S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  3202

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 12, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  C. JOHNSON  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Civil  Service  and
  Pensions

AN ACT to amend the education law and the retirement and social security
  law, in relation to transfers of a pension reserve

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 522 of the education law, as added
by chapter 647 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
  5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  EXCEPT
FOR  THE PURPOSES OF PROVIDING THE BENEFITS, IF ANY, OF SUBDIVISION FOUR
OF THIS SECTION, with respect to  transfers  pursuant  to  this  section
which  occur  on  or  after  the  effective date of this subdivision, no
transfer of a pension reserve pursuant to subdivision one or two of this
section shall be required when the member is transferring from a  public
employee  retirement  system  of this state to any other public employee
retirement system of this state. For the purpose of  giving  the  trans-
ferring  member such status and crediting such service in the retirement
system to which the member is transferring as such member was allowed in
the retirement system from which the member has transferred, the  trans-
fer  shall  be deemed complete upon receipt by the transferee retirement
system of (a) a statement from the transferor retirement system  of  the
transferring  member's  date  of membership in the transferor retirement
system, tier status, service credited to the transferred membership, and
such other information as the transferee retirement system  may  require
to  effectuate  the transfer, and (b) such member's accumulated contrib-
utions from the transferor retirement  system,  if  same  had  not  been
previously  withdrawn,  or  notice from the transferor retirement system
that such member had no accumulated contributions, or  notice  from  the
transferor  retirement  system  that  such member's accumulated contrib-
utions had been withdrawn and the amount  thereof  and,  as  applicable,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06286-02-9
              

S. 3202                             2

receipt  from such member of such member's accumulated contributions and
interest.
  S 2. Subdivision k of section 43 of the retirement and social security
law,  as  amended by chapter 647 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read
as follows:
  k. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any member  of
the  New  York  state  and local employees' retirement system or the New
York city teachers' retirement system  who  retired  from  service  from
either  the  New  York city employees' retirement system or the New York
city board of education retirement system as  a  member  of  the  career
pension plan maintained by such system and who, but for the fact that he
or she retired, would be eligible for transfer and who has not, in fact,
received a pension payment from such system shall be permitted to trans-
fer  his  or her retirement system membership pursuant to the provisions
of this section. In such event, the application for retirement shall  be
deemed  to  have been rescinded and the retirement system from which the
service shall be transferred shall transfer the appropriate reserves  as
provided by this section, provided, however, that with respect to trans-
fers pursuant to this subdivision which occur on or after the [effective
date  of the chapter of the laws of two thousand four which amended this
subdivision] TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF OCTOBER, TWO THOUSAND FOUR, EXCEPT  FOR
THE  PURPOSES  OF PROVIDING THE BENEFITS, IF ANY, OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF
SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF THE EDUCATION LAW,  no  determination
of a reserve pursuant to subdivision c of this section or transfer ther-
eof  pursuant  to  the  first  sentence of subdivision d of this section
shall be required in the case of any transfer pursuant to this  subdivi-
sion.    Notwithstanding  the provision of this subdivision or any other
provision of law, an individual who transfers pursuant to this  subdivi-
sion  shall  not  be  required  to  render any minimum period of service
following transfer in order to be eligible to receive the  full  benefit
provided  hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a retiree covered by
either the career pension  plan  or  the  fifty-five-year-increased-ser-
vice-fraction  plan  who has received a pension payment or payments from
such system shall be eligible for the  provisions  of  this  subdivision
upon payment, to the retirement system from which the pension payment or
payments  were  made,  of  an  amount  equal  to such pension payment or
payments. After such payments are received, such person shall be permit-
ted to transfer his or her retirement system membership pursuant to  the
provisions of this section.
  S 3. Subdivision l of section 43 of the retirement and social security
law,  as added by chapter 647 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as
follows:
  l. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to  the  contrary,  with
respect  to  transfers  pursuant to this section which occur on or after
the [effective date of this subdivision] TWENTY-SIXTH  DAY  OF  OCTOBER,
TWO THOUSAND FOUR, EXCEPT FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROVIDING THE BENEFITS, IF
ANY,  OF  SUBDIVISION  FOUR  OF  SECTION  FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF THE
EDUCATION LAW, no determination of a reserve pursuant to  subdivision  c
of  this  section  or transfer thereof pursuant to the first sentence of
subdivision d of this section shall be  required  in  the  case  of  any
transfer  pursuant to this section. For the purpose of giving the trans-
ferring member such status and crediting  such  service  in  the  second
retirement  system  as  such  member was allowed in the first retirement
system in those cases to which this subdivision shall apply, the  trans-
fer  shall  be  deemed  complete  upon  receipt by the second retirement
system of:

S. 3202                             3

  1. a statement from the first retirement system  of  the  transferring
member's date of membership in the first retirement system, tier status,
service  credited  to  such membership being transferred, and such other
information as the second retirement system may  require  to  effectuate
the transfer; and
  2.  such  member's accumulated contributions from the first retirement
system, if same had not been previously withdrawn, or  notice  from  the
first  retirement  system  that  such member had no accumulated contrib-
utions, or notice from the first retirement system  that  such  member's
accumulated contributions had been withdrawn and the amount thereof and,
as  applicable,  receipt  from  such member of such member's accumulated
contributions and interest.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
have been in full force and effect on and after October 26, 2004.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill would amend section 522 of the Education Law and section 43
of the Retirement and Social Security Law  to  once  again  require  the
transfer  of  reserves for former members of the New York City Teachers'
Retirement System (NYCTRS) who transferred to the New York State  Teach-
ers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) and meet the eligibility requirements of
subdivision  4  of  section  522.  Subdivision  4 provides a benefit for
former NYCTRS members who had at least 20 years  of  service  and  whose
date  of  membership  is  prior  to 7/27/76 and whose transfer reserves,
including ITHP, exceeds their  accrued  liability  in  the  NYSTRS.  Any
"excess  ITHP"  resulting  from this calculation is given to the member.
Subdivision 5 ended the practice of transferring reserves between  these
retirement systems in 2004.
  It  is  estimated  that there will be no additional annual cost to the
employers of members of the New York State Teachers'  Retirement  System
if this bill is enacted. Reserves will be transferred from the NYCTRS to
the NYSTRS on behalf of these individuals.
  The  source  of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2009-12 dated January 30,
2009 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers'  Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2009 Legislative Session.