STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6306--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 12, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, MARTINEZ, MARTINS -- 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 committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
providing WTC-related benefits to certain employees who worked at the
Verrazano Bridge Toll Facility
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retire-
2 ment and social security law, as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of
3 2021, is amended to read as follows:
4 (e) "Participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup
5 operations" shall mean any member who: (i) participated in the rescue,
6 recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site, as
7 defined in paragraph (f) of this subdivision; (ii) worked at the Fresh
8 Kills Land Fill in New York; (iii) worked at the New York city morgue or
9 the temporary morgue on pier locations on the west side of Manhattan;
10 (iv) manned the barges between the west side of Manhattan and the Fresh
11 Kills Land Fill in New York; (v) repaired, cleaned or rehabilitated
12 vehicles or equipment, including emergency vehicle radio equipment owned
13 by the city of New York that were contaminated by debris in the World
14 Trade Center site, as defined in paragraph (f) of this subdivision,
15 regardless of whether the work on the repair, cleaning or rehabilitation
16 of said vehicles and equipment was performed within the World Trade
17 Center site, provided such work was performed prior to decontamination
18 of such vehicles or equipment; [or] (vi) worked in the following depart-
19 ments, worksites and titles: (A) New York City Police Department at 11
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10515-05-4
S. 6306--B 2
1 Metrotec Center in Brooklyn or 1 Police Plaza in Manhattan as a Police
2 Communication Technician (PCT), Supervisor Police Communication Techni-
3 cian (SPCT), Principal Police Communication Technician I, Principal
4 Police Communication Technician II, Principal Police Communication Tech-
5 nician III, Administrative Manager - Communications, or in the Police
6 Administrative Aide title series; (B) Fire Department of the City of New
7 York at 35 Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn, 79th Street Transverse in
8 Manhattan, 83-98 Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens, 1129 East 180 Street in
9 the Bronx, 65 Slosson Avenue in Staten Island, 9 Metrotec Center in
10 Brooklyn, or 25 Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn as Fire Alarm Dispatchers
11 (FAD), Supervising Fire Alarm Dispatchers I (SFAD), Supervising Fire
12 Alarm Dispatchers II (Borough Supervisor), Deputy Director & Director
13 Fire Dispatch Operations, or Assistant Commissioner for Communications;
14 (C) for the Fire Department of the City of New York's Emergency Medical
15 Service at 1 or 9 Metrotec Centers in Brooklyn, or 55-30 58 Street in
16 Maspeth Queens as Emergency Medical Specialist-Level I (EMT), Emergency
17 Medical Specialist Level II-(Paramedic), Supervising Emergency Medical
18 Specialist Level I (LT), Supervising Emergency Medical Specialist Level
19 II (Capt), Deputy Chief EMS Communications, or Division Commander EMS
20 Communications; or (vii) worked at the Verrazano Bridge Toll Facility.
21 For purposes of this paragraph, the term "member" shall include each
22 person who during the qualifying period was in the employment of a
23 public employer which then participated for such employees in a public
24 retirement system in this state, irrespective of whether the person was
25 a participant in such system at that time, provided that the person has
26 become a participant in such retirement system and has purchased service
27 credit for a period of time that includes some or all of the qualifying
28 period in accordance with provisions of law applicable to such purchase
29 of service credit.
30 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
31 have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2001.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would expand the definition of a member who participated in
World Trade Center (WTC) rescue, recovery or cleanup operations to
include those who worked at the Verrazano Bridge Toll Facility.
Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), if this bill is enacted during
the 2024 Legislative Session, it would (a) reclassify certain retiree
benefits as accidental disability, (b) lead to an increased number of
accidental disability benefits for future retirees, and (c) also lead to
more deaths being classified as "accidental". The cost of the revised
benefit will depend upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan and
benefit type otherwise payable.
Benefit prior Ordinary Performance
to enactment: None Disability of Duty
NYSLERS cost for 10 times 5.5 times 3 times
proposed benefit: salary salary salary
NYSLPFRS cost for 10 times 5.5 times 3 times
proposed benefit: salary salary salary
Benefit prior Service Ordinary
to enactment: Retirement Death
S. 6306--B 3
NYSLERS cost for 2 times 4.5 times
proposed benefit: salary salary
NYSLPFRS cost for 2 times 13 times
proposed benefit: salary salary
The exact number of current members as well as future members who
could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law, the
costs arising in the NYSLERS will be borne entirely by the State of New
York and will require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay the
cost of the provision. The costs arising in the NYSLPFRS will be shared
by the State of New York and the local participating employers of the
NYSLPFRS.
Further, we anticipate additional administrative costs to implement
the provisions of this legislation.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023
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, 2023
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 January 3, 2024, and intended for use only during
the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-18, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would expand the definition of a
member who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or
cleanup operations to include those who worked at the Verrazano Bridge
Toll Facility.
ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
Per Incident
Year Disability Death
2025 30 116
2026 30 116
2027 30 116
2028 30 116
2029 30 116
2030 30 116
2031 30 116
2032 30 116
2033 30 116
S. 6306--B 4
2034 30 116
2035 30 116
2036 30 116
2037 30 116
2038 30 116
2039 0 0
2040 0 0
2041 0 0
2042 0 0
2043 0 0
2044 0 0
2045 0 0
2046 0 0
2047 0 0
2048 0 0
2049 0 0
Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2049 is not shown.
The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.
EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
as of June 30, 2023 ($ in Thousands)
Present Value (PV) Per Disability Per Death
PV of Benefits: 254 983
PV of Employee Contributions: 0 0
PV of Employer Contributions: 254 983
Unfunded Accrued Liabilities: 254 983
AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
Recognized as Ongoing Per Disability Per Death
Gain/Loss
Number of Payments: 14 14
Amortization Payment: 30 K 116 K
CENSUS DATA: The number of members and eligible retirees who worked at
the Verrazano bridge during the applicable period is unknown. The esti-
mates presented herein are based on preliminary census data collected as
of June 30, 2023. The census data for the potentially impacted popu-
lation used to develop the average costs in this Fiscal Note is based on
TBTA members active during the applicable period and is summarized
below.
NYCERS
Active Members
- Number Count: 220
- Average Age: 56.0
- Average Service: 25.1
- Average Salary: 119,300
Term. Vested Members
- Number Count: 31
- Average Age: 58.0
Receiving Members
- Number Count: 902
- Average Age: 68.2
S. 6306--B 5
IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a member who becomes disabled
would be eligible for an applicable ordinary disability retirement,
generally a lifetime payment of 1/3 of salary or service benefit if
greater. The ordinary death benefit is a lump sum payment generally
equal to three times the member's salary for active members or a frac-
tion of the retirement benefit for retirees.
Under the proposed legislation, the accidental death benefit would
generally be equal to a lifetime benefit of 50%, or 100% for those
eligible for Special Accidental Death Benefits, of a member's wages
earned during the last year of service.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of NYCERS.
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 disabled members has been calcu-
lated assuming 50% would have retired under an Ordinary Disability bene-
fit, and 50% would have continued 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).
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
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2024-22 dated March 11,
2024 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use only during
the 2024 Legislative Session.
