Relates to extending the filing deadline from two years to five years for active and retired firefighters in the New York state and local police and fire retirement system.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6403
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
accidental disability retirement
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 2 of subdivision a of section 363 of the retire-
2 ment and social security law, as amended by chapter 489 of the laws of
3 2008, is amended to read as follows:
4 2. Actually in service upon which his membership is based. However, in
5 a case where a member is discontinued from service subsequent to the
6 accident, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and provided that the
7 member meets the requirements of paragraph one of this subdivision,
8 application may be made, either (a) by a vested member incapacitated as
9 the result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition as defined in
10 section two of this chapter at any time, or (b) not later than two years
11 after the member is first discontinued from service. Provided further
12 that in the case of an application filed for accidental disability bene-
13 fits pursuant to section three hundred sixty-three-d of this title, the
14 requirements for filing for such benefits shall be five years.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to all applica-
16 tions filed on or after January 1, 2014.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to legislative law, Section 50:
This bill would extend the filing deadline from 2 years to 5 years for
active and retired firefighters in the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System to file an application for accidental disa-
bility retirement due to certain cancers. It will apply to all disabili-
ty applications filed on or after January 1, 2014.
If this bill is enacted, the cost would depend on the age, service,
salary and plan of the affected firefighters, as well as whether such
person would have otherwise been eligible for, or has been receiving an
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08114-02-7
A. 6403 2
ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability or a service
retirement.
For those who apply for this benefit subsequent to a service retire-
ment, it is estimated that there would be an average per person cost of
approximately 2 times final average salary. For those who apply subse-
quent to a performance of duty retirement, it is estimated that there
would be an average per person cost of approximately 2.5 times final
average salary. For those who apply subsequent to an ordinary disability
retirement, it is estimated that there would be an average per person
cost of approximately 5 times final average salary. The number of
members and retirees who could be affected by this legislation cannot be
readily determined. These costs would be borne by the State of New York
and all the participating employers in the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System.
For the one person known to be affected, there will be a one-time cost
of approximately $256,000. This cost will be shared by the State of New
York and all the participating employers in the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System.
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 February 14, 2017, and intended for use only
during the 2017 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2017-44,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
