In this case, I have no problem with the current rank system. The only "privilege" for Legendaries, in this case, were the 1000 auto-generated merits every Legendary got when the merit system started (in contrast to the 500 Hero merit points), and this one only was an one-time benefit.
Does this mean grandfathered-in accounts received these points during the creation of the system but those just getting to Hero or Legendary won't necessarily receive the same points?