S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6157
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 31, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- 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  additional  benefits  for certain retirement system members
   with credited service in excess of twenty-five years

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions c and f of section 89-e of the retirement and
 social security law, as added by chapter 520 of the laws  of  1988,  are
 amended to read as follows:
   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] SUCH
 MEMBER'S accumulated contributions at the time of  [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 retirement  and  an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent
 of  the  [reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay]   RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-
 TAKE-HOME-PAY  to  which  [he] SUCH MEMBER may then be entitled shall be
 sufficient to provide [him] SUCH  MEMBER  with  a  retirement  allowance
 equal  to one-half of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S final average salary, PROVIDED
 HOWEVER THAT A MEMBER WITH CREDITED SERVICE  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWENTY-FIVE
 YEARS SHALL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIX-
 TIETH  OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE
 SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS  BUT  NOT  IN  EXCESS  OF  THIRTY
 YEARS.
   f.  A  member contributing on the basis of this section at the time of
 retirement, [shall] 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  AT  LEAST  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] SUCH
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10299-02-3
              

 S. 6157                             2
 
 MEMBER'S accumulated contributions at the time of  [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 retirement  and  an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent
 of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which [he] SUCH MEMBER may
 then  be entitled shall be sufficient to provide [him] SUCH MEMBER  with
 a retirement allowance equal to one-half of [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S  final
 average salary PLUS AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIX-
 TIETH  OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE
 SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS  BUT  NOT  IN  EXCESS  OF  THIRTY
 YEARS.
   § 2. Subdivision c of section 604 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty  law, as added by chapter 520 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read
 as follows:
   c. The early  service  retirement  benefit  for  a  member  who  is  a
 correction  officer  of  the Westchester county correction department as
 defined in section eighty-nine-e of this  chapter  shall  be  a  pension
 equal  to  one-fiftieth  of final average salary times years of credited
 service at the completion  of  twenty-five  years  of  service  as  such
 correction [officer, but not exceeding one-half of his or her] OFFICER'S
 final  average  salary  PLUS AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO
 ONE-SIXTIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE  SALARY  FOR  EACH  YEAR  OF
 CREDITED  SERVICE  IN  EXCESS  OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF
 THIRTY YEARS.
   §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions  of  this act shall be borne by the county of Westchester 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 and  shall  apply  to  all
 members that retire on or after such date.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would modify the service retirement benefit for members of
 the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement  System  employed  by
 Westchester  County as correction officers. The modified service retire-
 ment benefit will  be  one-half  of  final  average  salary  (FAS)  upon
 completion  of  twenty-five  years of creditable service with additional
 sixtieths for each year of creditable service in excess  of  twenty-five
 years  but not in excess of thirty years. The current service retirement
 benefit is one-half of FAS upon completion of twenty-five years of cred-
 itable service.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2023 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $930,000  in  the
 annual  contributions  of  Westchester County for the fiscal year ending
 March 31, 2024. 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 $11.3 million which will
 be  borne  by  Westchester  County  as a one-time payment. This estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1,  2024.  If  Westchester
 County  elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
 the first year including interest would be $1.44 million.
   These estimated costs are based on 821 affected  members  employed  by
 Westchester  County, with annual salary of approximately $103 million as
 of March 31, 2022.
   Summary of relevant resources:
 S. 6157                             3
 
   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 March 30, 2023, and intended for use only during
 the 2023 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-125,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6157--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 31, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  JACKSON,  CHU, HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Civil
   Service  and Pensions -- 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  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   providing additional benefits for certain  retirement  system  members
   with credited service in excess of twenty-five years
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions c and f of section 89-e of the retirement  and
 social  security  law,  as added by chapter 520 of the laws of 1988, are
 amended to read as follows:
   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]  SUCH
 MEMBER'S  accumulated  contributions  at the time of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S
 retirement and an additional pension which is the  actuarial  equivalent
 of   the  [reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay]  RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-
 TAKE-HOME-PAY to which [he] SUCH MEMBER may then be  entitled  shall  be
 sufficient  to  provide  [him]  SUCH  MEMBER with a retirement allowance
 equal to one-half of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S final average salary,  PROVIDED
 HOWEVER  THAT  A  MEMBER  WITH CREDITED SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE
 YEARS SHALL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIX-
 TIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF  CREDITABLE
 SERVICE  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF THIRTY
 YEARS.
   f. A member contributing on the basis of this section at the  time  of
 retirement, [shall] MAY retire after the completion of twenty-five years
 of  total  creditable  service.  Application  therefor may be filed in a
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10299-03-4
              

 S. 6157--A                          2
 
 manner similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon
 completion of AT LEAST  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] SUCH
 MEMBER'S accumulated contributions at the time of  [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 retirement  and  an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent
 of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which [he] SUCH MEMBER may
 then be entitled shall be sufficient to provide [him] SUCH MEMBER   with
 a  retirement  allowance  equal to one-half of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S final
 average salary PLUS AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIX-
 TIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF  CREDITABLE
 SERVICE  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF THIRTY
 YEARS.
   § 2. Subdivision c of section 604 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty law, as added by chapter 520 of the laws of 1988, is amended to  read
 as follows:
   c.  The  early  service  retirement  benefit  for  a  member  who is a
 correction officer of the Westchester county  correction  department  as
 defined  in  section  eighty-nine-e  of  this chapter shall be a pension
 equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times  years  of  credited
 service  at  the  completion  of  twenty-five  years  of service as such
 correction [officer, but not exceeding one-half of his or her] OFFICER'S
 final average salary PLUS AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT  ALLOWANCE  EQUAL  TO
 ONE-SIXTIETH  OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S  FINAL  AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF
 CREDITED SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BUT  NOT  IN  EXCESS  OF
 THIRTY YEARS.
   §   3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing  the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of  Westchester  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 and shall apply to all
 members that retire on or after such date.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would modify the service retirement benefit for  members  of
 the  New  York  State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed by
 Westchester County as correction officers.  The modified service retire-
 ment benefit will  be  one-half  of  final  average  salary  (FAS)  upon
 completion  of  twenty-five  years of creditable service with additional
 sixtieths for each year of creditable service in excess  of  twenty-five
 years  but not in excess of thirty years. The current service retirement
 benefit is one-half of FAS upon completion of twenty-five years of cred-
 itable service.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2023 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $1.0  million  in
 the  annual  contributions  of  Westchester  County  for the fiscal year
 ending March 31, 2025. In future  years  this  cost  will  vary  but  is
 expected to average 0.8% of affected salary annually.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $11.6 million which will
 be  borne  by  Westchester  County  as a one-time payment. This estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1,  2025.  If  Westchester
 County  elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
 the first year including interest would be $1.49 million.
 S. 6157--A                          3
 
   These estimated costs are based on 851 affected  members  employed  by
 Westchester  County, with annual salary of approximately $104 million as
 of March 31, 2023.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
 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, 2023
 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 January 3, 2024, and intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2024-16,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.