Bill Text: NY S04518 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to transfer of retirement membership for SUNY employees within the professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit into the New York state and local employees' retirement system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S04518 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S04518-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4518
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     April 8, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- 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
         transfer  of  retirement  membership  for employees of SUNY within the
         professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit
         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 618 to read as follows:
    3    S 618. TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP INTO NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES'
    4  RETIREMENT SYSTEM. A. DEFINITIONS. WHENEVER USED IN THIS SECTION:
    5    1.  THE  TERM  "ELIGIBLE  EMPLOYEE"  SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO AS OF THE
    6  EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION IS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF
    7  NEW YORK IN A POSITION WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL
    8  BARGAINING UNIT AND WHO IS AS OF SAID EFFECTIVE DATE  A  MEMBER  OF  THE
    9  OPTIONAL  RETIREMENT  PROGRAM  AND  WHO  FIRST BECAME AN EMPLOYEE OF THE
   10  STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK ON A DATE BETWEEN JANUARY  FIRST,  NINETEEN
   11  HUNDRED  NINETY-FOUR  AND DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND AND WHO IS
   12  STILL EMPLOYED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AS OF THE  DATE  SAID
   13  EMPLOYEE FILES AN APPLICATION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
   14    2.  THE  TERM  "OPTIONAL  RETIREMENT  PROGRAM" SHALL MEAN THE OPTIONAL
   15  RETIREMENT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE EIGHT-B OF THE EDUCA-
   16  TION LAW.
   17    B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW,  AN  ELIGIBLE  EMPLOYEE
   18  SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  TO  BECOME  A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL
   19  EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM BY FILING AN APPLICATION WITH SAID  RETIRE-
   20  MENT SYSTEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE.
   21    C. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO FILES AN APPLICATION TO BECOME A MEMBER OF
   22  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  AND  LOCAL  EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL BE
   23  DEEMED TO BE A MEMBER OF THAT RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITH A DATE  OF  MEMBER-
   24  SHIP  AS  OF  THE  DATE SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WAS FIRST EMPLOYED BY THE
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07894-01-1
       S. 4518                             2
    1  STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. THE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE'S MEMBERSHIP IN  THE
    2  OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM SHALL TERMINATE AS OF THE DATE SAID APPLICA-
    3  TION IS FILED.
    4    D. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND
    5  LOCAL  EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS
    6  SECTION SHALL BEGIN ACCRUING SERVICE CREDIT IN SAID RETIREMENT SYSTEM AS
    7  OF THE DATE SUCH APPLICATION IS FILED, BUT SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE  SHALL
    8  NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY PREVIOUS SERVICE CREDIT FOR ANY PERIOD OF EMPLOY-
    9  MENT  DURING  WHICH  SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WAS A MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL
   10  RETIREMENT PROGRAM, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED  IN  THIS  SECTION.  AN  ELIGIBLE
   11  EMPLOYEE WHO BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES'
   12  RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION MAY ELECT TO
   13  PURCHASE  CREDIT  FOR  PREVIOUS SERVICE FOR ANY PERIOD DURING WHICH SAID
   14  EMPLOYEE WAS A MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM  BY  FILING  AN
   15  APPLICATION  WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
   16  SYSTEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE  AND  BY
   17  PAYING  TO  SAID  RETIREMENT SYSTEM AN AMOUNT AS DETERMINED BY THE COMP-
   18  TROLLER  EQUAL  TO  THE  FULL  COST  OF  SUCH  PREVIOUS  SERVICE  CREDIT
   19  PURCHASED.  SAID  PAYMENT  MAY  BE  MADE BY A TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE
   20  EMPLOYEE'S OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM ACCOUNT TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND
   21  LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. SAID PAYMENT MAY ALSO BE MADE IN ONE
   22  PAYMENT BY THE EMPLOYEE OR BY PAYROLL DEDUCTION OVER  A  PERIOD  NOT  TO
   23  EXCEED FIVE YEARS.
   24    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
         FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
         This  bill  will  allow  employees of the State University of New York
       (SUNY) in a position within the Professional, Scientific  and  Technical
       bargaining  unit, who first became employed with SUNY between January 1,
       1994 and December 31, 2000, and who enrolled in the Optional  Retirement
       Program,  to  terminate  their  memberships  in  the Optional Retirement
       Program and to apply to become members of the New York State  and  Local
       Employees'  Retirement  System (NYSLERS) as of such date of application.
       Affected members will have to pay the entire past service cost as deter-
       mined by the Comptroller in order to get retirement service  credit  for
       the service rendered before their dates of membership.
         If  this  bill is enacted, the number of employees who may be affected
       by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For every employee who
       does so elect, there will be an annual cost to the State of New York  of
       approximately 12.7% of salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
         In addition to the annual cost above, for every member who elects this
       benefit,  there will be a past service cost that will depend on the age,
       service and salary of the member. The members will  be  able  to  offset
       this  cost  by  the  transfer  of  funds  from their Optional Retirement
       Program balances. For an individual member, if  the  amount  transferred
       from the Optional Retirement Program is less than the past service cost,
       the  member  will  have  to  make up the difference either as a one-time
       payment or by making a series of payments over  a  period  of  five  (5)
       years.
         This  estimate,  dated  December  10,  2010  and intended for use only
       during the  2011  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2011-55,
       prepared  by  the  Actuary  for the New York State and Local  Employees'
       Retirement System.