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S06141 Summary:

S06141 Actions:

S06141 Committee Votes:

S06141 Floor Votes:

S06141 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6141--B
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     March 30, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. JACKSON, CHU -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Civil  Service  and
          Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
          in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee --  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
          the retirement of county correction officers in Suffolk county
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions c, g and h of section 89-f of the retirement
     2  and social security law, as added by chapter 591 of the  laws  of  1988,
     3  and  such  section  as  renumbered  by  chapter 771 of the laws of 1988,
     4  subdivisions g and h as relettered by chapter 543 of the laws  of  1992,
     5  are amended to read as follows:
     6    c.  (1)  Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon
     7  retirement, each such member shall receive  a  pension  which,  together
     8  with  an  annuity  which shall be the actuarial equivalent of [his] such
     9  member's accumulated contributions at the time of  [his]  such  member's
    10  retirement  and  an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent
    11  of the reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which  [he]  such  member
    12  may  then  be  entitled shall be sufficient to provide [him] such member
    13  with a retirement allowance equal to one-half  of  [his]  such  member's
    14  final average salary.
    15    (2)  Upon  completion of thirty years of such service and upon retire-
    16  ment, each such member shall receive a pension which, together  with  an
    17  annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of such member's accumu-
    18  lated contributions at the time of such member's retirement and an addi-
    19  tional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserved-for-in-
    20  creased-take-home-pay to which such member may then be entitled shall be
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10296-13-4
        S. 6141--B                          2
 
     1  sufficient  to  provide such member with a retirement allowance equal to
     2  sixty percent of such member's final average salary.
     3    g.  A  member contributing on the basis of this section at the time of
     4  retirement, shall retire after the completion of  twenty-five  years  or
     5  thirty  years  of  total creditable service. Application therefor may be
     6  filed in a manner similar to that provided in section  seventy  of  this
     7  article.  Upon  completion  of twenty-five years or thirty years of such
     8  service and upon retirement, each such member shall  receive  a  pension
     9  which,  together with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent
    10  of [his] such member's accumulated contributions at the  time  of  [his]
    11  such member's retirement and an additional pension which is the actuari-
    12  al  equivalent  of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which [he]
    13  such member may then be entitled shall be sufficient  to  provide  [him]
    14  such  member with a retirement allowance equal to one-half of [his] such
    15  member's final average salary for a member retiring after the completion
    16  of twenty-five years, or a retirement allowance equal to  sixty  percent
    17  of  such  member's  final average salary for a member retiring after the
    18  completion of thirty years.
    19    h. In computing the twenty-five years or thirty years of total service
    20  of a member pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full
    21  allowance shall be made for service of such member in time of war  after
    22  World  War  I  as  defined in section two of this chapter, provided such
    23  member at the time of [his] such member's entrance into the armed forces
    24  was in the service of the county of Suffolk.
    25    § 2.  Subdivision d of section 604 of the retirement and social  secu-
    26  rity  law,  as amended by chapter 771 of the laws of 1988, is amended to
    27  read as follows:
    28    d. 1. The early service retirement for a member  who  is  employed  in
    29  Suffolk  county  as  a  correction officer as defined in section eighty-
    30  nine-f of this chapter, shall be a  pension  equal  to  one-fiftieth  of
    31  final  average  salary times years of credited service at the completion
    32  of twenty-five years of service as  such  correction  officer,  but  not
    33  exceeding one-half of [his or her] such member's final average salary.
    34    2.  The  early  service  retirement  for  a  member who is employed in
    35  Suffolk county as a correction officer as  defined  in  section  eighty-
    36  nine-f  of  this  chapter,  shall  be a pension equal to one-fiftieth of
    37  final average salary times years of credited service at  the  completion
    38  of thirty years of service as such correction officer, but not exceeding
    39  sixty percent of such member's final average salary.
    40    §   3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing  the
    41  provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Suffolk  and  may
    42  be amortized over a period of ten years.
    43    §  4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
    44  of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
    45  requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
    46    §  5.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
    47  members that retire on or after such date.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill would modify the service retirement benefit for  members  of
        the  New  York  State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed by
        Suffolk County as correction officers. The modified  service  retirement
        benefit  will  be one-half of final average salary (FAS) upon completion
        of twenty-five years of creditable service and sixty percent of FAS upon
        completion of thirty years of creditable service.  The  current  service
        retirement  benefit  is  one-half  of FAS upon completion of twenty-five
        years of creditable service.
        S. 6141--B                          3
 
          If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
        ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $440,000  in  the
        annual  contributions of Suffolk County for the fiscal year ending March
        31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary but is expected to average
        0.3% of salary annually.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an  immediate past service cost of approximately $5.5 million which will
        be borne by Suffolk County as a one-time payment. This estimate  assumes
        that  payment will be made on February 1, 2025. If Suffolk County elects
        to amortize this cost over a 10-year period,  the  cost  for  each  year
        including interest would be $702,000.
          These  estimated  costs  are based on 843 affected members employed by
        Suffolk County, with annual salary of approximately $115 million  as  of
        March 31, 2023.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
        of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
        al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
        2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
        Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial Assumptions, 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, 2023
        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 March 8, 2024, and intended for use  only  during
        the  2024  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-106, prepared by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.