Allows for Genesis Villella to qualify for and receive certain spousal accidental death benefits; splits such benefit equally between Genesis Villella and dependents Deliliah Vega and Peter Vega for the rest of such dependents' lifetimes, once the youngest dependent reaches the age of twenty-five.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7397
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to allowing for Genesis Villella to qualify for and
receive certain spousal accidental death benefits
PURPOSE:
Allowing for the orphaned children of a police officer murdered in the
line'of duty to receive their mother's accidental death benefits.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill allows Genesis Villella, an orphaned child of'a
slain NYPD officer, to be entitled to the spousal accidental death bene-
fit of her mother, police officer Miosotis Familia, in accordance with
subdivision f of section 208-f of the general municipal law and subdivi-
sion one of section 13-244 of the administrative code of New York.
Section two of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia was killed in the line of duty on July 5,
2017. While Fourth of July fireworks were going off, Detective Familia
was callously shot in the head while she sat in her police vehicle at
East 183rd Street and Morris Avenue in the Bronx.
Officer Familia was the first female police officer killed in the line
of duty since 9/11 and only the third female officer killed in the line
of duty in the history of the NYPD. The Police Commissioner stated,
"make no mistake: Officer Familia was murdered for her uniform and for
the responsibility she embraced".
Officer Familia was not married and left behind three young children,
Genesis Villella, age 20, and twins Deliliah Vega, and Peter Vega, age
12. Genesis became the sole caregiver to her siblings. New York State
does not recognize orphaned children of slain police officers in the
same way it does spouses. Had Officer Familia been married, her spouse
would receive her accidental death benefit for life. Because she was a
single mother raising three children, her accidental death benefit
terminates for each child when they reach the age of 21.
This legislation grants Genesis and her siblings the same benefit her
family would receive if her mother was married. The benefit will be
split equally between each sibling.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See Fiscal Note
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
and after July 5, 2017.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7397
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 19, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT in relation to allowing for Genesis Villella to qualify for and
receive certain spousal accidental death benefits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contra-
2 ry, Genesis Villella, a dependent of police officer Miosotis Familia who
3 was killed in the line of duty, shall be eligible for and entitled to
4 the accidental death benefit payable to a spouse of a deceased police
5 officer in accordance with subdivision one of section 13-244 of the
6 administrative code of the city of New York and the special accidental
7 death benefit paid to a spouse of a deceased police officer in accord-
8 ance with paragraph one of subdivision f of section 208-f of the general
9 municipal law. Provided however, the death benefit amount provided to
10 Genesis Villella pursuant to this act shall be split equally between
11 Genesis Villella and dependents Deliliah Vega and Peter Vega for the
12 rest of such dependents' lifetimes, once the youngest dependent reaches
13 the age of twenty-five.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
15 have been in full force and effect on and after July 5, 2017.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would provide Genesis
Villella, the eldest child beneficiary of deceased police Detective
Miosotis Familia, with an additional 100% of the total Accidental Death
Benefit (ADB) and Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) benefit until
the twin child beneficiaries of Detective Familia, Deliliah Vega or
Peter Vega, reach the age of 25, at which time they would split such
benefit equally for the remainder of their lifetimes.
Effective Date: Upon enactment and retroactive to July 5, 2017.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09760-02-3
A. 7397 2
BACKGROUND: Detective Familia died in the line of duty as a Tier 2
Police member on July 5, 2017. The total death benefit payable, includ-
ing SADB, was $172,200 per year. There were three eligible statutory
child beneficiaries, Genesis, Deliliah, and Peter, who were ages 20, 12,
and 12, respectively, at the time of death. Each beneficiary received
one-third of the total death benefit, or approximately $57,400 each per
year, from the time of death until the time Genesis turned age 23.
When Genesis attained age 23, the portion of the death benefit payable
to her ceased and was evenly distributed among the remaining two eligi-
ble beneficiaries, Deliliah and Peter, such that the total death benefit
payable remained at $172,200 per year. (Note that all benefit amounts
shown in this Fiscal Note are as of Detective Familia's date of death
and do not include subsequent Cost-of-Living adjustments (COLA).)
IMPACT ON BENEFITS: Genesis no longer receives a death benefit, while
Deliliah and Peter currently each receive approximately $86,100 per
year. These payments will continue until Deliliah or Peter reach the
age of 18 (or 23 if a student). If payments to one of the twins ceases
before the other, the still eligible twin would receive the entire
$172,200 benefit until they age out.
Under the proposed legislation, if enacted, and in addition to the
current benefits described above, Genesis would receive $172,200, which
is equivalent to 100% of the total ADB and SADB benefit, (reduced by the
amounts she received prior to turning age 23) retroactively from the
date of the members' death. This amount will be split equally among
Genesis, Delilah, and Peter once the twins turn age 25.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods described herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation
would increase the Present Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) and the
Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) of POLICE by approximately $6.0 million
as of June 30, 2023.
The estimated financial impact of this proposal has been calculated
based on the difference between the present value of (1) the benefits
Detective Familia's beneficiaries would receive if this proposed legis-
lation were enacted (retroactive to her July 5, 2017 date of death) and
(2) the benefits that are currently and have been paid to Detective
Familia's beneficiaries.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The enactment of
this proposed legislation would result in an increase in Fiscal Year
2025 employer contributions of approximately $6.6 million.
New UAL attributable to benefit changes are generally amortized over
the remaining working lifetime of those impacted by the benefit changes.
Since Detective Familia passed away, and therefore has no remaining
working lifetime, the entire increase in UAL would be recognized imme-
diately.
CENSUS DATA: As of June 30, 2023, Genesis, Deliliah, and Peter will be
ages 26, 18, and 18, respectively. Genesis is not receiving a death
benefit because she is a dependent child over age 23. Deliliah and Peter
each currently receive a death benefit of $102,789 per year including
COLA.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used to
determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of
POLICE. For purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the young-
est beneficiary will be a full-time student until age 23.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the changes
would be reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2023 actuarial
A. 7397 3
valuation of POLICE used to determine employer contributions for Fiscal
Year 2025.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, demograph-
ics of the impacted population, and other factors such as investment,
contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu-
arial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those presented
herein.
Costs are also dependent on the actuarial methods used, and therefore
different actuarial methods could produce different results. Quantifying
these risks is beyond the scope of this Fiscal Note.
Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:
* The initial additional administrative costs to implement the
proposed legislation.
* The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
Benefit costs.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Marek Tyszkiewicz, am the Chief
Actuary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems
and Pension Funds. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a
Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I am a member of NYCERS but
do not believe it impairs my objectivity and I meet the Qualification
Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial
opinion contained herein. To the best of my 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 2023-51 dated May 17,
2023 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Police
Pension Fund. This estimate is intended for use only during the 2023
Legislative Session.
