Provides for eligibility of certain participants in the New York City employees retirement system to opt into the twenty-five year retirement program for EMT members.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4598
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
the eligibility of certain participants in the New York city employ-
ees' retirement system to opt into the twenty-five year retirement
program for EMT members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subdivision b of section 604-e of the
2 retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 577 of the laws
3 of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
4 3. Each EMT member, other than an EMT member subject to paragraph one
5 or two of this subdivision, who becomes subject to the provisions of
6 this article on or after the starting date of the twenty-five year
7 retirement program shall become a participant in the twenty-five year
8 retirement program on the date [he or she] such person becomes such an
9 EMT member. Provided, however, a person subject to this paragraph, and
10 who has exceeded age twenty-five upon employment as an EMT member, shall
11 be exempt from participation in the improved twenty-five year retirement
12 program if such person elects not to participate by filing a duly
13 executed form with the retirement system within one hundred eighty days
14 of becoming an EMT member. Provided further, however, that a person who
15 has opted to be exempt pursuant to this paragraph may become a partic-
16 ipant in the twenty-five year retirement program if such person files a
17 duly executed election form with the retirement system within one
18 hundred eighty days after the effective date of the chapter of the laws
19 of two thousand twenty-five that amended this paragraph, provided such
20 person is an EMT member on the date such election is filed, and such
21 person shall pay all additional member contributions required pursuant
22 to subdivision e of this section from the date that such person became
23 an EMT member to the date such person elects to become a participant in
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06971-02-5
S. 4598 2
1 the program together with interest computed in accordance with paragraph
2 four of subdivision e of this section.
3 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would allow eligible Tier 4 and
Tier 6 EMT Members who previously opted out of the EMT 25-Year Plan, a
second opportunity to join such Plan by filing an application with the
New York City Employee's Retirement System (NYCERS) within 180 days of
the effective date.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
Year NYCERS
2026 102
2027 85
2028 72
2029 67
2030 (5)
2031 (9)
2032 (12)
2033 (14)
2034 (17)
2035 (19)
2036 (20)
2037 (21)
2038 (22)
2039 (23)
2040 (22)
2041 (21)
2042 (20)
2043 (18)
2044 (17)
2045 (15)
2046 (13)
2047 (11)
2048 (9)
2049 (8)
2050 (6)
Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
The entire increase (decrease) in employer contributions will be allo-
cated 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 Thousands)
Present Value (PV) NYCERS
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 145.1
S. 4598 3
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: 249.4
Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 394.5
UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service.
Changes in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life-
time of those impacted using level dollar payments.
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
NYCERS
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 221.6 K
Number of Payments: 4
Amortization Payment: 67.7 K
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.
NYCERS
Active Members
- Number Count: 7
- Average Age: 47.1
- Average Service: 24.9
- Average Salary: 89,300
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS AND CONTRIBUTIONS: This proposed legislation
would provide current EMT members, who previously opted out of the EMT
25-Year Plans, a 180-day opportunity to join such plan.
Members of the EMT 25-Year Plans would be required to pay Basic Member
Contributions (BMC), which vary by tier, plus Additional Member Contrib-
utions (AMC) equal to 6.25% of compensation for all service as a Plan
participant until attaining 30 years of Allowable 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:
* Election assumptions and the rates of retirement for the EMT
25-Year Plans were assigned based on the bill's provisions including the
eligibility requirements for retirement under the EMT 25-Year Plans.
* For purposes of this fiscal note, existing AMC balances, including
physically taxing AMC, are assumed to offset the AMC payment required to
join the EMT 25-Year Plan.
To determine the impact of the elective nature of the proposed legis-
lation, a subgroup of EMT members was developed based on who is assumed
to benefit actuarially by comparing the net present value of future
employer costs of each member's benefit under their current plan and
under the applicable EMT 25-Year Plan.
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.
S. 4598 4
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 2025-05 dated February 3,
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.
