Bill Text: NY S07757 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to age and services eligibility requirements for ordinary retirement for members of the unified court system; restores 55/30 for all members and reduces the retirement age from 63 to 62.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2014-12-17 - VETOED MEMO.568 [S07757 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S07757-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7757
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     June 5, 2014
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- 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
         eligibility for retirement benefits for certain members of the unified
         court system
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision a of section 503 of the retirement  and  social
    2  security  law,  as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended
    3  to read as follows:
    4    a. The normal service retirement benefit  specified  in  section  five
    5  hundred  four of this article shall be payable to general members, other
    6  than elective members, who have met  the  minimum  service  requirements
    7  upon  retirement  and  attainment of age sixty-two, provided, however, a
    8  general member who is a peace officer  employed  by  the  unified  court
    9  system  or  a member of a teachers' retirement system may retire without
   10  reduction of his or her retirement benefit upon attainment of  at  least
   11  fifty-five  years  of  age  and  completion  of  thirty or more years of
   12  service. For members who become members of the New York state and  local
   13  employees'  retirement  system  on  or  after  April first, two thousand
   14  twelve, the normal service retirement benefits specified in section five
   15  hundred four of this article shall be payable to general members,  other
   16  than  elective  members,  who  have met the minimum service requirements
   17  upon retirement and attainment of  age  sixty-three;  PROVIDED  THAT,  A
   18  MEMBER  WHO  IS A PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM MAY
   19  RETIRE WITHOUT REDUCTION OF HIS OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFIT  UPON  ATTAIN-
   20  MENT  OF  AT  LEAST  FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR
   21  MORE YEARS OF SERVICE.
   22    S 2. Subdivisions a and a-1 of  section  603  of  the  retirement  and
   23  social  security  law,  subdivision  a as amended and subdivision a-1 as
   24  added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
   25    a. The service retirement benefit specified  in  section  six  hundred
   26  four  of this article shall be payable to members who have met the mini-
   27  mum service requirements upon retirement and attainment  of  age  sixty-
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD14479-03-4
       S. 7757                             2
    1  two,  other  than  members who are eligible for early service retirement
    2  pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-b of this article,
    3  subdivision c of section six hundred four-c of this article, subdivision
    4  d  of  section  six  hundred  four-d  of  this article, subdivision c of
    5  section six hundred four-e of this article, subdivision c of section six
    6  hundred four-f of this article, subdivision c  of  section  six  hundred
    7  four-g  of  this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-h of
    8  this article or subdivision c of section  six  hundred  four-i  of  this
    9  article, provided, however, a member of a teachers' retirement system or
   10  the  New  York  state  and  local employees' retirement system who first
   11  joins such system before January first, two thousand ten or a member who
   12  is a uniformed court officer or peace officer employed  by  the  unified
   13  court system [who first becomes a member of the New York state and local
   14  employees'  retirement  system  before April first, two thousand twelve]
   15  may retire without reduction of  his  or  her  retirement  benefit  upon
   16  attainment  of at least fifty-five years of age and completion of thirty
   17  or more years of service, provided,  however,  that  a  uniformed  court
   18  officer  or peace officer employed by the unified court system who first
   19  becomes a member of the New York state and local  employees'  retirement
   20  system  on  or after January first, two thousand ten and retires without
   21  reduction of his or her retirement benefit upon attainment of  at  least
   22  fifty-five  years  of  age  and  completion  of  thirty or more years of
   23  service pursuant to this section shall be required to  make  the  member
   24  contributions  required by subdivision f of section six hundred thirteen
   25  of this article for  all  years  of  credited  and  creditable  service,
   26  provided further that the [the] preceding provisions of this subdivision
   27  shall not apply to a New York city revised plan member.
   28    a-1.  For  members  who  first  become a member of a public retirement
   29  system of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve, EXCEPT
   30  FOR UNIFORMED COURT OFFICERS OR PEACE OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY  THE  UNIFIED
   31  COURT  SYSTEM,  the  service retirement benefit specified in section six
   32  hundred four of this article shall be payable to members  who  have  met
   33  the  minimum  service requirements upon retirement and have attained age
   34  sixty-three.
   35    S 3. Subdivisions a and b-1 of  section  604  of  the  retirement  and
   36  social  security  law,  subdivision  a as amended and subdivision b-1 as
   37  added by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, are amended to read as follows:
   38    a. The service retirement benefit  at  normal  retirement  age  for  a
   39  member  with  less  than  twenty years of credited service, or less than
   40  twenty-five years credited service for a member who joins the  New  York
   41  state  teachers'  retirement system on or after January first, two thou-
   42  sand ten, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of final
   43  average salary times years of credited service.  Normal  retirement  age
   44  for  members  who  first become members of a public retirement system of
   45  the state on or after April first, two  thousand  twelve  shall  be  age
   46  sixty-three;  EXCEPT  THAT  THE NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE SHALL BE SIXTY-TWO
   47  FOR A MEMBER WHO IS A PEACE OFFICER OR UNIFORMED COURT OFFICER  EMPLOYED
   48  BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM.
   49    b-1.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the contrary, the
   50  service retirement benefit for members with  twenty  or  more  years  of
   51  credit  service  who first become a member of a public retirement system
   52  of the state on or after April first, two thousand twelve at age  sixty-
   53  three,  OR  AT AGE SIXTY-TWO FOR UNIFORMED COURT OFFICERS OR PEACE OFFI-
   54  CERS EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, shall be a pension  equal  to
   55  the  sum  of  thirty-five  per  centum and one-fiftieth of final average
   56  salary for each year of service in excess of twenty times final  average
       S. 7757                             3
    1  salary times years of credited service. In no event shall any retirement
    2  benefit  payable without optional modification be less than the actuari-
    3  ally equivalent annuitized value of the member's  contributions  accumu-
    4  lated with interest at five percent per annum compounded annually to the
    5  date of retirement.
    6    S  4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
    7  ments to subdivision a of section 603 of the retirement and social secu-
    8  rity law made by section two of this act shall not affect the expiration
    9  of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire therewith.
         FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
         This bill will allow any Tier 6 member who is a uniformed court  offi-
       cer  or  peace  officer  employed  by the unified court system to retire
       without early age  reduction  upon  attaining  30  years  of  creditable
       service  and age 55. It would also reduce the normal retirement age from
       63 to 62, and lessen the reductions in benefits  for  those  who  retire
       prior to normal retirement age.
         If this legislation is enacted during the 2014 legislative session, we
       anticipate that there will be an increase in the annual contributions of
       the  state  of New York of approximately 1.0% of the compensation of the
       affected members. For the fiscal year ending March  31,  2015,  this  is
       estimated to be approximately $20,000.
         In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
       an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $11,300 which would be
       borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment. This  estimate  is
       based on the assumption that payment will be made on March 1, 2015.
         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, 2013  actuarial  valu-
       ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2013
       Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2013  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
       Report.
         The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2010,
       2011, 2012 and 2013  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, 2013
       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  May 15, 2014, and intended for use only during
       the 2014 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2014-113,  prepared  by
       the  Actuary  for  the  New  York  State and Local Employees' Retirement
       System.
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