Establishes an optional twenty-five year retirement plan for employees of the New York Power Authority who are a member of the public employee organization certified or recognized to represent employees of such authority.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7975
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
establishing an optional twenty-five year retirement plan for certain
employees of the New York Power Authority
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. Retirement of certain employees employed by the New York power
4 authority. a. Any person who is employed by the New York power authority
5 and is a member of the labor organization certified or recognized to
6 represent the employees of such power authority shall be eligible to
7 retire pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such eligibility
8 shall be an alternative to the eligibility provisions available under
9 any other plan of this article to which such member is subject.
10 b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of
11 twenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application
12 therefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article.
13 c. Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon
14 retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together
15 with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of such member's
16 accumulated contributions at the time of their retirement and an addi-
17 tional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserved-for-in-
18 creased-take-home-pay to which such member may then be entitled shall be
19 sufficient to provide such member with a retirement allowance equal to
20 fifty percent of such member's final average salary.
21 d. Notwithstanding section forty-one of this article, as used in this
22 section "creditable service" shall include any and all services
23 performed as an employee of the New York power authority.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00633-05-5
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1 e. A member, contributing on the basis of this section at the time of
2 retirement, shall retire after the completion of twenty-five years of
3 total creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner
4 similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon
5 completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon retirement,
6 each such member shall receive a pension which, together with an annuity
7 which shall be the actuarial equivalent of such member's accumulated
8 contributions at the time of their retirement and an additional pension
9 which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserve-for-increased-take-
10 home-pay to which such member may then be entitled shall be sufficient
11 to provide such member with a retirement allowance equal to fifty
12 percent of such member's final average salary.
13 f. In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member
14 pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance
15 shall be made for service of such member in time of war after World War
16 I as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the
17 time of such member's entrance into the armed forces was in state
18 service.
19 g. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a member, who does not
20 retire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utilizing
21 service which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of this
22 section for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other plan
23 of this article to which such member is subject.
24 h. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding
25 any other provision in this article to the contrary.
26 § 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi-
27 ty law, as amended by chapter 714 of the laws of 2023, is amended to
28 read as follows:
29 a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions
30 of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire-
31 ment for disability, unless [he or she] such member is a police officer,
32 an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement
33 system, firefighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined
34 in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of
35 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation
36 worker, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New
37 York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger),
38 school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine
39 commission inspector member of the New York city employees' retirement
40 system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a
41 dispatcher member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a
42 police communications member of the New York city employees' retirement
43 system, an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system,
44 a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees' retirement
45 system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction
46 department as defined in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or
47 employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section
48 eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws
49 of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk
50 county as a correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of
51 this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer,
52 uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy
53 sheriff, as defined in section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or
54 employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambu-
55 lance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance
56 medical technician related services, or a police medic, police medic
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1 supervisor or a member who performs police medic related services, as
2 defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred
3 seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this
4 chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in
5 section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of
6 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed
7 in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction
8 officer or identification officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h
9 of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff,
10 undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in
11 section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county
12 as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
13 defined in section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in
14 Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
15 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-j of this chapter
16 or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division
17 competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in
18 section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which
19 makes an election under subdivision j of section eighty-nine-p of this
20 chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer
21 as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County
22 as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
23 defined in section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county
24 deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in
25 section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of
26 the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed
27 in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
28 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-o of this chapter
29 or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in section
30 eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park
31 police officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or
32 is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined
33 in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the
34 laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in
35 Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-
36 nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the
37 laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superi-
38 or correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chap-
39 ter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thou-
40 sand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town
41 of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v
42 of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the
43 laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire
44 marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire
45 marshal, chief fire marshal, division supervising fire marshal or fire
46 marshal trainee employed by the county of Nassau as defined in section
47 eighty-nine-w of this chapter or is employed in Monroe county as a depu-
48 ty sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-nine-x of this chapter,
49 employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician,
50 advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such
51 titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district as defined in
52 section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter, or is employed by the New York
53 power authority and is a member of the labor organization certified or
54 recognized to represent the employees of such power authority as defined
55 in section eighty-nine-y of this chapter and is in a plan which permits
56 immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service
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1 without regard to age. Except as provided in subdivision c of section
2 four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of section four
3 hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of section four
4 hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of section four
5 hundred forty-five-d of this article, subdivision c of section four
6 hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of section four
7 hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of section four
8 hundred forty-five-h of this article, a member in such a plan and such
9 an occupation, other than a police officer or investigator member of the
10 New York city employees' retirement system or a firefighter, shall not
11 be permitted to retire prior to the completion of twenty-five years of
12 credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupa-
13 tion is in a plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty
14 years of service regardless of age, [he or she] such member may retire
15 upon completion of twenty years of credited service and prior to the
16 completion of twenty-five years of service, but in such event the bene-
17 fit provided from funds other than those based on such a member's own
18 contributions shall not exceed two per centum of final average salary
19 per each year of credited service.
20 § 3. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is amended
21 by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
22 w. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred
23 four of this article shall be payable to members with twenty-five or
24 more years of creditable service, without regard to age, who are
25 employed by the New York power authority and are a member of the labor
26 organization certified or recognized to represent the employees of such
27 power authority, as defined in section eighty-nine-y of this chapter if:
28 (i) such members have met the minimum service requirements upon retire-
29 ment, and (ii) in the case of a member subject to the provisions of
30 article fourteen of this chapter, such member files an election therefor
31 which provides that such member will be subject to the provisions of
32 this article and to none of the provisions of such article fourteen.
33 Such election, which shall be irrevocable, shall be in writing, duly
34 executed and shall be filed with the comptroller within one year of the
35 effective date of this subdivision or within one year of entering into
36 service as an employee of the New York power authority and becoming a
37 member of the labor organization certified or recognized to represent
38 the employees of such power authority. The term "creditable service"
39 shall have the meaning as so defined in section eighty-nine-y of this
40 chapter and subdivision c of section six hundred one of this article.
41 § 4. Subdivision a of section 503 of the retirement and social securi-
42 ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
43 as follows:
44 a. The normal service retirement benefit specified in section five
45 hundred four of this article shall be payable to general members, other
46 than elective members, who have met the minimum service requirements
47 upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-two, provided, however, a
48 general member who is a peace officer employed by the unified court
49 system or a member of a teachers' retirement system may retire without
50 reduction of [his or her] such member's retirement benefit upon attain-
51 ment of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or
52 more years of service. For members who become members of the New York
53 state and local employees' retirement system on or after April first,
54 two thousand twelve, the normal service retirement benefits specified in
55 section five hundred four of this article shall be payable to general
56 members, other than elective members, who have met the minimum service
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1 requirements upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-three; provided
2 that, a member who is an employee of the New York power authority who is
3 a member of the labor organization certified or recognized to represent
4 the employees of such power authority may retire without reduction of
5 such member's retirement benefit upon attainment of twenty-five or more
6 years of service if they have elected the special retirement plan found
7 in section eighty-nine-y of this chapter.
8 § 5. Section 604 of the retirement and social security law is amended
9 by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
10 w. The early service retirement for a member who is an employee of the
11 New York power authority and is a member of the labor organization
12 certified or recognized to represent the employees of such power author-
13 ity as defined in section eighty-nine-y of this chapter, shall be a
14 pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times years of
15 service as an employee of the New York power authority who is a member
16 of the labor organization certified or recognized to represent the
17 employees of such power authority, but not exceeding one-half of such
18 member's final average salary.
19 § 6. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
20 provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
21 of section twenty-five of the retirement and social security law.
22 § 7. All past service costs associated with implementing the
23 provisions of this act shall be borne by the New York Power Authority.
24 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would permit members of the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement System employed by the New York power authority who are
members of the labor organization certified or recognized to represent
the employees of such power authority to retire upon completion of twen-
ty-five years of creditable service with a benefit of one-half final
average salary. Members covered under Article 14 would be permitted one
year to make an irrevocable election to switch to the twenty-five-year
plan.
If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $3.0 million in
the annual contributions of the New York power authority for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2026. In future years this cost will vary but is
expected to average 4.0% of salary annually.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $15.3 million which will
be borne by the New York power authority as a one-time payment. This
estimate assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2026.
These estimated costs are based on 564 affected members employed by
the New York power authority, with annual salary of approximately $58.8
million as of March 31, 2024. The affected members were identified using
information provided by the office of Senator Joseph Griffo.
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
A. 7975 6
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 April 9, 2025, and intended for use only during
the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-50. As Chief Actu-
ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable Actu-
arial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct
and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.
