STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7464
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 10, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
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
21 of education on or after September first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine or
22 who were members of the New York city board of education retirement
23 system and who on or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred
24 seventy, gave notice to the said board of education retirement system of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08582-02-1
A. 7464 2
1 their intention to transfer to the New York city teachers' retirement
2 system, the members of the board of examiners, the directors and the
3 assistant directors of special branches, the supervisor and assistant
4 supervisors of lectures, all principals, vice-principals, assistants-to-
5 principals, heads of departments, and all regular and special teachers
6 of the public day schools of the city, and all employees of the board of
7 education appointed to regular positions in the service of the public
8 schools at annual salaries and whose appointments were made or shall be
9 made from eligible lists prepared as the result of examinations held by
10 the board of examiners or from hiring lists established by the chancel-
11 lor of the board of education, as the case may be, and all employees
12 employed by the board of education in the titles of teacher aide, educa-
13 tional assistant, educational associate, auxiliary trainer[,] or bilin-
14 gual professional assistant[, family worker, family assistant, family
15 associate, parent program assistant, who file an application for member-
16 ship in the retirement association on a form supplied by the retirement
17 board].
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend paragraph (a)
of subdivision 7 of Section 13-501 of the Administrative Code of the
City of New York to eliminate the requirement that certain titles file
an application to become members of the New York City Teachers' Retire-
ment System (TRS).
Under current law, individuals in the title of teacher aide, educa-
tional assistant, educational associate, auxiliary trainer, bilingual
professional assistant, family worker, family assistant, family associ-
ate, and parent program assistant (collectively, paraprofessionals) have
the option of joining TRS by filing an application for membership.
The proposed legislation would make TRS membership for certain para-
professionals (teacher aide, educational assistant, educational associ-
ate, auxiliary trainer, and bilingual professional assistant) mandatory,
and would render the titles of family worker, family assistant, family
associate, and parent program assistant ineligible to join TRS. For
purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that the titles rendered
ineligible for TRS membership would remain eligible for elective partic-
ipation with the New York City Board of Education Retirement System, and
therefore would not generate additional costs for the retirement
systems.
Effective Date: Upon enactment.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: If enacted into law,
the ultimate employer cost for this proposed legislation would be based
on the number, ages, years of service, and salary of those paraprofes-
sionals that would otherwise not have elected to become members of TRS.
Based on these assumptions and other actuarial assumptions, data, and
methods described herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation
would increase annual employer contributions as follows:
Estimated First Year
Paraprofessional Annual Employer
Count Contribution
($ Millions)
Estimate of Paraprofessionals
who would be mandated into
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TRS and otherwise would
not have joined 1,500 $ 4.6
Estimate of Paraprofessionals
whose membership is
being accelerated into TRS 1,8004.9
Total 3,300 $9.5
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: For the purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is
assumed that the changes in the annual employer contributions would be
reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2021 actuarial valuation of
TRS. In accordance with the One-Year Lag Methodology (OYLM) used to
determine employer contributions, the increase in employer contributions
would first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2023.
CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on payroll data
provided by the Office of Payroll Administration (OPA) and Financial
Information Services Agency (FISA) as of June 30, 2020. The census data
used in the Preliminary June 30, 2020 (Lag) actuarial valuations of the
New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds was used to identify
the paraprofessionals contained in the file provided by OPA and FISA who
are not currently members and would be mandated into TRS by the proposed
legislation.
The approximate 3,300 identified paraprofessionals as of June 30, 2020
had an average age of approximately 35.1 years, and an average salary of
approximately $34,500.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer contrib-
utions presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial
assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial
valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021 employer
contributions of TRS.
Based on the census data above, as well as historical records, addi-
tional assumptions were developed for purposes of this Fiscal Note to
estimate future participation rates for paraprofessionals who are not
currently members. Of the approximate 3,300 paraprofessionals identi-
fied, it was estimated that approximately 1,500 paraprofessionals who
would not have otherwise joined TRS, would be mandated into TRS member-
ship if this proposed legislation is enacted. The remaining 1,800 para-
professionals were assumed to have become members of TRS at some point
in their careers even absent the proposed legislation.
The Actuary is proposing a set of changes for use in the June 30, 2019
(Lag) actuarial valuations of TRS to determine the Final Fiscal Year
2021 Employer Contributions (2021 A&M). If the 2021 A&M is enacted, it
is estimated that it would produce increases in the annual employer
contributions that are approximately 2% larger than the results shown
above.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, as well as
certain demographic characteristics of TRS and other exogenous factors
such as investment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience
deviates from actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from
those presented herein. Costs are also dependent on the actuarial meth-
A. 7464 4
ods 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 of TRS and other New
York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
* The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
Benefit (OPEB) costs.
* The cost of potential Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) plan participation
and benefits.
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, a
Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Confer-
ence of Consulting Actuaries. 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 2021-25 dated May 5, 2021
was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Teachers'
Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the
2021 Legislative Session.
