STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6461
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT relating to granting retroactive eligibility to apply for
enhanced Tier 3 status to former New York City police officer Mark
Rivera
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special
2 law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Mark Rivera who was previously
3 employed by the New York City police department as a police officer and
4 was a Tier 3 member of the Police Pension Fund at the time of his death
5 on March 21, 2015 shall be eligible to apply for membership in Enhanced
6 Tier 3, if within one year from the effective date of this act, Abigail
7 Rivera, the widow of Mark Rivera, shall file with the retirement system
8 an application for membership Enhanced Tier 3 of the Police Pension
9 Fund, and Abigail Rivera may also file for any retirement options or
10 death benefits that would have been available to Mark Rivera if he had
11 been a member of Enhanced Tier 3 on the date of his death. Any amounts
12 paid by the police pension fund to Mark Rivera, his estate or Abigail
13 Rivera prior to the filing of the application for benefits pursuant to
14 this act shall be deducted from the benefit payable thereafter.
15 § 2. All costs pursuant to this act shall be borne by the City of New
16 York.
17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would permit Ms. Rivera,
within one year of the effective date, to posthumously elect the Tier 3
Enhanced Plan on behalf of Police Officer Mark Rivera, her deceased
husband, and to apply for any benefits applicable to such Plan.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04962-02-3
A. 6461 2
BACKGROUND: Officer Rivera died as a Tier 3 Revised member of the New
York City Police Pension Fund (POLICE) on March 21, 2015. His surviving
spouse, Ms. Rivera, received an ordinary death benefit equal to a lump
sum benefit based on salary and member contributions according to the
provisions of a Tier 3 revised member.
After his death, beginning in September 8, 2016, certain Tier 3
Revised members could elect to join the Tier 3 Enhanced Plan which,
among other things, extended the statutory presumptions contained in the
Heart Bill (General Municipal Law (GML) § 207-k) to Enhanced Plan
members pursuant to Chapter 298 of the Laws of 2016. Tier 3 police offi-
cers became eligible to participate in the Enhanced Plan on April 10,
2017 pursuant to Part SSS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017.
If this legislation is passed, Officer Rivera's death could potential-
ly be deemed as a Line-of-Duty death under such presumption, entitling
his spouse to receive an Accidental Death Benefit pursuant to Retirement
and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 509 and a Special Accidental
Death Benefit (SADB) under GML Section 208-f, less any amount previously
paid as an ordinary death benefit.
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 $2.6
million. This calculation does not reflect the offset for a Social Secu-
rity death benefit, if any, payable to Ms. Rivera.
The estimated financial impact of this proposal has been calculated as
the difference between the present value of (1) and (2), where:
(1) is the Accidental Death and SADB benefits Officer Rivera's spouse
could potentially receive if the proposed legislation were enacted
(retroactive to the date of death on March 21, 2015), and
(2) is the value of the amount of ordinary death benefits already
paid.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: For purposes of this Fiscal
Note, since Officer Rivera is deceased and therefore has no remaining
working lifetime, the entire increase in UAL would be recognized imme-
diately. The enactment of this proposed legislation would therefore
result in an increase in Fiscal Year 2025 employer contributions of
approximately $2.9 million.
CENSUS DATA: As of June 30, 2022, Ms. Rivera would be approximately
age 44 and is not receiving an annual pension. Additional data was
provided by POLICE which was not audited but was checked for reasonable-
ness. Below is a summary of the data provided:
* Ordinary Death Benefit Lump Sum: $167,000
* Accidental Death Annual Benefit (City): $25,343
* SADB Annual Benefit at Date of Death (State): $58,854
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods to be
used for the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of
POLICE.
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
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. If actual
experience deviates from actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could
differ from those presented herein.
A. 6461 3
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 2023-08 dated March 3,
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.
