Senate Bill S7114

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7114
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 1, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- 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
   obtaining  military  service  credit for members of the New York state
   and local police and fire retirement system

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 9 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:
   9.  (A)  Anything to the contrary in subdivision three of this section
 notwithstanding, to obtain such credit,  a  member  who  first  joins  a
 public retirement system of the state on or after April first, two thou-
 sand  twelve  shall  pay such retirement system, for deposit in the fund
 used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the product of
 the number of years of military service being claimed and six percent of
 such member's compensation earned during the twelve months  of  credited
 service  immediately preceding the date that the member made application
 for credit pursuant to this section.
   (B) BEGINNING WITH APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  AND
 LOCAL  POLICE  AND  FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON AND AFTER APRIL FIRST, TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX, FOR MEMBERS WHO FIRST BECOME  MEMBERS  OF  THE  NEW
 YORK STATE AND LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER APRIL
 FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWELVE, THE SUM REQUIRED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PRODUCT OF  THE  NUMBER  OF  YEARS  OF
 MILITARY  SERVICE  BEING  CLAIMED  AND  THREE  PERCENT  OF SUCH MEMBER'S
 COMPENSATION EARNED DURING THE TWELVE MONTHS OF CREDITED  SERVICE  IMME-
 DIATELY  PRECEDING THE DATE THE MEMBER MADE APPLICATION PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08377-02-5
              

 S. 7114                             2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would decrease the payment required by Tier 6 members of the
 New  York  State  and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS)
 when purchasing military service credit pursuant to Section 1000 of  the
 Retirement  and  Social  Security  Law.  For applications received on or
 after April 1, 2026, Tier 6 members would pay 3% of their last 12-months
 compensation for each year of military service claimed. Currently,  Tier
 6 members must pay 6% of compensation.
   Insofar  as  this  bill  affects  NYSLPFRS, if enacted during the 2025
 Legislative Session, the cost shared by the State of New York and  local
 participating  employers  would  increase  by  approximately  3%  of the
 member's compensation for  each  year  of  additional  service  that  is
 purchased.
   The  exact  number  of  current  members as well as future members who
 could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 27, 2025, and intended for use only  during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-99. As Chief Actu-
 ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
 Young,  hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable Actu-
 arial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional  Conduct
 and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
 al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.