S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6273--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 11, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. MANNION, MARTINEZ, BORRELLO, HELMING, MATTERA, MAY,
   MURRAY, OBERACKER, PALUMBO, RHOADS, ROLISON, SKOUFIS,  STEC,  TEDISCO,
   THOMAS, WEBB, WEBER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when print-
   ed  to  be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions --
   recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions in  accord-
   ance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   establishing a retirement service credit for volunteer fire  or  emer-
   gency service
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new article 20-A to read as follows:
 
                               ARTICLE 20-A
       CREDIT FOR NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE
 
 SECTION 1050. NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE CREDIT.
   § 1050. NEW YORK STATE VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE CREDIT.  1.
 FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOW-
 ING MEANINGS:
   (A)  "PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE STATE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEAN-
 ING AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-THREE  OF
 SECTION FIVE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (B)  "MEMBER" SHALL MEAN A MEMBER OF A PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE
 STATE.
   2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER SHALL BE ELIGIBLE
 FOR CREDIT FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE AS PROVIDED  PURSUANT
 TO THIS SECTION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08016-10-4
 S. 6273--A                          2
              

 
   3.  A  MEMBER,  UPON  APPLICATION TO A PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE
 STATE, MAY OBTAIN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE CREDIT FOR  EVERY  FIVE  YEARS  OF
 VOLUNTEER  FIRE  OR  EMERGENCY  SERVICE  PROVIDED IN THE STATE. A MEMBER
 SHALL BE LIMITED UNDER THIS SECTION TO OBTAIN NOT MORE THAN THREE  YEARS
 OF  SERVICE  CREDIT  FOR  A  TOTAL OF FIFTEEN YEARS OF VOLUNTEER FIRE OR
 EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDED.    PROOF  OF  VOLUNTEER  FIRE  OR  EMERGENCY
 SERVICE SHALL BE CERTIFIED BY THE VOLUNTEER AGENCY FOR WHICH SUCH MEMBER
 VOLUNTEERED TIME.
   4.  A  MEMBER  SHALL HAVE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE, NOT
 INCLUDING SERVICE GRANTED HEREUNDER, TO BE ELIGIBLE  TO  RECEIVE  CREDIT
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   5.  TO  OBTAIN CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, A MEMBER SHALL PAY THE
 APPROPRIATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, FOR DEPOSIT IN THE FUND USED  TO  ACCUMU-
 LATE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS, A SUM EQUAL TO THE PRODUCT OF THE NUMBER OF
 YEARS  OF  VOLUNTEER  FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE BEING CREDITED AND THREE
 PERCENT OF SUCH MEMBER'S COMPENSATION EARNED DURING THE TWELVE MONTHS OF
 CREDITED SERVICE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE THAT  SUCH  MEMBER  MADE
 APPLICATION FOR CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. IF PERMITTED BY RULE OR
 REGULATION  OF  THE  APPLICABLE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, A MEMBER MAY PAY SUCH
 MEMBER COSTS BY PAYROLL DEDUCTION FOR A PERIOD WHICH  SHALL  NOT  EXCEED
 THE  TIME  PERIOD  OF VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE TO BE CREDITED
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. IN THE EVENT SUCH MEMBER LEAVES  THE  EMPLOYER
 PAYROLL  PRIOR  TO  COMPLETION OF PAYMENT, SUCH MEMBER SHALL FORWARD ALL
 REMAINING REQUIRED PAYMENTS TO THE APPROPRIATE RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  PRIOR
 TO  THE  EFFECTIVE DATE OF RETIREMENT. IF THE FULL AMOUNT OF SUCH MEMBER
 COSTS IS NOT PAID TO THE APPROPRIATE  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  PRIOR  TO  THE
 MEMBER'S  RETIREMENT,  THE  AMOUNT  OF SERVICE CREDITED SHALL BE PROPOR-
 TIONAL TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE PAYMENTS MADE PRIOR TO RETIREMENT.
   6. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CREDIT GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, WHEN
 ADDED TO CREDIT GRANTED FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE WITH ANY
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THIS STATE PURSUANT TO ANY OTHER PROVISION OF  LAW,
 EXCEED A TOTAL OF THREE YEARS.
   7.  TO  BE  ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY
 SERVICE UNDER THIS SECTION, A MEMBER SHALL  MAKE  APPLICATION  FOR  SUCH
 CREDIT BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF RETIREMENT.
   8.  ALL  COSTS  FOR  SERVICE  CREDITED  TO  A  MEMBER PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION, OTHER THAN THE MEMBER COSTS SET FORTH IN  SUBDIVISION  FIVE  OF
 THIS SECTION, SHALL BE PAID BY THE STATE AND ALL EMPLOYERS WHICH PARTIC-
 IPATE IN THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN WHICH SUCH MEMBER IS GRANTED CREDIT.
   9.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, NONE OF THE
 PROVISIONS OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  SUBJECT  TO  THE  APPROPRIATION
 REQUIREMENT OF SECTION TWENTY-FIVE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   10.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, IN THE EVENT OF DEATH
 PRIOR TO RETIREMENT, AMOUNTS PAID BY A MEMBER FOR THE PURCHASE OF VOLUN-
 TEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY SERVICE CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL  BE
 REFUNDED,  WITH  INTEREST, TO THE EXTENT THE VOLUNTEER FIRE OR EMERGENCY
 SERVICE PURCHASED WITH SUCH AMOUNTS DOES NOT  PRODUCE  A  GREATER  DEATH
 BENEFIT  THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN PAYABLE HAD SUCH MEMBER NOT PURCHASED SUCH
 CREDIT.
   11. SERVICE CREDIT GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE  CREDITA-
 BLE IN ANY SPECIAL TWENTY OR TWENTY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PLAN.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would create Article 20-A of the Retirement and Social Secu-
 rity  Law that would allow members to purchase service credit for volun-
 teer fire or emergency services provided in  the  state.  A  member  may
 S. 6273--A                          3
 
 purchase  one  year  of service credit for every five years of volunteer
 fire or emergency  service,  not  to  exceed  a  total  of  three  years
 purchased.  To  obtain  such  credit,  members are required to pay three
 percent  of  salary  earned during the twelve months of credited service
 immediately preceding the date of application for each year of volunteer
 service credited. A member must have at  least  five  years  of  service
 credit,  not  including  service  credit  granted under this bill, to be
 eligible.
   It is not possible to determine the number  of  eligible  current  and
 future members, or the volunteer service credit each member may purchase
 under  this  bill.  Therefore, it is not possible to estimate the annual
 increase in the employers' cost for  this  bill.  Whatever  increase  in
 liability  arises  for  service credited under this bill above that paid
 for by the member would be included in the cost that would be shared  by
 employers through the employer contribution rate.
   It is estimated that the cost, expressed as a percentage of a member's
 salary  for  each  year  of service credit a member purchases under this
 bill is as follows:
 
                    Cost per year of Service Purchased
                 (as a percentage of the member's salary)
 Tier(s)                                 1-4       5         6
 Cost                                    12.5%     11.3%     9.5%
 Member Contribution offset              3.0%      3.0%      3.0%
 Net cost to participating employers     9.5%      8.3%      6.5%
 
   Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
 as of June 30, 2023, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
 Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
 be found in the System's Annual Report for fiscal year  ended  June  30,
 2023. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
 and  can  also be found in the System's Annual Report. Actuarial assump-
 tions and methods are  provided  in  the  System's  Actuarial  Valuation
 Report as of June 30, 2023.
   The  source  of  this  estimate is Fiscal Note 2024-26 dated March 26,
 2024 prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State  Teach-
 ers'  Retirement  System  and  is  intended for use only during the 2024
 Legislative Session. I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary  for  the
 New  York State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the Ameri-
 can Academy of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards  of  the
 American  Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained
 herein.