Bill Text: NY A06606 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to members of the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program for Triborough bridge and tunnel members.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-06-16 - REFERRED TO RULES [A06606 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A06606-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6606--B 2015-2016 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 27, 2015 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, GOLDFEDER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Commit- tee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to members of the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program for Triborough bridge and tunnel members The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision e of section 604-c of the 2 retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 661 of the 3 laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows: 4 1. In addition to the member contributions required by section six 5 hundred thirteen of this article, each participant in the twenty- 6 year/age fifty retirement program in the rank of bridge and tunnel offi- 7 cer shall contribute to the retirement system of which he or she is a 8 member (subject to the applicable provisions of subdivision d of section 9 six hundred thirteen of this article) an additional five and fifty one- 10 hundredths percent of his or her compensation and each participant in 11 the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program in the rank of sergeant or 12 lieutenant shall contribute to the retirement system an additional six 13 percent of his or her compensation earned [from] for all allowable 14 service as a Triborough bridge and tunnel member rendered on and after 15 the date which is one hundred eighty days prior to the starting date of 16 the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program and all credited service 17 after such person ceases to be a participant but before he or she again 18 becomes a participant pursuant to paragraph six of subdivision b of this 19 section. A participant in the twenty-year/age fifty retirement program EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09868-05-6A. 6606--B 2 1 shall contribute additional member contributions until the later of (i) 2 the date as of which he or she has twenty years of credited service as a 3 bridge and tunnel officer, or (ii) the third anniversary of the date 4 that he or she last became a participant in the twenty-year/age fifty 5 retirement program. 6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply only to 7 new employees within the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA). FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: This proposed legislation would amend paragraph 1 of subdivision e of section 604-c of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to require that Additional Member Contributions (AMC) for a period of non-participation be made by a member of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) 20-Year/Age 50 Retirement Plan (TBTA 20/50 Plan) who ceases to be a participant and later again becomes a participant of the TBTA 20/50 Plan. The effective date of the proposed legislation would be the date of enactment and would apply only to new employees within the TBTA. BACKGROUND: Members in the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) TBTA 20/50 Plan must be employed in a TBTA Eligible Position to be eligible to participate. A TBTA Eligible Position is a position held by a Tier 4 or Tier 6 member who is employed as a TBTA Bridge and Tunnel Officer, Sergeant or Lieutenant in a non-managerial position. To participate in the TBTA 20/50 Plan, in addition to Basic Member Contrib- utions, AMC must be made at the rate of 5.5% of gross wages for Officers and 6.0% of gross wages for Sergeants and Lieutenants until the later of (1) 20 years of Credited Service in a TBTA Eligible Position, or (2) the third anniversary of participation in the TBTA 20/50 Plan. If a TBTA 20/50 Plan member gets promoted to a managerial position, he or she is no longer eligible to participate in that Plan. Subsequently, if the member is reassigned to a non-managerial position, making the member once again eligible to participate in the TBTA 20/50 Plan, the member is then able to retire with full TBTA 20/50 Plan benefits despite not having contributed AMC during the period the member spent in the managerial position. This proposed legislation, if enacted, would require a member who spends a portion of his or her career in a non-participating managerial position and then returns to a TBTA Eligible Position to contribute AMC for the period of time that the member was in that managerial position. For purposes of developing the analysis herein, the Actuary has assumed that the required AMC rate for this period of time would be deemed to be equal to the AMC rate last paid by the member while a participant in the TBTA 20/50 Plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: Enactment of this legislation would result in a future reduction in the Actuarial Present Value of Benefits (APVB) and employer contributions to NYCERS and would be based on the number of members affected, the number of years they were in non-participating positions, and the gross wages during the non-participating periods. Based on the assumptions herein, the savings in the APVB, if this legislation is enacted, would be approximately $60,000 per member at the date of retirement. FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER COSTS: Enactment of this proposed legis- lation could decrease employer contributions, where such amounts would depend on the number of members affected, the number of years they were in non-participating positions, and their gross wages during the non- participating years.A. 6606--B 3 The increase in the assets of NYCERS as a result of the additional AMC paid in any year would be treated as an actuarial gain and be amortized over 15 years. Based on the assumptions herein, the cost savings would be approximately $7,000 per year per affected member. FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: Decreases in employer contributions would ultimately be comparable to the decreases in employ- er costs. ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The approximate savings per member in the APVB has been estimated assuming that: * The member had been in a managerial position for 10 years * The member's gross wages at the end of the 10-year period was $100,000 * The member had received increases in gross wages of 4.0% per year during the 10-year period * The AMC rate was 6.0% of gross wages, and * AMC are accumulated at the rate of 5.0% per year. STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu- ary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuar- ies, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qual- ification 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 2016 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal Note 2016-07, dated March 9, 2016 prepared by the Chief Actuary of the New York City Employ- ees' Retirement System.
