Authorizes a municipality to increase the number of years of service that a participant in a defined contribution plan or defined benefit plan service award program may receive a contribution for up to an additional ten years, to a maximum of fifty years; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1091--A
Cal. No. 158
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. GAUGHRAN, BROOKS, COMRIE, HINCHEY, MANNION -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Local Government -- reported favorably from said commit-
tee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading,
amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of
third reading
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing a
municipality to increase the number of years of service that a partic-
ipant in a defined contribution plan service award program or a
defined benefit plan service award program may receive a contribution
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (b) of section 218 of the general municipal
2 law, as amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 (b) The sponsor of a defined contribution plan shall contribute to the
5 plan a fixed amount of money, as determined by the sponsor, on behalf of
6 each participant who is credited with a year of service. The minimum and
7 maximum contribution requirements for a defined contribution service
8 award program shall be as follows. The minimum contribution shall be one
9 hundred twenty dollars per year of service. The maximum contribution
10 shall be twelve hundred dollars per year of service. The maximum number
11 of years of service for which a participant may receive a contribution
12 shall be forty years. The sponsor shall appropriate annually an amount
13 sufficient to pay the contributions. The governing board of a political
14 subdivision may extend the maximum number of years of service for which
15 a participant may receive a contribution for up to an additional ten
16 years, to a maximum of fifty years, and such increases in the number of
17 years may be added in multiple increments or in a single action, pursu-
18 ant to the adoption of the required resolution or resolutions of the
19 governing board, receiving the affirmative vote of at least sixty
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04001-02-1
S. 1091--A 2
1 percent of the governing board of the political subdivision, and the
2 approval of any mandatory referendum or referenda authorizing the exten-
3 sion of benefits under the program by eligible voters within such poli-
4 tical subdivision.
5 § 2. Subdivision (b) of section 219 of the general municipal law, as
6 amended by chapter 452 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
7 follows:
8 (b) The minimum and maximum retirement benefit requirements for a
9 service award program that is a defined benefit plan shall be defined as
10 follows. Each participating active volunteer firefighter shall be enti-
11 tled to a minimum service award benefit of five dollars per month for
12 each year of firefighting service completed after satisfying the
13 program's eligibility requirement and after establishment of the
14 program. The maximum benefit amount payable to a participating active
15 volunteer firefighter entitled to a benefit shall be determined on the
16 basis of an actuarial valuation. The valuation shall take into account
17 the age, and such other factors as the actuary deems appropriate, of the
18 eligible participating active volunteer firefighters and the amount of
19 available financing available per active covered volunteer firefighter.
20 The maximum service award under a service award program shall be a
21 monthly payment, payable for life, that does not exceed an amount equal
22 to thirty dollars for each year of firefighting service credited under
23 the terms of the program to a maximum of forty years of firefighting
24 service. The governing board of a political subdivision may extend the
25 maximum number of years of service for which a participant may receive a
26 contribution for up to an additional ten years, to a maximum of fifty
27 years, and such increases in the number of years may be added in multi-
28 ple increments or in a single action, pursuant to the adoption of the
29 required resolution or resolutions of the governing board, receiving the
30 affirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the governing board of the
31 political subdivision, and the approval of any mandatory referendum or
32 referenda authorizing the extension of benefits under the program by
33 eligible voters within such political subdivision.
34 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
35 current and future participants.
