STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7749
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to disabilities
of deputy sheriffs in certain cities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 207-r to read as follows:
3 § 207-r. Disabilities of deputy sheriff members of a retirement system
4 in certain cities. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,
5 special or local law or administrative code to the contrary, but except
6 for the purposes of the workers' compensation law and the labor law, any
7 condition of impairment of health caused by diseases of the heart,
8 resulting in total or partial disability or death to a paid employee
9 performing the duties of a deputy sheriff in the sheriff's department of
10 a city of one million or more, where such employee is drawn from compet-
11 itive civil service lists, who successfully passed a physical examina-
12 tion on entry into the service of such department, which examination
13 failed to reveal any evidence of such condition, shall be presumptive
14 evidence that it was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty,
15 unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.
16 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a deputy sheriff member
17 retiring pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of this section
18 shall receive a pension equal to three-fourths of such member's final
19 average salary.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: The proposed legislation would provide certain Deputy Sheriff
members of the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) a
rebuttable statutory presumption that a qualifying partial or total
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09780-02-5
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disability or death related to a heart disease was incurred in the
performance of duty.
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 55 187 55 187
2027 55 187 112 379
2028 55 187 171 577
2029 55 187 231 780
2030 55 187 293 990
2031 55 187 357 1,207
2032 55 187 423 1,429
2033 55 187 491 1,659
2034 55 187 561 1,895
2035 55 187 633 2,138
2036 55 187 707 2,389
2037 55 187 784 2,647
2038 55 187 863 2,913
2039 55 187 944 3,187
2040 0 0 972 3,283
2041 0 0 1,001 3,381
2042 0 0 1,031 3,483
2043 0 0 1,062 3,587
2044 0 0 1,094 3,695
2045 0 0 1,127 3,805
2046 0 0 1,161 3,920
2047 0 0 1,196 4,037
2048 0 0 1,231 4,158
2049 0 0 1,268 4,283
2050 0 0 1,306 4,412
Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
The potential increases 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 Thousands)
Present Value (PV) Per Disability Per Death
(1) PV of Employer Contributions: 467 1,577
(2) PV of Employee Contributions: (48) 0
Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 419 1,577
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
S. 7749 3
Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss Per Disability Per Death
Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 467 K 1,577 K
Number of Payments: 14 14
Amortization Payment: 55 K 187 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: 132
- Average Age: 43.5
- Average Service: 11.9
- Average Salary: 94,600
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a New York City Deputy Sheriff
who becomes disabled due to a 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 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled from a heart
disease would be equal to 75% of FAS without an offset for Workers'
Compensation.
The ordinary death benefit New York City Deputy Sheriff members is a
lump sum payment generally equal to three times the member's salary plus
a return of member contributions.
Under the proposed legislation, 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 of service, plus, if applicable, the
Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) payable under General Municipal
Law section 208-f.
SADB for Deputy Sheriffs was enacted by Chapter 720 of the Laws of
2023 and all accidental deaths are assumed to qualify for SADB.
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 who will benefit in the future from this fiscal
note is unknown. The cost of this proposed legislation could vary great-
ly 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 the disabling heart disease is diagnosed.
The estimated financial impact for disabled members has been calcu-
lated assuming 50% would have retired under an ordinary disability bene-
fit, 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
S. 7749 4
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 2025-54 dated May 2, 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.
