STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6932--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 18, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FITZPATRICK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
BLANKENBUSH, DiPIETRO, FRIEND, HAWLEY, TAGUE -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the
Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule
3, sec. 2 -- 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
establishing a defined contribution program for which elected offi-
cials are deemed mandatory members
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
2 adding a new article 22-A to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 22-A
4 DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PROGRAM
5 Section 1250. Definitions.
6 1251. Defined contribution programs established.
7 1252. Rates of contribution.
8 1253. Enrollment.
9 1254. Death benefit.
10 1255. Inconsistent provisions of other acts superseded.
11 § 1250. Definitions. Wherever used in this article the following terms
12 shall have the following meanings:
13 a. The term "public retirement system of the state" shall mean the New
14 York state and local employees' retirement system, the New York state
15 teachers' retirement system, the New York state and local police and
16 fire retirement system, the New York city employees' retirement system,
17 the New York city teachers' retirement system, the New York city board
18 of education retirement system, the New York city police pension fund,
19 and the New York city fire pension fund.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08996-03-6
A. 6932--A 2
1 b. The terms "optional member" and "optional members" mean those
2 employees who are members of a public retirement system of the state who
3 first became members of such systems on or after April first, two thou-
4 sand twenty-six and make an election to join the defined contribution
5 program established pursuant to this article pursuant to the provisions
6 of section twelve hundred fifty-three of this article.
7 c. The terms "mandatory member" and "mandatory members" mean those
8 elected officials who are members of a public retirement system of the
9 state who first became members of such systems on or after April first,
10 two thousand twenty-six pursuant to the provisions of section twelve
11 hundred fifty-three of this article.
12 d. The terms "program participant" and "program participants" mean
13 those employees electing to participate in the defined contribution
14 program.
15 e. The term "defined contribution program" means the retirement
16 program established pursuant to this article.
17 f. The term "wages" shall mean regular compensation earned by and paid
18 to a member by a public employer, except that the following items shall
19 not be included in the definition of wages: (i) overtime compensation
20 paid under any law or policy under which employees are paid at a rate
21 greater than their standard rate for additional hours beyond that
22 required, including section one hundred thirty-four of the civil service
23 law and section ninety of the general municipal law, (ii) wages in
24 excess of the annual salary paid to the governor pursuant to section
25 three of article four of the state constitution, (iii) lump sum payments
26 for deferred compensation, sick leave, accumulated vacation or other
27 credits for time not worked, (iv) any form of termination pay, and (v)
28 any additional compensation paid in anticipation of retirement.
29 § 1251. Defined contribution programs established. There is hereby
30 established a defined contribution program within each public retirement
31 system of the state which shall provide for retirement benefits for or
32 on behalf of program participants. Under such program the state, the
33 city of New York and other participating employers and such employees
34 shall contribute, to the extent authorized or required, to such defined
35 contribution accounts. The programs shall be administered by the retire-
36 ment system in which the program participant is a member. Each public
37 retirement system of the state is authorized to promulgate all such
38 rules and regulations as may be necessary or required to implement the
39 defined contribution programs established pursuant to this article,
40 including such rules and regulations as may be necessary to comply with
41 the applicable provisions of title twenty-six of the United States Code
42 relating to defined contribution plans and their qualification and oper-
43 ation and all such rules and regulations as may be necessary or required
44 regarding the collection of employer and member contributions, invest-
45 ment of contributions, withdrawals and distribution of member accounts,
46 nomination of beneficiaries, the assessment and collection from employ-
47 ers of costs and expenses incurred in the establishment and operation of
48 the plan, and all other matters pertaining thereto. Each public retire-
49 ment system of the state is authorized to enter into such agreements
50 with qualified providers as may be necessary or desirable for the
51 investment of member accounts and the general administration of the
52 plan.
53 § 1252. Rates of contribution. a. 1. The employer shall make a
54 contribution equal to four percent of each program participant's wages.
55 Such contributions shall be known as "basic employer contributions".
A. 6932--A 3
1 2. The employer shall contribute an amount equal to the contribution
2 made by each program participant, provided however, that such additional
3 contributions shall not exceed three percent of each program partic-
4 ipant's wages. Such contributions shall be known as "matching employer
5 contributions".
6 b. In the case of any program participants, employees shall be allowed
7 to contribute an amount up to the maximum allowable amount, inclusive of
8 basic and matching employer contributions, permitted by federal law in
9 26 U.S.C. 401 et seq. and the rules and regulations of the United States
10 department of the treasury promulgated thereunder.
11 c. No contributions pursuant to subdivision a of this section shall be
12 made by the employer until the program participant completes one year of
13 service and continues in service thereafter. At the end of a program
14 participant's initial year of service, a single contribution in an
15 amount determined pursuant to subdivision a of this section, with inter-
16 est at the rate of four per centum per annum, shall be made by the
17 employer, on behalf of such program participant continued in service.
18 § 1253. Enrollment. a. Employees who first become members of a public
19 retirement system of the state on or after April first, two thousand
20 twenty-six, within thirty days of their entry into service, shall have
21 the ability to elect the defined contribution program established pursu-
22 ant to this article. Such election shall be in writing, shall be duly
23 executed and filed with the retirement system of which they are a member
24 and shall be irrevocable as long as such person is a member of a public
25 retirement system of the state. All eligible employees who elect the
26 defined contribution program shall not accrue credited service for any
27 purpose under any other article of this chapter or any other applicable
28 law.
29 b. All program participants enrolled in the defined contribution
30 program shall not accrue credited service to be used for any purpose
31 under any other article of this chapter or any other applicable law.
32 c. Any elected official or elected officials who first become members
33 of a public retirement system of the state on or after April first, two
34 thousand twenty-six, shall be a mandatory member or mandatory members,
35 required to participate in the defined contribution program established
36 pursuant to this article. For all such elected officials the defined
37 contribution program shall not accrue credited service for any purpose
38 under any other article of this chapter or any other applicable law.
39 § 1254. Death benefit. a. Program participants shall receive the
40 following financial protection in the event of death in service: a bene-
41 fit upon the death of a member in service equal to the member's salary
42 upon their completion of one year of service, two years' salary upon
43 completion of two years of service, and three years' salary upon
44 completion of three years of service.
45 b. For the purposes of this section:
46 1. the death benefit payable shall be in lieu of the payment of the
47 basic employer contributions and matching employer contributions made
48 pursuant to this article, but shall not be less than the value of such
49 contributions and
50 2. the value of the employee contributions shall be payable in addi-
51 tion to the death benefit payable pursuant to this section.
52 § 1255. Inconsistent provisions of other acts superseded. Insofar as
53 the provisions of this article are inconsistent with the provisions of
54 any other act, general or special, the provisions of this article shall
55 be controlling.
A. 6932--A 4
1 § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2026; provided, however, if
2 this act shall become a law after such date it shall take effect imme-
3 diately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and
4 after April 1, 2026.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would provide new members of any public retirement system in
New York with the option of enrolling in a defined contribution (DC)
plan. Enrollment would be mandatory for elected officials and optional
for other members beginning on or after April 1, 2026.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Retirement
System, the annual employer contribution rate for the DC plan would be
approximately 7.8 percent of payroll.
The administrative expense to establish the DC plan is estimated at $5
to $10 million, with additional costs incurred by participating employ-
ers to modify payroll and reporting systems. Enrollees are expected to
incur management and investment expenses averaging 0.5 percent of their
account balance annually.
Significant design features of the DC plan include: (1) mandatory
employer contributions of 4 percent of wages, (2) a death benefit equal
to the accumulated value of member contributions plus the larger of
accumulated employer contributions or three times salary, (3) no disa-
bility benefit, and (4) irrevocable membership.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB Disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated January 9, 2026, and intended for use only during
the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2026-36. As Chief Actu-
ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), 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. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it impairs my objec-
tivity.
