Relates to increasing the earnings limitation for positions of public service; increases the earnings limitation from $35,000 to $50,000 in 2025 and thereafter.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8720--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 2, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, STECK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
increasing the earning limitations for retired persons in positions of
public service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 212 of the retirement and social security law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
3 2-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this
4 section, the earnings limitation for retired persons in a position of
5 public service shall be increased to fifty thousand dollars from the
6 year two thousand twenty-five and thereafter.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow a retired person from the New York State and
Local Retirement System who returns to public employment with an annual
salary of $50,000 or less to continue to receive their full retirement
benefit. Currently, the salary limit is $35,000.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System (NYSLERS), if this bill were enacted during the 2025
Legislative Session, the direct cost incurred would be the retiree's
pension benefit paid while post-retirement earnings are between $35,000
and $50,000 each calendar year. The pension benefit expected to be paid
by NYSLERS during that 2.5-month period is estimated to be $9,000 per
person.
In addition to the direct cost quoted above, there would be additional
costs in the form of lost employer contributions due to non-billable
post-retirement earnings, which are estimated to be $2,250 per person.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03695-05-5
A. 8720--A 2
In NYSLERS, pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Secu-
rity Law, the increased costs would be borne entirely by the State of
New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay
the cost of the provision. For each retiree rehired pursuant to this
proposal, an annual cost of $11,250 is expected.
Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), if this bill were enacted during the
2025 Legislative Session, the direct cost incurred would be the
retiree's pension benefit paid while post-retirement earnings are
between $35,000 and $50,000 each calendar year. The pension benefit
expected to be paid by NYSLPFRS during that 1-month period is estimated
to be $7,500 per person.
In addition to the direct cost quoted above, there would be additional
costs in the form of lost employer contributions due to non-billable
post-retirement earnings, which are estimated to be $4,500 per person.
All costs will be shared by the State of New York and all participat-
ing employers in NYSLPFRS and spread over future billing cycles. For
each retiree rehired pursuant to this proposal, an annual cost of
$12,000 is expected.
In addition to the direct costs quoted above, insofar as this proposal
disrupts the usual pattern and timing of employee turnover (that is, if
members retire earlier than assumed and participating employers hire a
retiree instead of a new billable member), shifts in member behavior
could generate losses that increase the average billing rate in 20-year
and 25-year service-based plans from 33.7% to 43.3%. In age-based plans,
average billing rates could increase from 16.5% to 19.9%. The actual
increase in billing rates will depend upon member and employer utiliza-
tion, with the rates above representing an upper maximum.
Because this proposal exclusively benefits retirees, the increased
costs are primarily attributable to retirees from Tiers 1-4. Approxi-
mately half the contributions required to fund this proposal will be
collected on salary reported for current members of Tier 6.
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 March 12, 2025, and intended for use only during
the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-71. 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.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would add a new subdivision 2-a to Section 212 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law to increase the earnings-after-re-
A. 8720--A 3
tirement limitation to $50,000 for retired members who return to work in
positions of public employment for calendar year 2025 and thereafter.
Currently this earnings limitation is $35,000. There is no earnings
limitation for retirees age 65 and above.
It is expected that this increase in the earnings-after-retirement
limit could have an impact on the Retirement System's patterns of
retirement resulting in some members retiring earlier than they other-
wise would have. Earlier retirement generally increases plan costs since
members will be receiving their benefits for a longer period. If retire-
ment patterns shift more than expected, there will be additional costs.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System for this benefit is estimated to be $91.2
million or 0.45% of payroll if this bill is enacted.
Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
as of June 30, 2024, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
be found in the System's Annual Report for fiscal year ended June 30,
2024. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
and can also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuarial assump-
tions and methods will be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation
Report as of June 30, 2024. The retirement assumption which has been
modified from this report to reflect earlier patterns of retirement.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2025-24 dated May 29, 2025
prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2025 Legisla-
tive Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the New York
State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy
of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American
Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would increase the $35,000 Retire-
ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 212 post-retirement public
employment earnings limit to $50,000 for calendar year 2025 and each
year thereafter for certain New York City Retirement Systems and Pension
Funds (NYCRS) retirees who return to public service.
ILLUSTRATION - ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE TO BE PAID
Annual Annual Post-Retirement Earnings in Calendar Year
Retirement
Allowance $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000
$30,000 $3,750 $9,000 $7,500 $6,429 $5,625
$40,000 $5,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,571 $7,500
$50,000 $6,250 $15,000 $12,500 $10,714 $9,375
$60,000 $7,500 $18,000 $15,000 $12,857 $11,250
$70,000 $8,750 $21,000 $17,500 $15,000 $13,125
$80,000 $10,000 $24,000 $20,000 $17,143 $15,000
$90,000 $11,250 $27,000 $22,500 $19,286 $16,875
$100,000 $12,500 $30,000 $25,000 $21,429 $18,750
The resulting increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
New York City and other applicable obligors of NYCRS.
CENSUS DATA: The number of retirees who will return to public service
in the future is unknown and the portion of the pension allowance
suspended is highly dependent on their salary earned. The results above
illustrate the additional pension amount that would be paid under this
A. 8720--A 4
legislation given a retiree's post-retirement earnings and pension
allowance.
The preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2024 for the
potentially impacted service retiree population is summarized below.
NYCERS TRS BERS POLICE FIRE
Receiving Members
- Number Count: 21,977 10,531 2,157 24,530 1,243
- Average Age: 60.1 61.0 61.8 56.4 56.5
- Average Benefit: 45,300 57,200 18,800 71,800 96,600
IMPACT ON PENSION PAYMENTS: Retirees below age 65 who return to public
service and elect to be covered under the provisions of RSSL Section 212
are permitted to earn an amount not exceeding a specific dollar limit in
each calendar year. Once this dollar limit is reached, the retiree's
retirement allowance is suspended for the remainder of that calendar
year. The amount of the retirement allowance suspended is contingent
upon both individual post-retirement earnings and annual retirement
allowances.
Currently, the post-retirement earnings limitation in effect for
calendar year 2020 and each year thereafter is $35,000. Under the
proposed legislation, the post-retirement earnings limitation would be
increased to $50,000 for calendar year 2025 and each year thereafter.
ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: For illustrative purposes only, the table
above presents the estimated additional retirement allowances paid
(i.e., those benefits that would not be subject to suspension) for vari-
ous sample combinations of post-retirement annual earnings and annual
retirement allowance amounts.
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
procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
Actuarial Standards Board.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2025-77 dated June 6,
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.
