STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7180--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 18, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT authorizing Jonathan Grossman to apply for a recalculation of his retirement benefits The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, Jona- 2 than Grossman, who joined the New York city teachers' retirement system 3 as a Tier I member on January 1, 1972, who retired from such system on 4 September 28, 2010, and who for reasons not ascribable to his own negli- 5 gence had his retirement benefits calculated without the inclusion of a 6 lump sum payment for accumulated vacation, shall have his retirement 7 benefits recalculated with such lump sum payments, including interest 8 accruing from the date of retirement, if he shall file an application 9 therefor with the state comptroller on or before one year of the effec- 10 tive date of this act. 11 § 2. All past service costs of implementing the provisions of this act 12 shall be borne by the city of New York. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would allow Jonathan Grossman, a retired Tier 1 member of the New York City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) to have his retirement benefits recalculated to include his lump sum payment for accumulated vacation in the calculation of his final average salary. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06773-03-4
S. 7180--A 2 EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($) Year TRS 2025 0 2026 342,000 2027 0 2028 0 2029 0 2030 0 2031 0 2032 0 2033 0 2034 0 2035 0 2036 0 2037 0 2038 0 2039 0 2040 0 2041 0 2042 0 2043 0 2044 0 2045 0 2046 0 2047 0 2048 0 2049 The entire initial increase in employer contributions of $342,000 will be allocated to New York City. EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES as of June 30, 2024 Present Value (PV) TRS PV of Benefits: $ 309,000 PV of Employee Contributions: 0 PV of Employer Contributions: 309,000 Unfunded Accrued Liabilities: 309,000 AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY TRS Number of Payments: 1 Fiscal Year of Last Payment: 2026 Amortization Payment: $ 342,000 Since Mr. Grossman is retired and collecting a pension, and therefore has no remaining working lifetime, the entire increase in Unfunded Accrued Liabilities would be recognized immediately. CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2023. The census data for the impacted population is summarized below.
S. 7180--A 3 TRS Receiving Members - Number Count: 1 - Average Age: 76.0 BACKGROUND: Mr. Grossman retired as a Tier 1 TRS member on September 28, 2010. He currently receives an annual retirement allowance of $103,495 per year under the 50% Joint and Survivor with Pop-Up payment option. If the proposed legislation is passed, Mr. Grossman's retirement allowance would be recalculated to include in his final average salary a lump sum payment he received for unused vacation time, which is a bene- fit that is generally not afforded to TRS retirees. The additional cost, less any required member contributions paid by Mr. Grossman, to fund the increased retirement allowance associated with the proposed legislation would be paid by the City of New York. Tier 1 TRS members are generally permitted to take an actuarial reduction of their retirement allowance to account for deficits in member contributions. For purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that Mr. Grossman would not pay any owed member contributions resulting from the recalculation. Based on this assumption and application of other Tier 1 benefit calculation provisions, it is estimated that Mr. Grossman's annual retirement allowance would increase to $114,514. This annual increase would apply prospectively as well as retroactively, less any payments previously made, to Mr. Grossman's September 28, 2010 date of retirement. ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods to be used for the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2025 employer contributions of the impacted retirement systems. 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). 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 2024-01 dated January 5, 2024 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use only during the 2024 Legislative Session.