Senate Bill S3529

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

                                  3529

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 23, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced   by  Sens.  LARKIN,  FLANAGAN,  FUSCHILLO,  GRIFFO,  HANNON,
  O. JOHNSON, LANZA, LEIBELL, LITTLE, MORAHAN, ROBACH,  SALAND,  VOLKER,
  WINNER,  YOUNG  -- 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
  expanding  eligibility  for  military  service  credit to veterans who
  served in Turkey during the Gulf War

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

  Section  1.  Paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision  2 of section 1000 of the
retirement and social security law, as added by chapter 548 of the  laws
of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
  (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,  TURKEY,
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.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL  NOTE.--  This  bill  would extend the benefits of Chapter 548,
Laws of 2000 to members of public retirement systems in New  York  State
who  rendered  military  service during the period of conflict in Turkey
and were assigned to the  theater  of  operations.  However,  the  total
service  credit  granted for any military service shall not exceed three
(3) years.  Members must have at least five years  of  credited  service
(not  including  military  service). Members would be required to make a
payment of three percent of their most recent compensation per  year  of
additional service credit granted by this bill.
  If this bill is enacted, insofar as this proposal affects the New York
State  and  Local  Employees' Retirement System (ERS), there would be an

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10644-01-9
              

S. 3529                             2

estimated past service cost  which  would  exceed  10  percent  of  each
member's  salary  for  each  year  of  additional service credit that is
purchased.
  Insofar  as  this proposal affects the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the cost per person would vary great-
ly.  If a member purchases this  additional  service  credit  to  enable
immediate  retirement,  the cost would exceed 30% of the member's salary
for each year of additional service credit  that  is  purchased.  For  a
member  on  a  retirement  plan which is capped after reaching a certain
number of years of service credit, there would be no benefit  from  this
additional  service  credit if they will or already have reached the cap
without this service credit.
  If less than 50 of the active membership have  such  military  service
and  will  benefit by purchasing the service credit, there will be esti-
mated increases in annual contributions of less than $60,000 to  employ-
ers in the ERS and less than $26,000 to employers in the PFRS.
  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 March 12, 2009 and intended for use only during
the 2009 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2009-177  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.