Bill Text: NY S07134 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to providing county correction officers with a special optional twenty year retirement plan.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 10-2)

Status: (Vetoed) 2018-12-21 - VETOED MEMO.316 [S07134 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07134-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7134
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 3, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  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
          providing  county  correction  officers with a special optional twenty
          year retirement plan
          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 article 14-C to read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE 14-C
     4      OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PLAN FOR COUNTY CORRECTION OFFICERS OR DEPUTY
     5                 SHERIFFS PERFORMING AS CORRECTION OFFICERS
     6  Section 561. Definitions.
     7          562. Optional  twenty  year  retirement plan for certain members
     8                 whose employer elects to provide same.
     9          563. Additional pension benefit for members of  optional  twenty
    10                 year retirement plan.
    11          564. Consistent provisions.
    12    § 561. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
    13    (a)  "Member"  shall  mean  a  person  who  is  employed  as  a county
    14  correction officer or a  deputy  sheriff  who  is  engaged  directly  in
    15  correction  officer  duties  that  aggregate  fifty  per centum of their
    16  service by a county which  elects  by  resolution  or  local  law,  duly
    17  adopted, to provide the benefits as authorized by this article.
    18    (b)  "Retirement  system"  shall  mean  the  New  York state and local
    19  employees' retirement system.
    20    (c) "Creditable service" shall include any and all services  performed
    21  as  a  sheriff,  undersheriff  or deputy sheriff, or correction officer.
    22  Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police  or  as  a
    23  paid  fireman,  policeman or officer of any organized fire department or
    24  police force or department of any  county,  city,  village,  town,  fire
    25  district  or  police  district,  shall  also  be deemed to be creditable
    26  service and shall be included in computing years of  total  service  for
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04153-04-7

        S. 7134                             2
     1  retirement pursuant to this section, provided such service was performed
     2  by  the  member  while contributing to the retirement system pursuant to
     3  the provisions of this article or article eight of this chapter.
     4    §  562. Optional twenty year retirement plan for certain members whose
     5  employer elects to provide same. (a) Any member of the retirement system
     6  may elect to become a member pursuant to the provisions of this  section
     7  within one year after he or she becomes a member, if his or her employer
     8  has  elected  to make the benefits provided by this section available to
     9  members, or within one year after his or her employer elects to make the
    10  benefits provided by this section available to its members.
    11    (b) Elections made pursuant to this section shall be  in  writing  and
    12  shall  be  duly  acknowledged and filed with the comptroller. Any member
    13  who files such an election pursuant to  this  section  may  withdraw  it
    14  after it has been filed for at least a year. Such withdrawal shall be by
    15  written notice duly acknowledged and filed with the comptroller.
    16    (c) A member participating on the basis of this section at the time of
    17  retirement  shall  be  entitled to retire after the completion of twenty
    18  years of total creditable service or upon the attainment of  age  sixty-
    19  two,  by  filing  an  application  therefor  in a manner similar to that
    20  provided in this chapter.
    21    (i) Upon completion of twenty years of such service and  upon  retire-
    22  ment, each such member shall receive a pension sufficient to provide him
    23  or  her  with a retirement allowance equal to one-fortieth of his or her
    24  final average salary for each year  of  total  creditable  services  for
    25  which he or she is otherwise entitled but not exceeding in the aggregate
    26  one-half of his or her final average salary.
    27    (ii)  Upon  attainment  of  age  sixty-two and upon retirement without
    28  completion of twenty years of  such  service,  each  such  member  shall
    29  receive  a  pension  sufficient  to provide him or her with a retirement
    30  allowance equal to one-fortieth of his or her final average  salary  for
    31  each  year  of creditable service. Every such member shall also be enti-
    32  tled to an additional pension equal to the pension for any other credit-
    33  able service rendered as otherwise provided for in this chapter.    This
    34  latter  pension shall not increase the total allowance to more than one-
    35  half of his or her final average salary.
    36    (d) The increased pensions  to  such  members,  as  provided  by  this
    37  section, shall be paid from additional contributions made by the partic-
    38  ipating  employer on account of such members. The actuary of the retire-
    39  ment system shall compute the additional contribution required for  each
    40  member  who  elects  to receive the special benefits provided under this
    41  section. Such additional contributions shall be computed on the basis of
    42  contributions during the prospective service of such member  which  will
    43  cover  the  liability  of the retirement system for such extra pensions.
    44  Upon approval of the comptroller, such additional contributions shall be
    45  certified by him or her to the chief fiscal officer or the participating
    46  employer. The amount thereof shall be included in the  annual  appropri-
    47  ation  of  the  participating employer. Such amount shall be paid on the
    48  warrant of the chief fiscal officer of the participating employer to the
    49  pension accumulation fund of the retirement system.
    50    (e) In computing the twenty years of completed service  of  a  member,
    51  full  credit  shall be given for military service as defined in subdivi-
    52  sions twenty-nine-a and thirty of section  three  hundred  two  of  this
    53  chapter.
    54    (f)  Every  member participating on the basis of this section shall be
    55  separated from the service on the last day of the  calendar  month  next
    56  succeeding  the calendar month in which he or she attains age sixty-two,

        S. 7134                             3
     1  provided, however, that such a member who attained the age of  sixty-two
     2  before his or her employer elected to make the benefits provided by this
     3  section  available  to  him  or her, or who attains the age of sixty-two
     4  within  one  month  after his or her employer makes such benefits avail-
     5  able, to be eligible for a  pension  computed  in  accordance  with  the
     6  provisions  of  this section, shall be separated from the service within
     7  three months after his or her employer makes such benefits available.
     8    (g) The provisions of this section shall be controlling  notwithstand-
     9  ing any other provision of this article to the contrary.
    10    (h)  The  benefits  of  this  section shall be available only to those
    11  members whose employer elects to provide such  benefits  by  adopting  a
    12  resolution or local law to such effect and filing a certified copy ther-
    13  eof with the comptroller.
    14    (i)  The  benefits  provided  by  this  section  shall be payable to a
    15  member, unless at the date of retirement such member would otherwise  be
    16  entitled to a greater benefit under other provisions of this chapter had
    17  he or she withdrawn from this section, in which event such greater bene-
    18  fits shall be payable.
    19    §  563. Additional pension benefit for members of optional twenty year
    20  retirement plan. (a) A participating  employer  which  has  elected,  or
    21  which elects to provide the benefits of the optional twenty year retire-
    22  ment  plan  for  its employees as specified in this article may elect to
    23  make contributions for the purpose of providing  an  additional  pension
    24  pursuant to this section for members in its employ who are entitled to a
    25  pension  pursuant  to  section  five  hundred sixty-two of this article.
    26  Every member employed by an employer which has elected the provisions of
    27  section five hundred sixty-two of this  article  and  this  section  may
    28  elect to be covered by the provisions of this section by filing with the
    29  comptroller, a duly executed and acknowledged form prepared by the comp-
    30  troller for that purpose.
    31    (b)  Upon retirement, each such member shall receive, for each year of
    32  service in excess of twenty, an additional pension which shall be  equal
    33  to  one-sixtieth  of his or her final average salary; provided, however,
    34  that the total allowance payable pursuant  to  this  section  shall  not
    35  exceed three-quarters of such member's final average salary.
    36    §  564. Consistent provisions. Nothing contained in this article shall
    37  be construed to otherwise affect the applicability  of  article  eleven,
    38  fourteen  or fifteen of this chapter. Any other provisions of this chap-
    39  ter relating to mandatory contribution to the  retirement  system  based
    40  upon a member's date of membership in such system shall not be deemed to
    41  be affected by the provisions of this article, and any member who on the
    42  effective  date  of this article is not required to contribute shall not
    43  be required to make any contributions as a result of this  section.  For
    44  those  members  required  to  contribute  to the retirement system, such
    45  contribution shall be treated in the same manner as specified  for  such
    46  members in article fourteen or fifteen of this chapter.
    47    § 2. Any past service payments required of a county as a result of the
    48  adoption  of  the benefits permitted by this act may be amortized over a
    49  period of up to ten years at the option of such county.
    50    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill will allow any county to elect to provide  their  correction
        officers  and  deputy  sheriffs  who  are  engaged in correction officer
        duties to become covered by the provisions of a special 20 year  retire-
        ment  plan,  which  will  provide a benefit of one-half of final average
        salary upon retirement. The county may also elect an additional  benefit

        S. 7134                             4
        of  one  sixtieth  of  final  average salary for each year of service in
        excess of 20 years, not to exceed 15 such years.
          If this bill is enacted, the increase in the annual contributions of a
        county  electing to provide these benefits will depend on the salary and
        plan coverage of the affected members in its employ.  For  the  20  year
        plan, the additional annual cost will be:
                    Current Plan     Tier 3&4    Tier 5        Tier 6
                      25-year         4.7%        5.0%          5.5%
                      Age 55          7.0%        7.5%          7.1%
          For  the 20 year plan with additional sixtieths, the additional annual
        cost will be:
                    Current Plan     Tier 3&4    Tier 5        Tier 6
                      25-year         5.2%        5.7%          6.4%
                      Age 55          7.5%        8.2%          8.0%
          These costs are stated as of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, as
        a percent of affected corrections officers'  salary.  In  future  years,
        this annual cost will vary as the billing rates of these plans change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an  immediate  past  service  cost for the affected officers which would
        depend on the current salary, plan, age and length  of  service  of  the
        officers,  as  well  as on the proposed plan. This cost may be amortized
        over a period of up to 10 years as determined by  the  employing  county
        which elects the benefit.
          Summary of relevant sources:
          The  membership  date  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
        change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017  actuarial  valu-
        ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2017
        Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2017  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
        Report.
          The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
        2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial  Assump-
        tions,  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, 2017
        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  estimate,  dated  December  8,  2017,  and intended for use only
        during the  2018  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2018-12,
        prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System.
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