Provides earnings limitations for retired police officers employed part-time by municipalities with a population of less than 25,000; permits such officer to work up to five hundred twenty hours in any consecutive six-month period, with no suspension or diminution of retirement allowance; establishes villages or towns shall report such hours and salary earned on a monthly basis.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4905--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- 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 to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
calculating the earnings limitations for retired police officers
employed part-time by certain municipalities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 212 of the retirement and social security law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
3 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this
4 section, such earnings limitations shall not apply to a retired police
5 officer employed part-time as a police officer in a village or town with
6 a population of less than twenty-five thousand as determined by the most
7 recent federal decennial census, where at least seventy percent of such
8 village or town's active-duty police force, not including civilian
9 staff, consists of part-time officers. Such part-time police officer
10 shall be permitted to work up to five hundred twenty hours in any
11 consecutive six-month period in a calendar year based on hours worked as
12 reported by the village or town on a monthly basis, with no suspension
13 or diminution of retirement allowance. Any village or town that hires a
14 retired police officer pursuant to this subdivision shall report such
15 officer's days worked and salary earned to the New York state and local
16 police and fire retirement system on a monthly basis.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
Insofar as it would affect the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), this bill would allow retired police
officers to continue to receive their full retirement benefit even when
reemployed as a police officer on a part-time basis for up to 520 hours
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09569-05-3
S. 4905--A 2
in any consecutive six-month period, provided that such employment is by
a village or town where (1) the municipal population is less than
25,000, and (2) at least 70% of the police force is employed on a part-
time basis. Currently, the post-retirement earnings limit is $35,000.
If this bill were enacted during the 2023 legislative session, the
direct cost incurred would be the retiree's post-retirement earnings
more than $35,000 each calendar year, not to exceed the full pension
benefit paid by the NYSLPFRS during that period.
The number of members and retirees who could be affected by this
legislation cannot be readily determined. For an average retiree hired
pursuant to this proposal, an annual cost of $40,000 is expected.
In addition to the direct costs quoted above, insofar as this proposal
disrupts the usual pattern and timing of employee turnover (that is, if
members retire earlier than assumed and participating employers hire a
retiree instead of a new billable member), shifts in member behavior
could generate losses that increase the average billing rate in 20-year
and 25-year service-based plans from 27.8% to 30.8%. The actual increase
in billing rates will depend upon member and employer utilization, with
the rate above representing an upper limit.
Further, we anticipate additional administrative costs to implement
the provisions of this legislation.
Based on the 2020 census, approximately 95% of towns and villages in
New York State would satisfy the population requirement associated with
this proposal. These employers represent approximately 20% of the total
NYSLPFRS membership.
All costs will be shared by the State of New York and all participat-
ing employers in the NYSLPFRS and spread over future billing cycles.
Since this proposal exclusively benefits retirees, the increased costs
are primarily attributable to retirees from Tiers 1 through 3. Approxi-
mately half the contributions required to fund this proposal will be
collected on salary reported for current members of Tier 6.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2022 Report of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020,
2021, and 2022 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, 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, 2022
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 April 17, 2023, and intended for use only during
the 2023 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-89, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
