Senate Bill S6716

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

                                  6716

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 9, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  CROCI,  BOYLE,  LAVALLE -- 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
  recalculation of earned benefits for certain members  enrolled  in  an
  optional retirement plan

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

  Section 1. Section 384-d of the retirement and social security law  is
amended by adding a new subdivision z to read as follows:
  Z.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  TO  THE  CONTRARY, RETIRED
MEMBERS, WHO WERE EMPLOYED BY THE COUNTY  OF  SUFFOLK,  A  PARTICIPATING
EMPLOYER  IN  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE AND LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE RETIREMENT
SYSTEM, WHICH PREVIOUSLY ELECTED  TO  OFFER  THE  OPTIONAL  TWENTY  YEAR
RETIREMENT  PLAN,  ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS SECTION, AND WHO WERE
EMPLOYED AS POLICE OFFICERS BY SUCH  COUNTY  PURSUANT  TO  A  COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING AGREEMENT AS OF THE FIRST OF JANUARY, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN AND
SEPARATED  FROM  SERVICE  PRIOR  TO  THE  FIRST  OF  APRIL, TWO THOUSAND
FIFTEEN, UPON ELECTION OF SUCH COUNTY, SHALL HAVE ANY  AMOUNTS  PAID  AS
COMPENSATORY  TIME UPON THE MEMBERS' SEPARATION PURSUANT TO THE THEN-EX-
ISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT INCLUDED IN  THE  CALCULATION  OF
THEIR  FINAL  AVERAGE SALARY. THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK MAY ELECT TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS  SUBDIVISION  BY  FILING  WITH  THE
STATE COMPTROLLER, ON OR BEFORE, THE THIRTY-FIRST OF DECEMBER, TWO THOU-
SAND  SIXTEEN, BY RESOLUTION OF ITS LOCAL LEGISLATIVE BODY.  THEREAFTER,
SUCH POLICE OFFICERS MAY ELECT TO HAVE THEIR RETIREMENT BENEFIT RECALCU-
LATED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION AND SHALL BE ENTITLED TO FULL RIGHTS  AND
BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH COVERAGE UNDER THIS SECTION EFFECTIVE AS OF THE
DATE  OF  THEIR RETIREMENT, BY FILING A REQUEST  TO THAT EFFECT WITH THE
STATE COMPTROLLER ON OR BEFORE  THE  THIRTIETH  OF  JUNE,  TWO  THOUSAND
SEVENTEEN.
  S   2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing  the
provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Suffolk  and  may
be amortized over a period of ten years.

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

                                                           LBD13968-02-6

S. 6716                             2

  S  3.  In the event there is a conflict between the provisions of this
act and the provisions of any other law or code  to  the  contrary,  the
provisions of this act shall govern.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill  will permit any amounts paid as compensatory time upon the
separation of service of certain Suffolk County police officers pursuant
to the collective bargaining agreement as  of  January  1,  2011  to  be
included in the calculation of their final average salary. Such officers
must  have  separated  from service prior to April 1, 2015 and will have
their retirement benefit recalculated from their date of retirement.
  If this bill is enacted, there will be an immediate past service  cost
of  approximately $3.27 million to $4.84 million which would be borne by
Suffolk County as a one-time payment.  This  estimated  cost  assumes  a
payment  date  of  February  1, 2017. If this cost were amortized over a
period of 10 years, the cost for each year including interest  would  be
approximately $460,000-$644,000.
  These  estimated  costs are based on 387 retired officers with a total
compensatory time payment of $1.2 million, as provided by Suffolk  Coun-
ty.
  An  exact  cost  will be determined after enactment of this bill and a
recalculation of each affected officers retirement benefit.
  Summary of relevant resources:
  The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2015
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2015
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, 2015
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.
  This estimate, dated December 4, 2015 and intended for use only during
the 2016 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2016-9, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and  Local  Police  and  Fire  Retirement
System.