Amd §§78-a & 378-a, R & SS L; amd §532-a, Ed L; amd §13-696, NYC Ad Cd
 
Provides cost-of-living adjustments, including an adjusted benefit in monthly installments that is equal to the percentage of the change in consumer price index according to the included schedule.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6047--C
Cal. No. 1160
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 10, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from
said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third
reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the
order of third reading
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 f 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 f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who
5 have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
6 and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this
7 section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the
8 basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be
9 equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban
10 consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published
11 by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year
12 of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
13 according to the following schedule:
14 Year of retirement Percentage
15 1968 through 1996 50%
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11292-07-8
S. 6047--C 2
1 1966 and 1967 55%
2 1965 60%
3 1964 65%
4 1963 70%
5 1962 80%
6 1961 90%
7 prior to 1961 100%
8 Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to
9 exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise
10 payable, computed without optional modification. Any benefit received
11 pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received
12 pursuant to section seventy-eight of this title.
13 Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members
14 who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-sev-
15 en and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of
16 this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments
17 on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit
18 shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index
19 (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100),
20 published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from
21 the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-
22 seven according to the following schedule:
23 YearofretirementPercentage
24 1973through199650%
25 1971and197255%
26 197060%
27 196965%
28 196870%
29 196780%
30 196690%
31 priorto1966100%
32 Said adjusted benefit commencing September first, two thousand eighteen,
33 shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance
34 otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth
35 herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be
36 in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section seventy-eight of
37 this title.
38 § 2. Subdivision f of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
39 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
40 read as follows:
41 f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who
42 have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
43 and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this
44 section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the
45 basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be
46 equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban
47 consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published
48 by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year
49 of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
50 according to the following schedule:
51 Year of retirement Percentage
52 1968 through 1996 50%
53 1966 and 1967 55%
54 1965 60%
S. 6047--C 3
1 1964 65%
2 1963 70%
3 1962 80%
4 1961 90%
5 prior to 1961 100%
6 Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to
7 exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise
8 payable, computed without optional modification. Any benefit received
9 pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received
10 pursuant to section three hundred seventy-eight of this title.
11 Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members
12 who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-sev-
13 en and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of
14 this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments
15 on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit
16 shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index
17 (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100),
18 published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from
19 the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-
20 seven according to the following schedule:
21 YearofretirementPercentage
22 1973through199650%
23 1971and197255%
24 197060%
25 196965%
26 196870%
27 196780%
28 196690%
29 priorto1966100%
30 Said adjusted benefit commencing September first, two thousand eighteen,
31 shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance
32 otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth
33 herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be
34 in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section three hundred seven-
35 ty-eight of this title.
36 § 3. Subdivision f of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
37 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
38 f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who
39 have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
40 and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this
41 section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the
42 basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be
43 equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban
44 consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published
45 by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year
46 of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
47 according to the following schedule:
48 Year of retirement Percentage
49 1968 through 1996 50%
50 1966 and 1967 55%
51 1965 60%
52 1964 65%
53 1963 70%
54 1962 80%
55 1961 90%
S. 6047--C 4
1 prior to 1961 100%
2 Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to
3 exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise
4 payable, computed without optional modification excluding any annuity
5 derived from voluntary contributions made by members, except those made
6 pursuant to elections under subdivision one of section five hundred
7 eleven-a or paragraph c of subdivision three of section five hundred
8 sixteen of this article. Any benefits received pursuant to this subdivi-
9 sion shall be in lieu of any benefits received pursuant to section five
10 hundred thirty-two of this article, unless such benefits are in excess
11 of those provided by this section, in which case such benefits shall be
12 paid by the retirement system pursuant to such provision.
13 Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members
14 who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-sev-
15 en and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of
16 this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments
17 on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit
18 shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index
19 (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100),
20 published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from
21 the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-
22 seven according to the following schedule:
23 YearofretirementPercentage
24 1973through199650%
25 1971and197255%
26 197060%
27 196965%
28 196870%
29 196780%
30 196690%
31 priorto1966100%
32 Said adjusted benefit, commencing September first, two thousand eigh-
33 teen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement
34 allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set
35 forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision
36 shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section five
37 hundred thirty-two of this article.
38 § 4. Subdivision f of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
39 city of New York, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is
40 amended to read as follows:
41 f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who
42 have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
43 and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this
44 section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the
45 basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be
46 equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban
47 consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published
48 by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year
49 of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven
50 according to the following schedule:
51 Year of retirement Percentage
52 1968 through 1996 50%
53 1966 and 1967 55%
54 1965 60%
55 1964 65%
S. 6047--C 5
1 1963 70%
2 1962 80%
3 1961 90%
4 prior to 1961 100%
5 Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to
6 exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual fixed retirement allow-
7 ance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification. Any
8 benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any
9 benefit received pursuant to chapter three hundred ninety of the laws of
10 nineteen hundred ninety-eight, and any preceding provision of law
11 providing for supplementation.
12 Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members
13 who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-sev-
14 en and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of
15 this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments
16 on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit
17 shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index
18 (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100),
19 published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from
20 the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-
21 seven according to the following schedule:
22 Year of retirementPercentage
23 1973 through 199650%
24 1971 and 197255%
25 197060%
26 196965%
27 196870%
28 196780%
29 196690%
30 prior to 1966100%
31 Said adjusted benefit, commencing September first, two thousand eigh-
32 teen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement
33 allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set
34 forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision
35 shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section 13-695 of
36 this article.
37 § 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 2018, additional payments will be made
for those members who retired after 1960 and prior to 1973.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System, 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. If this bill were enacted, the increase
in the present value of benefits would be approximately $483,000.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the increased costs would be shared by
the State of New York and the participating employers in the PFRS. If
this bill were enacted, the increase in the present value of benefits
would be approximately $1.09 million. The estimated first year cost
would be approximately $25,600 to the State of New York and approximate-
ly $105,000 to the participating employers in the PFRS.
Summary of relevant resources:
S. 6047--C 6
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, 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, 2017
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 January 25, 2018, and intended for use only
during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-38,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend subdivision f of Section 532-a of the Education
Law to provide an increase in supplementation for retired members who
meet the eligibility requirements set forth in subdivision a of Section
532-a and who retired during the calendar years 1961 through 1972,
inclusive. Benefit increases are based on the first $18,000 of the maxi-
mum annual benefit without optional modification and would be effective
in September 2018.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if this bill
is enacted.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). System assets are as
reported in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
Actuarial Valuation Report.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2018-14 dated March 20,
2018 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.
I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: With regards to the New York City Employees' Retire-
ment System (NYCERS), the New York City Teachers' Retirement System
(NYCTRS), the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS),
the New York City Police Pension Fund (POLICE), and the New York City
Fire Pension Fund (FIRE), collectively known as the New York City
Pension Funds and Retirement Systems (NYCRS), this proposed legislation
would amend subdivision f of Section 13-696 of the Administrative Code
of the City of New York (ACCNY) to increase the Cost-of-Living Adjust-
ment (COLA) effective September 1, 2018 for NYCRS members and their
spouses who retired during the period 1961 through 1972.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
S. 6047--C 7
BACKGROUND: Commencing September 1, 2000, members who retired prior to
January 1, 1997 and met certain eligibility requirements to receive a
COLA, were paid an adjusted monthly benefit equal to a percentage of the
change in the consumer price index from the year of retirement through
calendar year 1997. For purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that
the revised percentages would be paid in lieu of current percentages as
shown in the table below:
Year of RetirementCurrent PercentageRevised Percentage
1973 through 1996 50% 50%
1971 through 1972 50% 55%
1970 50% 60%
1969 50% 65%
1968 50% 70%
1967 55% 80%
1966 55% 90%
1965 60% 100%
1964 65% 100%
1963 70% 100%
1962 80% 100%
1961 90% 100%
Prior to 1961 100% 100%
FINANCIAL IMPACT - SUMMARY: The estimated financial impact of increas-
ing the COLA as described above for members who retired from 1961
through 1972 is shown in the table below.
Addtional Increase in
Actuarial Present Value (APV) Fiscal Year 2019
NYCRS of Benefits Employer
as of June 30 2017 Contributions
($ Thousands) ($ Thousands)
NYCERS $ 3,391.3 $ 3,753.6
NYCTRS 161.2 178.4
BERS 3.5 3.9
POLICE 6,114.3 6,767.4
FIRE 4,642.45,138.3
Total $14,312.7 $15,841.6
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In accordance with
ACCNY Section 13-638.2(k-2), new Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL)
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. For purposes of this Fiscal Note, since
those that would benefit are retired, the entire increase in UAL (or APV
of Benefits) would be recognized immediately.
CONTRIBUTION TIMING: For purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed
that the changes in the UAL would be reflected for the first time in the
June 30, 2017 actuarial valuations of the NYCRS. In accordance with the
One-Year Lag Methodology (OYLM) used to determine employer contrib-
utions, the increase in employer contributions would first be reflected
in Fiscal Year 2019.
OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note is the impact on admin-
istrative costs.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2017 (Lag) actuarial valuations of
NYCRS used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2019 employer
contributions.
S. 6047--C 8
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in APV of benefits and
annual employer contributions presented herein have been calculated
based on the same actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the
June 30, 2017 (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine the Prelimi-
nary Fiscal Year 2019 employer contributions of NYCRS. Please note these
assumptions and methods are subject to change as this valuation is not
considered final until the end of Fiscal Year 2019.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems and
Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled
Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974
(ERISA), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of
the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Stand-
ards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opin-
ion contained herein. To the best of my knowledge, the results contained
herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuari-
al principles and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Prac-
tice issued by the Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2018-39 dated June 14,
2018, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System, the New York City Teachers' Retirement System, the
New York City Board of Education Retirement System, the New York City
Police Pension Fund, and the New York City Fire Pension Fund. This esti-
mate is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.