Senate Bill S4518

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

                                  4518

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 8, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- 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
  transfer  of  retirement  membership  for employees of SUNY within the
  professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit

  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 section 618 to read as follows:
  S 618. TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP INTO NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES'
RETIREMENT SYSTEM. A. DEFINITIONS. WHENEVER USED IN THIS SECTION:
  1.  THE  TERM  "ELIGIBLE  EMPLOYEE"  SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO AS OF THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION IS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF
NEW YORK IN A POSITION WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL
BARGAINING UNIT AND WHO IS AS OF SAID EFFECTIVE DATE  A  MEMBER  OF  THE
OPTIONAL  RETIREMENT  PROGRAM  AND  WHO  FIRST BECAME AN EMPLOYEE OF THE
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK ON A DATE BETWEEN JANUARY  FIRST,  NINETEEN
HUNDRED  NINETY-FOUR  AND DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND AND WHO IS
STILL EMPLOYED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AS OF THE  DATE  SAID
EMPLOYEE FILES AN APPLICATION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION.
  2.  THE  TERM  "OPTIONAL  RETIREMENT  PROGRAM" SHALL MEAN THE OPTIONAL
RETIREMENT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE EIGHT-B OF THE EDUCA-
TION LAW.
  B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW,  AN  ELIGIBLE  EMPLOYEE
SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  TO  BECOME  A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL
EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM BY FILING AN APPLICATION WITH SAID  RETIRE-
MENT SYSTEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE.
  C. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO FILES AN APPLICATION TO BECOME A MEMBER OF
THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  AND  LOCAL  EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL BE
DEEMED TO BE A MEMBER OF THAT RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITH A DATE  OF  MEMBER-
SHIP  AS  OF  THE  DATE SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WAS FIRST EMPLOYED BY THE

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07894-01-1
              

S. 4518                             2

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. THE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE'S MEMBERSHIP IN  THE
OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM SHALL TERMINATE AS OF THE DATE SAID APPLICA-
TION IS FILED.
  D. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND
LOCAL  EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS
SECTION SHALL BEGIN ACCRUING SERVICE CREDIT IN SAID RETIREMENT SYSTEM AS
OF THE DATE SUCH APPLICATION IS FILED, BUT SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE  SHALL
NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY PREVIOUS SERVICE CREDIT FOR ANY PERIOD OF EMPLOY-
MENT  DURING  WHICH  SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WAS A MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL
RETIREMENT PROGRAM, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED  IN  THIS  SECTION.  AN  ELIGIBLE
EMPLOYEE WHO BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES'
RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION MAY ELECT TO
PURCHASE  CREDIT  FOR  PREVIOUS SERVICE FOR ANY PERIOD DURING WHICH SAID
EMPLOYEE WAS A MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM  BY  FILING  AN
APPLICATION  WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
SYSTEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE  AND  BY
PAYING  TO  SAID  RETIREMENT SYSTEM AN AMOUNT AS DETERMINED BY THE COMP-
TROLLER  EQUAL  TO  THE  FULL  COST  OF  SUCH  PREVIOUS  SERVICE  CREDIT
PURCHASED.  SAID  PAYMENT  MAY  BE  MADE BY A TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE
EMPLOYEE'S OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM ACCOUNT TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND
LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. SAID PAYMENT MAY ALSO BE MADE IN ONE
PAYMENT BY THE EMPLOYEE OR BY PAYROLL DEDUCTION OVER  A  PERIOD  NOT  TO
EXCEED FIVE YEARS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill  will  allow  employees of the State University of New York
(SUNY) in a position within the Professional, Scientific  and  Technical
bargaining  unit, who first became employed with SUNY between January 1,
1994 and December 31, 2000, and who enrolled in the Optional  Retirement
Program,  to  terminate  their  memberships  in  the Optional Retirement
Program and to apply to become members of the New York State  and  Local
Employees'  Retirement  System (NYSLERS) as of such date of application.
Affected members will have to pay the entire past service cost as deter-
mined by the Comptroller in order to get retirement service  credit  for
the service rendered before their dates of membership.
  If  this  bill is enacted, the number of employees who may be affected
by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For every employee who
does so elect, there will be an annual cost to the State of New York  of
approximately 12.7% of salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.
  In addition to the annual cost above, for every member who elects this
benefit,  there will be a past service cost that will depend on the age,
service and salary of the member. The members will  be  able  to  offset
this  cost  by  the  transfer  of  funds  from their Optional Retirement
Program balances. For an individual member, if  the  amount  transferred
from the Optional Retirement Program is less than the past service cost,
the  member  will  have  to  make up the difference either as a one-time
payment or by making a series of payments over  a  period  of  five  (5)
years.
  This  estimate,  dated  December  10,  2010  and intended for use only
during the  2011  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2011-55,
prepared  by  the  Actuary  for the New York State and Local  Employees'
Retirement System.