A 8499: Relates to the eligibility of New York city transit authority employees for performance of duty disability retirement.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8499 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY May 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to the eligibility of New York city transit authority employees for performance of duty disability retirement The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 607-b of the retirement and social security law is 2 amended by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows: 3 a-1. Any member of the New York city employees' retirement system who 4 is employed by the New York city transit authority and who participated 5 in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, as defined 6 in section two of this chapter, who, on or after September eleventh, two 7 thousand one, becomes physically or mentally incapacitated for the 8 performance of duties as the natural and proximate result of an injury 9 sustained in the performance or discharge of such member's duties as a 10 result of such participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or 11 cleanup operations shall be paid a performance of duty disability 12 retirement allowance equal to three-quarters of final average salary, 13 subject to section 13-176 of the administrative code of the city of New 14 York. Any member who has made application or who, after the effective 15 date of this subdivision, makes application for such performance of duty 16 pension shall be entitled to invoke the medical review procedure 17 provided for in subdivision e of section six hundred five of this arti- 18 cle, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in such subdivision. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would grant New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) active and retired members of NYCERS who have incurred a World Trade Center (WTC) Qualifying Condition, a performance of duty EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08329-02-5 
 A. 8499 2 disability retirement equivalent to 75% of the member's Final Average Salary prospectively as of the effective date. EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands) Future Incidents (Illustration) Year Current WTC One Incident One Incident Retirees Per Year 2026 14,100 23 23 2027 0 23 47 2028 0 23 71 2029 0 23 96 2030 0 23 122 2031 0 23 148 2032 0 23 176 2033 0 23 204 2034 0 23 233 2035 0 23 263 2036 0 23 294 2037 0 23 326 2038 0 23 358 2039 0 23 392 2040 0 0 404 2041 0 0 416 2042 0 0 428 2043 0 0 441 2044 0 0 454 2045 0 0 468 2046 0 0 482 2047 0 0 496 2048 0 0 511 2049 0 0 527 2050 0 0 543 Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown. The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to the NYCTA. PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases. Future new hires are not included in this present value. INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Millions) Present Value (PV) Current Per Future WTC WTC Retirees Disability (1) PV of Employer Contributions: 12.8 0.2 (2) PV of Employee Contributions: 0.0 (0.0) Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 12.8 0.2 UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service. 
 A. 8499 3 Changes in UAL attributable to future incidents were amortized as ongo- ing gain/loss using level dollar payments. UAL attributable to inactive members was recognized in the first year. AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY WTC Per WTC Retirees Disability Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 12.8 M 0.2 M Number of Payments: 1 14 Amortization Payment: 14.1 M 0.02 M CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from this fiscal note is unknown. The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2024. The census data for members who have been approved for WTC benefits and the population used to develop the average costs (potentially impacted members who have filed qualified WTC notices of participation) is summarized below. NYCERS Receiving Members (Current WTC) - Number Count: 59 - Average Age: 65.2 Active Members (Potentially Eligible) - Number Count: 224 - Average Age: 57.7 - Average Service: 26.2 - Average Salary: 113,900 Receiving Members (Potentially Eligible) - Number Count: 1,005 - Average Age: 67.6 IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, a NYCTA member who incurs a WTC Qualifying Condition, is eligible for a performance of duty disability retirement, generally a lifetime payment equal to the greater of 1/3 of Final Average Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS times service, or the service retirement benefit, if eligible. Under the proposed legislation, the performance of duty disability benefit for a NYCTA member who incurs a WTC Qualifying Condition would be equal to 75% of FAS, less any applicable Workers' Compensation bene- fit. ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods of the impacted retirement systems. There are currently 59 members who have been approved for WTC disabil- ity benefits. The cost for these members is recognized in the first-year cost. The number of additional members and eligible retirees who will benefit in the future from this fiscal note is unknown and included as per-incident WTC disability costs. The cost of this proposed legislation could vary greatly depending on the number of future members who benefit and on their length of service, age, and salary history. The estimated per-incident financial impact for disabled members has been calculated assuming 50% would retire under an Accidental Disability benefit, and 50% would continue working if the proposed legislation were not passed. The bill appears to grant eligible NYCTA members and retirees the ability to utilize the presumptions for infectious diseases pursuant to subsection b of Retirement and Social Security Law Section 607-b. Costs 
 A. 8499 4 associated with granting these presumptions have not been included in this Fiscal Note. RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods, and models used, demo- graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such as invest- ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this Fiscal Note. This Fiscal Note is intended to measure pension-related impacts and does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session. STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov- sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our objectivity, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein. To the best of our 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 2025-43 dated April 17, 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025 Legislative Session.