S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4404
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  JORDAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize the county of Columbia to offer an  optional  twenty
   year  retirement  plan to Theodore Blank, a deputy sheriff employed by
   such county

   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 to the contrary,
 Theodore  Blank,  a  member  of the optional twenty-five year retirement
 plan for certain sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction
 officers pursuant to section 89-p of the retirement and social  security
 law,  who  was  employed  as  Columbia  county  sheriff in 2014, and who
 through no fault of his own, failed to  file  a  timely  application  to
 participate  in  the  special  twenty  year retirement plan contained in
 section 553 of the retirement and social security law resulting  in  the
 crediting  of  his service with the county of Columbia in the retirement
 plan contained in section 89-p of such law, shall be given  full  credit
 in the section 553 twenty year retirement plan for such service upon the
 election of the county of Columbia to assume the additional cost of such
 service  and  his  election  to  participate in such plan. The county of
 Columbia may so elect within one year of the effective date of this act,
 by filing with the state comptroller a resolution of its local  legisla-
 tive  body  together  with  certification  that  such member did not bar
 himself from participation in such retirement plan as a  result  of  his
 own negligence.
   §  2. Such deputy sheriff may elect to be covered by the provisions of
 section 553 of the retirement and social security law and shall be enti-
 tled to the full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such
 section by filing a request to that effect with  the  state  comptroller
 within eighteen months of the effective date of this act.
   §  3.  All employer past service costs associated with the implementa-
 tion of this act shall be borne by Columbia county, and may be amortized
 over a period of five years.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03543-02-1

 S. 4404                             2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow Theodore Blank, a current member of the New York
 State  and Local Employees' Retirement System employed as a deputy sher-
 iff by Columbia County and covered under the 25 year retirement plan  of
 section  89-p of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), to elect
 to be covered under the 20 year plan of section 553 of  the  RSSL.  Upon
 such  election,  all of his service currently creditable under 89-p will
 become creditable under 553. This includes service that he earned  in  a
 title  other  than  deputy sheriff, which is not currently allowed under
 the provisions of Article 14-B.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase  of  approximately  $9,300  in  the
 annual contributions of Columbia County for the fiscal year ending March
 31,  2022. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
 salary of Theodore Blank change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $98,800  which  will  be
 borne  by Columbia County as a one-time payment.  This estimate is based
 on the assumption that payment will be made  on  February  1,  2022.  If
 Columbia  County  elects to amortize this cost over a 5-year period, the
 cost for the first year including interest would be $22,400.
   Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  plan  qualification  issues:  granting
 service  credit towards retirement in the 20 year plan of section 553 of
 the RSSL for employment that was not rendered as a deputy sheriff  could
 jeopardize  the  Retirement  System's  governmental  plan status and its
 exemption from ERISA. This could result in the loss of qualified status,
 which would mean the loss of tax benefits and would substantially impair
 the System's value to our more than one million participants.
   Prior to the enactment of this legislation, we recommend that a favor-
 able ruling be obtained from the IRS stating that these provisions would
 not harm the qualification status of the System. It  is  estimated  that
 the  costs  to obtain such a ruling would be $28,000 for the services of
 the IRS, and $800 per hour for legal consultants.
   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  December  21,  2020, and intended for use only
 during the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-4, prepared
 by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.