S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7973--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Commit-
   tee  on  Finance  --  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
   calculating the  earnings  limitations  for  retired  police  officers
   employed part-time by certain municipalities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 212 of the retirement and social  security  law  is
 amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   4.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISIONS ONE AND TWO OF THIS
 SECTION, SUCH EARNINGS LIMITATIONS SHALL NOT APPLY TO A  RETIRED  POLICE
 OFFICER,  WHO HAS RETIRED AFTER HAVING TWENTY YEARS OF VESTED SERVICE IN
 A POLICE PENSION SYSTEM  THAT  FULLY  VESTS  AT  TWENTY  YEARS,  WHO  IS
 EMPLOYED PART-TIME AS A POLICE OFFICER IN A VILLAGE OR TOWN WITH A POPU-
 LATION  OF  LESS  THAN  SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AS DETERMINED BY THE
 MOST RECENT FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS, WHERE AT LEAST SEVENTY PERCENT  OF
 SUCH  VILLAGE OR TOWN'S ACTIVE-DUTY POLICE FORCE, NOT INCLUDING CIVILIAN
 STAFF, CONSISTS OF PART-TIME OFFICERS.  SUCH  PART-TIME  POLICE  OFFICER
 SHALL  BE  PERMITTED  TO  WORK  UP  TO  FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY HOURS IN ANY
 CONSECUTIVE SIX-MONTH PERIOD IN A CALENDAR YEAR BASED ON HOURS WORKED AS
 REPORTED BY THE VILLAGE OR TOWN ON A MONTHLY BASIS, WITH  NO  SUSPENSION
 OR  DIMINUTION OF RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE. ANY VILLAGE OR TOWN THAT HIRES A
 RETIRED POLICE OFFICER PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION  SHALL  REPORT  SUCH
 OFFICER'S  DAYS WORKED AND SALARY EARNED TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL
 POLICE AND FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON A MONTHLY  BASIS.    FOR  ANY  SUCH
 OFFICER  WHOSE  EARNINGS EXCEED THE EARNINGS LIMITATIONS IN SUBDIVISIONS
 ONE AND TWO OF THIS SECTION, THE VILLAGE OR TOWN EMPLOYING SUCH  OFFICER
 SHALL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL POLICE AND FIRE RETIRE-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13074-03-5
              

 S. 7973--A                          2
 
 MENT SYSTEM A PERCENTAGE OF SUCH OFFICER'S EXCESS EARNINGS EQUIVALENT TO
 THE  NORMAL  CONTRIBUTION RATE AS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH ONE OF SUBDIVI-
 SION B OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would allow retired police officers to continue to receive
 their full retirement benefit when reemployed as a police officer  on  a
 part-time basis for up to 520 hours in any consecutive six-month period,
 when  such  employment  is  by a village or town where (1) the municipal
 population is less than 7,500, and (2) at least 70% of the police  force
 is employed on a part-time basis. Such retired police officers must have
 retired from a twenty-year retirement plan to be eligible for this bene-
 fit. The village or town would be required to pay employer contributions
 on  any salary paid to such retirees exceeding the post-retirement earn-
 ings limit, currently $35,000.
   Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local  Police  and
 Fire  Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), if this bill were enacted during the
 2025  Legislative  Session,  the  direct  cost  incurred  would  be  the
 retiree's  pension  benefit  paid  while post-retirement earnings exceed
 $35,000. The pension benefit expected to be paid by the NYSLPFRS  during
 that 7-month period is estimated to be $48,000 per person.
   Further,  we  anticipate significant administrative costs to implement
 the provisions of this legislation.
   All costs will be shared by the State of New York and all  participat-
 ing employers in NYSLPFRS and spread over future billing cycles.
   The  number  of  members  and  retirees  who could be affected by this
 legislation cannot be readily determined. If large numbers  of  retirees
 are rehired into such positions, significant annual costs would result.
   In  addition  to  the  costs  quoted  above,  insofar as this proposal
 disrupts the usual pattern and timing of employee turnover (that is,  if
 members  retire  earlier than assumed and participating employers hire a
 retiree instead of a new billable member),  shifts  in  member  behavior
 could  generate losses that increase the average billing rate from 33.7%
 to 34.5%. The actual increase in billing rates will depend  upon  member
 and  employer  utilization,  with  the rates above representing an upper
 maximum.
   Based on the 2020 census, approximately 180 towns and villages partic-
 ipating in NYSLPFRS would satisfy the population requirement  associated
 with  this proposal. These towns and villages employ approximately 1,600
 police officers with annual salary of approximately $85  million  as  of
 March 31, 2024.
   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.
 S. 7973--A                          3

   This  estimate,  dated  June 3, 2025, and intended for use only during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal  Note  No.  2025-183.  As  Chief
 Actuary  of  the  New  York  State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron
 Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
 ble  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 Actuaries, of which I am a
 member.
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would remove the $35,000 Retirement
 and Social  Security  Law  (RSSL)  Section  212  post-retirement  public
 employment  earnings  limit for certain police officers who retired with
 at least 20 years of service and are reemployed on a part-time basis  as
 a police officer with certain villages or towns.
 
         ILLUSTRATION - ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE TO BE PAID
 
   Annual            Annual Post-Retirement Earnings in Calendar Year
   Retirement
   Allowance    $50,000      $60,000       $70,000         $80,000
   $50,000      $15,000      $20,833       $25,000         $28,125
   $60,000      $18,000      $25,000       $30,000         $33,750
   $70,000      $21,000      $29,167       $35,000         $39,375
   $80,000      $24,000      $33,333       $40,000         $45,000
   $90,000      $27,000      $37,500       $45,000         $50,625
   $100,000     $30,000      $41,667       $50,000         $56,250
 
   The  resulting increase in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
   CENSUS DATA: The number of retirees who will return to public  service
 in  the  future  is  unknown  and  the  portion of the pension allowance
 currently suspended is highly dependent  on  their  salary  earned.  The
 results  above  illustrate  the  additional pension amount that would be
 paid under this legislation given a retiree's  post-retirement  earnings
 and pension allowance.
   The  preliminary  census  data  collected  as of June 30, 2024 for the
 potentially impacted service retiree population is summarized below.
 
                                                 POLICE
                Receiving Members
                - Number Count:                  23,281
                - Average Age:                   56.5
                - Average Benefit:               74,500
 
   IMPACT ON PENSION PAYMENTS: Retirees below age 65 who return to public
 service and elect to be covered under the provisions of RSSL Section 212
 are permitted to earn an amount not exceeding a  specific  dollar  limit
 (currently  $35,000)  in  each  calendar year. Once this dollar limit is
 reached, the retiree's retirement allowance is suspended for the remain-
 der of that calendar  year.  The  amount  of  the  retirement  allowance
 suspended  is  contingent  upon both individual post-retirement earnings
 and annual retirement allowances.
   The proposed legislation would  remove  the  post-retirement  earnings
 limit  for  police retirees who work part-time for (1) a town or village
 S. 7973--A                          4
 
 with a population less than 7,500;  (2)  where  at  least  70%  of  such
 village or town's uniformed police force is part-time; and (3) the part-
 time work does not exceed 520 hours in a consecutive six-month period in
 a calendar year.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  For  illustrative purposes only, the table
 above presents  the  estimated  additional  retirement  allowances  paid
 (i.e., those benefits that would not be subject to suspension) for vari-
 ous  sample  combinations  of post-retirement annual earnings and annual
 retirement allowance amounts.
   For purposes of this fiscal note, potential normal contributions to be
 paid by affected villages and towns to the  New  York  State  and  Local
 Police  and Fire Retirement System where post-retirement earning thresh-
 olds have been exceeded have not been included as an offset of  cost  to
 New York City.
   RISK  AND  UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
 highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods,  and  models  used,  demo-
 graphics  of  the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
 ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates  from
 actuarial   assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from  those
 presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the  scope  of  this
 Fiscal Note.
   This  Fiscal  Note  is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
 does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative  and  Other
 Postemployment  Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any chapter
 laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy  of
 Actuaries.  We  are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it impairs our
 objectivity, and we meet the Qualification  Standards  of  the  American
 Academy  of  Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
 To the best of our knowledge, the results  contained  herein  have  been
 prepared  in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and
 procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice  issued  by  the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION:  This  Fiscal Note 2025-75 dated June 5,
 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Retirement
 Systems  and  Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
 Legislative Session.