S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3404--B
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 29, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. BORRELLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on
Civil Service and Pensions in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT providing for the extension of NYSLRS service credit for any
service credit lost due to either furlough or layoff of a member from
the period beginning when executive order 202 of 2020 was issued
through December 31, 2020
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any
member of the New York state and local retirement system who has been
furloughed or dismissed from employment between the period beginning on
the date a state disaster emergency was declared pursuant to executive
order 202 of 2020 through December 31, 2020 and has lost New York state
and local retirement system service credit as a result, shall be eligi-
ble for service credit for the amount of time such member has been
furloughed or dismissed during such period. Such extension of service
credit shall apply to full-time, part-time and seasonal members. Such
members shall have at least five years of credited service, not includ-
ing service credited in this act, to be eligible to receive the credit
authorized pursuant to this act.
§ 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, none of the
provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement
and social security law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04782-05-2
S. 3404--B 2
This bill would allow any member of the New York State and Local
Retirement System (NYSLRS) who was furloughed or dismissed from employ-
ment during the period beginning on the date a disaster emergency was
declared in the State of New York pursuant to Executive Order 202 of
2020 and ending on December 31, 2020 to be granted service credit with
the NYSLRS as if no period of unemployment occurred. To be eligible for
this additional service credit, a member must have accrued at least 5
years of service credit, not including service credited under this bill.
This bill would not be consistent with the NYSLRS's policy of granting
service credit only when a salary has been paid.
Insofar as it would affect the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System, if this bill is enacted during the 2022 legislative
session it is estimated that the past service cost will average approxi-
mately 21 percent of an affected member's compensation for each year of
additional service that is granted.
Insofar as it would affect the New York State and Local Police and
Fire Retirement System, if this bill is enacted during the 2022 legisla-
tive session it is estimated that the past service cost will average
approximately 25 percent of an affected member's compensation for each
year of additional service that is granted.
All costs arising from this bill would be shared by the State of New
York and all of the participating employers in the NYSLRS.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
and 2021 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, 2021
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 10, 2022, and intended for use only
during the 2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-70,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.