S10002 Summary:
| BILL NO | S10002 |
| SAME AS | No Same As |
| SPONSOR | JACKSON |
| COSPNSR | |
| MLTSPNSR | |
| Amd §§503, 504, 603 & 604, R & SS L | |
| Provides for retirement without reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of service for certain retirement system members. | |
S10002 Text:
Go to topSTATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10002 IN SENATE April 22, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to retirement eligibility for certain members The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision a of section 503 of the retirement and social 2 security law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 a. The normal service retirement benefit specified in section five 5 hundred four of this article shall be payable to general members, other 6 than elective members, who have met the minimum service requirements 7 upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-two, provided, however, a 8 general member who is a peace officer employed by the unified court 9 system or a member of a teachers' retirement system may retire without 10 reduction of [his or her] their retirement benefit upon attainment of at 11 least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 12 service. For members who become members of the New York state and local 13 employees' retirement system on or after April first, two thousand 14 twelve, the normal service retirement benefits specified in section five 15 hundred four of this article shall be payable to general members, other 16 than elective members, who have met the minimum service requirements 17 upon retirement and attainment of age sixty-three, provided, however, 18 that general members, other than elective members, may retire without 19 reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least 20 fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 21 service. 22 § 2. Subdivisions a and c of section 504 of the retirement and social 23 security law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended 24 to read as follows: 25 a. The service retirement benefit for general members at normal 26 retirement age with twenty or more years of credited service shall be a 27 pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times years of 28 credited service, not in excess of thirty years, less fifty percent of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15146-07-6S. 10002 2 1 the primary social security retirement benefit as provided in section 2 five hundred eleven of this article. The service retirement benefit for 3 general members at normal retirement age with twenty or more years of 4 service who first become members of the New York state and local employ- 5 ees' retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve at 6 normal retirement age shall be a pension equal to the sum of thirty-five 7 per centum and one-fiftieth of final average salary for each year of 8 service in excess of twenty, but not in excess of thirty, times final 9 average salary times years of credited service, provided, however, that 10 such members may retire without reduction of their retirement benefit 11 upon attainment of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of 12 thirty or more years of service. 13 c. The early service retirement benefit for general members, except 14 for general members whose early retirement benefit is specified in 15 subdivision d of this section, shall be the service retirement benefit 16 specified in subdivision a or b of this section, as the case may be, 17 without social security offset, reduced by one-fifteenth for each of the 18 first two years by which early retirement precedes age sixty-two, plus a 19 further reduction of: (1) one-thirtieth; or (2) one-twentieth for 20 members who first join the New York state and local employees' retire- 21 ment system on or after January first, two thousand ten, for each year 22 by which early retirement precedes age sixty, provided however, that for 23 members who first become members of the New York state and local employ- 24 ees' retirement system on or after the effective date of the chapter of 25 the laws of two thousand twelve which amended this subdivision, the 26 early service retirement benefit for general members, except for general 27 members whose early retirement benefit is specified in subdivision d of 28 this section, shall be the service retirement benefit specified in 29 subdivision a or b of this section, as the case may be, without social 30 security offset, reduced by six and one-half per centum for each year by 31 which early retirement precedes age sixty-three. At age sixty-two, the 32 benefit shall be reduced by fifty percent of the primary social security 33 retirement benefit, as provided in section five hundred eleven of this 34 article, provided, however, that such members may retire without 35 reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least 36 fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 37 service. 38 § 3. Paragraphs 1 and 3 of subdivision i of section 603 of the retire- 39 ment and social security law, paragraph 1 as amended by section 8 of 40 part B of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, paragraph 3 as added by chap- 41 ter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows: 42 1. A member of a teachers' retirement system or the New York state and 43 local employees' retirement system who has met the minimum service 44 requirements but who has less than thirty years of credited service or a 45 member who first joins the New York state and local employees' retire- 46 ment system or the New York state teachers' retirement system on or 47 after January first, two thousand ten may retire prior to normal retire- 48 ment age, but no earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in which 49 event, unless such person is a member of the New York city teachers' 50 retirement system who is otherwise eligible for early service retirement 51 pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this article, 52 the amount of [his or her] their retirement benefit otherwise computed 53 without optional modification shall be reduced in accordance with the 54 following schedule, provided, however, that such member may retire with- 55 out reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at leastS. 10002 3 1 fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 2 service: 3 (i) for each of the first twenty-four full months that retirement 4 predates age sixty-two, one-half of one per centum per month; provided, 5 however, that for members who first join the New York state and local 6 employees' retirement system or the New York state teachers' retirement 7 system on or after January first, two thousand ten, such amounts shall 8 be equal to one-fifteenth per year; and 9 (ii) for each full month that retirement predates age sixty, one-quar- 10 ter of one per centum per month; provided, however, that for members who 11 first join the New York state and local employees' retirement system or 12 the New York state teachers' retirement system on or after January 13 first, two thousand ten, such amounts shall be equal to one-twentieth 14 per year, but in no event shall retirement be permitted prior to attain- 15 ment of age fifty-five. 16 3. A member of a public retirement system of the state who has met the 17 minimum service requirement, but who is not a New York city transit 18 authority member, as defined in paragraph one of subdivision a of 19 section six hundred four-b of this article, may retire prior to normal 20 retirement age, but no earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in 21 which event, the amount of [his or her] their retirement benefit 22 computed without optional modification shall be reduced by six and one- 23 half per centum for each year by which early retirement precedes age 24 sixty-three, provided, however, that such member may retire without 25 reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least 26 fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 27 service. 28 § 4. Subdivisions a, a-1 and t of section 603 of the retirement and 29 social security law, subdivision a as amended by section 3 of part EE of 30 chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, subdivision a-1 as added and subdivision 31 t as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as 32 follows: 33 a. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred 34 four of this article shall be payable to members who have met the mini- 35 mum service requirements upon retirement and attainment of age sixty- 36 two, other than members who are eligible for early service retirement 37 pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-b of this article, 38 subdivision c of section six hundred four-c of this article, subdivision 39 d of section six hundred four-d of this article, subdivision c of 40 section six hundred four-e of this article, subdivision c of section six 41 hundred four-f of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred 42 four-g of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-h of 43 this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this arti- 44 cle, or subdivision c of section six hundred four-j of this article, 45 provided, however, a member of a teachers' retirement system or the New 46 York state and local employees' retirement system [who first joins such47system before January first, two thousand ten or a member who is a48uniformed court officer or peace officer employed by the unified court49system who first becomes a member of the New York state and local50employees' retirement system before April first, two thousand twelve] 51 may retire without reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment 52 of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more 53 years of service, provided, however, that a uniformed court officer or 54 peace officer employed by the unified court system who first becomes a 55 member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system on 56 or after January first, two thousand ten and retires without reductionS. 10002 4 1 of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least fifty-five years 2 of age and completion of thirty or more years of service pursuant to 3 this section shall be required to make the member contributions required 4 by subdivision f of section six hundred thirteen of this article for all 5 years of credited and creditable service, provided further that the 6 preceding provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a New York 7 city revised plan member. 8 a-1. For members who first become a member of a public retirement 9 system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve, the 10 service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred four of this 11 article shall be payable to members who have met the minimum service 12 requirements upon retirement and have attained age sixty-three, 13 provided, however, that such member may retire without reduction of 14 their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least fifty-five years of 15 age and completion of thirty or more years of service. 16 t. Members who join the New York state teachers' retirement system on 17 or after January first, two thousand ten, shall be eligible to retire 18 without reduction of [his or her] their retirement benefit upon attain- 19 ment of at least [fifty-seven] fifty-five years of age and completion of 20 thirty or more years of service. Members who retire pursuant to the 21 provisions of this subdivision shall be required to make the member 22 contributions required by subdivision g of section six hundred thirteen 23 of this article for all years of credited and creditable service. [The24provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to members who first25become a member of the New York state teachers' retirement system on or26after April first, two thousand twelve.] 27 § 5. Subdivisions a and b-1 of section 604 of the retirement and 28 social security law, subdivision a as amended and subdivision b-1 as 29 added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows: 30 a. The service retirement benefit at normal retirement age for a 31 member with less than twenty years of credited service, or less than 32 twenty-five years credited service for a member who joins the New York 33 state teachers' retirement system on or after January first, two thou- 34 sand ten, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of final 35 average salary times years of credited service. Normal retirement age 36 for members who first become members of a public retirement system of 37 the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve shall be age 38 sixty-three, provided, however, that such member may retire without 39 reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least 40 fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty or more years of 41 service. 42 b-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 43 service retirement benefit for members with twenty or more years of 44 credit service who first become a member of a public retirement system 45 of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve at age sixty- 46 three or for members who have attained at least fifty-five years of age 47 and completion of thirty or more years of service shall be a pension 48 equal to the sum of thirty-five per centum and one-fiftieth of final 49 average salary for each year of service in excess of twenty times final 50 average salary times years of credited service. In no event shall any 51 retirement benefit payable without optional modification be less than 52 the actuarially equivalent annuitized value of the member's contrib- 53 utions accumulated with interest at five percent per annum compounded 54 annually to the date of retirement.S. 10002 5 1 § 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none 2 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the 3 retirement and social security law. 4 § 7. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi- 5 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 6 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 7 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 8 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 9 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 10 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 11 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 12 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 13 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that 14 the amendments to subdivision a of section 603 of the retirement and 15 social security law made by section four of this act shall not affect 16 the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire there- 17 with. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would allow Tier 5 and Tier 6 members in the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) to retire prior to normal retirement age without reduction of their retirement benefit upon attainment of at least age 55 and completion of 30 years of service. Insofar as this bill affects NYSLERS, the present value of benefits would increase by approximately $2.1 billion. Benefit improvements will be funded by increasing the billing rates charged annually. The annual contribution required by all participating employers in NYSLERS would increase 0.9% of billable salary, or approxi- mately $130 million to the state of New York and $190 million to the local participating employers. The annual billing rates for Tier 6 members would further increase by 0.2% of salary (for a 1.1% total annu- al rate increase). Required contributions will increase significantly as Tier 6 grows. Employer costs would vary according to plan coverage and salary reported in Tier 6. These estimated costs are based on 344,860 affected members in NYSLERS with annual salary of approximately $18 billion as of March 31, 2025. 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 April 1, 2026, and intended for use only during the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-179. As Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies withS. 10002 6 applicable 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 objectivity. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: Bill Description: This fiscal note is prepared for legislative bill draft #15146-06-6. This bill would amend various sections of Retirement and Social Security Law to permit Tier 5 and 6 members of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) to retire with an unreduced benefit upon attainment of at least age 55 and 30 years of service credit. Tier 5 members are currently able to retire with an unreduced benefit upon attainment of at least age 57 and 30 years of service credit. Tier 6 members are currently unable to retire with an unreduced benefit until attainment of age 63, regardless of service credit. Cost: The annual cost to the participating employers of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be $371.5 million or 1.79% of payroll if this bill is enacted. The System's "new entrant rate," a hypothetical employer contribution rate that would be charged if we started a new retirement system without any assets, is equal to 5.52% of pay under the current Tier 6 benefit structure. This can be thought of as the long-term expected employer cost of Tier 6, based on current actuarial assumptions. For the proposed change to the Tier 6 benefit structure under this bill, this new entrant rate is estimated to increase to 7.29% of pay, an increase of 1.77% of pay. Data: Member data as of June 30, 2025, prepared for the most recent actuari- al valuation was used in determining this cost. The most recent data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's Annual Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements which can be found in the System's Annual Report. This data will also be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025. Methods and Assumptions: A summary of actuarial assumptions and methods will be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2025. Further details can be found in the most recent Recommended Actuarial Assumptions 2025 Report. Actuarial Certification: We, the undersigned actuaries for the New York State Teachers' Retire- ment System, certify the following: 1. The actuarial assumptions, methods, and data used are reasonable for the purposes of this fiscal note, internally consistent and are in accordance with standards of practice prescribed by the Actuarial Stand- ards Board and generally accepted actuarial principles and procedures. 2. We relied on member data supplied by the participating employers of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System and assets as supplied in the annual Financial Statements by NYSTRS' Finance Department. 3. Results were prepared based on our current understanding of the proposal as of the date of this fiscal note. If the language or our understanding of the proposal changes, the results could change and require the issuance of a new fiscal note. The next annual update of theS. 10002 7 actuarial valuation could also produce different results. Results should not be relied upon for any other purpose. 4. This fiscal note was prepared in accordance with New York State Retirement and Social Security Law, New York State Education Law, appli- cable Internal Revenue Code, and accepted actuarial standards of prac- tice as of the date of this fiscal note. This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability of this legislative proposal. 5. We are members of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries, and we meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein. We are currently compliant with the Continuing Professional Development Requirement of the Society of Actuaries. Fiscal Note Identification: This Fiscal Note, 2026-6, revised March 30, 2026, was prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2026 Legislative Session. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: SUMMARY: This proposed legislation, as it relates to the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds (NYCRS) would provide an unreduced early retirement benefit for Tier 6 NYCRS members who attain age 55 and have at least 30 years of credited service. EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Millions) Year NYCERS TRS BERS TOTAL 2027 15.6 123.9 4.9 144.4 2028 16.6 129.4 5.1 151.1 2029 17.7 135.4 5.3 158.4 2030 18.8 141.9 5.5 166.2 2031 19.9 148.9 5.7 174.5 2032 21.1 156.4 6.0 183.5 2033 22.3 164.4 6.2 192.9 2034 23.6 173.2 6.5 203.3 2035 24.8 182.6 6.7 214.1 2036 26.2 192.7 7.0 225.9 2037 27.5 203.4 7.3 238.2 2038 28.9 214.9 7.6 251.4 2039 30.4 227.0 8.0 265.4 2040 31.8 239.7 8.3 279.8 2041 33.4 252.8 8.6 294.8 2042 35.0 266.3 9.0 310.3 2043 36.6 280.0 9.3 325.9 2044 38.3 293.9 9.7 341.9 2045 40.0 307.8 10.1 357.9 2046 35.8 321.5 9.3 366.6 2047 37.6 283.4 9.8 330.8 2048 39.4 296.3 10.2 345.9 2049 41.2 308.8 10.7 360.7 2050 43.0 320.8 11.2 375.0 2051 44.7 332.4 11.7 388.8 Projected contributions include future new hires that may be impacted. For Fiscal Year 2052 and beyond, the expected increase in normal cost as a level percent of pay for impacted new entrants is approximately 0.12% for NYCERS, 0.95% for TRS, and 0.19% for BERS.S. 10002 8 The initial increase in employer contributions of $144.4 million is estimated to be $136.7 million for New York City and $7.7 million for the other obligors of NYCRS. PRESENT VALUE OF BENEFITS: The Present Value of Benefits is the discounted expected value of benefits paid to current members if all assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases. Future new hires are not included in this present value. INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES as of June 30, 2025 ($ in Millions) Present Value (PV) NYCERS TRS BERS (1) PV of Employer Contributions: 192.0 1,431.5 57.2 (2) PV of Employee Contributions: (8.4) (308.5) (8.9) Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2): 183.5 1,123.0 48.2 UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past service. Changes in UAL were amortized over the expected remaining working life- time of those impacted using level dollar payments. AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY NYCERS TRS BERS Increase (Decrease) in UAL: 59.5 M 527.5 M 11.6 M Number of Payments: 19 20 19 Amortization Payment: 6.0 M 51.5 M 1.2 M CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on preliminary census data collected as of June 30, 2025. The census data for the impacted population is summarized below. NYCERS TRS BERS Active Members - Number Count: 28,288 41,556 13,592 - Average Age: 32.0 32.5 27.8 - Average Service: 4.9 5.9 1.5 - Average Salary: 83,500 90,400 34,900 IMPACT ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, Tier 6 NYCRS members are eligi- ble for unreduced service retirement under the Tier 6 basic plan upon attainment of age 63 with at least 5 years of credited service. Members may retire as early as age 55 with a reduction of 6.5% for each year that retirement precedes age 63. Under the proposed legislation, Tier 6 members would be eligible for unreduced service retirement under the Tier 6 basic plan upon attainment of age 55 with at least 30 years of credited service. ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The estimates presented herein have been calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods of the impacted retirement systems. In addition:S. 10002 9 * New entrants were assumed to replace exiting members so that total payroll increases by 3% each year for impacted groups. New entrant demo- graphics were developed based on data for recent new hires and actuarial judgement. * Retirement rates were adjusted on and after age 55 and 30 years of service to reflect the change in the plan provisions. * In systems where the 55/30 plan was not available, assumptions were applied based on current plan offerings. 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 2026-64 dated April 17, 2026 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2026 Legislative Session.