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S07780 Summary:

S07780 Actions:

S07780 Committee Votes:

S07780 Floor Votes:

S07780 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7780
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 22, 2018
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens. HOYLMAN, GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
          Pensions
 
        AN ACT  relating  to  granting  retroactive  eligibility  to  apply  for
          enhanced  Tier  3  status  to former New York City police officer Mark
          Rivera
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Notwithstanding  the provisions of any general or special
     2  law, rule or regulation to the contrary, Mark Rivera who was  previously
     3  employed  by the New York City police department as a police officer and
     4  was a Tier 3 member of the Police Pension Fund at the time of his  death
     5  on  March 21, 2015 shall be eligible to apply for membership in Enhanced
     6  Tier 3, if within one year from the effective date of this act,  Abigail
     7  Rivera,  the widow of Mark Rivera, shall file with the retirement system
     8  an application for membership Enhanced Tier  3  of  the  Police  Pension
     9  Fund,  and  Abigail  Rivera  may also file for any retirement options or
    10  death benefits that would have been available to Mark Rivera if  he  had
    11  been  a  member of Enhanced Tier 3 on the date of his death. Any amounts
    12  paid by the police pension fund to Mark Rivera, his  estate  or  Abigail
    13  Rivera  prior  to the filing of the application for benefits pursuant to
    14  this act shall be deducted from the benefit payable thereafter.
    15    § 2. All costs pursuant to this act shall be borne by the City of  New
    16  York.
    17    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          SUMMARY  OF  BILL:  The proposed legislation would permit Ms.  Rivera,
        within one year of the effective date, to posthumously elect the Tier  3
        Enhanced  Plan  on  behalf of her deceased husband, and to apply for any
        benefits applicable to such Plan.
          Effective Date for this proposed legislation: Upon enactment.
          BACKGROUND - GENERAL: Mark Rivera died as a Tier 3 Revised  member  of
        the  New  York  City Police Pension Fund (POLICE) on March 21, 2015. His

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14214-02-8
        S. 7780                             2
 
        surviving spouse, Ms. Rivera, received an ordinary death  benefit  equal
        to a lump sum benefit based on salary and member contributions according
         to the provisions of a Tier 3 revised member.
          After  his  death,  beginning  in  September  8,  2016, certain Tier 3
        Revised members could elect to join the  Tier  3  Enhanced  Plan  which,
        among other things, extended the statutory presumptions contained in the
        Heart  Bill  (General  Municipal  Law  (GML)  §  207-k) to Enhanced Plan
        members pursuant to Chapter 298 of the Laws of 2016. Tier 3 police offi-
        cers became eligible to participate in the Enhanced Plan  on  April  10,
        2017 pursuant to Part SSS of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017.
          If this legislation is passed, Officer Rivera's death could potential-
        ly  be  deemed as a Line of Duty death under such presumption, entitling
        his spouse to receive an Accidental Death Benefit pursuant to Retirement
        and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section  509  and  a  Special  Accidental
        Death Benefit (SADB) under GML Section 208-f, less any amount previously
        paid as an ordinary death benefit.
          FINANCIAL  IMPACT - ACTUARIAL  PRESENT VALUES: The estimated financial
        impact of this proposal has been calculated as of June 30, 2017 equal to
        (1) minus (2), where:
          (1) is the sum of the  Accidental  Death  and  SADB  benefits  Officer
        Rivera's spouse would have received from March 21, 2015 through June 30,
        2017 and the actuarial present value of the retirement benefits expected
        to  be received by his spouse in the future if this proposed legislation
        were enacted, and
          (2) is the value of the amount  of  ordinary  death  benefits  already
        paid.
          Based  on  the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the
        enactment of this proposed legislation, to  the  extent  Ms.  Rivera  is
        awarded  the  Accidental Death and SADB benefits for her lifetime, would
        increase the Actuarial Present Value of Benefits (APVB) and the Unfunded
        Accrued Liability (UAL) of POLICE by approximately $1.9  million  as  of
        June 30, 2017. This calculation does not reflect the offset for a Social
        Security death benefit, if any, payable to Ms. Rivera.
          FINANCIAL  IMPACT  - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: In accordance with
        Section 13.638.2(k-2) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York
        (ACCNY), new UAL attributable to benefit changes are to be amortized  as
        determined by the Actuary but generally over the remaining working life-
        time of those impacted by the benefit changes.
          For  this  proposed  legislation, since Officer Rivera is deceased and
        therefore has no remaining working lifetime, the entire increase in  UAL
        of $1.9 million would be recognized in the first year.
          CENSUS  DATA:  These  estimates  are  based on data provided by POLICE
        which was not audited but was checked for  reasonableness.  Below  is  a
        summary of the data provided:
          * Ordinary Death Benefit Lump Sum: $167,000
          * Accidental Death Benefit (City): $25,343
          * SADB (State): $58,854
          CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  If  enacted during the 2018 Legislative Session
        before June 30, 2018, the benefits payable to Ms.  Rivera  would  likely
        first  be reflected in the June 30, 2018 census data. In accordance with
        the One-Year Lag Methodology used to determine  employer  contributions,
        increased employer contributions will be reflected in Fiscal Year 2020.
          OTHER  COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note is the impact on admin-
        istrative costs.
          ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: Additional APVB, UAl, and  employer
        contributions  presented  herein  has  been calculated based on the same
        S. 7780                             3
 
        actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2016  (Lag)
        actuarial  valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018
        employer contributions of POLICE, including an annual Actuarial Interest
        Rate  (AIR) assumption of 7.0% (net of Investment Expenses). Please note
        these assumptions and methods are subject to change as this valuation is
        not considered final until the end of the City's 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,  an  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  2018-05  dated  February
        16, 2018, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Police
        Pension  Fund.  This  estimate  is intended for use only during the 2018
        Legislative Session.