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NY State Legislature· S8121-2025Vetoed

Permits certain twenty-five year retirement program dispatcher members to file elections not to participate, the official text

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S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8121--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- 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
   permitting certain  twenty-five  year  retirement  program  dispatcher
   members to file elections not to participate
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 604-e of the retirement and social security law, as
 added by chapter 576 of the laws of 2000, is amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision f to read as follows:
   F.  1.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY, A
 DISPATCHER MEMBER WHO EXCEEDED AGE THIRTY UPON EMPLOYMENT AS A DISPATCH-
 ER MEMBER AND FAILED TO FILE THEIR ELECTION NOT TO PARTICIPATE WITH  THE
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF BECOMING A DISPATCH-
 ER  MEMBER,  AS  REQUIRED  BY  PARAGRAPH  THREE OF SUBDIVISION B OF THIS
 SECTION, MAY FILE SUCH AN ELECTION WITH THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITHIN ONE
 HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   2. THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL POST, AND ANNOUNCE ON ITS HOMEPAGE  THE
 POSTING  OF,  THE  FORM  AND  CORRESPONDING  INSTRUCTIONS FOR DISPATCHER
 MEMBERS TO ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE ON ITS WEBSITE NO LATER THAN  THIRTY
 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   3.  IF  THE  RETIREMENT SYSTEM FAILS TO POST AND ANNOUNCE THE FORM AND
 CORRESPONDING INSTRUCTIONS NO LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AS PRESCRIBED BY PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS  SUBDI-
 VISION,  THE  PERIOD FOR A DISPATCHER MEMBER TO ELECT NOT TO PARTICIPATE
 PRESCRIBED BY PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVISION  SHALL  BE  EXTENDED  BY
 SIXTY   DAYS  FOR  EACH  MONTH  OR  PART  THEREOF  THAT  SUCH  FORM  AND
 INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT POSTED TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM'S WEBSITE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10892-02-5
 S. 8121--A                          2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed legislation would allow New York City Employ-
 ees' Retirement System (NYCERS) Tier  4  and  Tier  6  members  who  are
 members  of a Dispatcher 25-Year Retirement Plan and were older than age
 30 when they joined the plan, another 180-day period to opt out  of  the
 plan.
           EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
                 by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($)
                          Year      NYCERS
                          2026      572,000
                          2027      574,000
                          2028      577,000
                          2029      579,000
                          2030      581,000
                          2031      583,000
                          2032      583,000
                          2033      580,000
                          2034      577,000
                          2035      574,000
                          2036      569,000
                          2037      563,000
                          2038      556,000
                          2039      178,000
                          2040      169,000
                          2041      160,000
                          2042      151,000
                          2043      141,000
                          2044      131,000
                          2045      121,000
                          2046      112,000
                          2047      103,000
                          2048      94,000
                          2049      85,000
                          2050      77,000
    Employer Contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
 
   The entire increase in employer contributions will be allocated to New
 York City.
   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)                 NYCERS
              (1) PV of Employer Contributions:  5.1
              (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  (2.2)
              Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    2.9
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes  in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life-
 time of those impacted using level dollar payments.
 S. 8121--A                          3
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 
                                                 NYCERS
              Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        3.0 M
              Number of Payments:                13
              Amortization Payment:              0.4 M
 
   CENSUS  DATA:  The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary
 census data collected as of June 30,  2024.  The  census  data  for  the
 impacted population is summarized below.
 
                                                 NYCERS
              Active Members
              - Number Count:                    54
              - Average Age:                     46.3
              - Average Service:                 12.9
              - Average Salary:                  84,400
 
   BACKGROUND:  Currently, Tier 4 or Tier 6 NYCERS members who exceed age
 30 upon being mandated into a Dispatcher 25-Year Plan, have  the  option
 to  irrevocably opt out of the plan within 180 days. Members who opt out
 of the plan are generally placed into one of the Tier 4 or Tier 6 under-
 lying plans.
   Under the proposed legislation, such members who failed to opt out  of
 the  Dispatcher 25-Year Plan in the original 180 days would have another
 180-day period in which to opt out of the Plan.
   For purposes of this Fiscal Note, it is assumed that members  who  opt
 out  of the Dispatcher 25-Year Plan under the proposed legislation would
 be entitled to an immediate refund of excess Additional Member  Contrib-
 utions (AMC), with interest.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  The  estimates  presented herein have been
 calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions  and  Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   To  determine the impact of the elective nature of the proposed legis-
 lation, a subgroup of members was developed based on who is  assumed  to
 benefit actuarially by comparing the net present value of future employ-
 er  costs  of  each  memberÆs benefit under their current plan and under
 their applicable underlying plan.
   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
 S. 8121--A                          4
 
 procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  Fiscal Note 2025-63 dated May 16,
 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.
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