STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8207--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on
Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
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 a 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 a. [A] Effective on the first day of September, two thousand twenty-
5 six, a cost-of-living adjustment shall be payable on the basis provided
6 for in this section to: (i) all pensioners who have attained age
7 [sixty-two] fifty-five and have been retired for five years; (ii) [all
8 pensioners who have attained age fifty-five and have been retired for
9 ten years; (iii)] all disability pensioners regardless of age who have
10 been retired for five years; and [(iv)] (iii) all recipients of an acci-
11 dental death benefit regardless of age who have been receiving such
12 benefit for five years.
13 § 2. Subdivision a of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu-
14 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to
15 read as follows:
16 a. [A] Effective on the first day of September, two thousand twenty-
17 six, a cost-of-living adjustment shall be payable on the basis provided
18 for in this section to: (i) all pensioners who have attained age
19 [sixty-two] fifty-five and have been retired for five years; and (ii)
20 [all pensioners who have attained age fifty-five and have been retired
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11216-08-6
A. 8207--A 2
1 for ten years; and (iii)] all disability pensioners regardless of age
2 who have been retired for five years.
3 § 3. Subdivision a of section 532-a of the education law, as added by
4 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
5 a. [A] Effective on the first day of September, two thousand twenty-
6 six, a cost-of-living adjustment shall be payable on the basis provided
7 for in this section to: (i) all pensioners who have attained age
8 [sixty-two] fifty-five and have been retired for five years; (ii) [all
9 pensioners who have attained age fifty-five and have been retired for
10 ten years; (iii)] all disability pensioners regardless of age who have
11 been retired for five years; and [(iv)] (iii) all recipients of an acci-
12 dental death benefit regardless of age who have been receiving such
13 benefit for five years.
14 § 4. Subdivision a of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the
15 city of New York, as amended by chapter 288 of the laws of 2001, is
16 amended to read as follows:
17 a. [A] Effective on the first day of September, two thousand twenty-
18 six, a cost-of-living adjustment shall be payable to retired members of
19 the New York city employees' retirement system, the New York city teach-
20 ers' retirement system, the New York city police pension fund, the New
21 York city fire department pension fund, the New York city board of
22 education retirement system or the relief and pension fund of the
23 department of street cleaning provided for in subchapter one of this
24 chapter on the basis provided for in this section to: (i) all retired
25 members who have attained age [sixty-two] fifty-five and have been
26 retired for five years; (ii) [all retired members who have attained age
27 fifty-five and have been retired for ten years; (iii)] all members who
28 retired for disability regardless of age who have been retired for five
29 years; and [(iv)] (iii) all recipients of an accidental death benefit
30 regardless of age who have been receiving such benefit for five years.
31 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would increase the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for New
York public retirement systems. Starting with the September 2026
payment, COLA would be payable to pensioners who have attained age
fifty-five and retired for at least 5 years.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System (NYSLERS), this bill would increase the present value
of benefits by approximately $346 million.
In NYSLERS, this benefit improvement will be funded by (1) billing a
one-time charge to cover retrospective benefit increases and (2)
increasing the billing rates charged annually to cover prospective bene-
fit increases, as follows:
(1) To fund retrospective costs, the state of New York will be
required to pay $263 million as of March 1, 2027.
(2) To fund prospective costs, the annual contribution required of all
participating employers in NYSLERS would increase 0.04% of billable
salary, or approximately $5.1 million to the state of New York and
approximately $7.6 million to local participating employers. This perma-
nent annual cost will vary in future billing cycles with changes in the
billing rate and salary of the affected members.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), the present value of benefits would
increase approximately $116 million.
A. 8207--A 3
This proposal primarily benefits current and former members of Tiers 1
- 5. The cost of this benefit improvement will primarily be borne by
current and future members of Tier 6.
NYSLPFRS Increase in present Increase in required
value of benefits contributions
Pensioners $54 mn $0 mn
Actives Tiers 1-5 (Closed) $36 mn $39 mn
Actives Tier 6 (Open) $26 mn $77 mn
Total $116 mn $116 mn
In NYSLPFRS, this benefit improvement will be funded by increasing the
billing rates charged annually. The annual contribution required of all
participating employers in NYSLPFRS would increase by 0.2% of billable
salary, or approximately $1.8 million to the state of New York and
approximately $7.6 million to local participating employers. This perma-
nent annual cost will vary in future billing cycles with changes in the
billing rate and salary of the affected members.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated January 5, 2026, and intended for use only during
the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-21. As Chief
Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I,
Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with
applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of
Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing
Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it
impairs my objectivity.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Bill Description:
This fiscal note is prepared for legislative bill draft #11216-03-5.
This bill would amend subdivision a of Section 532-a of the Education
Law to lower the required eligibility age for the cost-of-living adjust-
ment (COLA) to all pensioners retired for service to age fifty-five with
five years of retirement. The current COLA eligibility requirement for
pensioners retired for service is age sixty-two with five years of
retirement or age fifty-five with ten years of retirement. This benefit
improvement would be effective September 1, 2026.
Cost:
A. 8207--A 4
The annual cost to the participating employers of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be $19.1 million or 0.09% of
payroll if this bill is enacted.
Data:
Member data as of June 30, 2025, prepared for the most recent actuari-
al valuation was used in determining this cost. The most recent data
distributions and statistics can be found in the System's Annual Report
for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. System assets are as reported
in the System's financial statements which can be found in the System's
Annual Report. This data will also be presented in the System's Actuari-
al Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025.
Methods and Assumptions:
A summary of actuarial assumptions and methods will be provided in the
System's Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025. Further details
can be found in the most recent Recommended Actuarial Assumptions 2025
Report.
Actuarial Certification:
We, the undersigned actuaries for the New York State Teachers' Retire-
ment System, certify the following:
1. The actuarial assumptions, methods, and data used are reasonable
for the purposes of this fiscal note, internally consistent and are in
accordance with standards of practice prescribed by the Actuarial Stand-
ards Board and generally accepted actuarial principles and procedures.
2. We relied on member data supplied by the participating employers of
the New York State Teachers' Retirement System and assets as supplied in
the annual Financial Statements by NYSTRS' Finance Department.
3. Results were prepared based on our current understanding of the
proposal as of the date of this fiscal note. If the language or our
understanding of the proposal changes, the results could change and
require the issuance of a new fiscal note. The next annual update of the
actuarial valuation could also produce different results. Results should
not be relied upon for any other purpose.
4. This fiscal note was prepared in accordance with New York State
Retirement and Social Security Law, New York State Education Law, appli-
cable Internal Revenue Code, and accepted actuarial standards of prac-
tice as of the date of this fiscal note. This fiscal note does not
constitute a legal opinion on the viability of this legislative
proposal.
5. We are members of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society
of Actuaries, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
We are currently compliant with the Continuing Professional Development
Requirement of the Society of Actuaries.
Fiscal Note Identification:
This Fiscal Note, 2026-16, dated January 29, 2026, was prepared by the
Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System
and is intended for use only during the 2026 Legislative Session.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation, as it relates to the New York City
Retirement Systems and Pension Funds (NYCRS), would accelerate eligibil-
ity for Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) adjustments prior to age 62 for
service and vested retirees of NYCRS.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions)
A. 8207--A 5
Year NYCERS TRS BERS POLICE FIRE TOTAL
2027 49.0 42.2 0.7 52.5 4.5 148.9
2028 2.8 2.8 0.1 2.7 0.4 8.8
2029 2.8 2.7 0.1 2.7 0.4 8.7
2030 2.7 2.7 0.1 2.6 0.4 8.5
2031 2.7 2.6 0.1 2.6 0.4 8.4
2032 2.7 2.6 0.1 2.5 0.4 8.3
2033 2.7 2.5 0.1 2.5 0.4 8.2
2034 2.7 2.5 0.1 2.5 0.4 8.2
2035 2.7 2.4 0.1 2.4 0.4 8.0
2036 2.7 2.3 0.1 2.4 0.4 7.9
2037 2.7 2.3 0.1 2.4 0.4 7.9
2038 2.7 2.2 0.1 2.4 0.4 7.8
2039 1.0 2.1 0.1 0.5 0.4 4.1
2040 1.0 2.0 0.0 0.5 0.2 3.7
2041 1.0 0.8 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.5
2042 1.0 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.4
2043 1.0 0.6 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.3
2044 1.0 0.6 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.3
2045 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.2
2046 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.2
2047 1.0 0.4 0.0 0.5 0.2 2.1
2048 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.2 2.2
2049 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.2 2.2
2050 1.0 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.2 2.1
2051 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.2 2.0
Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted.
For Fiscal Year 2052 and beyond, the expected increase in normal cost as
a level percent of pay for impacted new entrants is approximately
0.0015% for NYCERS, 0.0006% for TRS, 0.0009% for BERS, 0.0035% for
POLICE, and 0.0031% for FIRE.
The initial increase in employer contributions of $148.9 million is
estimated to be $133.5 million for New York City and $15.4 million for
the other obligors of NYCRS.
PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the
discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all
assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
Future new hires are not included in this present value.
INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
as of June 30, 2025 ($ in Millions)
Present Value (PV) NYCERS TRS BERS POLICE FIRE
(1) PV of Employer
Contributions: 64.1 58.2 1.2 65.4 7.0
(2) PV of Employee
Contributions: 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total PV of Benefits
(1) + (2): 64.1 58.2 1.2 65.4 7.0
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL for active members were amortized over the expected
remaining working lifetime of those impacted using level dollar
payments. UAL attributable to inactive members was recognized in the
first year.
A. 8207--A 6
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
NYCERS TRS BERS POLICE FIRE
Increase (Decrease) in
UAL: 54.8 M 45.4 M 0.8 M 59.2 M 5.5 M
Number of Payments: 12 14 13 12 13
Amortization Payment: 1.7 M 1.2 M 0.0 M 1.9 M 0.2 M
Additional One-time
Payment: 46.2 M 39.4 M 0.7 M 49.7 M 4.1 M
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
census data collected as of June 30, 2025. The census data for the
impacted population is summarized below.
NYCERS TRS BERS POLICE FIRE
Active Members
- Number Count: 182,611 129,814 46,890 33,950 11,178
- Average Age: 47.8 44.6 44.8 37.1 40.3
- Average Service: 11.6 12.4 5.4 10.6 13.1
- Average Salary: 95,900 104,500 44,000 134,100 141,300
Term. Vested Members
- Number Count: 2,333 13,145 115 654 32
- Average Age: 41.8 46.9 46.4 42.1 43.8
Receiving Members
- Number Count: 6,775 3,688 91 8,365 651
- Average Age: 56.8 58.4 58.7 54.4 54.8
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, COLA is payable to service and
vested retirees who have:
o attained age 62 and have been retired for five years, or
o attained age 55 and have been retired for 10 years.
Under this proposed legislation, effective September 1, 2026, the COLA
would be payable to retirees who have attained age 55 and have been
retired for five years.
The COLA for disability and death benefits is not affected by the
proposed legislation.
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:
o 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.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
A. 8207--A 7
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 2026-78 dated May 5, 2026
was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2026
Legislative Session.
