S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8164
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
May 16, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. WEBER -- 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 the county of Rockland to offer an
optional twenty year retirement plan to John F. Leonard, Jr., a deputy
sheriff employed by such county
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
the county of Rockland, a participating employer in the New York state
employees' retirement system, which has elected to offer the optional
twenty year retirement plan, established pursuant to article 14-B of the
retirement and social security law, to deputy sheriffs employed by such
county, is hereby authorized to make participation in such plan avail-
able to John F. Leonard, Jr., a deputy sheriff employed by the county of
Rockland with a start date of August 1, 2020, who, through no fault of
his own, was not enrolled to participate in such optional twenty year
plan contained in article 14-B of the retirement and social security
law. The county of Rockland may so elect by filing with the state comp-
troller, on or before 180 days after this act shall have become a law, a
resolution of its governing body together with certification that such
deputy sheriff did not bar themself from participation in the retirement
plan as a result of their own negligence. Thereafter, such deputy sher-
iff may individually elect to be covered by the provisions of sections
552 and 553 of the retirement and social security law, and the retire-
ment system shall credit service from August 1, 2020 to present under
sections 552 and 553 of the retirement and social security law. Such
member may effectuate by filing an election with the retirement system
within one year of the effective date of this act.
§ 2. All employer past service costs associated with implementing the
provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Rockland and may
be amortized over a five-year period.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11930-02-5
S. 8164 2
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow John F. Leonard, Jr., a current member of the
New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed as a
deputy sheriff by Rockland County and covered under the 25-year retire-
ment plan of Section 89-p of the Retirement and Social Security Law
(RSSL), to elect to be covered under the 20-year plan of Section 552 and
Section 553 of the RSSL.
If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $13,000 in the
annual contributions of Rockland County for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2026. In future years this cost will vary as the billing rates and
salary of John F. Leonard, Jr. change.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $199,000 which will be
borne by Rockland County as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes
that payment will be made on February 1, 2026. If Rockland County elects
to amortize this cost over a 5-year period, the cost for each year
including interest would be $44,500.
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 May 14, 2025, and intended for use only during
the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-175. 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.
