STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4441
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 4, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 correction officers 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 correction officers employed by Suffolk
4 county. 1. As used in this section, the term "correction officer" shall
5 have the same meaning as in subdivision e of section eighty-nine-f of
6 this chapter.
7 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, where a
8 correction officer would have been entitled to a service retirement
9 benefit at the time of his or her death and where his or her death
10 occurs on or after the effective date of this section, the beneficiary
11 or beneficiaries may elect to receive, in a lump sum, an amount payable
12 which shall be equal to the pension reserve that would have been estab-
13 lished had the member retired on the date of his or her death, or the
14 value of the death benefit and the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay,
15 if any, whichever is greater.
16 § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
17 section 606-b to read as follows:
18 § 606-b. Death benefits for correction officers employed by Suffolk
19 county. 1. As used in this section, the term "correction officer" shall
20 have the same meaning as in subdivision e of section eighty-nine-f of
21 this chapter.
22 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, where a
23 correction officer would have been entitled to a service retirement
24 benefit at the time of his or her death and where his or her death
25 occurs on or after the effective date of this section, the beneficiary
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08571-02-1
S. 4441 2
1 or beneficiaries may elect to receive, in a lump sum, an amount payable
2 which shall be equal to the pension reserve that would have been estab-
3 lished had the member retired on the date of his or her death, or the
4 value of the death benefit and the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay,
5 if any, whichever is greater.
6 § 3. All past service costs associated with implementing the
7 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Suffolk and may
8 be amortized over a period of ten years.
9 § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
10 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation
11 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
12 § 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 retirement
eligible tiers 3 through 6 members of the New York State and Local
Employees' Retirement System who are employed by Suffolk County in
certain correction officer job titles. 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 legislation is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we
anticipate that there will be an increase in the annual contributions of
Suffolk County of approximately $64,000 for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2022. In the future, 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 $930,000 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. If Suffolk
County elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
the first year would be $123,000.
These estimated costs are based on 95 affected members employed by
Suffolk County, with annual salary of approximately $117 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 January 29, 2021, and intended for use only
during the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-64,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
