The New York State Senate

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

                                  9858

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 20, 2020
                               ___________

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

AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
  establishing a death benefit for deputy sheriffs  employed  by  Nassau
  county

  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 508-b to read as follows:
  § 508-B. DEATH BENEFIT FOR DEPUTY SHERIFFS EMPLOYED BY NASSAU  COUNTY.
NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A DEPUTY
SHERIFF WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT  THE
TIME  OF  HIS OR HER DEATH AND WHERE HIS OR HER DEATH OCCURS ON OR AFTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY
ELECT TO RECEIVE, IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE  EQUAL
TO  THE  PENSION RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER
RETIRED ON THE DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENE-
FIT AND THE RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF  ANY,  WHICHEVER  IS
GREATER.
  § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
section 606-b to read as follows:
  §  606-B. DEATH BENEFIT FOR DEPUTY SHERIFFS EMPLOYED BY NASSAU COUNTY.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE  CONTRARY,  WHERE  A  DEPUTY
SHERIFF  WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE
TIME OF HIS OR HER DEATH AND WHERE HIS OR HER DEATH OCCURS ON  OR  AFTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY
ELECT  TO RECEIVE, IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE EQUAL
TO THE PENSION RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD  THE  MEMBER
RETIRED ON THE DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENE-
FIT  AND  THE  RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS
GREATER.
  §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
provisions  of this act shall be borne by Nassau County and may be amor-
tized over a period of ten years.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14790-03-0

A. 9858                             2

  § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill would modify the in-service death benefit for Nassau County
Deputy Sheriffs who are retirement eligible in tiers 3 through 6 of  the
New  York  State  and Local Employees' Retirement System. The in-service
death benefit will be the value of the pension reserve as if the  member
had retired on their date of death.
  If this legislation is enacted during the 2020 legislative session, we
anticipate that there will be an increase in the annual contributions of
Nassau  County  of approximately $8,100 for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2021. In the future, this cost will vary as the  billing  rates  and
salaries of those affected change.
  In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $141,000 which will be
borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based  on
the  assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2021. If Nassau
County elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost  for
the first year would be $18,600.
  These  estimated  costs  are  based on 58 affected members employed by
Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $5.7  million  as  of
March 31, 2019.
  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, 2019  actuarial  valu-
ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2019
Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2019  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
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 fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
of  the  proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
  This estimate, dated February 6,  2020,  and  intended  for  use  only
during  the  2020  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2020-40,
prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
System.