  based  on  an
        ability  of  the  retiree  to perform gainful employment, or based on an
        offer of employment after being placed on a preferred eligible list.  It
        is  the  understanding  of  the  Actuary, that the second alternative is
        rarely utilized.
          The proposed legislation would therefore eliminate the automatic bene-
        fit reduction and termination alternative under safeguards,  reduce  the
        amount  of  time  safeguards  may  be applied to a retiree, increase the
        amount of post-retirement earnings an ADR recipient may  earn  before  a
        reduction  or  elimination  of an ADR benefit can be applied, and modify
        the safeguards provision in effect for Eligible Member titles who became
        members prior to application of Article 14 to require a medical examina-
        tion and Board of Trustee review and approval to reduce or terminate and
        ADR benefit even in situations where the retiree is  gainfully  employed
        and earning above the applicable post-retirement earnings threshold.
          The  Effective  Date  of the proposed legislation would be the date of
        enactment.
          IMPACT ON ADR BENEFITS PAYABLE: Under  the  proposed  legislation  the
        eligibility  requirements  for  disability  benefits would be revised to
        allow for benefits after a member is eligible for normal service retire-
        ment  benefits  and  the  safeguards  provisions  would  be  relaxed  as
        explained above.
          FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  CHANGES  IN PROJECTED ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUE OF
        BENEFITS AND PROJECTED EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  For  purposes  of  this

        A. 8115--A                          4
        Fiscal  Note,  it  is  assumed that the changes in the Actuarial Present
        Value (APV)  of  benefits  (APVB),  APV  of  member  contributions,  the
        Unfunded  Actuarial  Accrued Liability (UAAL) and APV of future employer
        contributions would be reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2016
        actuarial  valuation  of POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS. Under the One-Year Lag
        Methodology (OYLM), the first year in  which  changes  in  benefits  for
        Eligible Members would impact employer contributions to POLICE, FIRE and
        NYCERS would be Fiscal Year 2018.
          The additional member contributions expressed as percentages of annual
        wages  provided  in  section  18  of Chapter 298 of the Laws of 2016 and
        section 4, Part SSS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017  for  purposes  of
        maintaining  no  additional employer contributions for implementation of
        the Enhanced Plan for applicable members included the cost  for  changes
        to  eligibility  requirements for disability retirement contained in the
        proposed legislation, corresponding to the APVB in Table 1 below.
          Table 1 presents an estimate of the increases in the APV  of  benefits
        and  in  employer  contributions  to  POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS for Fiscal
        Years 2018 through 2022 due to the  changes  in  disability  eligibility
        based on the applicable actuarial assumptions and methods noted herein:
                                         Table 1
               Estimated Financial Impact if Certain Revisions are Made to
                Eligibility for Disability Benefits for Eligible Members
                                      ($ Millions)
                                  Increase in APV of      Increase in Employer
        Fiscal Year                    Benefits              Contributions*
        2018
             * POLICE                    $76.5                     8.9
             * FIRE                       45.4                       0
             * Sanitation                  6.9                       0
             * Correction                  4.6                       0
             * Total                    $133.4                    $8.9
        2019
             * POLICE                    $95.8                     9.9
             * FIRE                       61.6                       0
             * Sanitation                  9.0                       0
             * Correction                  6.2                       0
             * Total                    $172.6                    $9.9
        2020
             * POLICE                   $116.2                    11.0
             * FIRE                       77.1                       0
             * Sanitation                 11.5                       0
             * Correction                  9.7                       0
             * Total                    $212.9                    $11.0
        2021
             * POLICE                   $136.9                    11.7
             * FIRE                       93.1                       0
             * Sanitation                 13.9                       0
             * Correction                  9.7                       0

        A. 8115--A                          5
             * Total                    $253.6                    $11.7
        2022
             * POLICE                   $158.8                    12.5
             * FIRE                      111.4                       0
             * Sanitation                 17.1                       0
             * Correction                 11.5                       0
             * Total                    $298.8                    $12.5
          *  The  cost  for  this  change  has already been accounted for in the
        Preliminary June 30, 2016 actuarial valuation of FIRE and NYCERS.
          The estimated increases in APVB in Table 1 are based upon the  follow-
        ing projection assumptions:
          *  Level workforce (i.e., new employees are hired to replace those who
        leave active status).
          * Salary increases consistent with those used in projections presented
        to the New York City Office of  Management  and  Budget  in  April  2017
        (Preliminary Projections).
          *  New  entrant salaries consistent with those used in the Preliminary
        Projections.
          OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
          * The initial, additional administrative costs  of  POLICE,  FIRE  and
        NYCERS to implement the proposed legislation.
          *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
        Benefit (OPEB) costs.
          CENSUS DATA: The  starting  census  data  used  for  the  calculations
        presented  herein and shown in Table 2 below are the census data used in
        the Preliminary June 30, 2016 (Lag) actuarial valuation of POLICE, FIRE,
        and NYCERS to  determine  the  Preliminary  Fiscal  Year  2018  employer
        contributions.
                                         Table 2
                             Census Data as of June 30, 2016
                            Average        Average        Average
        Group       Count   Age            Service        Salary
        Police
        Tier 3      3,211   31.3           5.2            $87,300
        Revised
        Tier 3      7,998   28.5           1.8            $58,400
        Fire
        Tier 3      336     29.9           3.0            $60,500
        Revised
        Tier 3      1,638   29.0           1.3            $53,000
        Sanitation  1,563   36.5           2.4            $55,800
        Correction  2,302   33.1           1.9            $52,200
          ACTUARIAL  ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS: The change in the APVB presented
        herein has been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and  meth-
        ods  in  effect  for the Preliminary June 30, 2016 (Lag) actuarial valu-
        ations used to determine  the  Preliminary  Fiscal  Year  2018  employer
        contributions of POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS.
          It  has  been  further assumed that all Tier 3 POLICE, FIRE and NYCERS
        members who became members prior to the effective date of  the  proposed
        legislation will choose new disability provisions.

        A. 8115--A                          6
          New  entrants  were projected to replace the members expected to leave
        the active population to maintain a steady-state population.
          STATEMENT  OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
        ary for, and independent of, the New York City Pension Funds and Retire-
        ment Systems. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the
        Conference of Consulting Actuaries and a Member of the American  Academy
        of Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy
        of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
          FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  Fiscal Note 2017-23 dated May 30,
        2017 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Employees'
        Retirement  System,  the  New York City Police Pension Fund, and the New
        York Fire Department Pension Fund. This estimate  is  intended  for  use
        only during the 2017 Legislative Session.
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