Bill Text: NY S06594 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to a reduced retirement age for certain Triborough bridge and tunnel authority employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-21 - SUBSTITUTED BY A7642 [S06594 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S06594-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6594
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      June 6, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and  chapter  511
          of  the  laws  of 1988 amending the retirement and social security law
          relating to a reduction in retirement  age  for  certain  members,  in
          relation to a reduced retirement age for certain Triborough bridge and
          tunnel authority employees
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (ii) of subdivision  a  of  section  651  of  the
     2  retirement  and  social  security  law, as amended by chapter 225 of the
     3  laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (ii) For each full year of  covered  employment  [occurring  prior  to
     5  January  first, two thousand nine] which is subsequent to December thir-
     6  ty-first, nineteen hundred seventy, his or  her  normal  retirement  age
     7  shall be reduced by four months.
     8    §  2.  Section  2  of  chapter  511  of the laws of 1988, amending the
     9  retirement and social security law relating to a reduction in retirement
    10  age for certain members, as amended by chapter 225 of the laws of  2006,
    11  is amended to read as follows:
    12    §  2. This act shall take effect immediately[, and shall apply only to
    13  covered employment performed on or before December 31, 2008].
    14    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
    15  have been in full force and effect on and after December 31, 2008.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          PROVISIONS  OF  PROPOSED  LEGISLATION: This proposed legislation would
        amend Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section  651(a)(ii)  and
        Chapter  511  of  the  Laws  of  1988  to extend special unreduced early
        retirement provisions for certain Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4  Triborough  Bridge
        and  Tunnel  Authority  (TBTA) employees who are members of the New York
        City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS).
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09402-02-7

        S. 6594                             2
          The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be  the  date  of
        enactment  and  would be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
        and after December 31, 2008.
          MEMBERS IMPACTED BY THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION: The proposed legislation
        would  cover  those  members of NYCERS who are employed in the following
        TBTA job titles (Covered Members):
          * Bridge and Tunnel Officer,
          * Bridge and Tunnel Sergeant,
          * Bridge and Tunnel Lieutenant,
          * Assistant Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer,
          * Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer,
          * Senior Bridge and Tunnel Maintainer, and
          * Bridge and Tunnel Laborer.
          IMPACT ON BENEFITS PAYABLE:  The  proposed  legislation  would  permit
        Covered  Members,  who  otherwise  meet  applicable  service  retirement
        requirements, to retire earlier than their applicable normal  retirement
        age.
          Under  current  law,  a Tier 1 member's normal retirement age is 55. A
        Tier 2, 3 and 4 member's current normal retirement age is  62.  Retiring
        for service prior to these ages would generally result in a reduction of
        the member's annual retirement benefit.
          Under  the  proposed legislation, each year of qualifying TBTA service
        would reduce such normal retirement ages by 4 months (e.g., 12 years  of
        qualifying  TBTA  service  would reduce the applicable normal retirement
        age by 4 years) without subjecting the member to  a  retirement  benefit
        reduction.
          However,  in  no  event  shall  a Tier 1 member retire, other than for
        disability, prior to age 50, and in no event shall a Tier  2,  3,  or  4
        member retire, other than for disability, prior to age 55.
          FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES (APV): With respect to the
        TBTA  members  who would be impacted by this proposed legislation, under
        the actuarial assumptions used in the Preliminary June  30,  2016  (Lag)
        actuarial  valuations  of  NYCERS, the enactment of this proposed legis-
        lation would increase the APV of Benefits (APVB) by  approximately  $1.7
        million.
          FINANCIAL  IMPACT  -  EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  In accordance with the
        Administrative Code of the City of  New  York  (ACNY)  Section  13.638.2
        (k-2),  new  Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) attributable to
        benefit changes are to be amortized as determined  by  the  Actuary  but
        generally  over  the remaining working lifetime of those impacted by the
        benefit changes. As of June 30, 2016, the remaining working lifetime  of
        the TBTA members and beneficiaries who would be impacted by the proposed
        legislation is approximately 10 years.
          Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used in the Preliminary
        June 30, 2016 valuation of NYCERS, the enactment of this proposed legis-
        lation  would  increase  annual  employer contributions by approximately
        $300,000 per year beginning in Fiscal Year 2018.
          OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the  initial,  addi-
        tional  administrative  costs of NYCERS to implement the proposed legis-
        lation.
          CENSUS DATA: As of June 30, 2016, there are 1,311 active TBTA  members
        with annual salaries of approximately $126.6 million.
          The  members affected by the proposed legislation consisted of 82 Tier
        4 members with salaries of approximately $8.2 million whose average  age
        and  average service as of June 30, 2016 were 48.9 years and 19.7 years,
        respectively.

        S. 6594                             3
          ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  additional  APVB,  APVSAL  and
        employer  contributions  presented  herein have been calculated based on
        the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the Preliminary June
        30, 2016  (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine  the  Preliminary
        Fiscal Year 2018 employer contributions of NYCERS.
          Employer  contributions  under current methodology have been estimated
        assuming the additional APVB would be  financed  through  future  normal
        contributions  including an amortization of the new UAAL attributable to
        this proposed legislation over a 10 year period (9  payments  under  the
        OYLM Methodology).
          To  determine the impact of the proposed legislation, it was necessary
        to determine who would benefit  actuarially,  by  calculating  for  each
        member,  the  net  APV of future employer costs (i.e., the APVB less the
        APV of future member contributions) under  the  current  Period  Without
        Reduction  Before  Normal  Retirement  Age  (PWRBN)  provisions  and the
        proposed PWRBN provisions. If such net APV  measured  for  the  proposed
        PWRBN  provisions  was  greater than the net APV under the current PWRBN
        provisions, the member was deemed to benefit actuarially.
          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 2017-09 dated April 19,
        2017, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employee's
        Retirement System. This estimate is intended for  use  only  during  the
        2017 Legislative Session.
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