Allows members of a public retirement system who retired prior to applying for credit for military service because such credit was not available at the time of their retirement to receive such credit if they apply prior to December 31, 2024.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6511
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 12, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BYRNES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
allowing for certain members of a public retirement system of the
state to apply for credit for military service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1000 of the retirement and social security law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
3 5-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision five of this
4 section, a member, who is ineligible to receive the credit allowed
5 pursuant to this section solely because such member retired on or before
6 May thirty-first, two thousand sixteen, shall be eligible to receive the
7 credit allowed pursuant to this section if such member makes application
8 for such credit on or before December thirty-first, two thousand twen-
9 ty-four. The service credit available pursuant to this subdivision
10 shall, when calculated, apply only to benefits received by the member
11 after the date such member makes application for such credit and no
12 retroactive benefit payments shall be made to such applicant pursuant to
13 this subdivision. To obtain credit pursuant to this subdivision, a
14 member shall pay such retirement system, for deposit in the fund used to
15 accumulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the product of the
16 number of years of military service being claimed and three percent of
17 such member's compensation earned during the last twelve consecutive
18 months of credited service preceding the date that the member retired.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow members who retired on or before May 31, 2016 to
apply to receive military service credit pursuant to §1000 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law. Application must be made on or
before December 31, 2024. If approved, the retirement benefit will be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09136-02-3
A. 6511 2
recalculated as of the date of application and no retroactive benefits
will be paid. Retires would be required to pay a sum equal to the prod-
uct of number of years of military service granted times three percent
(3%) of compensation earned during the last twelve consecutive months of
credited service preceding the date of retirement. Such retiree may
receive up to three (3) years of service credit for their military
service.
Insofar as this proposal affects the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement Systems (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), if enacted during the 2023
legislative session, the cost will depend upon the applicant's age,
service, salary, plan, and benefit type payable. For each year of addi-
tional service credit that is purchased, it is estimated that the past
service cost will average:
approximately 13% of affected retiree's final average salary in the
NYSLERS, and
approximately 17% of affected retiree's final average salary in the
NYSLPFRS.
The number of retirees who could be affected by this legislation
cannot be readily determined. A precise cost cannot be calculated until
each retiree applies for the service credit.
Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law,
those costs arising in the NYSLERS would be borne solely by the State of
New York. After the application deadline, a precise cost will be deter-
mined (and billed to the State) based on those benefiting from this
provision.
Those costs arising in the NYSLPFRS would be shared by the State of
New York and the participating employers in the NYSLPFRS and would be
spread over future billing cycles.
Further, we anticipate some administrative costs to implement the
provisions of this legislation.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2022 Report of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020,
2021, and 2022 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, and the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York:
Audit and Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2022
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 fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated April 5, 2023, and intended for use only during
the 2023 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-134, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
