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S04001 Summary:

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S04001 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         4001--B
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 25, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. ORTT, CARLUCCI, GALLIVAN, KENNEDY, PERSAUD, RANZEN-
          HOFER, SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when  printed  to
          be  committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions -- recom-
          mitted to the Committee on Civil Service and  Pensions  in  accordance
          with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and  recommitted  to  said  committee  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
          providing  county  correction  officers with a special optional twenty
          year retirement plan
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
     2  a new article 14-C to read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE 14-C
     4      OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PLAN FOR COUNTY CORRECTION OFFICERS OR DEPUTY
     5                 SHERIFFS PERFORMING AS CORRECTION OFFICERS
     6  Section 561. Definitions.
     7          562. Optional  twenty  year  retirement plan for certain members
     8                 whose employer elects to provide same.
     9          563. Additional pension benefit for members of  optional  twenty
    10                 year retirement plan.
    11          564. Consistent provisions.
    12    § 561. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
    13    (a)  "Member"  shall  mean  a  person  who  is  employed  as  a county
    14  correction officer or a  deputy  sheriff  who  is  engaged  directly  in
    15  correction  officer  duties  that  aggregate  fifty  per centum of their
    16  service by a county which  elects  by  resolution  or  local  law,  duly
    17  adopted, to provide the benefits as authorized by this article.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09277-06-6
        S. 4001--B                          2
 
     1    (b)  "Retirement  system"  shall  mean  the  New  York state and local
     2  employees' retirement system.
     3    (c)  "Creditable service" shall include any and all services performed
     4  as a sheriff, undersheriff or deputy  sheriff,  or  correction  officer.
     5  Credit  for  service  as a member or officer of the state police or as a
     6  paid fireman, policeman or officer of any organized fire  department  or
     7  police  force  or  department  of  any county, city, village, town, fire
     8  district or police district, shall  also  be  deemed  to  be  creditable
     9  service  and  shall  be included in computing years of total service for
    10  retirement pursuant to this section, provided such service was performed
    11  by the member while contributing to the retirement  system  pursuant  to
    12  the provisions of this article or article eight of this chapter.
    13    §  562. Optional twenty year retirement plan for certain members whose
    14  employer elects to provide same. (a) Any member of the retirement system
    15  may elect to become a member pursuant to the provisions of this  section
    16  within one year after he or she becomes a member, if his or her employer
    17  has  elected  to make the benefits provided by this section available to
    18  members, or within one year after his or her employer elects to make the
    19  benefits provided by this section available to its members.
    20    (b) Elections made pursuant to this section shall be  in  writing  and
    21  shall  be  duly  acknowledged and filed with the comptroller. Any member
    22  who files such an election pursuant to  this  section  may  withdraw  it
    23  after it has been filed for at least a year. Such withdrawal shall be by
    24  written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.
    25    (c) A member participating on the basis of this section at the time of
    26  retirement  shall  be  entitled to retire after the completion of twenty
    27  years of total creditable service or upon the attainment of  age  sixty-
    28  two,  by  filing  an  application  therefor  in a manner similar to that
    29  provided in this chapter.
    30    (i) Upon completion of twenty years of such service and  upon  retire-
    31  ment, each such member shall receive a pension sufficient to provide him
    32  or  her  with a retirement allowance equal to one-fortieth of his or her
    33  final average salary for each year  of  total  creditable  services  for
    34  which he or she is otherwise entitled but not exceeding in the aggregate
    35  one-half of his or her final average salary.
    36    (ii)  Upon  attainment  of  age  sixty-two and upon retirement without
    37  completion of twenty years of  such  service,  each  such  member  shall
    38  receive  a  pension  sufficient  to provide him or her with a retirement
    39  allowance equal to one-fortieth of his or her final average  salary  for
    40  each  year  of creditable service. Every such member shall also be enti-
    41  tled to an additional pension equal to the pension for any other credit-
    42  able service rendered as otherwise provided for in this chapter.    This
    43  latter  pension shall not increase the total allowance to more than one-
    44  half of his or her final average salary.
    45    (d) The increased pensions  to  such  members,  as  provided  by  this
    46  section, shall be paid from additional contributions made by the partic-
    47  ipating  employer on account of such members. The actuary of the retire-
    48  ment system shall compute the additional contribution required for  each
    49  member  who  elects  to receive the special benefits provided under this
    50  section. Such additional contributions shall be computed on the basis of
    51  contributions during the prospective service of such member  which  will
    52  cover  the  liability  of the retirement system for such extra pensions.
    53  Upon approval of the comptroller, such additional contributions shall be
    54  certified by him or her to the chief fiscal officer or the participating
    55  employer. The amount thereof shall be included in the  annual  appropri-
    56  ation  of  the  participating employer. Such amount shall be paid on the
        S. 4001--B                          3
 
     1  warrant of the chief fiscal officer of the participating employer to the
     2  pension accumulation fund of the retirement system.
     3    (e)  In  computing  the twenty years of completed service of a member,
     4  full credit shall be given for military service as defined  in  subdivi-
     5  sions  twenty-nine-a  and  thirty  of  section three hundred two of this
     6  chapter.
     7    (f) Every member participating on the basis of this section  shall  be
     8  separated  from  the  service on the last day of the calendar month next
     9  succeeding the calendar month in which he or she attains age  sixty-two,
    10  provided,  however, that such a member who attained the age of sixty-two
    11  before his or her employer elected to make the benefits provided by this
    12  section available to him or her, or who attains  the  age  of  sixty-two
    13  within  one  month  after his or her employer makes such benefits avail-
    14  able, to be eligible for a  pension  computed  in  accordance  with  the
    15  provisions  of  this section, shall be separated from the service within
    16  three months after his or her employer makes such benefits available.
    17    (g) The provisions of this section shall be controlling  notwithstand-
    18  ing any other provision of this article to the contrary.
    19    (h)  The  benefits  of  this  section shall be available only to those
    20  members whose employer elects to provide such  benefits  by  adopting  a
    21  resolution or local law to such effect and filing a certified copy ther-
    22  eof with the comptroller.
    23    (i)  The  benefits  provided  by  this  section  shall be payable to a
    24  member, unless at the date of retirement such member would otherwise  be
    25  entitled to a greater benefit under other provisions of this chapter had
    26  he or she withdrawn from this section, in which event such greater bene-
    27  fits shall be payable.
    28    §  563. Additional pension benefit for members of optional twenty year
    29  retirement plan. (a) A participating  employer  which  has  elected,  or
    30  which elects to provide the benefits of the optional twenty year retire-
    31  ment  plan  for  its employees as specified in this article may elect to
    32  make contributions for the purpose of providing  an  additional  pension
    33  pursuant to this section for members in its employ who are entitled to a
    34  pension  pursuant  to  section  five  hundred sixty-two of this article.
    35  Every member employed by an employer which has elected the provisions of
    36  section five hundred sixty-two of this  article  and  this  section  may
    37  elect to be covered by the provisions of this section by filing with the
    38  comptroller, a duly executed and acknowledged form prepared by the comp-
    39  troller for that purpose.
    40    (b)  Upon retirement, each such member shall receive, for each year of
    41  service in excess of twenty, an additional pension which shall be  equal
    42  to  one-sixtieth  of his or her final average salary; provided, however,
    43  that the total allowance payable pursuant  to  this  section  shall  not
    44  exceed three-quarters of such member's final average salary.
    45    §  564. Consistent provisions. Nothing contained in this article shall
    46  be construed to otherwise affect the applicability  of  article  eleven,
    47  fourteen  or fifteen of this chapter. Any other provisions of this chap-
    48  ter relating to mandatory contribution to the  retirement  system  based
    49  upon a member's date of membership in such system shall not be deemed to
    50  be affected by the provisions of this article, and any member who on the
    51  effective  date  of this article is not required to contribute shall not
    52  be required to make any contributions as a result of this  section.  For
    53  those  members  required  to  contribute  to the retirement system, such
    54  contribution shall be treated in the same manner as specified  for  such
    55  members in article fourteen or fifteen of this chapter.
        S. 4001--B                          4
 
     1    § 2. Any past service payments required of a county as a result of the
     2  adoption  of  the benefits permitted by this act may be amortized over a
     3  period of up to ten years at the option of such county.
     4    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This  bill  will allow any county to elect to provide their correction
        officers and deputy sheriffs  who  are  engaged  in  correction  officer
        duties  to become covered by the provisions of a special 20 year retire-
        ment plan, which will provide a benefit of  one-half  of  final  average
        salary upon retirement.  The county may also elect an additional benefit
        of  one  sixtieth  of  final  average salary for each year of service in
        excess of 20 years, not to exceed 15 such years.
          If this bill is enacted, the increase in the annual contributions of a
        county electing to provide these benefits will  depend  on  the  current
        salary  and plan coverage of the affected members in its employ, as well
        as on the proposed plan elected by such  county.  For  the  fiscal  year
        ending  March  31, 2017, the additional annual cost for the 20 year plan
        will be 4.8% of the affected correction  officers'  salaries  for  those
        currently covered by a 25 year plan, and 7.3% of the affected correction
        officers'  salaries  for  those currently covered by an age 55 plan. The
        additional annual cost for the 20 year plan  with  additional  sixtieths
        will  be  an  additional 0.5% of the affected salaries. In future years,
        this annual cost will vary as the billing rates of these plans change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an immediate past service cost for the  affected  officers  which  would
        depend  on  the  current  salary, plan, age and length of service of the
        officers, as well as on their proposed plan. This cost may be  amortized
        over  a  period  of up to 10 years as determined by the employing county
        which elects this benefit.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
        change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
        ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2015
        Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive Annual Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2015
        Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes
        Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit Control.
          The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2015
        New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
        Supplementary Information.
          I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
        fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
          This estimate, dated January 14,  2016,  and  intended  for  use  only
        during  the  2016  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2016-34,
        prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
        System.