Provides a heart disease presumption for members employed by the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority as a bridge and tunnel officer, sergeant or lieutenant in a non-managerial position.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8797
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
providing a heart disease presumption for certain members employed by
the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
2 a new section 607-m to read as follows:
3 § 607-m. Disabilities of Triborough bridge and tunnel members in
4 certain cases. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special
5 or local law or administrative code to the contrary, but except for the
6 purposes of the workers' compensation law and the labor law, any condi-
7 tion of impairment of health caused by diseases of the heart, resulting
8 in total or partial disability or death to a member employed by the
9 Triborough bridge and tunnel authority as a bridge and tunnel officer,
10 sergeant or lieutenant in a non-managerial position or any retired
11 member of such authority who has been retired directly from service as a
12 bridge and tunnel officer, sergeant or lieutenant in a non-managerial
13 position for five or less years, who successfully passed a physical
14 examination on entry into such service or subsequent thereto, which
15 examination failed to reveal any evidence of such condition, shall be
16 presumptive evidence that it was incurred in the performance and
17 discharge of duty, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.
18 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a member employed by
19 the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority as a bridge and tunnel offi-
20 cer, sergeant or lieutenant in a non-managerial position retiring pursu-
21 ant to the provisions of subdivision one of this section shall receive a
22 pension equal to three-fourths of their final average salary, and a
23 retired member of such authority who has been retired directly from
24 service as a bridge and tunnel officer, sergeant or lieutenant in a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07104-03-5
A. 8797 2
1 non-managerial position for five or less years and would have been able
2 to retire pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of this section
3 if such subdivision had been in force at the time of such retired
4 member's retirement, shall be entitled to receive a pension equal to
5 three-fourths of their final average salary and have their pension
6 recalculated commencing with the later of the effective date of this
7 section or the first day that diseases of the heart resulted in the full
8 or partial disability of such retired member.
9 § 2. All past service costs associated with implementing the
10 provisions of this act shall be borne by the city of New York.
11 § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
12 provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
13 of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
14 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide to certain active and
retired NYCERS Tier 4 and 6 Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
(TBTA) officers a rebuttable statutory presumption that a qualifying
disability or death related to heart disease was incurred in the
performance of duty and provide a performance of duty disability benefit
equal to 75% of the member's Final Average Salary.
ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
One Incident One Incident Per Year
Year Disability Death Disability Death
2026 60 223 60 223
2027 60 223 122 453
2028 60 223 185 689
2029 60 223 251 933
2030 60 223 318 1,184
2031 60 223 388 1,442
2032 60 223 459 1,709
2033 60 223 533 1,983
2034 60 223 609 2,265
2035 60 223 687 2,556
2036 60 223 768 2,856
2037 60 223 851 3,165
2038 60 223 937 3,483
2039 60 223 1,025 3,810
2040 0 0 1,055 3,924
2041 0 0 1,087 4,042
2042 0 0 1,120 4,163
2043 0 0 1,153 4,288
2044 0 0 1,188 4,417
2045 0 0 1,223 4,550
2046 0 0 1,260 4,686
2047 0 0 1,298 4,827
2048 0 0 1,337 4,971
2049 0 0 1,377 5,121
2050 0 0 1,418 5,274
Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
A. 8797 3
While the past service costs would normally be borne by the TBTA, the
proposed legislation assigns such costs to the City of New York.
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 Thousands)
Present Value (PV) Per Disability Per Death
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 507 1,885
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: (4)0
Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 503 1,885
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss Per Disability Per Death
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 507 K 1,885 K
Number of Payments: 14 14
Amortization Payment: 60 K 223 K
CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
based on preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2024. The
census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop the
average costs is summarized below.
NYCERS
Active Members
- Number Count: 161
- Average Age: 48.8
- Average Service: 18.3
- Average Salary: 134,700
Receiving Members (within five years of retirement)
- Number Count: 218
- Average Age: 57.7
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, active Tier 4 or Tier 6 members
of NYCERS, who are employed as TBTA officers and become disabled due to
heart disease would generally be eligible for an applicable ordinary
disability retirement benefit after attaining 10 years of service. The
disability benefit is a lifetime payment equal to the greatest of 1/3 of
Final Average Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS times service, or the service
retirement benefit, if eligible.
Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty disability
benefit for Tier 4 or Tier 6 NYCERS TBTA officers who are disabled from
heart disease would be equal to 75% of FAS without an offset for Work-
ers' Compensation.
The ordinary death benefit for NYCERS TBTA officers is a lump sum
payment generally equal to three times the member's salary plus a return
of member contributions.
The performance of duty death benefit would generally be equal to a
lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's wages earned during the last year
A. 8797 4
of service, plus, if applicable, the Special Accidental Death Benefit
payable under General Municipal Law section 208-f.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems.
The number of members and eligible retirees who will benefit in the
future from this proposed legislation is unknown. The cost of this
proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the number of
future members who benefit and on their length of service, age, and
salary history. In particular, the increase would be greater for a
member who is not yet eligible for an ordinary disability benefit when
disabled.
The estimated financial impact for disabled members has been calcu-
lated assuming 50% would have retired under the current ordinary disa-
bility benefit, and 50% would have continued working if the proposed
legislation were not passed.
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
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 2025-72 dated May 23,
2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
Legislative Session.
