Bill Text: NY S06293 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to a child care leave credit for New York city uniformed correction officers who are members of the New York city uniformed correction/sanitation revised plan.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-12-08 - SIGNED CHAP.710 [S06293 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S06293-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6293

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 12, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- 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 a
          child care leave credit for New York city uniformed  correction  offi-
          cers    who   are   members   of   the   New   York   city   uniformed
          correction/sanitation revised plan

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision h of section 513 of the retirement and social
     2  security law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012,  is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    h.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision of this section, any general
     5  member in the uniformed correction force of the New York city department
     6  of correction and any member of the uniformed force of the New York city
     7  department  of  correction  who   is   a   New   York   city   uniformed
     8  correction/sanitation revised plan member, who is absent without pay for
     9  a  child  care  leave of absence pursuant to regulations of the New York
    10  city department of correction shall be  eligible  for  credit  for  such
    11  period  of  child care leave provided such member files a claim for such
    12  service credit with the retirement system by December thirty-first,  two
    13  thousand five or within ninety days of the termination of the child care
    14  leave,  whichever  is later, and contributes to the retirement system an
    15  amount which such member would have contributed  during  the  period  of
    16  such  child  care  leave, together with interest thereon. Service credit
    17  provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed one year of cred-
    18  it for each period of authorized child care leave. In the event there is
    19  a conflict between the provisions of this subdivision and the provisions
    20  of any other law or code to the contrary, the provisions of this  subdi-
    21  vision  shall  govern[,  provided,  however, that the provisions of this
    22  subdivision shall not apply to a member of the uniformed  force  of  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08413-02-3

        S. 6293                             2

     1  New  York city department of correction who is a New York city uniformed
     2  correction/sanitation revised plan member].
     3    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          SUMMARY  OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Section 513 of
        the Retirement and Social  Security  Law  (RSSL)  to  permit  Correction
        members  in  the  Tier  3 Revised or Enhanced plans of the New York City
        Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) to apply for and  purchase  up  to
        one  year  of  service credit for each period of authorized unpaid child
        care leave.
          Effective Date: Upon enactment.
          BACKGROUND: Currently, provisions  permitting  Correction  members  to
        purchase  service  credit  for the time spent while on authorized unpaid
        child care leave do not apply  to  Correction  members  in  the  Tier  3
        Revised or Enhanced plans of NYCERS.
          Under  the proposed legislation, if enacted, Correction members in the
        Tier 3 Revised or Enhanced plans of NYCERS who  take  authorized  unpaid
        child  care leave would be eligible to apply for the purchase of service
        credit for the period of leave within 90 days of the termination of such
        leave. To purchase such leave, members must  contribute  to  NYCERS  the
        amount  which  would  have  been  contributed  during  the leave period,
        including interest. The maximum service credit that can be purchased for
        each period of authorized child care leave is one year.
          FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the anticipated number  of
        members  purchasing  service  and  the  assumed  amount  of service they
        purchase each year, as well as the  actuarial  assumptions  and  methods
        described  herein,  the  enactment  of  this  proposed legislation would
        result in an increase in the present value of future  employer  contrib-
        utions of approximately $92,500 each year.
          This  net  increase is a result of an increase in the Present Value of
        Future Benefits  (PVFB)  of  approximately  $98,200  each  year  and  an
        increase  in  the present value of member contributions of approximately
        $5,700 which includes the member cost of the buyback.
          FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS:  Enactment  of  this
        proposed  legislation  would increase employer contributions, where such
        amount would depend on the number of years of eligible child care  leave
        service  credited  as  well  as other characteristics including the age,
        years of service, and  salary  history  of  the  member  purchasing  the
        service.
          Based  on  the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the
        enactment of this proposed legislation is estimated to  increase  annual
        employer contributions by approximately $10,900 each year.
          Since  employer  contributions  to  NYCERS generally do not anticipate
        future purchases of service by members, the financial  impact  would  be
        recognized  at  the  time  of event.   Consequently, changes in employer
        contributions have been estimated assuming  that  the  increase  in  the
        present  value of future employer contributions will be amortized over a
        closed 15-year period (14 payments under the One-Year  Lag  Methodology)
        using level dollar payments.
          With  respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions would
        depend upon when members apply for and purchase the service.  Generally,
        increased employer contributions will first occur the second fiscal year
        following processing and payment of the buyback application.
          CENSUS  DATA:  The  estimates presented herein are based on the census
        data used in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation of NYCERS  to  deter-
        mine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions.

        S. 6293                             3

          There  are  currently  3,045  Correction  members in Tier 3 Revised or
        Enhanced plans who could immediately benefit from  the  proposed  legis-
        lation. To better reflect the future impact of the proposed legislation,
        it  was  assumed  that  the population of the Correction workforce would
        eventually  consist  entirely  of  Tier 3 Enhanced members with the same
        characteristics as the current  population  of  Correction  members  who
        would  benefit from the proposed legislation.  There are currently 6,514
        (out of 6,711) Correction members who have less than 25 years of service
        and therefore could potentially benefit from the  proposed  legislation,
        with  an  average age of approximately 41.8 years, an average service of
        approximately  11.1  years,  and  an  average  salary  of  approximately
        $120,000.
          ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
        been  calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used for
        the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of NYCERS.
          Supplemental data for child care leave service purchased by Correction
        Tiers 1, 2, and original Tier 3 members was provided by NYCERS. Based on
        this data, an average frequency of four purchases per year  was  assumed
        and  an  average of nine months of credited service was assumed for each
        purchase.
          RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
        highly  on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, demograph-
        ics of the impacted population and other  factors  such  as  investment,
        contribution,  and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu-
        arial assumptions, the actual costs could differ  from  those  presented
        herein.
          Costs  are also dependent on the actuarial methods used, and therefore
        different actuarial methods could produce different results. Quantifying
        these risks is beyond the scope of this Fiscal Note.
          Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
          *  The  initial  additional  administrative  costs  to  implement  the
        proposed legislation.
          *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
        Benefit costs.
          STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Marek  Tyszkiewicz,  am  the  Chief
        Actuary  for,  and  independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems
        and Pension Funds. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries  and  a
        Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I am a member of NYCERS but
        do  not  believe  it impairs my objectivity and I meet the Qualification
        Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render  the  actuarial
        opinion  contained  herein.  To  the  best  of my 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 2023-26 dated  April  11,
        2023  was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
        Retirement System.  This estimate is intended for use  only  during  the
        2023 Legislative Session.
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