Assembly Bill A10301

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

                                  10301

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 20, 2016
                               ___________

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

AN ACT relating to allowing Carolyn B. Lasher to posthumously  elect  to
  participate  in  the  special  retirement plan for deputy sheriffs, on
  behalf of Thomas P. Lasher who was employed by the county of Dutchess

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

  Section  1.    Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, Carolyn B.
Lasher, the designated beneficiary of  Thomas  P.  Lasher  who  died  on
September  25,  2012  and  who  was a disability retiree of the New York
state and local employees' retirement  system  and  who,  prior  to  his
retirement  for disability, had been employed as a deputy sheriff in the
county of Dutchess, which previously elected to  make  the  benefits  of
section  89-p of the retirement and social security law available to the
deputy sheriffs employed by it, may posthumously elect to participate in
such plan on behalf of Thomas P. Lasher if  the  county  so  elects,  by
filing  with  the  state  comptroller  on or before December 31, 2016, a
resolution of its governing body together with certification that Thomas
P. Lasher did not bar himself from participation in such retirement plan
as a result of his own negligence. Thereafter, Carolyn B. Lasher, as the
designated beneficiary of Thomas P. Lasher, may  elect  to  receive  the
service  retirement  benefit  available  pursuant  to  sections 89-p and
603(l) of the retirement and social security law instead of the disabil-
ity retirement benefit by filing a request to that effect with the state
comptroller on or before June 30, 2017. Such service retirement  benefit
shall  be  retroactive  to  September 24, 2012. Any payments made by the
Retirement System pursuant to the award  of  the  disability  retirement
benefit  shall  be  offset  against  any amounts payable pursuant to the
service retirement. Furthermore, Carolyn B. Lasher, the designated bene-
ficiary of Thomas P. Lasher, may elect to  transfer  the  membership  of
Thomas P. Lasher in the New York state and local police and fire retire-
ment system to the New York state and local employees' retirement system
by  filing  a  request  to  that effect with the state comptroller on or
before June 30, 2017.

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

                                                           LBD13177-04-6

A. 10301                            2

  S 2. Any past service costs incurred in implementing the provisions of
this act shall be borne by Dutchess County.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would allow Carolyn A. Lasher, the designated beneficiary of
deceased  retiree  Thomas P. Lasher, whose date of disability retirement
was September 24, 2012, and who died September 25, 2012, to receive  the
service retirement benefit that Thomas P. Lasher could not receive rath-
er  than  the  disability retirement benefit which he did receive as his
death occurred within 15 days of  his  retirement.  The  change  to  the
service  retirement  benefit  will be retroactive to September 24, 2012.
All payments received from such disability retirement shall be  deducted
from the benefits that become payable under the service retirement.
  If  this bill is enacted, there would be a past service cost to Dutch-
ess County of $214,000, assuming a payment date of February 1, 2017.
  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 May 11, 2016, and intended for  use  only  during
the  2016  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2016-98, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.