LBD11642-07-4
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TIGATOR SHALL HAVE BEEN RENDERED PRIOR TO JANUARY FIRST, NINETEEN
HUNDRED SIXTY AND THAT CREDIT THEREFOR SHALL NOT EXCEED FIVE YEARS,
SHALL ALSO BE DEEMED TO BE CREDITABLE SERVICE AND SHALL BE INCLUDED IN
COMPUTING YEARS OF TOTAL SERVICE FOR RETIREMENT PURSUANT TO THIS
SECTION, PROVIDED SUCH SERVICE WAS PERFORMED BY THE MEMBER WHILE
CONTRIBUTING TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
ARTICLE OR ARTICLE EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER.
E. A MEMBER CONTRIBUTING ON THE BASIS OF THIS SECTION AT THE TIME OF
RETIREMENT MAY RETIRE AFTER THE COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF TOTAL
CREDITABLE SERVICE. APPLICATION THEREFOR MAY BE FILED IN A MANNER SIMI-
LAR TO THAT PROVIDED IN SECTION SEVENTY OF THIS ARTICLE. UPON COMPLETION
OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF SUCH SERVICE AND UPON RETIREMENT, EACH SUCH
MEMBER SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION WHICH, TOGETHER WITH AN ANNUITY WHICH
SHALL BE THE ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT OF SUCH MEMBER'S ACCUMULATED CONTRIB-
UTIONS AT THE TIME OF RETIREMENT AND AN ADDITIONAL PENSION WHICH IS THE
ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT OF THE RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY TO WHICH
SUCH MEMBER MAY THEN BE ENTITLED, SHALL BE SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE A
RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-HALF OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE
SALARY. FOR SERVICE BEYOND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, A MEMBER SHALL RECEIVE AN
ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-FIFTIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S
FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE SERVICE IN EXCESS OF
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF THIRTY YEARS.
F. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PREVENT A MEMBER, WHO
DOES NOT RETIRE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, FROM UTILIZ-
ING SERVICE WHICH IS CREDITABLE SERVICE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF
THIS SECTION FOR SERVICE CREDIT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER
PLAN OF THIS ARTICLE TO WHICH SUCH MEMBER IS SUBJECT.
G. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONTROLLING NOTWITHSTANDING
ANY OTHER PROVISION IN THIS ARTICLE TO THE CONTRARY.
H. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS SECTION OR OF ANY OTHER
PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, CONSTABLES MUST HAVE AT LEAST TEN
YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE WITH THE VILLAGE OF WESTHAMPTON DUNES BEFORE
SUCH CONSTABLES ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE TWEN-
TY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PLAN.
I. THE VILLAGE SHALL CERTIFY TO THE COMPTROLLER, PERIODICALLY AND AT
SUCH INTERVALS OF TIME AS MAY BE REQUIRED AND IN SUCH FASHION AS MAY BE
PRESCRIBED, THE IDENTITY OF THE CONSTABLES IN THE VILLAGE'S EMPLOY.
§ 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 714 of the laws of 2023, is amended to
read as follows:
a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions
of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire-
ment for disability, unless [he or she] SUCH MEMBER is a police officer,
an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement
system, firefighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined
in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of
the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation
worker, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New
York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger),
school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine
commission inspector member of the New York city employees' retirement
system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a
dispatcher member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a
police communications member of the New York city employees' retirement
system, an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system,
a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees' retirement
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system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction
department as defined in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or
employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section
eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws
of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk
county as a correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of
this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer,
uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy
sheriff, as defined in section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or
employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambu-
lance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance
medical technician related services, or a police medic, police medic
supervisor or a member who performs police medic related services, as
defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred
seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this
chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in
section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of
the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed
in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction
officer or identification officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h
of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff,
undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in
section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county
as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
defined in section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in
Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-j of this chapter
or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division
competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in
section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which
makes an election under subdivision j of section eighty-nine-p of this
chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer
as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County
as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
defined in section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county
deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in
section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of
the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed
in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or
correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-o of this chapter
or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in section
eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park
police officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or
is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined
in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the
laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in
Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-
nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the
laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superi-
or correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chap-
ter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thou-
sand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town
of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v
of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the
laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire
marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire
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marshal, chief fire marshal, division supervising fire marshal or fire
marshal trainee employed by the county of Nassau as defined in section
eighty-nine-w of this chapter or is employed in Monroe county as a depu-
ty sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-nine-x of this chapter,
employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician,
advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such
titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district as defined in
section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter, OR IS EMPLOYED AS A CONSTABLE BY
THE VILLAGE OF WESTHAMPTON DUNES AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHTY-NINE-Y OF
THIS CHAPTER, and is in a plan which permits immediate retirement upon
completion of a specified period of service without regard to age.
Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-a
of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-b of
this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-c of this
article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this
article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-e of this
article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-f of this
article and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this
article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation, other than a
police officer or investigator member of the New York city employees'
retirement system or a firefighter, shall not be permitted to retire
prior to the completion of twenty-five years of credited service;
provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in a plan
which permits retirement upon completion of twenty years of service
regardless of age, [he or she] SUCH MEMBER may retire upon completion of
twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-
five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from funds
other than those based on such a member's own contributions shall not
exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of credited
service.
§ 3. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is amended
by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
W. THE SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT SPECIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED
FOUR OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE PAYABLE TO MEMBERS WITH TWENTY-FIVE OR
MORE YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE, WITHOUT REGARD TO AGE, WHO ARE
EMPLOYED AS CONSTABLES BY THE VILLAGE OF WESTHAMPTON DUNES, AS DEFINED
IN SECTION EIGHTY-NINE-Y OF THIS CHAPTER, IF: (I) SUCH MEMBERS HAVE MET
THE MINIMUM SERVICE REQUIREMENT UPON RETIREMENT, AND (II) IN THE CASE OF
A MEMBER SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE FOURTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER,
SUCH MEMBER FILES AN ELECTION THEREFOR WHICH PROVIDES THAT SUCH MEMBER
WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AND TO NONE OF THE
PROVISIONS OF SUCH ARTICLE FOURTEEN. SUCH ELECTION, WHICH SHALL BE IRRE-
VOCABLE, SHALL BE IN WRITING, DULY EXECUTED AND SHALL BE FILED WITH THE
COMPTROLLER ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
OR WITHIN ONE YEAR OF ENTERING INTO SERVICE AS A CONSTABLE IN WESTHAMP-
TON DUNES. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "CREDITABLE
SERVICE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS SO DEFINED IN BOTH SECTIONS
EIGHTY-NINE-Y AND SIX HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
§ 4. Section 604 of the retirement and social security law is amended
by adding a new subdivision w to read as follows:
W. THE EARLY SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT FOR A MEMBER WHO IS EMPLOYED
BY THE VILLAGE OF WESTHAMPTON DUNES AS A CONSTABLE AS DEFINED IN SECTION
EIGHTY-NINE-Y OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE A PENSION EQUAL TO ONE-FIFTIETH
OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY TIMES YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE AT
THE COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE AS SUCH CONSTABLE, BUT
NOT EXCEEDING ONE-HALF OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY. FOR
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SERVICE BEYOND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, A MEMBER SHALL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL
RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-FIFTIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVER-
AGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE
YEARS BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF THIRTY YEARS.
§ 5. All past service costs associated with implementing the
provisions of this act shall be borne by the village of Westhampton
Dunes.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would create a new service-based retirement plan for members
of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed as
a constable with the Village of Westhampton Dunes. Provided the consta-
ble has accrued at least ten years of creditable service while employed
by the Village of Westhampton Dunes, they would have the option to
retire upon completion of twenty-five years of creditable service with a
benefit of one-half of final average salary (FAS) and an additional
benefit of one-fiftieth of FAS for each year of creditable service in
excess of twenty-five years, limited to five years of additional one-
fiftieths. Currently, these members are covered under an age-based
plan.
Additionally, for those members covered under the provisions of Arti-
cle 14, this bill would permit an irrevocable election to forfeit the
benefits of Article 14 in favor of the 25-year plan benefit established
by this legislation. The election must be made on or before December 31,
2025 or within one year of entering service as a constable with the
Village of Westhampton Dunes, whichever comes later.
If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $25,000 in the
annual contributions of the Village of Westhampton Dunes for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary but is
expected to average 4.9% of salary annually.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $239,000 which will be
borne by the Village of Westhampton Dunes as a one-time payment. This
estimate assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2025.
These estimated costs are based on nine affected members employed by
the Village of Westhampton Dunes, with annual salary of approximately
$462,000 as of March 31, 2023. The affected members were identified
using a roster provided by Lisa M. Lombardo from the office of Represen-
tative Fred W. Thiele, Jr.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023
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, 2023
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.
A. 9590 6
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 March 8, 2024, and intended for use only during
the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-26, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.