S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4520
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 9, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
   Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing  Lawrence  Ecker  to  receive  certain
   service credit with the New York state and local employees' retirement
   system

   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,
 Lawrence Ecker, who retired from the New York state and local employees'
 retirement  system  on  January  1,  2021 and whom, post retirement, was
 again employed as a state supreme court judge from approximately June of
 2021 through June of 2022, shall have his  pension  with  the  New  York
 state  and  local  employees'  retirement system recalculated to include
 additional full-time service credit for the period beginning January  1,
 2021  and  ending  December 31, 2022 if, on or before one year after the
 effective date of this act, he shall file  a  written  request  to  that
 effect with the New York state and local employees' retirement system.
   § 2. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
 shall be borne by the Office of Court Administration.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  grant 2 years of service credit under Article 15 of
 the Retirement and Social Security Law  to  Lawrence  Ecker,  a  current
 retiree  of  the  New  York State and Local Employees' Retirement System
 (NYSLERS), for the period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending  December
 31, 2022.  Lawrence Ecker retired effective January 1, 2021 and rejoined
 the  NYSLERS  for  one  year before resuming their retirement. This bill
 would therefore grant service credit for a period during which  Lawrence
 Ecker  was  retired  and  collecting a pension benefit. Per the New York
 State and Local Retirement System's policies, Lawrence Ecker is ineligi-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02390-04-3
              

 S. 4520                             2
 
 ble to receive service credit while they  were  collecting  the  pension
 benefit and while the retirement and pension benefit were paused.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2023 legislative session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of approximately  $226,000  which
 will  be borne by the New York State Office of Court Administration as a
 one-time payment. This estimate assumes that payment  will  be  made  on
 March 1, 2024.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2022  Report  of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2020,
 2021,  and  2022  Annual  Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
 tions, 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, 2022
 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 8,  2023,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2023  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2023-24,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.