S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4440
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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
   providing death benefits for correction officers  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 BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION  OFFICERS  EMPLOYED  BY  NASSAU
 COUNTY.  A. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "CORRECTION OFFICER" SHALL
 MEAN A PERSON EMPLOYED BY NASSAU  COUNTY  WITH  A  TITLE  OF  CORRECTION
 RECRUIT,  CORRECTION  OFFICER, CORRECTION CORPORAL, CORRECTION SERGEANT,
 CORRECTION LIEUTENANT, OR CORRECTION CAPTAIN.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  WHERE  A
 CORRECTION  OFFICER  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 ESTAB-
 LISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE DATE OF HIS OR HER  DEATH,  OR  THE
 VALUE  OF THE DEATH BENEFIT 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 BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION  OFFICERS  EMPLOYED  BY  NASSAU
 COUNTY.  A. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "CORRECTION OFFICER" SHALL
 MEAN A PERSON EMPLOYED BY NASSAU  COUNTY  WITH  A  TITLE  OF  CORRECTION
 RECRUIT,  CORRECTION  OFFICER, CORRECTION CORPORAL, CORRECTION SERGEANT,
 CORRECTION LIEUTENANT, OR CORRECTION CAPTAIN.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  WHERE  A
 CORRECTION  OFFICER  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
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08569-02-1

 S. 4440                             2

 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 ESTAB-
 LISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE DATE OF HIS OR HER  DEATH,  OR  THE
 VALUE  OF THE DEATH BENEFIT 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 the county of Nassau and may be
 amortized over a period of ten years.
   §  4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  modify  the in-service death benefit for retirement
 eligible tiers 3 through 6 members of  the  New  York  State  and  Local
 Employees'  Retirement  System  who  are  employed  by  Nassau County in
 certain correction officer job titles. 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 bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $55,000 in the
 annual contributions of Nassau County for the fiscal year  ending  March
 31,  2022. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
 salary of the affected members change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $778,000 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, 2022. If  Nassau
 County  elects to amortize this cost over a 10 year period, the cost for
 the first year including interest would be $103,000.
   These estimated costs are based on 787 affected  members  employed  by
 Nassau  County,  with annual salary of approximately $94.9 million as of
 March 31, 2020.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2020 Report of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
 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, 2020
 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  1,  2021,  and intended for use only
 during the  2021  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2021-64,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.