Senate Bill S6840A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6840--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 25, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. SCARCELLA-SPANTON, ASHBY, COONEY, GRIFFO, HINCHEY,
   JACKSON, MARTINEZ, MATTERA, PALUMBO, SANDERS, SKOUFIS, TEDISCO,  WEBER
   -- 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
   increasing the amount of years of military service credit a member may
   purchase
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 4 of section 1000 of the retirement and social
 security law, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2016,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   4. In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section, when
 added  to credit granted for military service with any retirement system
 of this state pursuant to this or any other provision of law,  exceed  a
 total of [three] FOUR years.
   §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 1000 of the retirement and social secu-
 rity law, as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 2022, is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   1.  A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
 total not to exceed [three] FOUR years  of  service  credit  for  up  to
 [three]  FOUR  years of military duty, as defined in section two hundred
 forty-three of the  military  law,  if  the  member  (a)  was  honorably
 discharged  from  the  military,  or  (b) has a qualifying condition, as
 defined in section [three hundred fifty of the executive law] ONE OF THE
 VETERANS' SERVICES LAW, and has received  a  discharge  other  than  bad
 conduct  or  dishonorable from such service, or (c) is a discharged LGBT
 veteran, as defined in section [three hundred  fifty  of  the  executive

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09124-04-6
              

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 law]  ONE  OF  THE  VETERANS' SERVICES LAW, and has received a discharge
 other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any 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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would amend the retirement and social security law (RSSL) to
 allow  for  a member to obtain up to four years of service credit for up
 to four years of military duty if the member was  honorably  discharged.
 The  current maximum is three years of service credit. Members must have
 at  least  five  years  of  credited  service  (not  including  military
 service).    For  each year of additional service credit granted by this
 bill, Tier 1-5 members would be required to pay 3% member  contributions
 and Tier 6 would pay 6% member contributions.
   The provisions of section 25 of the RSSL shall not apply.
   Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
 Retirement System (NYSLERS), the increased costs would be shared by  all
 participating employers in NYSLERS. We estimate the past service cost as
 a  percentage  of  an  affected  member's  compensation for each year of
 service credit that is purchased will be:
                             Tiers 1-4      Tier 5         Tier 6
   Age-Based Plans:             23%           17%            14%
   Service-Based Plans:         23%           23%            20%
   Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local  Police  and
 Fire  Retirement  System (NYSLPFRS), the increased costs would be shared
 by all participating employers in NYSLPFRS. We estimate  that  the  past
 service  cost  will  be  28%  (25%  for  Tier 6) of an affected member's
 compensation for each year of service credit that is purchased.
   Further, we anticipate additional administrative  costs  to  implement
 the provisions of this legislation.
   The  exact  number  of  current  members as well as future members who
 could be affected by this  legislation  cannot  be  readily  determined.
 Through  December 31, 2025, approximately 12,900 members purchased mili-
 tary service credit pursuant to Chapter 41 of the Laws of 2016,  with  a
 total cost of approximately $469 million. It is estimated that, had this
 proposal been law since 2016, approximately 8,600 of these members could
 have  purchased  a  fourth  year of military service credit for an addi-
 tional cost of approximately $132 million.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
 the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April  1,
 2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
 of  the  Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
 actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025  Annual
 Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
 and  Regulations  of  the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
 value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025  Financial
 Statements and Supplementary Information.
   Assumptions,  demographics,  and  other  considerations  may have been
 modified to better reflect specific provisions of any  proposed  benefit
 change(s).
   This  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
 sional judgment of an attorney.
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   This estimate, dated February 4,  2026,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-39. As
 Chief Actuary  of  the  New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement  System
 (NYSLRS),  I,  Aaron  Schottin  Young, hereby certify that this analysis
 complies  with applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the
 Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards  for  Actuaries
 Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actu-
 aries,  of  which  I  am  a  member.  I am a member of NYSLRS but do not
 believe it impairs my objectivity.