S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8381
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 20, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to granting Tier II status in the New York state  and
   local employees' retirement system to Walter C. Bedford
 
   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,  Walter  C.
 Bedford,  who  was  an  employee  of the North Greece fire district from
 August 1, 2007 through the present and was an employee of  the  town  of
 Greece  and  the  North Greece fire district commencing October 13, 1975
 through January 1, 1986 and was thereby eligible to participate  in  the
 New  York  state  and local employees' retirement system, who through no
 fault of his own did not become a member of the New York state and local
 employees' retirement system when he was first employed by the  town  of
 Greece  in  October 1975, shall be granted retroactive membership in the
 New York state and local  employees'  retirement  system  with  Tier  II
 status,  if within one year from the effective date of this act he shall
 make a written application to that effect, duly executed and filed  with
 such retirement system.
   §  2. No contributions made to the New York state and local employees'
 retirement system by Walter C. Bedford shall be returned or refunded  to
 him pursuant to this act.
   § 3. All costs associated with the implementation of this act shall be
 borne by the state of New York.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  will  allow  Walter  C. Bedford, who is currently a Tier 4
 member in the New York State  and  Local  Employees'  Retirement  System
 employed  by the North Greece Fire District, to elect Tier 2 status with
 a date of membership of October 13, 1975, his first date  of  employment
 with  the  Town  of  Greece.  There will be no refund of member contrib-
 utions.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2020 legislative session and Tier 2
 status is subsequently elected, the change in plan coverage would result
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16253-03-0

 S. 8381                             2
 
 in a diminished benefit  relative  to  that  provided  by  the  member's
 current Tier 4 plan coverage. Thus, there would be no cost to enact this
 legislation.
   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  May 18, 2020, and intended for use only during
 the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-111,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.