Bill Text: NY S03968 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to supplemental military retirement allowances for members of public retirement systems of the state.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-3)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S03968 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03968-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3968 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 22, 2019 ___________ 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, the education law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to supplemental military retirement allowances for members of public retirement systems of the state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1000 of the retirement and social security law is 2 amended by adding a new subdivision 8-a to read as follows: 3 8-a. A person who retired prior to May thirty-first, two thousand 4 seventeen and who would have been entitled to the provisions of this 5 section, may make application to such retirement system no later than 6 December thirty-first, two thousand twenty for a supplemental military 7 retirement allowance pursuant to this subdivision. The supplemental 8 retirement allowance provided by this subdivision shall be in lieu of 9 any benefit otherwise provided pursuant to this section and any credit 10 granted for military service with any retirement system of this state 11 pursuant to any other section of law. Upon receipt of an application, 12 the retirement system shall determine the amount of service credit such 13 person would have been entitled to receive pursuant to subdivisions one 14 and two of this section, subject to the limitations contained in this 15 section. The supplemental military retirement allowance shall equal the 16 retirement allowance of such person, computed without optional modifica- 17 tion and not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars, multiplied by twenty- 18 five one-hundredths of one percent per month of the service credit as 19 determined pursuant to this subdivision. One-twelfth of the supple- 20 mental military retirement allowance shall be added to the retirement 21 allowance of such person each month. The benefit payable pursuant to 22 this section shall commence on the next retirement allowance payable at 23 least thirty days after the receipt of an application from such person. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08018-03-9S. 3968 2 1 For the purposes of this subdivision, retirement allowance shall exclude 2 any annuity derived from voluntary contributions made by the individual, 3 except those made pursuant to elections under subdivision one of section 4 five hundred eleven-a or paragraph c of subdivision three of section 5 five hundred sixteen of the education law, but shall include any cost of 6 living adjustment derived from sections seventy-eight-a and three 7 hundred seventy-eight-a of this chapter or section five hundred thirty- 8 two-a of the education law, as applicable. The benefit payable pursuant 9 to this subdivision shall be payable for the life of the retired member 10 only, except that the surviving spouse of a deceased member who retired 11 under an option providing a benefit to be continued for life to the 12 surviving spouse after the death of the member shall be entitled to 13 receive fifty percent of the monthly benefit that the retired member 14 would be receiving pursuant to this subdivision, if living, commencing 15 with the next retirement allowance payable at least thirty days after 16 receipt of an application from the retired member for the benefit or 17 payable after the death of the retired member. 18 § 2. Subdivision b of section 78-a of the retirement and social secu- 19 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to 20 read as follows: 21 b. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be a percentage of the annual 22 retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional 23 modification, but including any benefit derived from subdivision f of 24 this section [and], any prior year's cost-of-living adjustment derived 25 from this section and the amount of any supplemental military retirement 26 allowance derived from subdivision eight-a of section one thousand of 27 this chapter. Said percentage is set forth in subdivision d of this 28 section. 29 § 3. Subdivision b of section 378-a of the retirement and social secu- 30 rity law, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to 31 read as follows: 32 b. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be a percentage of the annual 33 retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional 34 modification, but including any benefit derived from subdivision f of 35 this section [and], any prior year's cost-of-living adjustment derived 36 from this section and the amount of any supplemental military retirement 37 allowance derived from subdivision eight-a of section one thousand of 38 this chapter. Said percentage is set forth in subdivision d of this 39 section. 40 § 4. Subdivision b of section 532-a of the education law, as added by 41 chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 42 b. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be a percentage of the annual 43 retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional 44 modification, excluding any annuity derived from voluntary contributions 45 made by members, except those made pursuant to elections under subdivi- 46 sion one of section five hundred eleven-a or paragraph c of subdivision 47 three of section five hundred sixteen of this article, but including any 48 benefit derived from subdivision f of this section [and], any prior 49 year's cost-of-living adjustment derived from this section and the 50 amount of any supplemental military retirement allowance derived from 51 subdivision eight-a of section one thousand of the retirement and social 52 security law. Said percentage is set forth in subdivision d of this 53 section. 54 § 5. Subdivision b of section 13-696 of the administrative code of the 55 city of New York, as added by chapter 125 of the laws of 2000, is 56 amended to read as follows:S. 3968 3 1 b. Said cost-of-living adjustment shall be a percentage of the annual 2 fixed retirement allowance otherwise payable, computed without optional 3 modification, but including any benefit derived from subdivision f of 4 this section [and], any prior year's cost-of-living adjustment derived 5 from this section and the amount of any supplemental military allowance 6 derived from subdivision eight-a of section one thousand of the retire- 7 ment and social security law. Said percentage is set forth in subdivi- 8 sion d of this section. 9 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would amend Section 1000 of the Retirement and Social Secu- rity Law to give veterans who retired prior to May 31, 2017, a supple- mental pension equal to their first $15,000 of single life allowance together with any cost of living adjustment, multiplied by 3% per year for up to three (3) years of such service credit for military service that would have been eligible if the member retired on or after such date. The surviving spouse of such a retired veteran who chose a contin- ued life benefit to the spouse shall receive half of what the deceased member would have received. There would not be any payment required by an affected retiree or surviving spouse for this supplemental pension. Such retiree may make application for the supplemental pension no later than December 31, 2020 and the payment of the benefit will begin with the next monthly pension payment payable at least 30 days after receipt of the application. The exact number of retirees that could be affected by this legis- lation cannot be readily determined. ERS Costs: Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Securi- ty Law, the increased cost to the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System would be borne entirely by the State of New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay the cost of the provision. Once a retiree applies for this benefit a cost will be generated, which will be billed to the State. PFRS Costs: These costs would be shared by the State of New York and the participating employers in the PFRS. 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, 2018 actuarial valu- ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2018 Report of the Actuary and the 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 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, 2018 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 February 13, 2019, and intended for use only during the 2019 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2019-77, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
