STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5866--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to membership in the New York city teachers' retirement
system
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 7 of section 13-501 of the
2 administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 650
3 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) "Teacher" shall mean the superintendent of schools, the associate
5 superintendents, the assistant superintendents, the director and the
6 assistant director of the divisions of reference and research, the
7 director and the assistant directors of the bureau of compulsory educa-
8 tion, school census and child welfare, attendance teachers and specially
9 certificated attendance officers who are first employed by the New York
10 city board of education on or after September first, nineteen hundred
11 sixty-eight, attendance teachers and specially certificated attendance
12 officers who were members of the New York city board of education
13 retirement system and who, on or before December thirty-first, nineteen
14 hundred sixty-nine, gave notice to said board of education retirement
15 system of their intention to transfer to the New York city teachers'
16 retirement system, the director of attendance, assistant director of
17 attendance, chief attendance officer, division supervising attendance
18 officers and district supervising attendance officers of the bureau of
19 compulsory education, school census and child welfare, supervisors of
20 school social workers who are first employed by the New York city board
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06019-09-8
S. 5866--A 2
1 of education on or after September first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine or
2 who were members of the New York city board of education retirement
3 system and who on or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred
4 seventy, gave notice to the said board of education retirement system of
5 their intention to transfer to the New York city teachers' retirement
6 system, the members of the board of examiners, the directors and the
7 assistant directors of special branches, the supervisor and assistant
8 supervisors of lectures, all principals, vice-principals, assistants-to-
9 principals, heads of departments, and all regular and special teachers
10 of the public day schools of the city, and all employees of the board of
11 education appointed to regular positions in the service of the public
12 schools at annual salaries and whose appointments were made or shall be
13 made from eligible lists prepared as the result of examinations held by
14 the board of examiners or from hiring lists established by the chancel-
15 lor of the board of education, as the case may be, and all employees
16 employed by the board of education in the titles of teacher aide, educa-
17 tional assistant, educational associate, auxiliary trainer, bilingual
18 professional assistant, family worker, family assistant, family associ-
19 ate[,] or parent program assistant[, who file an application for member-
20 ship in the retirement association on a form supplied by the retirement
21 board].
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ADDITIONAL ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: If
enacted into law, the ultimate employer cost for this proposed legis-
lation would be based on the number, ages, years of service, and salary
of those paraprofessionals that would otherwise not have elected to
become members of TRS.
In order to estimate the costs associated with this group, census data
of approximately 4,200 paraprofessionals who are not currently members
of TRS was reviewed. Based on this data and the population of parapro-
fessionals who have already joined TRS, it was estimated that approxi-
mately 2,450 paraprofessionals, who would not have otherwise joined TRS,
would be mandated into TRS membership if this proposed legislation is
enacted. The remaining 1,750 paraprofessionals were assumed to have
become members of TRS at some point in their careers even absent the
proposed legislation.
Based on these assumptions and other actuarial assumptions and methods
in effect for the June 30, 2017 (Lag) actuarial valuation used to deter-
mine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2019 employer contributions for TRS, we
have estimated the annual cost of this legislation to be $7.7 million
for the 2,450 paraprofessionals. However, the total increase in employer
contributions for Fiscal Year 2018 would be approximately $12.8 million
for the entire group of approximately 4,200 paraprofessionals who would
be mandated into the plan if the proposed legislation is enacted. This
amount includes the estimated cost of approximately $5.1 million for the
1,750 paraprofessionals whose membership is being accelerated into TRS.
These employer contribution amounts are representative of the annual
employer contribution amounts for each future year if paraprofessional
member participation numbers and demographic characteristics do not
significantly change.
CONTRIBUTION TIMING: If enacted on or before June 30, 2018, these
additional paraprofessionals would likely be included in the census data
as of June 30, 2018. In accordance with the One-Year Lag Methodology
used to determine employer contributions, the increase in employer
contributions for TRS would first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2020.
S. 5866--A 3
OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following poten-
tial costs:
The additional administrative costs to TRS and its participating
employers to implement the proposed legislation.
The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment Bene-
fit (OPEB) costs. In order to be eligible for OPEB, a retiree must be
receiving a pension from one of the New York City Retirement Systems.
Therefore, there is potential for additional OPEB costs if this proposed
legislation is enacted.
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 June 30, 2016 (Lag) actuarial
valuation used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018 employer
contributions of TRS. Please note these assumptions and methods are
subject to change as this valuation is not considered final until the
end of the Fiscal Year 2018.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems and
Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and Enrolled
Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974
(ERISA), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of
the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Stand-
ards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opin-
ion contained herein. To the best of my knowledge, the results contained
herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuari-
al principles and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Prac-
tice issued by the Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2018-10 dated March 23,
2018, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Teachers'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2018 Legislative Session.
