Provides that a retired state employee who does not have the required years of service to continue in the health benefit plan shall be eligible to continue in the health benefit plan, if such employee has purchased military service credit and the sum of the employee's years of service and purchased military service credit is equal to or exceeds the years of service required to continue in the health benefit plan in retirement.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9037
IN SENATE
May 4, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- (at request of the Department of Civil
Service) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to state health
insurance benefits for veterans
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 163 of the civil service law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the
4 contrary, a retired state employee who does not have the required years
5 of service to continue in the health benefit plan shall be eligible to
6 continue in the health benefit plan, if such employee has purchased
7 military service credit pursuant to article twenty of the retirement and
8 social security law and the sum of the employee's years of service and
9 purchased military service credit is equal to or exceeds the years of
10 service required to continue in the health benefit plan in retirement.
11 Such employees must furnish written verification of purchased military
12 service credit from a public retirement system of the state to the
13 department. Retired employees eligible for participation in the health
14 benefit plan pursuant to this provision shall have the same rights and
15 privileges as all other retired employees in the health benefit plan.
16 Retired state employees who become eligible for enrollment based on the
17 provision of this section can enroll in the health plan prospectively,
18 but are not entitled to retroactive coverage.
19 (b) Upon written notification to the department, participating employ-
20 ers in the health benefit plan may elect to allow retired employees who
21 do not have the required years of service to continue in the health
22 benefit plan, if such employees have purchased military service credit
23 pursuant to article twenty of the retirement and social security law and
24 the sum of the employee's years of service and purchased military
25 service credit is equal to or exceeds the years of service required to
26 continue in the health benefit plan in retirement. Such employees must
27 furnish written verification of purchased military service credit from a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13693-01-2
S. 9037 2
1 public retirement system of the state to the department and the employer
2 from which they retired. Retired employees eligible for participation in
3 the health benefit plan pursuant to this provision shall have the same
4 rights and privileges as all other retired employees in the health bene-
5 fit plan.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
