Bill Text: NY A07663 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to automotive members of the New York city employees' retirement system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-04-08 - print number 7663a [A07663 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07663-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7663--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 14, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Governmental  Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Govern-
          mental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- commit-
          tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and  recom-
          mitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
          automotive 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.  Subparagraph  (ii)  of  paragraph  2  of subdivision d of
     2  section 604-g of the retirement and social security law, as  amended  by
     3  chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (ii)  In  the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised
     5  plan member, such vested benefit shall become payable [on  the  earliest
     6  date on which such discontinued member could have retired for service if
     7  such discontinuance had not occurred] as follows:
     8    (A) at the later of age sixty-two or the age at discontinuance, if the
     9  member had completed at least ten years of credited service; or
    10    (B)  at  the later of age sixty-three or the age at discontinuance, if
    11  the member had completed at least eight, but fewer  than  ten  years  of
    12  credited service; or
    13    (C)  at  the  later of age sixty-four or the age of discontinuance, if
    14  the member had completed at least six, but fewer  than  eight  years  of
    15  credited service; or
    16    (D)  at  the  later of age sixty-five or the age of discontinuance, if
    17  the member had completed at least five, but  fewer  than  six  years  of
    18  credited service;
    19    or,  in  the case of a participant who is a New York city revised plan
    20  member, such vested benefit shall become payable at age sixty-three.
    21    § 2. Subdivision e of section 604-g of the retirement and social secu-
    22  rity law is amended by adding a new paragraph 13 to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04327-04-0

        A. 7663--A                          2

     1    13. In addition to the deferred vested benefit calculated pursuant  to
     2  subdivision  d  of  this section, a participant who is eligible for such
     3  benefit shall receive a life annuity (calculated in accordance with  the
     4  method  set  forth in subdivision i of section six hundred thirteen-b of
     5  this  article) which is actuarially equivalent to the difference between
     6  (i) the contributions required by paragraph one of this subdivision  and
     7  (ii)  the  additional  member contributions required by subdivision d of
     8  section six hundred four-c of this article, as added by chapter  ninety-
     9  six  of  the  laws  of  nineteen ninety-five, together with the interest
    10  credited on such contributions.
    11    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend  Section  604-g
        of  the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to provide early paya-
        bility, and an annuity based on the accumulation of  certain  Additional
        Members  Contributions (AMCs), to certain vested members in the New York
        City Employees' Retirement System  (NYCERS)  Automotive  25-Year/Age  50
        Plan (Auto 25-Year Plan).
          Effective Date: Upon enactment.
          IMPACT  ON  PAYABILITY:  Currently,  Tier 4 vested members in the Auto
        25-Year Plan can begin collecting their pension:
          * At the later of age 50 or what would have been their  25th  year  of
        credited service
          The proposed legislation would instead enable Tier 4 Auto 25-Year Plan
        vested members to begin collecting their pension as follows:
          * At age 62 with at least 10 years of credited service
          * At age 63 with at least eight years of credited service
          * At age 64 with at least six years of credited service
          * At age 65 or older with at least five years of credited service
          Tier  6  Auto  25-Year Plan members would remain eligible for a vested
        benefit:
          * At age 63 or older with at least 10 years of credited service.
          IMPACT ON BENEFITS: The proposed legislation would further provide  to
        both Tier 4 and 6 Auto 25-Year Plan vested members an annuity benefit at
        payability equal to the difference between the following:
          * AMCs required in the Auto 25-Year Plan (4.83% of salary), and
          *  AMCs  required  in  the  Tier 4 55/25 Retirement Plan (ranging from
        1.85% to 4.35% of salary depending on dates of the service rendered).
          The difference in the AMC balances above are to be annuitized pursuant
        to the method set out in  loan  provisions  contained  in  RSSL  Section
        613-b(i)  (i.e.  the  actuarially equivalent of a life annuity using the
        interest rate on 30-year US treasury bonds as of January  first  of  the
        calendar year of retirement and the mortality tables for payment options
        under RSSL Section 610).
          Note:
          *  This  annuity  would only be available to vested members and not to
        Auto-25 Year Plan service retirees (i.e. retirees with 25 or more  years
        of credited service).
          *  For the purposes of determining the costs enumerated in this Fiscal
        Note, it has been assumed that Tier 4 vested members who would have been
        eligible for earlier payability (i.e. at the later of  age  50  or  what
        would  have  been  25 years of service) under current provisions of law,
        would still be eligible for such  earlier  payability,  given  Constitu-
        tional  protections,  notwithstanding the bill's omission of such eligi-
        bility.

        A. 7663--A                          3

          FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the actuarial  assumptions
        and methods described herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation
        would  increase  the Present Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) by approxi-
        mately $29.1 million.
          Under  the Entry Age Normal cost method used to determine the employer
        contributions to NYCERS, there would be  an  increase  in  the  Unfunded
        Accrued  Liability  (UAL) of approximately $17.2 million and an increase
        in the Present Value of future employer Normal Cost of $11.9 million.
          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 are generally amortized over the  remain-
        ing  working  lifetime  of  those impacted by the benefit changes. As of
        June 30, 2019, the remaining  working  lifetime  of  Auto  25-Year  Plan
        members is approximately 14 years.
          For  the  purposes  of this Fiscal Note, the increase in UAL was amor-
        tized over a 14-year period (13 payments under the One-Year Lag  Method-
        ology  (OYLM))  using  level  dollar  payments.  This  payment  plus the
        increase in the Normal Cost results in an increase  in  annual  employer
        contributions of approximately $3.8 million each year.
          CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  For  the  purposes  of  this Fiscal Note, it is
        assumed that the changes in the PVFB and annual  employer  contributions
        would  be  reflected  for  the first time in the June 30, 2019 actuarial
        valuation of NYCERS. In accordance  with  the  OYLM  used  to  determine
        employer  contributions,  the  increase  in employer contributions would
        first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2021.
          CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based  on  the  census
        data  used in the Preliminary June 30, 2019 (Lag) actuarial valuation of
        NYCERS to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2021  employer  contrib-
        utions.
          The 1,693 NYCERS Auto 25-Year Plan members as of June 30, 2019 include
        1,563  active members and 130 non-active members. The active members had
        an average age of approximately 45.2 years, average service of  approxi-
        mately 8.9 years, and an average salary of approximately $106,100.
          ACTUARIAL  ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the PVFB and annual
        employer contributions 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 NYCERS.
          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  NYCERS  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 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 of NYCERS and other New
        York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
          * The impact of this  proposed  legislation  on  Other  Postemployment
        Benefit (OPEB) costs.
          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

        A. 7663--A                          4

        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 2020-18 dated  March  25,
        2020  was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
        Retirement System. This estimate is intended for  use  only  during  the
        2020 Legislative Session.
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