Senate Bill S4859

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4859
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 16, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- 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
   establishing  a  twenty-five  year  retirement  plan  for firefighters
   employed by the division of military and naval affairs

   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 89-x to read as follows:
   §  89-X. TWENTY-FIVE YEAR RETIREMENT PLAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS EMPLOYED BY
 THE DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS FIREFIGHTERS. A. A MEMBER WHO
 SERVES AS AN AIRPORT  FIREFIGHTER  APPRENTICE,  AIRPORT  FIREFIGHTER  I,
 AIRPORT  FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER III, OR TRAINING AND SAFETY
 OFFICER AND IS EMPLOYED BY THE DIVISION OF MILITARY  AND  NAVAL  AFFAIRS
 SHALL  BE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
 SUCH ELIGIBILITY SHALL BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE  ELIGIBILITY  PROVISIONS
 AVAILABLE  UNDER  ANY OTHER PLAN OF THIS ARTICLE TO WHICH SUCH MEMBER IS
 SUBJECT.
   B. SUCH MEMBER SHALL BE ENTITLED TO  RETIRE  UPON  THE  COMPLETION  OF
 TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF TOTAL CREDITABLE SERVICE BY FILING AN APPLICATION
 THEREFOR IN THE MANNER PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION SEVENTY OF THIS ARTICLE.
   C. UPON COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  SUCH  SERVICE  AND  UPON
 RETIREMENT,  EACH  SUCH  MEMBER  SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION WHICH, TOGETHER
 WITH AN ANNUITY WHICH SHALL BE THE ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT OF  HIS  OR  HER
 ACCUMULATED  CONTRIBUTIONS  AT  THE TIME OF HIS OR HER RETIREMENT AND AN
 ADDITIONAL PENSION WHICH IS THE ACTUARIAL EQUIVALENT  OF  THE  RESERVED-
 FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY  TO  WHICH  HE  OR  SHE MAY THEN BE ENTITLED
 SHALL BE SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE HIM OR HER WITH  A  RETIREMENT  ALLOWANCE
 EQUAL TO ONE-HALF OF HIS OR HER FINAL AVERAGE SALARY.
   D. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "CREDITABLE SERVICE" SHALL INCLUDE ANY AND
 ALL  SERVICES PERFORMED AS A FIREFIGHTER APPRENTICE, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD05861-02-1

 S. 4859                             2
 
 I, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT  FIREFIGHTER  III,  OR  TRAINING  AND
 SAFETY OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS.
   E.  CREDIT  FOR SERVICE AS A PAID FIREFIGHTER OR OFFICER OF ANY ORGAN-
 IZED FIRE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALSO BE DEEMED TO BE CREDITABLE  SERVICE  AND
 SHALL  BE  INCLUDED  IN  COMPUTING YEARS OF TOTAL SERVICE FOR RETIREMENT
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   F. A MEMBER CONTRIBUTING ON THE BASIS OF THIS SECTION AT THE  TIME  OF
 RETIREMENT,  MAY  RETIRE  AFTER  THE  COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF
 TOTAL CREDITABLE SERVICE. APPLICATION THEREFOR MAY BE FILED IN A  MANNER
 SIMILAR  TO  THAT  PROVIDED  IN  SECTION  SEVENTY  OF THIS ARTICLE. UPON
 COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF SUCH  SERVICE  AND  UPON  RETIREMENT,
 EACH SUCH MEMBER SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION WHICH, TOGETHER WITH AN ANNUITY
 WHICH  SHALL  BE  THE  ACTUARIAL  EQUIVALENT  OF  HIS OR HER ACCUMULATED
 CONTRIBUTIONS AT THE TIME OF HIS OR HER  RETIREMENT  AND  AN  ADDITIONAL
 PENSION  WHICH  IS  THE  ACTUARIAL  EQUIVALENT  OF  THE RESERVED-FOR-IN-
 CREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY TO WHICH HE OR SHE MAY THEN BE ENTITLED  SHALL  BE
 SUFFICIENT  TO  PROVIDE  HIM OR HER WITH A RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO
 ONE-HALF OF HIS OR HER FINAL AVERAGE SALARY; FOR SERVICE BEYOND  TWENTY-
 FIVE  YEARS  AND FOR NON-FIREFIGHTER SERVICE THE BENEFIT IS INCREASED BY
 ONE-SIXTIETH OF FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF ADDITIONAL SERVICE
 CREDIT.
   G. IN COMPUTING THE TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF TOTAL  SERVICE  OF  A  MEMBER
 PURSUANT  TO  THIS SECTION FULL CREDIT SHALL BE GIVEN AND FULL ALLOWANCE
 SHALL BE MADE FOR SERVICE OF SUCH MEMBER IN TIME OF WAR AFTER WORLD  WAR
 I AS DEFINED IN SECTION TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, PROVIDED SUCH MEMBER AT THE
 TIME  OF HIS OR HER ENTRANCE INTO THE ARMED FORCES WAS IN THE SERVICE OF
 THE STATE.
   H. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PREVENT A MEMBER, WHO
 DOES NOT RETIRE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, FROM UTILIZ-
 ING SERVICE WHICH IS CREDITABLE SERVICE PURSUANT TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF
 THIS  SECTION FOR SERVICE CREDIT PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER
 PLAN OF THIS ARTICLE TO WHICH SUCH MEMBER IS SUBJECT.
   I. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONTROLLING NOTWITHSTANDING
 ANY OTHER PROVISION IN THIS ARTICLE TO THE CONTRARY.
   J. ANY MEMBER WHO, ON OR BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, IS
 A FIREFIGHTER APPRENTICE, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER I, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER II,
 AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER III, OR TRAINING AND SAFETY OFFICER EMPLOYED BY  THE
 DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS MAY, BY FILING AN ELECTION WITHIN
 ONE  YEAR  AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, ELECT TO BE SUBJECT
 TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION. SUCH ELECTION SHALL  BE  IN  WRITING,
 SHALL BE DULY EXECUTED AND FILED WITH THE COMPTROLLER AND SHALL BE IRRE-
 VOCABLE.
   § 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty  law,  as  amended  by chapter 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended to
 read as follows:
   a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to  the  provisions
 of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire-
 ment  for  disability, unless he or she is a police officer, an investi-
 gator member of the New York city employees'  retirement  system,  fire-
 fighter,  correction  officer, a qualifying member as defined in section
 eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of  the  laws
 of  nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation worker, a
 special officer (including persons employed by the city of New  York  in
 the  title  urban  park  ranger  or associate urban park ranger), school
 safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi  and  limousine  commission
 inspector  member  of  the New York city employees' retirement system or

 S. 4859                             3
 
 the New York city board of education  retirement  system,  a  dispatcher
 member  of  the  New  York  city  employees' retirement system, a police
 communications member of the New York city employees' retirement system,
 an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a depu-
 ty  sheriff  member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a
 correction officer of the Westchester county  correction  department  as
 defined  in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk
 county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added
 by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred
 ninety-seven,   of  this  chapter,  employed  in  Suffolk  county  as  a
 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of this chapter,
 or  employed  in  Nassau  county  as  a  correction  officer,  uniformed
 correction  division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff,
 as defined in section eighty-nine-g of  this  chapter,  or  employed  in
 Nassau  county  as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical
 technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical techni-
 cian related services, as defined in section eighty-nine-s,  as  amended
 by  chapter  five  hundred seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred
 ninety-eight, of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as  a  peace
 officer,  as  defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five
 hundred ninety-five of the laws of  nineteen  hundred  ninety-seven,  of
 this  chapter,  or employed in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff,
 deputy sheriff, correction officer or identification officer, as defined
 in section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is employed in St.  Lawrence
 county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer,
 as  defined  in  section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in
 Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or  correction
 officer,  as  defined  in  section  eighty-nine-l  of this chapter or is
 employed in Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy  sheriff
 or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-j of this chap-
 ter  or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division
 competitively appointed or  as  a  correction  officer,  as  defined  in
 section  eighty-nine-k  of this chapter or is employed in a county which
 makes an election under subdivision j of section eighty-nine-p  of  this
 chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer
 as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County
 as  a  sheriff,  undersheriff,  deputy sheriff or correction officer, as
 defined in section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a  Monroe  county
 deputy  sheriff-court  security,  or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in
 section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven  of
 the  laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed
 in  Greene  county  as  a  sheriff,  undersheriff,  deputy  sheriff   or
 correction  officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-o of this chapter
 or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as  defined  in  section
 eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park
 police  officer,  as defined in section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or
 is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as  defined
 in  section  eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the
 laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in
 Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in section  eighty-
 nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the
 laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superi-
 or  correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chap-
 ter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two  thou-
 sand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town
 of  Tonawanda  and retires under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v

 S. 4859                             4
 
 of this chapter, as added by chapter four  hundred  seventy-two  of  the
 laws  of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire
 marshal, fire marshal, assistant  fire  marshal,  assistant  chief  fire
 marshal  or  chief  fire  marshal  employed  by  the county of Nassau as
 defined in section eighty-nine-w of this chapter, OR  IS  A  FIREFIGHTER
 APPRENTICE, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER I, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT FIRE-
 FIGHTER  III, OR TRAINING AND SAFETY OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE DIVISION OF
 MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHTY-NINE-X  OF  THIS
 CHAPTER  and  is  in  a  plan  which  permits  immediate retirement upon
 completion of a specified period  of  service  without  regard  to  age.
 Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-a
 of  this  article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-b of
 this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-c of this
 article, subdivision c of section  four  hundred  forty-five-d  of  this
 article,  subdivision  c  of  section  four hundred forty-five-e of this
 article, subdivision c of section  four  hundred  forty-five-f  of  this
 article  and  subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this
 article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation,  other  than  a
 police  officer  or  investigator member of the New York city employees'
 retirement system or a firefighter, shall not  be  permitted  to  retire
 prior  to  the  completion  of  twenty-five  years  of credited service;
 provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in  a  plan
 which  permits  retirement  upon  completion  of twenty years of service
 regardless of age, he or she may retire upon completion of twenty  years
 of  credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-five years of
 service, but in such event the benefit provided from  funds  other  than
 those  based  on  such a member's own contributions shall not exceed two
 per centum of final average salary per each year of credited service.
   § 3. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision u to read as follows:
   U.  THE  SERVICE  RETIREMENT  BENEFIT SPECIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED
 FOUR OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE PAYABLE TO MEMBERS WITH TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS
 OF  CREDITABLE  SERVICE,  WITHOUT REGARD TO AGE, WHO ARE EMPLOYED BY THE
 DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL  AFFAIRS  AS  A  FIREFIGHTER  APPRENTICE,
 AIRPORT  FIREFIGHTER I, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER III,
 OR TRAINING AND SAFETY OFFICER AS DEFINED IN  SECTION  EIGHTY-NINE-X  OF
 THIS CHAPTER IF:  (I) SUCH MEMBERS HAVE MET THE MINIMUM SERVICE REQUIRE-
 MENTS  UPON  RETIREMENT; AND (II) IN THE CASE OF A MEMBER SUBJECT TO THE
 PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE FOURTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER,  SUCH  MEMBER  FILES  AN
 ELECTION  THEREFOR  WHICH PROVIDES THAT HE OR SHE WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AND TO NONE OF THE PROVISIONS OF SUCH ARTICLE
 FOURTEEN. SUCH ELECTION, WHICH SHALL BE IRREVOCABLE, SHALL BE  IN  WRIT-
 ING,  DULY  EXECUTED  AND SHALL BE FILED WITH THE COMPTROLLER WITHIN ONE
 YEAR OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION OR WITHIN ONE YEAR  AFTER
 ENTERING  THE EMPLOYMENT WITH THE DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS
 UPON WHICH ELIGIBILITY IS BASED, WHICHEVER COMES LATER. FOR THE PURPOSES
 OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "CREDITABLE SERVICE" SHALL HAVE THE  MEAN-
 ING  AS SO DEFINED IN BOTH SECTIONS EIGHTY-NINE-X AND SIX HUNDRED ONE OF
 THIS CHAPTER.
   § 4. Section 604 of the retirement and social security law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision u to read as follows:
   U.  THE  EARLY SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT FOR A MEMBER WHO IS EMPLOYED
 IN THE DIVISION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS AS A  FIREFIGHTER  APPREN-
 TICE, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER I, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER
 III,  OR  TRAINING  AND  SAFETY  OFFICER  EMPLOYED AS DEFINED IN SECTION
 EIGHTY-NINE-X OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE A PENSION EQUAL  TO  ONE-FIFTIETH

 S. 4859                             5
 
 OF  FINAL  AVERAGE  SALARY  TIMES  YEARS  OF  CREDITED  SERVICE  AT  THE
 COMPLETION OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE AS SUCH DIVISION OF  MILITARY
 AND NAVAL AFFAIRS FIREFIGHTER APPRENTICE, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER I, AIRPORT
 FIREFIGHTER II, AIRPORT FIREFIGHTER III, OR TRAINING AND SAFETY OFFICER,
 BUT NOT EXCEEDING ONE-HALF OF HIS OR HER FINAL AVERAGE SALARY.
   § 5. This act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill will allow airport firefighters employed by the division of
 military and naval affairs to retire to become covered by the provisions
 of a special 25 year retirement plan, which will provide  a  benefit  of
 one-half  of  final  average salary upon retirement for all tiers and an
 additional benefit of one-sixtieth of final average salary for each year
 of service, including non-firefighter service in excess of 25 years  for
 tiers 1 and 2 only.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2020 legislative session there will
 be  an increase of approximately $240,000 in the annual contributions of
 the State of New York for the fiscal year  ending  March  31,  2021.  In
 future  years,  this cost will vary as the billing rates and salaries of
 the affected firefighters change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of $2.13 million which will be  borne  by
 the  State  of New York as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on
 the assumption that payment will be made on March 1, 2021.
   This estimate is based on 65  airport  firefighters  employed  by  the
 division of military and naval affairs with an annual salary of approxi-
 mately $4.9 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   The identities of the members who are affected by this legislation are
 not  obtainable  from  our database. Job title code data provided by the
 Civil Service Employees Association was relied upon to identify affected
 members.
   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  9,  2021,  and intended for use only
 during the  2021  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2021-46,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.