S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8876

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 12, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. ALESSI -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Governmental Employees

AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
  allowing military service credit for all veterans honorably discharged
  from the military

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Section 1000 of the retirement and social security law, as
added by chapter 548 of the laws of 2000 and subdivision 9 as  added  by
chapter 547 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  S  1000.  Military service credit.   1. Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary, a member of a  public  retirement  system  of  the  state,  as
defined  in subdivision twenty-three of section five hundred one of this
chapter, shall be eligible for credit for military service  [as  herein-
after provided:
  1.  A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
total] not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three years
of military duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three  of  the
military  law,  if the member was honorably discharged from the military
[and all or part of  such  military  service  was  rendered  during  the
following  periods:  (a)  commencing  December seventh, nineteen hundred
forty-one  and  terminating  December  thirty-first,  nineteen   hundred
forty-six;  (b)  commencing  June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty
and terminating January thirty-first, nineteen  hundred  fifty-five;  or
(c)  commencing  February  twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred sixty-one and
terminating May seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-five;
  2. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain  a
total  not to exceed three years of service credit for up to three years
of military duty, as defined in section two hundred forty-three  of  the
military  law, if honorably discharged therefrom, if all or part of such

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10234-02-9

              

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services was rendered in the military  conflicts  referenced  below,  as
follows:
  (a)  hostilities  participated in by the military forces of the United
States in Lebanon, from the first day of June, nineteen hundred  eighty-
three  to  the  first day of December, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, as
established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the navy
expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal;
  (b) hostilities participated in by the military forces of  the  United
States  in  Grenada,  from  the  twenty-third  day  of October, nineteen
hundred eighty-three to  the  twenty-first  day  of  November,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-three,  as  established  by  receipt of the armed forces
expeditionary medal, the navy expeditionary medal, or the  marine  corps
expeditionary medal;
  (c)  hostilities  participated in by the military forces of the United
States in Panama, from the twentieth day of December,  nineteen  hundred
eighty-nine to the thirty-first day of January, nineteen hundred ninety,
as  established  by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the
navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal; or
  (d) hostilities participated in by the military forces of  the  United
States,  from  the second day of August, nineteen hundred ninety, to the
end of such hostilities in case of a veteran who served in  the  theater
of  operations including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf of Aden,  the  Gulf  of  Oman,  the
Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the airspace above these locations].
  [3]  2.    A  member must have at least five years of credited service
(not including service granted hereunder)  to  be  eligible  to  receive
credit under this section.
  [4]  3.    To  obtain  such credit, a member shall pay such retirement
system, for deposit in the fund used  to  accumulate  employer  contrib-
utions,  a  sum  equal to the product of the number of years of military
service being claimed and three percent of  such  member's  compensation
earned  during the twelve months of credited service immediately preced-
ing the date that the member made application  for  credit  pursuant  to
this  section.  If  permitted  by  rule  or regulation of the applicable
retirement system, the member may  pay  such  member  costs  by  payroll
deduction  for  a period which shall not exceed the time period of mili-
tary service to be credited pursuant to this section. In the  event  the
member leaves the employer payroll prior to completion of payment, he or
she  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 proportional to the total amount of the payments made prior  to
retirement.
  [5] 4.  In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section,
when  added  to  credit granted for military service with any retirement
system of this state pursuant to this or any  other  provision  of  law,
exceed a total of three years.
  [6]  5.    To be eligible to receive credit for military service under
this section, a member must make application for such credit before  the
effective  date  of retirement. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions
of this subdivision, an individual who  retired  on  or  after  December
twenty-first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight  and before the effective
date of this section may make application for credit  pursuant  to  this
section within one year following the effective date of this section, in

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which  event, the cost to the retiree would be based on the twelve month
period immediately preceding retirement.
  [7]  6.    All costs for service credited to a member pursuant to this
section, other than the member costs set forth in subdivision  three  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.
  [8] 7.  A member who has purchased military service credit pursuant to
section  two  hundred forty-four-a of the military law shall be entitled
to a refund of the difference between the amount paid by the member  for
such  purchase  and the amount that would be payable if service had been
purchased pursuant to this section.
  [9] 8.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in  the  event  of
death  prior  to retirement, amounts paid by the member for the purchase
of military service credit pursuant to this section shall  be  refunded,
with  interest,  to  the extent the military service purchased with such
amounts does not produce a greater death benefit than  would  have  been
payable had the member not purchased such credit.
  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision of law, in the event of retire-
ment, amounts paid by the member for the purchase  of  military  service
credit pursuant to this section shall be refunded, with interest, to the
extent the military service purchased with such amounts does not produce
a  greater  retirement  allowance  than  would have been payable had the
member not purchased such credit.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, section 50:
  This bill would allow up to three (3)  years  of  service  credit  for
military  duty  by removing all existing requirements that such military
service be performed during certain war periods, during certain  hostil-
ities  while  in  the  theater  of  operations or upon the receipt of an
expeditionary medal. However,  the  total  service  credit  granted  for
active  and peacetime military service shall not exceed three (3) years.
The member would be required to make  a  payment  of  three  percent  of
current  compensation  per  year of additional service credit granted by
this bill.   Members must have at  least  five  (5)  years  of  credited
service (not including military service).
  Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System and the New York  State  and  Local  Police  and  Fire
Retirement System, if this bill were enacted there would be an estimated
first  year cost of approximately $2.5 million to the State of New York,
$3 million to participating employers in the New York  State  and  Local
Employees'  Retirement  System  and  $1.5  million  to the participating
employers in the New York State and Local  Police  and  Fire  Retirement
System.
  In  addition  to  the above costs, there would be additional costs for
future members  of  the  Retirement  System's  who  have  such  military
service.
  This  estimate,  dated April 16, 2009 and intended for use only during
the 2009 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2009-216,  prepared  by
the  Actuary  for  the  New  York  State and Local Employees' Retirement
System and the New York State  and  Local  Police  and  Fire  Retirement
System.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would amend Article 20 of the Retirement and Social Security
Law  to  allow members of public retirement systems of New York State to
claim service credit for up to three years of military service,  regard-
less  of  when  it  was performed. Currently members can receive service

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credit for military service performed during specified periods of war. A
member must have at least five years of credited service to be  eligible
and  make  application  for  such  credit  before  the effective date of
retirement.  To obtain such credit, a member must deposit in the pension
accumulation fund three percent of his or her current  annual  full-time
rate  of compensation per year of military service claimed. A member who
retired on or after December 21, 1998 may apply for credit  pursuant  to
this section within one year of the effective date of this act. This act
shall  take  effect immediately, with any increase payable prospectively
only.
  The annual cost to the employers of members  of  the  New  York  State
Teachers'  Retirement  System  for  this benefit is estimated to be $9.5
million or .06% of payroll if this bill is enacted.
  The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2009-75 dated June 9,  2009
prepared  by  the  Actuary  of  the  New York State Teachers' Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2009 Legislative Session.