Extends the benefits of the variable supplements fund to New York city transit police who retired after October 1, 1968; amends the definition of a beneficiary.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6587
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 27, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to extending the benefits of the variable supplements fund
for transit police members of the New York city employees' retirement
system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 13-191 of the
2 administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 577
3 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
4 (c) "Beneficiary". Any person who receives a retirement allowance by
5 reason of having retired, on or after [July first, nineteen hundred
6 eighty-seven] October first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight for service
7 (with credit for twenty or more years of service toward the minimum
8 period) as a transit police officer; provided, that no person who held a
9 rank or position as a transit police superior officer, as defined in
10 subdivision eighty-four of section 13-101 of this title who, on or after
11 May first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, subsequently became a transit
12 police officer shall be considered a beneficiary unless such person (1)
13 subsequently performed at least three years of service as a transit
14 police officer or (2) returned to service, from the position of
15 sergeant, as a transit police officer during the eighteen month proba-
16 tionary period, or such other probationary period as may be applicable
17 or (3) returned to service as a transit police officer during the three
18 year period specified in paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section
19 seventy-five of the civil service law, or (4) returned to service as a
20 transit police officer as the result of a hearing conducted pursuant to
21 applicable law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09853-02-3
S. 6587 2
1 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 13-192 of the adminis-
2 trative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 720 of the
3 laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
4 (b) "Beneficiary". Any person who receives a retirement allowance by
5 reason of having retired, on or after [July first, nineteen hundred
6 eighty-seven,] October first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, for service
7 (with credit for twenty or more years of service toward the minimum
8 period) as a transit police member and as a transit police superior
9 officer; provided, however, that where a person who held or holds a rank
10 or position as a transit police superior officer, subsequently and on or
11 after May first, nineteen hundred ninety-two became or becomes a transit
12 police officer, and while a transit police officer, retired or retires
13 for service under such circumstances that he or she would have qualified
14 as a beneficiary under the provisions of paragraph (c) of subdivision
15 one of section 13-191 of this title (other than the proviso thereof),
16 but did not or does not qualify as a beneficiary under such paragraph
17 (c) because he or she was or is disqualified by the terms of such provi-
18 so, such retiree shall nevertheless be deemed to be a beneficiary under
19 the provisions of this section.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect December 1, 2023.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend Sections 13-191
and 13-192 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York (ACCNY),
both enacted by Chapter 844 of the Laws of 1987, to extend the eligibil-
ity provisions providing for the payment of Transit Police Officers' and
Transit Police Superior Officers' Variable Supplements Funds (VSF) bene-
fits to certain retirees.
Specifically, this proposed legislation would provide for payments to
former New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) members who
are retired for service from the New York City Transit Police (TP)
between October 1, 1968 and June 30, 1987 (Prior Retirees) with 20 or
more years of service. These benefits would be paid from the following
VSFs (referred to hereafter as the Impacted VSFs):
* Transit Police Officers' Variable Supplements Fund (TPOVSF), and
* Transit Police Superior Officers' Variable Supplements Fund
(TPSOVSF).
Effective Date: December 1, 2023.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS - VSF PAYMENTS: Each of the Impacted VSFs currently
provides supplemental non-pension benefits to former NYCERS members who
retired for service on or after July 1, 1987 from TP with 20 or more
years of service.
The amount of VSF benefits paid is currently $12,000 per Calendar
Year. These VSF benefits are payable on an annual basis around December
15th to eligible former NYCERS members for their lifetimes. There are no
optional forms of payment. Upon the death of the NYCERS retiree, VSF
payments cease.
If the proposed legislation were to be enacted, all Prior Retirees
would become immediately eligible for VSF benefits on the December 15th
subsequent to the Effective Date and for each year thereafter.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it has been assumed that bene-
fits payable under this proposed legislation are prospective only (i.e.,
there would be no retroactive payments for VSF benefits due before the
Effective Date for such Prior Retirees).
FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data and the
actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the enactment of
this proposed legislation would result in an increase in the Present
S. 6587 3
Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) of the Impacted VSFs of approximately
$21.6 million.
There are no active TP members of NYCERS and therefore there is no
mechanism in place for funding the TP VSFs since the VSFs' funding allo-
cation method normally would be based on the ratio of active TP member
salaries to salaries of all active members in NYCERS. Therefore, a
transfer from NYCERS to the Impacted VSFs would be necessary to fund the
additional VSF benefit obligations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The enactment of this
proposed legislation would result in an increase in Fiscal Year 2024
contributions of approximately $23.9 million.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, since those that would benefit
are retired, and therefore have no remaining working lifetime, the
entire increase in PVFB with interest to Fiscal Year 2024 would be
recognized immediately.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census
data used in the June 30, 2022 actuarial valuation of NYCERS to deter-
mine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions.
The 334 Prior Retirees as of June 30, 2022 had an average age of
approximately 81.2 years.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have
been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods used for
the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2024 employer contributions of NYCERS.
For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the changes
would be reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2022 actuarial
valuation of NYCERS used to determine employer contributions for Fiscal
Year 2024.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, demograph-
ics of the impacted population and other factors such as investment,
contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu-
arial 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 to implement the
proposed legislation.
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 2023-36 dated April 24,
2023 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2023 Legislative Session.
