STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6450
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BAILEY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
the retirement of county 911 operators
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
2 a new section 89-y to read as follows:
3 § 89-y. Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county police
4 communications operators, police communications operator supervisors,
5 assistant bureau directors (police 911 communications) and bureau direc-
6 tors (police 911 communications). a. Any member who is a county police
7 communications operator, police communications operator supervisor,
8 assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) or bureau director
9 (police 911 communications) in an electing county, shall be eligible to
10 retire pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such eligibility
11 shall be an alternative to the eligibility provisions available under
12 any other plan of this article to which such member is subject. The
13 comptroller shall have the authority to include positions herein that
14 comprehend the same duties and responsibilities, but are named differ-
15 ently.
16 b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of
17 twenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application
18 therefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article.
19 c. Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon
20 retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together
21 with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of such member's
22 accumulated contributions at the time of retirement and an additional
23 pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserved-for-in-
24 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.
LBD01079-03-5
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1 sufficient to provide such member with a retirement allowance equal to
2 one-half of their final average salary.
3 d. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include any and
4 all services performed as a county police communications operator,
5 police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director
6 (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communi-
7 cations).
8 e. Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or as
9 a paid firefighter, police officer or officer of any organized fire
10 department or police force or department of any county, city, village,
11 town, fire district or police district, or as a criminal investigator in
12 the office of a district attorney, or as a probation assistant in a
13 county probation department, shall also be deemed to be creditable
14 service and shall be included in computing years of total service for
15 retirement pursuant to this section.
16 f. The chief executive officer in each county shall certify to the
17 comptroller, periodically and at such intervals of time as may be
18 required and in such fashion as may be prescribed, the identity of the
19 eligible police communications operators, police communications operator
20 supervisors, assistant bureau directors (police 911 communications) and
21 bureau directors (police 911 communications) in such chief executive
22 officer's employ.
23 g. A member contributing on the basis of this section at the time of
24 retirement shall retire after the completion of twenty-five years of
25 total creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner
26 similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon
27 completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon retirement,
28 each such member shall receive a pension which, together with an annuity
29 which shall be the actuarial equivalent of their accumulated contrib-
30 utions at the time of retirement and an additional pension which is the
31 actuarial equivalent of the reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to
32 which such member may then be entitled, shall be sufficient to provide
33 such member with a retirement allowance equal to one-half of their final
34 average salary.
35 h. In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member
36 pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance
37 shall be made for service of such member in time of war after World War
38 I as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the
39 time of their entrance into the armed forces was in the service of the
40 county of their employer that makes the election provided for herein.
41 i. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a member, who does not
42 retire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utilizing
43 service which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of this
44 section for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan
45 of this article to which such member is subject.
46 j. 1. Each county that elects pursuant to the provisions of this
47 subdivision shall pay the cost attributable therefor.
48 2. The benefits of this section shall be available only to those
49 members defined in subdivision a of this section whose employer elects
50 to provide such benefits by adopting a resolution to such effect and
51 filing a certified copy thereof with the comptroller. Such resolution
52 shall be accompanied by the affidavit of the chief executive officer of
53 the county that the county has received an estimate from the retirement
54 system of the cost of the benefit provided by this section.
55 k. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding
56 any other provision in this article to the contrary.
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1 § 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi-
2 ty law, as amended by chapter 714 of the laws of 2023, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions
5 of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire-
6 ment for disability, unless [he or she] such member is a police officer,
7 an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement
8 system, firefighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined
9 in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of
10 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation
11 worker, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New
12 York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger),
13 school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine
14 commission inspector member of the New York city employees' retirement
15 system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a
16 dispatcher member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a
17 police communications member of the New York city employees' retirement
18 system, an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system,
19 a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees' retirement
20 system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction
21 department as defined in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or
22 employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section
23 eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws
24 of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk
25 county as a correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of
26 this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer,
27 uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy
28 sheriff, as defined in section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or
29 employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambu-
30 lance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance
31 medical technician related services, or a police medic, police medic
32 supervisor or a member who performs police medic related services, as
33 defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred
34 seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this
35 chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in
36 section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of
37 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed
38 in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction
39 officer or identification officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h
40 of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff,
41 undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in
42 section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county
43 as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
44 defined in section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in
45 Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
46 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-j of this chapter
47 or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division
48 competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in
49 section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which
50 makes an election under subdivision j of section eighty-nine-p of this
51 chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer
52 as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County
53 as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
54 defined in section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county
55 deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in
56 section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of
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1 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed
2 in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
3 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-o of this chapter
4 or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in section
5 eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park
6 police officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or
7 is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined
8 in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the
9 laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in
10 Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-
11 nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the
12 laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superi-
13 or correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chap-
14 ter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thou-
15 sand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town
16 of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v
17 of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the
18 laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire
19 marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire
20 marshal, chief fire marshal, division supervising fire marshal or fire
21 marshal trainee employed by the county of Nassau as defined in section
22 eighty-nine-w of this chapter or is employed in Monroe county as a depu-
23 ty sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-nine-x of this chapter,
24 employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician,
25 advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such
26 titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district as defined in
27 section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter, or is a county police communi-
28 cations operator, police communications operator supervisor, assistant
29 bureau director (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police
30 911 communications) and is in a plan which permits immediate retirement
31 upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to age.
32 Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-a
33 of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-b of
34 this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-c of this
35 article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this
36 article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-e of this
37 article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-f of this
38 article and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this
39 article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation, other than a
40 police officer or investigator member of the New York city employees'
41 retirement system or a firefighter, shall not be permitted to retire
42 prior to the completion of twenty-five years of credited service;
43 provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in a plan
44 which permits retirement upon completion of twenty years of service
45 regardless of age, [he or she] such member may retire upon completion of
46 twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-
47 five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from funds
48 other than those based on such a member's own contributions shall not
49 exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of credited
50 service.
51 § 3. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is amended
52 by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
53 w. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred
54 four of this article shall be payable to members with twenty-five years
55 of creditable service, without regard to age, who are employed as a
56 county police communications operator, police communications operator
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1 supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) and
2 bureau director (police 911 communications) as defined in section eight-
3 y-nine-y of this chapter if: (i) such members have met the minimum
4 service requirements upon retirement, and (ii) in the case of a member
5 subject to the provisions of article fourteen of this chapter, such
6 member files an election therefor which provides that they will be
7 subject to the provisions of this article and to none of the provisions
8 of such article fourteen. Such election, which shall be irrevocable,
9 shall be in writing, duly executed and shall be filed with the comp-
10 troller within one year of the effective date of this subdivision or
11 within one year after entering the employment with such county upon
12 which eligibility is based, whichever comes later. For the purposes of
13 this subdivision, the term "creditable service" shall have the meaning
14 as so defined in both sections eighty-nine-y and six hundred one of this
15 chapter.
16 § 4. Section 604 of the retirement and social security law is amended
17 by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
18 w. The early service retirement benefit for a member who is employed
19 as a county police communications operator, police communications opera-
20 tor supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 communications)
21 and bureau director (police 911 communications) as defined in section
22 eighty-nine-y of this chapter shall be a pension equal to one-fiftieth
23 of final average salary times years of credited service at the
24 completion of twenty-five years of service as such police communications
25 operator, police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau
26 director (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911
27 communications), but not exceeding one-half of their final average sala-
28 ry; for service beyond twenty-five years the benefits shall increase by
29 one-sixtieth of final average salary for each year of additional service
30 credit provided, however, that the total allowance payable pursuant to
31 this section shall not exceed three-fourths of such member's final aver-
32 age salary.
33 § 5. All past service costs incurred with implementing the provisions
34 of this act shall be borne by any county that elects to provide the
35 benefits provided by this act.
36 § 6. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would permit counties that participate in the New York State
and Local Employees' Retirement System to elect to provide members
employed in the title of police communications operator, police communi-
cations operator supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911
communications) or bureau director (police 911 communications) the
option to retire upon completion of twenty-five years of creditable
service with a benefit of one-half of final average salary (FAS) and for
Tiers 3 through 6 an additional benefit of one-sixtieth of FAS for each
year of creditable service in excess of twenty-five years, not to exceed
fifteen years. Additionally, members covered under Article 14 would be
permitted one year to make an irrevocable election to switch to the
twenty-five-year plan benefit.
If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase in the annual contributions of an
electing county of approximately 6% of salary paid to eligible members
for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. In future years this cost
will vary as the billing rates and salary of the affected members
change.
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In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately 17% of salary paid to
eligible members which will be borne by the electing county as a one-
time payment.
Further, we anticipate additional administrative costs to implement
the provisions of this legislation.
The exact number of current members as well as future members who
could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
Prior to electing to provide these benefits, a county would be required
to submit a roster of eligible members to the New York State and Local
Retirement System. This roster would be used to determine an exact cost
to the electing county.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
2024 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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
and Supplementary Information.
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 January 22, 2025, and intended for use only
during the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-3. As Chief
Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron
Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
ble Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional
Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of
Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a
member.
