N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 11, § 151-2.1 – Preamble.

(a) Section 27 of the Workers' Compensation Law requires the present value of certain awards of compensation to be deposited into the Aggregate Trust Fund on either a mandatory basis or by the discretion of the Workers' Compensation Board. The present value is discounted by a percentage rate specified by section 27. On March 13, 2007, legislation establishing comprehensive reform to New York's Workers' Compensation Law was signed into law, becoming chapter 6 of the Laws of 2007. Chapter 6 amended section 27 to replace the six percent discount rate previously applicable to ATF deposits, as well as various other interest rates associated with ATF deposits, with an "industry standard rate" to be determined by the Superintendent of Financial Services by regulation. Section 27, as amended, applies the industry standard rate to accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2001.
(b) After discussions with the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) (which administers the ATF), insurers, the Workers' Compensation Board, and other interested parties, the superintendent has determined the industry standard rate. Among the factors that were considered by the superintendent in making this determination were the following:
1. (1) the rate of return on invested assets experienced by the NYSIF in recent years;
2. (2) the investment performance of domestic property/casualty insurers;
3. (3) the rates of return on low risk investments of comparable duration to that of the ATF liabilities; and
4. (4) the discount rate used in calculating the minimum individual case reserves for policies of workers' compensation insurance, pursuant to section 4117(d) of the Insurance Law and section 86 of the Workers' Compensation Law.