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S04554 Summary:

S04554 Actions:

S04554 Committee Votes:

S04554 Floor Votes:

S04554 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         4554--A
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 6, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  SCARCELLA-SPANTON,  ADDABBO,  HARCKHAM,  JACKSON,
          MAYER, PERSAUD, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered  printed,  and  when
          printed  to  be  committed  to  the Committee on Cities 1 -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
          relation to the verification of participation in the rescue, recovery,
          and  clean-up  operations at the site of the World Trade Center terror
          attacks on September 11, 2001
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of section 13-252.1 of the administrative
     2  code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 489 of the  laws  of
     3  2013, is amended to read as follows:
     4    2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or of any gener-
     5  al,  special or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or regu-
     6  lation to the contrary, if a member who [participated]  filed  a  timely
     7  notice of participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or clean-
     8  up  operations  as  defined  in section two of the retirement and social
     9  security law[, and] subsequently retired [on a  service  retirement,  an
    10  ordinary  disability  retirement, an accidental disability retirement, a
    11  performance of duty disability retirement, or was separated from service
    12  with a vested right to deferred payability of  a  retirement  allowance]
    13  and  subsequent  to  such  retirement or separation is determined by the
    14  [NYCPPF] police pension fund board of  trustees  to  have  a  qualifying
    15  World  Trade  Center condition, as defined in section two of the retire-
    16  ment and social security law, upon such determination  by  the  [NYCPPF]
    17  police  pension  fund  board of trustees, it shall be presumed that such
    18  disability was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty as  the
    19  natural  and proximate result of an accident not caused by such member's
    20  own willful negligence, and that the member would have  been  physically
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07774-02-5
        S. 4554--A                          2
 
     1  or  mentally  incapacitated for the performance and discharge of duty of
     2  the position from which [he or she] the member retired or vested had the
     3  condition been known and fully developed at the  time  of  the  member's
     4  retirement  or  separation  from  service with vested rights, unless the
     5  contrary is proven by competent evidence.
     6    (b) The [NYCPPF] police pension fund board of trustees shall  consider
     7  a  reclassification  of  the  member's retirement or vesting as an acci-
     8  dental disability retirement effective as of the date of such  reclassi-
     9  fication.
    10    (c)  Such  member's retirement option shall not be changed as a result
    11  of such reclassification.
    12    (d) [The member's former employer at the time of the member's  retire-
    13  ment  shall  have an opportunity to be heard on the member's application
    14  for reclassification by the NYCPPF board of trustees according to proce-
    15  dures developed by the NYCPPF board  of  trustees]  Notwithstanding  the
    16  provisions  of any general, special or local law, or administrative code
    17  to the contrary, but except for the purposes of determining  eligibility
    18  for  World  Trade  Center  benefits,  it shall be considered presumptive
    19  evidence that upon the timely filing of a fully sworn notice of  partic-
    20  ipation,  such  member shall have a qualifying World Trade Center condi-
    21  tion, as defined by subdivision thirty-six of section two of the retire-
    22  ment and social security law, unless the contrary be proved by competent
    23  evidence and adopted by a quorum of the board of trustees.
    24    (e) The [NYCPPF] police pension  fund  board  of  trustees  is  hereby
    25  authorized   to  promulgate  rules  and  regulations  to  implement  the
    26  provisions of this paragraph.
    27    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would eliminate the existing  World
        Trade Center (WTC) verification requirement for Tier 1 and Tier 2 POLICE
        members  and  provide  eligibility  for  WTC benefits to all members who
        timely file a Notice of Participation.
 
                  ILLUSTRATION - COST DUE TO INCIDENCE OF UNVERIFIABLE
                           WTC APPROVAL 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      71        272         71           272
             2027      71        272         141          543
             2028      71        272         212          815
             2029      71        272         283          1,087
             2030      71        272         354          1,359
             2031      71        272         424          1,630
             2032      71        272         495          1,902
             2033      71        272         566          2,174
             2034      71        272         636          2,445
             2035      71        272         707          2,717
             2036      71        272         778          2,989
             2037      71        272         849          3,260
             2038      71        272         919          3,532
             2039      71        272         990          3,804
             2040      0         0           990          3,804
        S. 4554--A                          3
 
             2041      0         0           990          3,804
             2042      0         0           990          3,804
             2043      0         0           990          3,804
             2044      0         0           990          3,804
             2045      0         0           990          3,804
             2046      0         0           990          3,804
             2047      0         0           990          3,804
             2048      0         0           990          3,804
             2049      0         0           990          3,804
             2050      0         0           990          3,804
 
           Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
                          Costs could vary greatly depending on
                        the number of future members who benefit
                and on their length of service, age, and salary history.
 
          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:  598                 2,297
             (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  0                   0
             Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    598                 2,297
 
          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
 
             Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability  Per Death
             Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        598 K           2,297 K
             Number of Payments:                14              14
             Amortization Payment:              71 K            272 K
 
          CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
        the  verification  removal  provided  in  this  proposed  legislation is
        unknown. Of the 31,945 Notices of  Participation  submitted  to  POLICE,
        only  1,940 have been verified so far. There are currently approximately
        50 known cases where WTC disability benefits  were  approved  medically,
        but did not meet WTC verification requirements.
          The  estimates  presented  herein are based on preliminary census data
        collected as of June 30, 2024. The census data for the  population  used
        to develop the average costs is summarized below.

                                                POLICE
             Active Members
             - Number Count:                    1,760
        S. 4554--A                          4
 
             - Average Age:                     52.6
             - Average Service:                 27.5
             - Average Salary:                  185,600
             Receiving Members (within 25 years of retirement)
             - Number Count:                    23,277
             - Average Age:                     55.1
 
          IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, Tier 1 and Tier 2 New York City
        Police Pension Fund (POLICE) members who file a WTC  Notice  of  Partic-
        ipation  must  also provide information about their participation in WTC
        rescue, recovery or clean-up operations, which is reviewed and verified,
        before becoming eligible for WTC benefits.
          Under the proposed legislation,  the  verification  process  would  no
        longer  be  required. Instead, all members who filed a timely WTC Notice
        of Participation, irrespective of duties performed during the applicable
        period, would be granted a presumption that they have met  the  require-
        ments of WTC participation.
          For  purposes  of  this  Fiscal  Note, an incident represents a member
        whose WTC participation would be  unverifiable  and  therefore  benefits
        from this proposed legislation upon disability or death.
          The  current deadline to file a WTC Notice of Participation is Septem-
        ber 11, 2026. Additional costs for future members who may file a  Notice
        of  Participation if this proposed legislation were to be passed are not
        included in this Fiscal Note.
          The right of a vested member to file for WTC disability  benefits  may
        be  inadvertently  deleted  from  the  law and would, under the proposed
        legislation, require retirement as eligibility for  WTC  benefits.  This
        may warrant consideration under the New York State Constitution.
          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  cost of this proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on
        the number of future members who benefit and on their length of service,
        age, and salary history.  The  estimated  financial  impact  for  active
        members  who become disabled has been calculated assuming 50% would have
        retired under an ordinary disability benefit, and 50% would have contin-
        ued 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
        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
        S. 4554--A                          5
 
        procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
        Actuarial Standards Board.
          FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This Fiscal Note 2025-40 dated April 7,
        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.