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S04440 Summary:

S04440 Actions:

S04440 Committee Votes:

S04440 Floor Votes:

S04440 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4440
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 4, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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
          providing death benefits for correction officers  employed  by  Nassau
          county

          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 section 508-b to read as follows:
     3    § 508-b. Death benefits for correction  officers  employed  by  Nassau
     4  county.  a. As used in this section, the term "correction officer" shall
     5  mean a person employed by Nassau  county  with  a  title  of  correction
     6  recruit,  correction  officer, correction corporal, correction sergeant,
     7  correction lieutenant, or correction captain.
     8    b. Notwithstanding any provision of  law  to  the  contrary,  where  a
     9  correction  officer  would  have  been  entitled to a service retirement
    10  benefit at the time of his or her death  and  where  his  or  her  death
    11  occurs  on  or after the effective date of this section, the beneficiary
    12  or beneficiaries may elect to receive, in a lump sum, an amount  payable
    13  which  shall be equal to the pension reserve that would have been estab-
    14  lished had the member retired on the date of his or her  death,  or  the
    15  value  of the death benefit and the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay,
    16  if any, whichever is greater.
    17    § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
    18  section 606-b to read as follows:
    19    § 606-b. Death benefits for correction  officers  employed  by  Nassau
    20  county.  a. As used in this section, the term "correction officer" shall
    21  mean a person employed by Nassau  county  with  a  title  of  correction
    22  recruit,  correction  officer, correction corporal, correction sergeant,
    23  correction lieutenant, or correction captain.
    24    b. Notwithstanding any provision of  law  to  the  contrary,  where  a
    25  correction  officer  would  have  been  entitled to a service retirement
    26  benefit at the time of his or her death  and  where  his  or  her  death
    27  occurs  on  or after the effective date of this section, the beneficiary
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08569-02-1
        S. 4440                             2

     1  or beneficiaries may elect to receive, in a lump sum, an amount  payable
     2  which  shall be equal to the pension reserve that would have been estab-
     3  lished had the member retired on the date of his or her  death,  or  the
     4  value  of the death benefit and the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay,
     5  if any, whichever is greater.
     6    §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
     7  provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Nassau and may be
     8  amortized over a period of ten years.
     9    §  4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
    10  of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
    11  requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
    12    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This  bill  would  modify  the in-service death benefit for retirement
        eligible tiers 3 through 6 members of  the  New  York  State  and  Local
        Employees'  Retirement  System  who  are  employed  by  Nassau County in
        certain correction officer job titles. The in-service death benefit will
        be the value of the pension reserve as if  the  member  had  retired  on
        their date of death.
          If this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
        ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $55,000 in the
        annual contributions of Nassau County for the fiscal year  ending  March
        31,  2022. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
        salary of the affected members change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an immediate past service cost of approximately $778,000 which  will  be
        borne  by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on
        the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2022. If  Nassau
        County  elects to amortize this cost over a 10 year period, the cost for
        the first year including interest would be $103,000.
          These estimated costs are based on 787 affected  members  employed  by
        Nassau  County,  with annual salary of approximately $94.9 million as of
        March 31, 2020.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          Membership data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the  impact
        of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
        al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
        2020 Report of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
        Report.
          The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
        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, 2020
        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  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  February  1,  2021,  and intended for use only
        during the  2021  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2021-64,
        prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System.