STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9100--A
IN SENATE
February 3, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT in relation to authorizing Tina Russo to receive a recalculation
of her retirement benefit from the New York state teachers' retirement
system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, Tina
2 Russo, a member of the New York state teachers' retirement system, who
3 retired on February 1, 2025, after serving as a teacher for the state of
4 New York for twenty-nine years and seven months and whose full-time
5 service credit was calculated incorrectly, through no fault of her own,
6 shall have her pension with the New York state teachers' retirement
7 system recalculated without an early retirement reduction, on or before
8 one year after the effective date of this act, if she shall file a writ-
9 ten request to that effect with the New York state teachers' retirement
10 system. Such recalculation of her pension benefit shall be retroactive
11 to her date of retirement.
12 § 2. All costs associated with the implementation of this act shall be
13 borne by the employers of the members of the New York state teachers'
14 retirement system.
15 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Bill Description:
This fiscal note is prepared for legislative bill draft #14501-07-6.
This bill would allow Tina Russo, a retired Tier 4 member of the New
York State Teachers' Retirement System, to recalculate her pension with-
out an early retirement reduction based on 29 years and 7 months of
service credit. Currently, Tier 4 members who retire with less than
thirty years of service have an early age reduction applied to their
benefit amount. This bill would provide Ms. Russo with recalculated
adjustments to payments made retroactive to her date of retirement of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14501-09-6
S. 9100--A 2
February 1, 2025. Ms. Russo must file a written request with the head
of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System within one year of the
effective date of this bill.
Cost:
The cost of this benefit is estimated to be $275,000 which is equal to
the increase in the present value of liabilities. This cost is to be
borne by the participating employers of the New York State Teachers'
Retirement System.
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 the
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, 2026-44, dated April 13, 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.
