STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9427
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DeSTEFANO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, the education
law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation
to providing cost-of-living adjustments
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision d of section 78-a of the retirement and social
2 security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 d. The percentage referred to in this section shall be determined
5 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
6 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the
7 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
8 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
9 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
10 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
11 adjustment effective on the ensuing September first. Said percentage
12 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
13 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent and effec-
14 tive the first day of September, two thousand twenty-two, shall not
15 exceed five percent nor be less than one percent.
16 § 2. Subdivision d of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
17 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
18 read as follows:
19 d. The percentage referred to in this section shall be determined
20 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
21 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the
22 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
23 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
24 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
25 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
26 adjustment effective on the ensuing September first. Said percentage
27 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10498-08-2
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1 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent and effec-
2 tive the first day of September, two thousand twenty-two, shall not
3 exceed five percent nor be less than one percent.
4 § 3. Subdivision d of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
5 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
6 d. The percentage referred to in this section shall be determined
7 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
8 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the
9 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
10 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
11 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
12 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
13 adjustment effective on the ensuing September first. Said percentage
14 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
15 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent and effec-
16 tive the first day of September, two thousand twenty-two, shall not
17 exceed five percent nor be less than one percent.
18 § 4. Subdivision d of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
19 city of New York, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is
20 amended to read as follows:
21 d. The percentage referred to in this section shall be determined
22 annually by reference to the consumer price index (all urban consumers,
23 CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the
24 United States bureau of labor statistics, for each applicable calendar
25 year. Said percentage shall equal fifty percent of the annual inflation,
26 as determined from the increase in the consumer price index in the one
27 year period ending on the March thirty-first prior to the cost-of-living
28 adjustment effective on the ensuing September first. Said percentage
29 shall then be rounded up to the next higher one-tenth of one percent and
30 shall not exceed three percent nor be less than one percent and effec-
31 tive the first day of September, two thousand twenty-two, shall not
32 exceed five percent nor be less than one percent.
33 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would provide an increase in the defined benefit cost-of-
living adjustment (COLA) for New York public retirement systems. Start-
ing with a payment in September 2022 the maximum percentage calculated
for the annual cost of living increase shall increase from three (3)
percent to five (5) percent.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System, if this bill is enacted, pursuant to Section 25 of
the Retirement and Social Security Law, the increased costs would be
borne entirely by the State of New York and would require an itemized
appropriation sufficient to pay the cost of the provision. Such an
appropriation would be required only when the annual inflation exceeds
6%.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), if this bill is enacted, the increased
costs would be shared by the State of New York and all of the partic-
ipating employers in the PFRS. Additional employer contributions would
be required only when the annual inflation exceeds 6%.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
A. 9427 3
2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
and 2021 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, 2021
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 fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated December 23, 2021, and intended for use only
during the 2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-36,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.