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S06796 Summary:

S06796 Actions:

S06796 Committee Votes:

S06796 Floor Votes:

S06796 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6796
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      May 17, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  BROOKS -- 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
          death benefits for deputy sheriffs employed by Suffolk 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 deputy sheriffs employed by Suffolk  coun-
     4  ty. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, where a deputy
     5  sheriff  would have been entitled to a service retirement benefit at the
     6  time of his or her death and where his or her death occurs on  or  after
     7  the effective date of this section, the beneficiary or beneficiaries may
     8  elect  to receive, in a lump sum, an amount payable which shall be equal
     9  to the pension reserve that would have been established had  the  member
    10  retired on the date of his or her death, or the value of the death bene-
    11  fit  and  the  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay, if any, whichever is
    12  greater.
    13    § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
    14  section 606-b to read as follows:
    15    § 606-b. Death benefits for deputy sheriffs employed by Suffolk  coun-
    16  ty. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, where a deputy
    17  sheriff  would have been entitled to a service retirement benefit at the
    18  time of his or her death and where his or her death occurs on  or  after
    19  the effective date of this section, the beneficiary or beneficiaries may
    20  elect  to receive, in a lump sum, an amount payable which shall be equal
    21  to the pension reserve that would have been established had  the  member
    22  retired on the date of his or her death, or the value of the death bene-
    23  fit  and  the  reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay, if any, whichever is
    24  greater.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06764-02-1
        S. 6796                             2
 
     1    § 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  none
     2  of  the  provisions  of  this  act shall be subject to the appropriation
     3  requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
     4    §  4. All past service costs associated with this act shall be paid by
     5  Suffolk county.
     6    § 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 Suffolk County
        Deputy Sheriffs who are retirement eligible in Tiers 3 through 6 of  the
        New  York  State  and Local Employees' Retirement System. 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 $29,000 in the
        annual contributions of Suffolk County for the fiscal year ending  March
        31,  2022. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
        salaries of those affected change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an immediate past service cost of approximately $384,000 which  will  be
        borne by Suffolk County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on
        the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2022.
          These  estimated  costs  are based on 247 affected members employed by
        Suffolk County, with annual salary of approximately $35  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 May 11, 2021, and intended for  use  only  during
        the  2021  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-136, prepared by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.