STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10416
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2022
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Niou) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the workers'
compensation law, in relation to extending the deadline for submission
of a notice that a member of a retirement system participated in
World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retire-
2 ment and social security law, as amended by chapter 425 of the laws of
3 2021, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
5 condition or impairment of health resulting in disability to a member
6 who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
7 ations for a qualifying period, as those terms are defined below,
8 provided the following conditions have been met: (i) such member, or
9 eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have either
10 filed a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system
11 on a form provided by such system, or as allowed by the member's retire-
12 ment system, electronically submitted a statement on a form provided by
13 such system through a secure online portal maintained by the member's
14 retirement system that has duly validated the member's identity, indi-
15 cating the underlying dates and locations of employment not later than
16 September eleventh, two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six, and (ii) such
17 member has either successfully passed a physical examination for entry
18 into public service, or authorized release of all relevant medical
19 records, if the member did not undergo a physical examination for entry
20 into public service; and (iii) there is no evidence of the qualifying
21 condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the disabil-
22 ity in such physical examination for entry into public service or in the
23 relevant medical records, prior to September eleventh, two thousand one
24 except for such member, or eligible beneficiary in the case of the
25 member's death, of a local retirement system of a city with a population
26 of one million or more that is covered by section 13-551 of the adminis-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15481-02-2
A. 10416 2
1 trative code of the city of New York, or by section twenty-five hundred
2 seventy-five of the education law and for such member who separated from
3 service with vested rights, or eligible beneficiary of such member who
4 separated from service with vested rights in the case of the member's
5 death, of a local retirement system of a city with a population of one
6 million or more who are covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1
7 of the administrative code of the city of New York or sections five
8 hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred
9 seven-b of this chapter. The deadline for filing a written and sworn
10 statement required by subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be
11 September eleventh, two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six for such
12 member, or eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, of a
13 local retirement system of a city with a population of one million or
14 more that is covered by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the
15 city of New York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the
16 education law and for such member who separated from service with vested
17 rights, or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from
18 service with vested rights in the case of the member's death, of a local
19 retirement system of a city with a population of one million or more who
20 are covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administra-
21 tive code of the city of New York and sections five hundred seven-c, six
22 hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
23 ter. Every retirement system shall keep a copy of every written and
24 sworn statement that is presented for filing not later than September
25 eleventh, two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six, including those that are
26 rejected for filing as untimely.
27 § 2. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chap-
28 ter 266 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
29 § 162. Registration of participation in World Trade Center rescue,
30 recovery and clean-up operations. In order for the claim of a partic-
31 ipant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations to
32 come within the application of this article, such participant must file
33 a written and sworn statement with the board on a form promulgated by
34 the chair indicating the dates and locations of such participation and
35 the name of such participant's employer during the period of partic-
36 ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
37 two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six. The board shall transmit a copy
38 of such statement to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing
39 of such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for
40 benefits under this chapter.
41 § 3. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
42 a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
43 5. A claim by a participant in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
44 or cleanup operations whose disablement occurred between September elev-
45 enth, two thousand seventeen, and September eleventh, two thousand twen-
46 ty-one, shall not be disallowed as barred by section eighteen or section
47 twenty-eight of this chapter if such claim is filed on or before Septem-
48 ber eleventh, two thousand twenty-six. Any such claim by a participant
49 in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations whose
50 disablement occurred between September eleventh, two thousand seventeen,
51 and September eleventh, two thousand twenty-one, and was disallowed by
52 section eighteen or twenty-eight of this chapter shall be reconsidered
53 by the board.
54 § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
55 provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement
56 and social security law.
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1 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
2 have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2001;
3 provided, however, that the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
4 workers' compensation law made by sections two and three of this act,
5 respectively, shall apply to all open and closed claims coming within
6 the purview of the workers' compensation board.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend subdivision 36 of Section 2 of the Retirement
and Social Security Law to extend the deadline to September 11, 2026 for
filing notice of having participated in the World Trade Center rescue,
recover or cleanup operations during the qualifying period. Members who
become disabled or die because of a "Qualifying World Trade Center
Condition" are assumed to have become disabled or died because of an
accidental or on-the-job disability or death. This act shall take effect
immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
and after September 11, 2001.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if this bill
is enacted.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Annual Report. System assets are as reported in the System's financial
statements and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuari-
al assumptions and methods are provided in the System's Actuarial Valu-
ation Report and the 2021 Actuarial Assumptions Report.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2022-39 dated May 11, 2022
prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2022 Legisla-
tive Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the New York
State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy
of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend chapter 93 of the Laws of 2005 and chapter 445
of the Laws of 2006, which provided that, for members of public retire-
ment systems who contract any form of disease related to exposure to any
elements connected to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack of September
11, 2001, resulting in disability or death, said disability or death
will be presumed to be a result of an accident and sustained in the
performance of duty.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), if enacted during the 2022 legisla-
tive session, this legislation would extend the deadline for filing
notice regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members who
participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
ation to September 11, 2026.
By extending the deadline for filing notice, certain current and
future retirement benefits would be reclassified as a WTC accidental
disability. The cost of the revised benefit will depend upon the appli-
cant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type otherwise payable.
Benefit without None Ordinary Performance of Service
enactment: Disability Duty Disability
Cost for WTC 10 times 5.5 times 3 times 2 times
benefit: salary salary salary salary
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This bill would also lead to more deaths being classified as "acci-
dental". For each death classified as accidental due to this bill, the
cost would depend on the age, service, salary, plan, and status of the
member at time of death. It is estimated that the cost for each NYSLERS
and NYSLPFRS participant affected would average approximately 4.5 times
final average salary and 13 times final average salary, respectively.
The provisions of this act will not be subject to Section 25 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law. Therefore, all costs would be shared
by the State of New York and the participating employers in the NYSLERS
and NYSLPFRS.
The exact number of current and future participants who could be
affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
and 2021 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and
the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2021
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated May 2, 2022, and intended for use only during the
2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-130, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: With respect to the New York City Retirement Systems
and Pension Funds (NYCRS), the proposed legislation would amend Retire-
ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 2, to extend, for certain
members who participated in the Rescue, Recovery, or Cleanup operations
related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on September 11, 2001
(Covered Groups), the deadline for filing a Notice of Participation
under the WTC Disability Law.
The NYCRS include: New York City Employees' Retirement System
(NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS), New York
City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), New York City Police
Pension Fund (POLICE), and New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE).
The proposed legislation would also amend provisions of the Workers'
Compensation Law (WCL). However, because such provisions do not directly
impact the NYCRS, the financial impact of amendments to the WCL are not
reflected in this fiscal note.
None of the provisions of the proposed legislation would be subject to
Retirement and Social Security Law Section 25, and therefore, State
appropriation would not be required.
Effective Date : Upon enactment and retroactive to September 11, 2001.
DEADLINES UNDER EXISTING PROVISIONS: Under current law, as enacted by
Chapter 266 of the Laws of 2018, the deadline to file a Notice of
Participation for Covered Groups is September 11, 2022.
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DEADLINES UNDER PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the NYCRS, the
proposed legislation would extend the deadline for filing a Notice of
Participation under the WTC Disability Law for Covered Groups from
September 11, 2022 to September 11, 2026.
ADDITIONAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The increase in employer contrib-
utions resulting from the proposed legislation would depend on the
number of additional members who timely file the required form, meet the
requirements of the WTC Disability Law, and ultimately benefit from such
Law.
Most members eligible for the benefits provided under the WTC Disabil-
ity Law have already filed the required form to register for partic-
ipation. Therefore, for the purpose of this Fiscal Note it has been
assumed that only a minimal number of NYCRS members would benefit from
the proposed legislation and that the increase in employer contributions
would likely be de minimis.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer contrib-
utions presented herein have been calculated based on the same actuarial
assumptions and methods in effect for the Preliminary June 30, 2021
(Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year
2023 employer contributions of NYCRS.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, as well as
certain demographic characteristics of each respective NYCRS and other
exogenous factors such as investment, contribution, and other risks. If
actual experience deviates from actuarial 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 of NYCRS and other New
York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
* The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
Benefit (OPEB) costs.
* Any costs associated with amendments to the WCL.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Michael J. Samet, am the Interim
Chief Actuary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and
a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. 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 2022-48 dated May 10,
2022, was prepared by the Interim Chief Actuary for the New York City
Retirement Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use
only during the 2022 Legislative Session.
