Bill Text: NY A10715 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Provides for the equalization of retirement benefits for police officers across New York state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-04 - print number 10715a [A10715 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A10715-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Provides for the equalization of retirement benefits for police officers across New York state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-04 - print number 10715a [A10715 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A10715-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10715 IN ASSEMBLY May 15, 2018 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to the equalization of retirement benefits for police officers across New York state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision c of section 500 of the retirement and social 2 security law, as amended by section 9-a of part A of chapter 504 of the 3 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 4 c. If the comptroller certifies that the contribution rate under this 5 article for any participating employer who is participating on the 6 effective date hereof would be at least one percent higher than the rate 7 which would be applicable to such employer for an employee who is 8 subject to article eleven of this chapter and who was hired prior to 9 July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six, the provisions of this article 10 shall not apply with respect to such participating employer, provided, 11 however that members who first join the New York state and local police 12 and fire retirement system on or after January first, two thousand ten 13 and police/fire members, as that term is defined in section five hundred 14 one of this article, who have made an election to be subject to the 15 provisions of article twenty-two of this chapter pursuant to subdivision 16 b or c of section twelve hundred five of this chapter, shall not be 17 subject to the provisions of this article. In such event, the provisions 18 of article eleven and article twenty-two of this chapter shall continue 19 to be applicable to such participating employer and its employees, as 20 provided in section four hundred fifty-one of this chapter. If, as a 21 result of actuarial experience, such employer's contribution rate should 22 increase to the extent that it is not at least one percent lower than 23 the contribution rate under this article, then, upon certification of 24 such fact by the comptroller, the provisions of this subdivision shall 25 no longer apply with respect to the employees of such employer who ther- 26 eafter first join or rejoin a public retirement system. 27 § 2. Section 1200 of the retirement and social security law, as added 28 by section 1 of part A of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, is amended to 29 read as follows: 30 § 1200. Definitions. For purposes of this article the terms: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15632-03-8A. 10715 2 1 a. "Member" shall mean a person who is employed as a police officer or 2 firefighter by any employer other than the city of New York who first 3 joins [the] a retirement system on or after January first, two thousand 4 ten or a police/fire member, as that term is defined in section five 5 hundred one of this chapter, who has made an election, pursuant to 6 subdivision b or c of section twelve hundred five of this article, to be 7 subject to the provisions of this article. 8 b. "Retirement system" shall mean the New York state and local police 9 and fire retirement system, the New York city police pension fund, or 10 the New York city fire department pension fund. 11 § 3. Section 1201 of the retirement and social security law, as added 12 by section 1 of part A of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, is amended to 13 read as follows: 14 § 1201. Applicability. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 15 contrary, the provisions of this article shall be applicable to all 16 [employees in the retirement system who first joined such system on or17after January first, two thousand ten] members of a retirement system as 18 those terms are defined in section twelve hundred of this article. 19 § 4. Section 1202 of the retirement and social security law is 20 amended by adding a new subdivision d to read as follows: 21 d. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law, the 22 amount of the vested retirement benefit for any member who has made an 23 election to be subject to the provisions of this article pursuant to 24 subdivision b or c of section twelve hundred five of this article, shall 25 be equal to one-sixtieth of the member's final average salary on the 26 date of his or her discontinuance of service, multiplied by a number 27 equal to the number of years of service credited to the member on the 28 date of such discontinuance. 29 § 5. Section 1204 of the retirement and social security law, as 30 amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as 31 follows: 32 § 1204. Member contributions. Members who are subject to the 33 provisions of this article shall contribute three percent of annual 34 wages to the retirement system in which they have membership, except 35 that beginning April first, two thousand thirteen for members who first 36 become members of the New York state and local police and fire retire- 37 ment system on or after April first, two thousand twelve; for members 38 who have made an election to be subject to the provisions of this arti- 39 cle pursuant to subdivision b of section twelve hundred five of this 40 article, beginning on the date that such election is filed with the 41 administrative head of the retirement system; and for members who have 42 made an election to be subject to the provisions of this article pursu- 43 ant to subdivision c of section twelve hundred five of this article, 44 beginning on the date that the member joins the retirement system, the 45 rate at which each such member shall contribute in any current plan year 46 (April first to March thirty-first) shall be determined by reference to 47 the wages of such member in the second plan year (April first to March 48 thirty-first) preceding such current plan year as follows: 49 a. members with wages of forty-five thousand dollars per annum or less 50 shall contribute three per centum of annual wages; 51 b. members with wages greater than forty-five thousand per annum, but 52 not more than fifty-five thousand per annum shall contribute three and 53 one-half per centum of annual wages; 54 c. members with wages greater than fifty-five thousand per annum, but 55 not more than seventy-five thousand per annum shall contribute four and 56 one-half per centum of annual wages;A. 10715 3 1 d. members with wages greater than seventy-five thousand per annum but 2 not more than one hundred thousand per annum shall contribute five and 3 three-quarters per centum of annual wages; and 4 e. members with wages greater than one hundred thousand per annum 5 shall contribute six per centum of annual wages. 6 Notwithstanding the foregoing, during each of the first three plan 7 years (April first to March thirty-first) in which such member has 8 established membership in [the New York state and local police and fire] 9 a retirement system, such member shall contribute a percentage of annual 10 wages in accordance with the preceding schedule based upon a projection 11 of annual wages provided by the employer. Effective April first, two 12 thousand twelve, all members subject to the provisions of this article 13 shall not be required to make member contributions on annual wages 14 excluded from the calculation of final average salary pursuant to 15 section [1203] twelve hundred three of this article. Nothing in this 16 section, however, shall be construed or deemed to allow members to 17 receive a refund of any member contributions on such wages paid prior to 18 April first, two thousand twelve. 19 Members who are enrolled in a retirement plan that limits the amount 20 of creditable service a member can accrue shall not be required to make 21 contributions pursuant to this section after accruing the maximum amount 22 of service credit allowed by the retirement plan in which they are 23 enrolled. The state comptroller, or for the New York city police pension 24 fund and the New York city fire department pension fund, the board of 25 trustees, shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary and 26 appropriate with respect to the deduction of such contribution from 27 members' wages and for the maintenance of any special fund or funds with 28 respect to amounts so contributed. In no way shall the member contrib- 29 utions made pursuant to this section be used to provide for pension 30 increases or annuities of any kind. 31 § 6. Section 1205 of the retirement and social security law, as added 32 by section 1 of part A of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, is amended to 33 read as follows: 34 § 1205. Recalculation of benefits. a. Notwithstanding any other 35 provision of law, any member who has joined the New York state and local 36 police and fire retirement system pursuant to the provisions of article 37 fourteen of this chapter on or after July first, two thousand nine may 38 elect to have his or her retirement benefits calculated pursuant to this 39 article by filing within one hundred twenty days of the effective date 40 of [this section] the chapter of the laws of two thousand eighteen that 41 amended this subdivision a request for such calculation with the retire- 42 ment system in the form and manner prescribed by the state comptroller. 43 b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any 44 police/fire member, as that term is defined in section five hundred one 45 of this chapter who joined the New York state and local police and fire 46 retirement system between July first, two thousand nine and December 47 thirty-first, two thousand ten, or who joined the New York city police 48 pension fund or the New York city fire department pension fund between 49 July first, two thousand nine and the effective date of this subdivision 50 may make an irrevocable election that shall be duly executed and filed 51 with the administrative head of the retirement system no later than one 52 hundred twenty days after the effective date of this subdivision to be 53 subject to the provisions of this article and have his or her retirement 54 benefits calculated pursuant to this article. Nothing in this subdivi- 55 sion, however, shall be construed or deemed to allow a police/fire 56 member who makes an irrevocable election pursuant to this subdivision toA. 10715 4 1 receive a refund of any member contributions for credited service that 2 occurred before the date that such election is filed by a police/fire 3 member with the New York city police pension fund or New York city fire 4 department pension fund, as applicable to such member. 5 c. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, any police/fire 6 member, as that term is defined in section five hundred one of this 7 chapter, who first becomes a member of the New York city police pension 8 fund or the New York city fire department pension fund after the effec- 9 tive date of this subdivision may make an irrevocable election that 10 shall be duly executed and filed with the administrative head of the 11 retirement system no later than thirty days after joining the retirement 12 system to be subject to the provisions of this article and have his or 13 her retirement benefits calculated pursuant to this article. 14 § 7. Section 1206 of the retirement and social security law, as added 15 by section 1 of part A of chapter 504 of the laws of 2009, is amended to 16 read as follows: 17 § 1206. Conflicting provisions. Except as otherwise provided in this 18 article, or in conflict therewith, the provisions of article eleven of 19 this chapter and title thirteen of the administrative code of the city 20 of New York, including any plan that has been elected by the employer or 21 is otherwise applicable under article eight of this chapter or title 22 thirteen of the administrative code of the city of New York shall govern 23 the retirement benefits provided under this article. In the event of any 24 conflict between the provisions of this article and any other provision 25 of law, this article shall govern. 26 § 8. Paragraph 2 of subdivision a of section 1207 of the retirement 27 and social security law, as added by chapter 303 of the laws of 2017, is 28 amended to read as follows: 29 2. A member who first joins such system on or after January first, two 30 thousand eighteen in active service who has credit for at least one year 31 of member service may borrow, no more than once during each twelve month 32 period, an amount, not less than one thousand dollars and which would 33 not cause the balance owed pursuant to this section, including any 34 amounts borrowed then outstanding, to exceed (i) fifty percent of the 35 member's total contributions made pursuant to section [five hundred36seventeen of this chapter] twelve hundred four of this article or any 37 other article of this chapter (including interest credited at the rate 38 set forth in subdivision c of [such] section five hundred seventeen of 39 this chapter compounded annually); or (ii) fifty thousand dollars, 40 whichever is less. 41 § 9. Section 1209 of the retirement and social security law, as added 42 by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 43 § 1209. Final average salary. For members who first become members of 44 the New York state and local police and fire retirement system on or 45 after April first, two thousand twelve, and members who have made an 46 election to be subject to the provisions of this article pursuant to 47 subdivision b or c of section twelve hundred five of this article, a 48 member's final average salary shall be equal to one-fifth of the highest 49 total wages earned by such member during any continuous period of 50 employment for which the member was credited with five years of service 51 credit; provided, however, if the wages earned during any year of cred- 52 ited service included in the period used to determine final average 53 salary exceeds the average of the wages of the previous four years of 54 credited service by more than ten percent, the amount in excess of ten 55 percent shall be excluded from the computation of final average salary. 56 Wages in excess of the annual salary paid to the governor pursuant toA. 10715 5 1 section three of article four of the state constitution shall be 2 excluded from the computation of final average salary for members who 3 first become members of the New York state and local police and fire 4 retirement system on or after April first, two thousand twelve. 5 § 10. Section 1210 of the retirement and social security law, as added 6 by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 7 § 1210. Wages. For members who first become members of the New York 8 state and local police and fire retirement system on or after April 9 first, two thousand twelve, and members who have made an election to be 10 subject to the provisions of this article pursuant to subdivision b or c 11 of section twelve hundred five of this article, the following items 12 shall not be included in the definition of wages: a. wages in excess of 13 the annual salary paid to the governor pursuant to section three of 14 article four of the state constitution, b. lump sum payments for 15 deferred compensation, sick leave, accumulated vacation or other credits 16 for time not worked, c. any form of termination pay, d. any additional 17 compensation paid in anticipation of retirement, and e. in the case of 18 employees who receive wages from three or more employers in a twelve 19 month period, the wages paid by the third and each successive employer. 20 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately. Fiscal Note.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would allow certain police and fire employees who are members of certain public retirement systems to become covered under the provisions of Article 22 of the Retirement and Social Security Law. Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), an individual who became a PFRS member on or after July 1, 2009 and before January 9, 2010 to elect to be covered by the provisions of Article 22 of the Retirement and Social Security Law. Any member who becomes covered under a non-contributory plan would no longer be required to make member contributions. Affected members shall not receive a refund of their member contributions. If this bill is enacted, there would not be any cost to the State of New York and the participating employers in the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System. Summary of relevant resources: The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu- ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017 Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 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, 2017 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 estimate, dated March 13, 2018, and intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-74, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
