Provides that a member who first joins a public retirement system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve shall pay such retirement system, for deposit in the fund used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the product of the number of years of military service being claimed and three percent of such member's compensation earned during the twelve months of credited service immediately preceding the date that the member made application for credit; reduces such amount from six percent to three percent.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8349
IN SENATE
May 18, 2020
___________
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
certain honorably discharged veterans
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 1000 of the retirement and social
2 security law, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2016, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 9. Anything to the contrary in subdivision three of this section
5 notwithstanding, to obtain such credit, a member who first joins a
6 public retirement system of the state on or after April first, two thou-
7 sand twelve shall pay such retirement system, for deposit in the fund
8 used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the product of
9 the number of years of military service being claimed and [six] three
10 percent of such member's compensation earned during the twelve months of
11 credited service immediately preceding the date that the member made
12 application for credit pursuant to this section.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would decrease the amount of payment required for Tier 6
members who are obtaining military service credit pursuant to Section
1000 of the Retirement and Social Security Law. Under current law, a
Tier 6 member must pay a sum equal to the product of the number of years
of military service being claimed and six percent of such member's
compensation earned during the twelve months of credited service imme-
diately preceding the date that the member made application for credit.
This legislation would require such members to pay only three percent of
compensation per year of service being claimed.
If this bill is enacted, insofar as this proposal affects the New York
State and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS), it is estimated that
the past service cost will be 3% of an affected members' compensation
for each year of additional service credit that is purchased. For ERS,
this cost would be borne entirely by the State of New York.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15570-02-0
S. 8349 2
Insofar as this proposal affects the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), it is estimated that the past service
cost will be 3% of an affected members' compensation for each year of
additional service that is purchased. For PFRS, this cost would be
shared by the State of New York and the participating employers of the
PFRS.
The exact number of current members as well as future members who
could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
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, 2019 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2019
Report of the Actuary and the 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
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 8, 2020, and intended for use only during the
2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-113, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
