Relates to transfer of retirement membership for SUNY employees within the professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit into the New York state and local employees' retirement system.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4518
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 8, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. SAVINO -- 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
transfer of retirement membership for employees of SUNY within the
professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit
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 618 to read as follows:
3 § 618. Transfer of membership into New York state and local employees'
4 retirement system. a. Definitions. Whenever used in this section:
5 1. The term "eligible employee" shall mean a person who as of the
6 effective date of this section is an employee of the state university of
7 New York in a position within the professional, scientific and technical
8 bargaining unit and who is as of said effective date a member of the
9 optional retirement program and who first became an employee of the
10 state university of New York on a date between January first, nineteen
11 hundred ninety-four and December thirty-first, two thousand and who is
12 still employed by the state university of New York as of the date said
13 employee files an application pursuant to subdivision b of this section.
14 2. The term "optional retirement program" shall mean the optional
15 retirement program established pursuant to article eight-B of the educa-
16 tion law.
17 b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an eligible employee
18 shall be allowed to become a member of the New York state and local
19 employees' retirement system by filing an application with said retire-
20 ment system no later than December thirty-first, two thousand twelve.
21 c. An eligible employee who files an application to become a member of
22 the New York state and local employees' retirement system shall be
23 deemed to be a member of that retirement system with a date of member-
24 ship as of the date said eligible employee was first employed by the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07894-01-1
S. 4518 2
1 state university of New York. The eligible employee's membership in the
2 optional retirement program shall terminate as of the date said applica-
3 tion is filed.
4 d. An eligible employee who becomes a member of the New York state and
5 local employees' retirement system pursuant to subdivision b of this
6 section shall begin accruing service credit in said retirement system as
7 of the date such application is filed, but said eligible employee shall
8 not be entitled to any previous service credit for any period of employ-
9 ment during which said eligible employee was a member of the optional
10 retirement program, except as provided in this section. An eligible
11 employee who becomes a member of the New York state and local employees'
12 retirement system pursuant to subdivision b of this section may elect to
13 purchase credit for previous service for any period during which said
14 employee was a member of the optional retirement program by filing an
15 application with the New York state and local employees' retirement
16 system no later than December thirty-first, two thousand twelve and by
17 paying to said retirement system an amount as determined by the comp-
18 troller equal to the full cost of such previous service credit
19 purchased. Said payment may be made by a transfer of funds from the
20 employee's optional retirement program account to the New York state and
21 local employees' retirement system. Said payment may also be made in one
22 payment by the employee or by payroll deduction over a period not to
23 exceed five years.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill will allow employees of the State University of New York
(SUNY) in a position within the Professional, Scientific and Technical
bargaining unit, who first became employed with SUNY between January 1,
1994 and December 31, 2000, and who enrolled in the Optional Retirement
Program, to terminate their memberships in the Optional Retirement
Program and to apply to become members of the New York State and Local
Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) as of such date of application.
Affected members will have to pay the entire past service cost as deter-
mined by the Comptroller in order to get retirement service credit for
the service rendered before their dates of membership.
If this bill is enacted, the number of employees who may be affected
by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For every employee who
does so elect, there will be an annual cost to the State of New York of
approximately 12.7% of salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
In addition to the annual cost above, for every member who elects this
benefit, there will be a past service cost that will depend on the age,
service and salary of the member. The members will be able to offset
this cost by the transfer of funds from their Optional Retirement
Program balances. For an individual member, if the amount transferred
from the Optional Retirement Program is less than the past service cost,
the member will have to make up the difference either as a one-time
payment or by making a series of payments over a period of five (5)
years.
This estimate, dated December 10, 2010 and intended for use only
during the 2011 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2011-55,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System.
