Increase Retiree Benefit Adjustments

Section 1. Subdivision f of section 78-a of the retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1968 through 1996 50%

1966 and 1967 55%

1965 60%

1964 65%

1963 70%

1962 80%

1961 90%

prior to 1961 100% Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification. Any benefit received

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD11292-06-8

A. 10352 2

pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section seventy-eight of this title.

Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninetyseven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1973 through 1996 50%

1971 and 1972 55%

1970 60%

1969 65%

1968 70%

1967 80%

1966 90%

prior to 1966 100% Said adjusted benefit commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section seventy-eight of this title.

§ 2. Subdivision f of section 378-a of the retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1968 through 1996 50%

1966 and 1967 55%

1965 60%

1964 65%

1963 70%

1962 80%

1961 90%

prior to 1961 100% Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section three hundred seventy-eight of this title.

A. 10352 3

Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninetyseven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1973 through 1996 50%

1971 and 1972 55%

1970 60%

1969 65%

1968 70%

1967 80%

1966 90%

prior to 1966 100%

Said adjusted benefit commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section three hundred seventy-eight of this title.

§ 3. Subdivision f of section 532-a of the education law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1968 through 1996 50%

1966 and 1967 55%

1965 60%

1964 65%

1963 70%

1962 80%

1961 90%

prior to 1961 100% Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification excluding any annuity derived from voluntary contributions made by members, except those made pursuant to elections under subdivision one of section five hundred eleven-a or paragraph c of subdivision three of section five hundred sixteen of this article. Any benefits received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefits received pursuant to section five hundred thirty-two of this article, unless such benefits are in excess

A. 10352 4

of those provided by this section, in which case such benefits shall be paid by the retirement system pursuant to such provision.

Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninetyseven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1973 through 1996 50%

1971 and 1972 55%

1970 60%

1969 65%

1968 70%

1967 80%

1966 90%

prior to 1966 100%

Said adjusted benefit, commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section five hundred thirty-two of this article.

§ 4. Subdivision f of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

f. Commencing September first, two thousand, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1968 through 1996 50%

1966 and 1967 55%

1965 60%

1964 65%

1963 70%

1962 80%

1961 90%

prior to 1961 100% Said adjusted benefit shall be computed on a base benefit amount not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars of the annual fixed retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to chapter three hundred ninety of the laws of

A. 10352 5

nineteen hundred ninety-eight, and any preceding provision of law providing for supplementation.

Commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, all retired members who have retired prior to the calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-seven and who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subdivision a of this section shall be paid an adjusted benefit in monthly installments on the basis provided for in this subdivision. Said adjusted benefit shall be equal to a percentage of the change in consumer price index (all urban consumers, CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, 1982-84=100), published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, measured from the year of retirement through calendar year nineteen hundred ninetyseven according to the following schedule:

Year of retirement Percentage

1973 through 1996 50%

1971 and 1972 55%

1970 60%

1969 65%

1968 70%

1967 80%

1966 90%

prior to 1966 100% Said adjusted benefit, commencing September first, two thousand eighteen, shall be computed on the base benefit amount of the retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional modification, set forth herein above. Any benefit received pursuant to this subdivision shall be in lieu of any benefit received pursuant to section 13-695 of this article.

§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:

This bill would provide an increase in the defined benefit cost-of-

living adjustment (COLA) for New York public retirement systems. Start-

ing with a payment in September 2018, additional payments will be made

for those members who retired after 1960 and prior to 1973.

Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'

Retirement System, pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social

Security Law, the increased costs would be borne entirely by the State

of New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to

pay the cost of the provision. If this bill were enacted, the increase

in the present value of benefits would be approximately $483,000.

Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and

Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the increased costs would be shared by

the State of New York and the participating employers in the PFRS. If

this bill were enacted, the increase in the present value of benefits

would be approximately $1.09 million. The estimated first year cost

would be approximately $25,600 to the State of New York and approximate-

ly $105,000 to the participating employers in the PFRS.

Summary of relevant resources:

The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed

change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-

ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017

Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial

Report.

The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,

2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-

tions, and the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State of New York:

Audit and Control.

A. 10352 6

The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2017

New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and

Supplementary Information.

I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-

fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.

This estimate, dated January 25, 2018, and intended for use only

during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-38,

prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement

System.

FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:

This bill would amend subdivision f of Section 532-a of the Education

Law to provide an increase in supplementation for retired members who

meet the eligibility requirements set forth in subdivision a of Section

532-a and who retired during the calendar years 1961 through 1972,

inclusive. Benefit increases are based on the first $18,000 of the maxi-

mum annual benefit without optional modification and would be effective

in September 2018.