Affords certain members of the fire department pension fund with new or increased pension benefits for each year of additional service beyond their required minimum service.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5853
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 24, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to affording certain uniformed members of the New York city
fire department pension fund with an increased pension benefit for
each year of additional service beyond their required minimum service;
and to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
affording certain police/fire members of the New York city fire
department pension fund to continue in service past normal retirement
age with an additional pension benefit for each year of additional
service beyond their required minimum service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 of subdivision a of section
2 13-359 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 (a) a pension of [one-sixtieth] one-fortieth of [his or her] such
5 member's average annual earnings from [his or her] their date of eligi-
6 bility for retirement to the actual date of retirement; and
7 § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
8 section 503-a to read as follows:
9 § 503-a. Extra pension service credits. Notwithstanding any provision
10 of law to the contrary, a police/fire member who is a member of the New
11 York city fire department pension fund may continue in service past the
12 date that such member attains normal retirement age. In such event, and
13 upon the member's retirement for any cause whatsoever, there shall be
14 added to such member's annual pension to which they shall upon retire-
15 ment be entitled, an additional amount computed at the rate of one-for-
16 tieth of such member's final salary for each year of such additional
17 service.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00091-02-5
A. 5853 2
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would increase the additional annu-
al pension for Tier 2 FIRE members from 1/60th to 1/40th after reaching
20 years of credited service and would provide Tier 3 FIRE members an
additional 1/40th of "final salary" benefit for each year of service
beyond 22 years of service.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
Year FIRE
2026 127.8
2027 130.9
2028 134.0
2029 137.3
2030 140.7
2031 144.2
2032 147.8
2033 151.5
2034 155.3
2035 159.2
2036 163.1
2037 167.0
2038 171.0
2039 95.1
2040 99.0
2041 102.9
2042 106.7
2043 110.6
2044 114.3
2045 118.1
2046 121.8
2047 125.5
2048 129.2
2049 132.8
2050 136.5
Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted.
For Fiscal Year 2051 and beyond, the expected increase in normal cost as
a level percent of pay for impacted new entrants is approximately 4.04%.
The entire increase in employer contributions will be allocated to New
York City.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
Future new hires are not included in this present value.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Millions)
Present Value (PV) FIRE
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 1,300.0
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: 0.9
Total PV Benefits (1) + (2): 1,301.0
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
A. 5853 3
Changes in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life-
time of those impacted using level dollar payments.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
FIRE
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 644.5 M
Number of Payments: 13
Amortization Payment: 79.8 M
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
census data collected as of June 30, 2024. The census data for the
impacted population is summarized below.
FIRE
Active Members
- Number Count: 10,691
- Average Age: 40.7
- Average Service: 13.7
- Average Salary: 143,400
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: For Tier 2 members, this proposed legis-
lation would increase the annual pension for certain members who retire
for service or accidental disability from 1/60th to 1/40th of average
annual earnings from the date of eligibility for retirement to the actu-
al date of retirement for each additional year of credited service, or
fraction thereof, exceeding 20 years.
For Tier 3 members, this proposed legislation would increase the annu-
al pension for members who retire for service, ordinary disability, or
accidental disability by 1/40th of Final Salary for each additional year
of credited service, or fraction thereof, exceeding 22 years. For the
purposes of this Fiscal Note, Final Salary has been interpreted as the
member's pensionable earnings in their final 12 months of service.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems. In addition:
* The probability of Tier 3 members working beyond 22 years of service
was increased to recognize the impact the proposed legislation would
have on retirement behavior.
* New entrants were assumed to replace exiting members so that total
payroll increases by 3% each year for impacted groups. New entrant demo-
graphics were developed based on data for recent new hires and actuarial
judgement.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those
presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this
Fiscal Note.
This Fiscal Note is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
This Fiscal Note does not include cost analyses relating to provisions
contained in Retirement and Social Security Law Section 500(c).
A. 5853 4
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our
objectivity, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
To the best of our 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 2025-15 dated February
14, 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retire-
ment Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the
2025 Legislative Session.
