Removes post-retirement earnings restrictions for New York city department of correction uniformed personnel with respect to a retiree subsequent to such member's earliest eligibility date for service retirement.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8441
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
eligibility of uniformed personnel of the New York city department of
correction for ordinary disability benefits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 507-a of the retirement and social security law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision f to read as follows:
3 f. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there shall be no
4 restrictions on the earnings from employment not in public service
5 permitted to a member of the uniformed personnel of the New York city
6 department of correction who:
7 1. has retired pursuant to the provisions of this section; and
8 2. was subject to the provisions of (i) subdivision d of section five
9 hundred four of this article, (ii) subdivision c of section five hundred
10 four-a of this article, or (iii) subdivision c of section five hundred
11 four-b of this article prior to such member's retirement, subsequent to
12 the date as of which such member would have been eligible for service
13 retirement.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would remove post-retirement earn-
ings restrictions from private sector employment for certain retired
uniformed personnel of the New York City Department of Correction who
are receiving disability benefits from the New York City Employees'
Retirement System (NYCERS) after reaching what would have been their
service retirement eligibility date.
CENSUS DATA: The number of retirees who will return to private sector
service in the future is unknown and the amount of the pension allowance
currently suspended is dependent on salary earned and pension allowance.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05924-02-5
A. 8441 2
The preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2024 for the
potentially impacted population- individuals who are member of
Correction Officer 20-Year Plan, Correction Officer 25-Year Retirement
Plan, or Correction Captain 20-Year Plan, and have reached their service
retirement date- is summarized below.
NYCERS
Receiving Members
-Number Count: 538
-Average Age: 64.9
-Average Benefit: 23,100
BACKGROUND / IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, if a correction
disability retiree's Personal Service Income (PSI) exceeds the limita-
tion for the calendar year, then such retiree's disability pension is
suspended for 12 months.
NYCERS restricts the total calendar year Personal Service Income (PSI)
resulting from all public and private employment for certain retirees,
including certain Tier 3 correction officers who receive disability
retirement benefits under RSSL Section 507-a (Correction Disability
Retiree). The NYCERS PSI limitation for 2023 was $35,200 and increases
each year with the Consumer Price Index. As of the date this Fiscal Note
was released, the 2024 limit had not been published.
Under the proposed legislation, Correction Disability Retirees who
were Tier 3 correction members in the Early Service Retirement Benefit
Plan for General Members, the Correction Officer 20-Year Plan,
Correction Officer 25-Year Retirement Plan, or the Correction Captain
20-Year Plan, would no longer be subject to the PSI limitation for
private employment following a 507-a disability retirement and receive
the entire pension amount for that year. The annual per incident cost of
this fiscal note will vary depending on that pension amount. For Fiscal
Year 2025, that average amount is approximately $23,100.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been
calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
of the impacted retirement systems.
It is assumed that correction disability retirees would continue to be
limited by other post-retirement earnings restrictions such as New York
City Charter (NYCC) Section 1117 and RSSL Section 212.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those
presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this
Fiscal Note.
This Fiscal Note is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our
objectivity, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
To the best of our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and
A. 8441 3
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2025-46 dated April 21,
2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
Legislative Session.
