Bill Text: NY A06068 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases certain special accidental death benefits paid to widows, widowers or the deceased member's children.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-6)
Status: (Passed) 2011-07-20 - signed chap.161 [A06068 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A06068-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6068
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 4, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MARKEY, MILLMAN, PHEFFER, JAFFEE, BENEDETTO,
BOYLAND, SCHIMEL, PERRY, HOOPER, ZEBROWSKI, CUSICK, DenDEKKER --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, GIBSON, HEASTIE, WEISENBERG --
read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the retirement and social
security law, in relation to increasing certain special accidental
death benefits
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivision c of section 208-f of the general municipal
2 law, as amended by chapter 439 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 c. Commencing July first, two thousand [ten] ELEVEN the special acci-
5 dental death benefit paid to a widow or widower or the deceased member's
6 children under the age of eighteen or, if a student, under the age of
7 twenty-three, if the widow or widower has died, shall be escalated by
8 adding thereto an additional percentage of the salary of the deceased
9 member (as increased pursuant to subdivision b of this section) in
10 accordance with the following schedule:
11 calendar year of death
12 of the deceased member per centum
13 1977 or prior [165.2%] 173.2%
14 1978 [157.5%] 165.2%
15 1979 [150.0%] 157.5%
16 1980 [142.7%] 150.0%
17 1981 [135.7%] 142.7%
18 1982 [128.8%] 135.7%
19 1983 [122.1%] 128.8%
20 1984 [115.7%] 122.1%
21 1985 [109.4%] 115.7%
22 1986 [103.3%] 109.4%
23 1987 [97.4%] 103.3%
24 1988 [91.6%] 97.4%
25 1989 [86.0%] 91.6%
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07800-03-1
A. 6068 2
1 1990 [80.6%] 86.0%
2 1991 [75.4%] 80.6%
3 1992 [70.2%] 75.4%
4 1993 [65.3%] 70.2%
5 1994 [60.5%] 65.3%
6 1995 [55.8%] 60.5%
7 1996 [51.3%] 55.8%
8 1997 [46.9%] 51.3%
9 1998 [42.6%] 46.9%
10 1999 [38.4%] 42.6%
11 2000 [34.4%] 38.4%
12 2001 [30.5%] 34.4%
13 2002 [26.7%] 30.5%
14 2003 [23.0%] 26.7%
15 2004 [19.4%] 23.0%
16 2005 [15.9%] 19.4%
17 2006 [12.6%] 15.9%
18 2007 [9.3%] 12.6%
19 2008 [6.1%] 9.3%
20 2009 [3.0%] 6.1%
21 2010 [0.0%] 3.0%
22 2011 0.0%
23 S 2. Subdivision c of section 361-a of the retirement and social secu-
24 rity law, as amended by chapter 439 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
25 read as follows:
26 c. Commencing July first, two thousand [ten] ELEVEN the special acci-
27 dental death benefit paid to a widow or widower or the deceased member's
28 children under the age of eighteen or, if a student, under the age of
29 twenty-three, if the widow or widower has died, shall be escalated by
30 adding thereto an additional percentage of the salary of the deceased
31 member, as increased pursuant to subdivision b of this section, in
32 accordance with the following schedule:
33 calendar year of death
34 of the deceased member per centum
35 1977 or prior [165.2%] 173.2%
36 1978 [157.5%] 165.2%
37 1979 [150.0%] 157.5%
38 1980 [142.7%] 150.0%
39 1981 [135.7%] 142.7%
40 1982 [128.8%] 135.7%
41 1983 [122.1%] 128.8%
42 1984 [115.7%] 122.1%
43 1985 [109.4%] 115.7%
44 1986 [103.3%] 109.4%
45 1987 [97.4%] 103.3%
46 1988 [91.6%] 97.4%
47 1989 [86.0%] 91.6%
48 1990 [80.6%] 86.0%
49 1991 [75.4%] 80.6%
50 1992 [70.2%] 75.4%
51 1993 [65.3%] 70.2%
52 1994 [60.5%] 65.3%
53 1995 [55.8%] 60.5%
54 1996 [51.3%] 55.8%
55 1997 [46.9%] 51.3%
56 1998 [42.6%] 46.9%
A. 6068 3
1 1999 [38.4%] 42.6%
2 2000 [34.4%] 38.4%
3 2001 [30.5%] 34.4%
4 2002 [26.7%] 30.5%
5 2003 [23.0%] 26.7%
6 2004 [19.4%] 23.0%
7 2005 [15.9%] 19.4%
8 2006 [12.6%] 15.9%
9 2007 [9.3%] 12.6%
10 2008 [6.1%] 9.3%
11 2009 [3.0%] 6.1%
12 2010 [0.0%] 3.0%
13 2011 0.0%
14 S 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend both the General Municipal Law and the Retirement
and Social Security Law to increase the salary used in the computation
of the special accidental death benefit by 3% in cases where the date of
death was before 2011.
Insofar as this bill would amend the Retirement and Social Security
Law, it is estimated that there would be an additional annual cost of
approximately $372,000 above the approximately $8.3 million current
annual cost of this benefit. This cost would be shared by the State of
New York and all participating employers of the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System.
This estimate, dated January 21, 2011 and intended for use only during
the 2011 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2011-26, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement
System.
Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION - OVERVIEW:
With respect to the City of New York (the "City"), this proposed
legislation would amend the General Municipal Law ("GML") Section
208-f.c to increase certain Special Accidental Death Benefits ("SADB")
for line-of-duty widows/widowers and/or children of former uniformed
employees of the City and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corpo-
ration and certain former employees of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel
Authority who were members of certain New York City Retirement Systems
("NYCRS").
In addition, the proposed legislation would amend Retirement and
Social Security Law Section 361-a.c to cover such SADB for certain
survivors of deceased members of the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System.
The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be July 1, 2011.
IMPACT ON BENEFITS - SADB RECIPIENTS: With respect to the NYCRS, the
proposed legislation would impact the SADB payable to certain survivors
of members of the:
* New York City Employees' Retirement System ("NYCERS"), or
* New York City Police Pension Fund ("POLICE"), or
* New York City Fire Department Pension Fund ("FIRE"), and
who were employed by one of the following employers in certain posi-
tions:
* New York City Police Department - Uniformed Position,
* New York City Fire Department - Uniformed Position,
* New York City Housing Authority - Uniformed Position,
* New York City Transit Authority - Uniformed Position,
A. 6068 4
* New York City Department of Correction - Uniformed Position,
* (New York City - Uniformed Position as Emergency Medical Technician
("EMT"),
* New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation - Uniformed Position
as EMT, or
* Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority - Bridge and Tunnel Position.
DESCRIPTION OF BENEFITS PAYABLE: Under the GML, the basic SADB is
defined to equal:
The salary of the deceased member at date of death (or, in certain
instances, a greater salary based on rank or other status) ("Final Sala-
ry"), less:
* Any death benefit as adjusted by any Supplementation or Cost-of-Liv-
ing Adjustment ("COLA") paid by the NYCRS to the member's survivors,
* Any death benefit paid by Social Security to the member's survivors,
and
* Any Worker's Compensation benefit paid to the member's survivors.
The SADB is paid to the deceased member's surviving widow or widower,
if alive. If the widow/widower is no longer alive, then the SADB is paid
to the deceased member's children until age eighteen or while attending
school until age twenty-three.
The GML also provides that the SADB is subject to escalation based on
the calendar year of death of the member. Each year since Calendar Year
1979 the SADB has been increased by an additional cumulative, incre-
mental percentage of Final Salary. For example, for a covered member
deceased in Calendar Year 1979, the SADB cumulative percentage is 150.0%
of Final Salary as of July 1, 2010.
Under the proposed legislation, the additional, cumulative, incre-
mental percentage of Final Salary to be effective July 1, 2011 would be
3.0%.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES OF BENEFITS ("APVB"): With
respect to NYCRS members under the actuarial assumptions and methods as
noted herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation would increase
APVB by approximately $24.4 million as of June 30, 2011.
FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER PAYMENTS: With respect to the NYCRS, as
these SADB are provided on a pay-as-you-go basis, the additional annual
employer payments expected to be paid during the first year, if the
proposed legislation is enacted, would equal approximately $2.4 million.
Note: These additional payments represent an increase of approximately
5.0% in the annual rate of SADB being paid.
The SADB payments are made by the NYCRS who are reimbursed by the City
who is then reimbursed by the State of New York.
OTHER COSTS: The enactment of this proposed legislation would also be
expected to result in modest increases in administrative expenses of
NYCERS, POLICE, FIRE, the employers and certain New York City agencies.
CENSUS DATA: The financial impact of the proposed legislation is based
upon the census data for such widows, widowers and children provided by
the NYCRS and adjusted, as necessary, to prepare the computations and
for consistency with other data.
The following table shows, by Retirement System as of June 30, 2010,
the number of deceased members with eligible survivors and the estimated
annual SADB rate prior to the increase proposed to be effective as of
July 1, 2011.
Table 1
SADB Census Data as of June 30, 2010
($ Millions)
A. 6068 5
Number of Annual SADB Rate
Deceased Members Prior to Proposed
with Eligible July 1, 2011
Retirement System Survivors Increase
NYCERS 28 $1.1
POLICE 296 13.9
FIRE 608 33.8
Total 932 $48.8
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: Additional APVB have been computed
based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June
30, 2010 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCERS, POLICE and FIRE used to
determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2012 employer contributions,
including an Actuarial Interest Rate ("AIR") assumption of 8.0% per
annum.
The demographic actuarial assumptions were adopted by the Board of
Trustees of each NYCRS during Fiscal Year 2006 and the AIR assumption
was enacted by the New York State Legislature and Governor and continues
in effect.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS - UPDATE: The impact of enactment of the
proposed legislation provided in this Fiscal Note has been based on the
current actuarial assumptions and methods used to determine employer
contributions to the NYCRS.
Historically, actuarial assumptions and methods have been reviewed on
average every five years in connection with an actuarial experience
study mandated by New York City Charter Section 96.
Following this review, the Actuary generally proposes changes in actu-
arial assumptions and methods that he believes appropriate and reason-
ably related to such experience period and future expectations.
The next such review is anticipated during Fiscal Year 2012 and the
Actuary is likely to propose new packages of actuarial assumptions and
methods to be effective for use in determining employer contributions
beginning Fiscal Year 2012.
As such, not all assumptions employed in determining the results
contained in this Fiscal Note represent the Actuary's current best esti-
mate of future experience. However, the assumptions used to determine
the results contained herein are generally those adopted by the NYCRS
Boards of Trustees and enacted by the New York State Legislature and
Governor.
Finally, the actuarial assumptions currently employed for determining
employer contributions do not represent risk-adjusted, economic evalu-
ations. Such risk-adjusted, economic evaluations could, for certain
components of the proposed legislation, produce results that differ
significantly from the results shown herein.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Robert C. North, Jr., am the Chief
Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am a Fellow of the
Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries
to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This estimate is intended for use only
during the 2011 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal Note 2011-06, dated
February 17, 2011, prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City
Employees' Retirement System, the New York City Police Pension Fund and
the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund.
