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

                                  7801

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 27, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. RUSSELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Governmental Employees

AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
  death benefits for certain members

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

  Section 1. Subdivision b of section 448 of the retirement  and  social
security law is amended by adding a new paragraph 3 to read as follows:
  3. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION  I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD  HAVE
BEEN  ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR HER
DEATH AND WHERE HIS OR HER DEATH OCCURS ON  OR  AFTER  JULY  FIRST,  TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN  A  LUMP  SUM,  AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PENSION
RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED  ON  THE
DATE  OF  HIS  OR  HER  DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENEFIT AND THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S 2. Subdivision b of section 508 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
as follows:
  b. A member of a retirement system subject to the provisions  of  this
article  who  is  a policeman, fireman, correction officer, investigator
revised plan member or sanitation man and is in  a  plan  which  permits
immediate  retirement  upon  completion of a specified period of service
without regard to age or who is subject to  the  provisions  of  section
five  hundred  four  or  five  hundred  five of this article, shall upon
completion of ninety days of service be covered for financial protection
in the event of death in service pursuant to this subdivision.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11357-01-5

              

A. 7801                             2

  1. Such death benefit shall be equal to three times the member's sala-
ry raised to the next highest multiple of one thousand dollars,  but  in
no  event  shall  it  exceed three times the maximum salary specified in
section one hundred thirty of the civil service law or, in the case of a
member  of  a  retirement system other than the New York city employees'
retirement system, or in the case of a  member  of  the  New  York  city
employees'   retirement   system  who  is  a  New  York  city  uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member  or  an  investigator  revised
plan member, the specific limitations specified for age of entrance into
service  contained  in subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of para-
graph two of subdivision a of this section.
  2. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION  OF
THE  DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD HAVE
BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR  HER
DEATH  AND  WHERE  HIS  OR  HER DEATH OCCURS ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE  EQUAL  TO  THE  PENSION
RESERVE  THAT  WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE
DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF  THE  DEATH  BENEFIT  AND  THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill  would  modify  the  in-service  death  benefit for tiers 2
through 6 state correction officers. The in-service death  benefit  will
be  the  value  of  the  pension reserve as if the member had retired on
their date of death. If such a  proposal  is  enacted  during  the  2015
legislative  session,  we  anticipate  that there will be an increase of
approximately $3.3 million in the annual contributions of the  state  of
New  York  for  the  fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. In future years,
this cost will vary depending on the salaries and billing rates  of  the
affected members.
  In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an  immediate  past  service  cost of approximately $36.8 million, which
would be borne by the state of New York  as  a  one-time  payment.  This
estimate  is  based on the assumption that payment will be made on March
1, 2016.
  These estimated costs are based on 20,197  state  correction  officers
with a total annual salary of approximately $1.47 billion for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2014.
  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, 2014  actuarial  valu-
ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2014
Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2014  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 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, 2014
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.

A. 7801                             3

  This  estimate,  dated  December  19,  2014, and intended for use only
during the  2015  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2015-13,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Police and Fire
Retirement System.

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

                                 7801--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 27, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. RUSSELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Governmental Employees -- 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
  death benefits for certain members; and providing for  the  repeal  of
  such provisions upon expiration thereof

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

  Section 1. Subdivision b of section 448 of the retirement  and  social
security law is amended by adding a new paragraph 3 to read as follows:
  3. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION  I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD  HAVE
BEEN  ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR HER
DEATH AND WHERE HIS OR HER DEATH OCCURS ON  OR  AFTER  JULY  FIRST,  TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN  A  LUMP  SUM,  AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE PENSION
RESERVE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED  ON  THE
DATE  OF  HIS  OR  HER  DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF THE DEATH BENEFIT AND THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S 2. Subdivision b of section 508 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
as follows:
  b. A member of a retirement system subject to the provisions  of  this
article  who  is  a policeman, fireman, correction officer, investigator
revised plan member or sanitation man and is in  a  plan  which  permits
immediate  retirement  upon  completion of a specified period of service
without regard to age or who is subject to  the  provisions  of  section
five  hundred  four  or  five  hundred  five of this article, shall upon

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11357-02-5

              

A. 7801--A                          2

completion of ninety days of service be covered for financial protection
in the event of death in service pursuant to this subdivision.
  1. Such death benefit shall be equal to three times the member's sala-
ry  raised  to the next highest multiple of one thousand dollars, but in
no event shall it exceed three times the  maximum  salary  specified  in
section one hundred thirty of the civil service law or, in the case of a
member  of  a  retirement system other than the New York city employees'
retirement system, or in the case of a  member  of  the  New  York  city
employees'   retirement   system  who  is  a  New  York  city  uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member  or  an  investigator  revised
plan member, the specific limitations specified for age of entrance into
service  contained  in subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of para-
graph two of subdivision a of this section.
  2. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION  OF
THE  DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD HAVE
BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR  HER
DEATH  AND  WHERE  HIS  OR  HER DEATH OCCURS ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE  EQUAL  TO  THE  PENSION
RESERVE  THAT  WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE
DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF  THE  DEATH  BENEFIT  AND  THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S  3.  This  act  shall  take effect immediately and shall expire five
years after the date on which it shall have become a law.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would modify  the  in-service  death  benefit  for  tiers  2
through  6  state correction officers. The in-service death benefit will
be the value of the pension reserve as if  the  member  had  retired  on
their  date  of  death.  The provision is scheduled to expire five years
after the date it is enacted.
  If such a proposal is enacted during  the  2015  legislative  session,
there  will  be  an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $13.9
million, which would be borne by the state of New  York  as  a  one-time
payment.   This estimate is based on the assumption that payment will be
made on March 1, 2016.
  If this provision is extended or made permanent by  subsequent  legis-
lation, there would be additional costs.
  These  estimated  costs  are based on 20,197 state correction officers
with a total annual salary of approximately $1.47 billion for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2014.
  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, 2014 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2014
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2014  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2010,
2011,  2012, 2013 and 2014 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, 2014
New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.

A. 7801--A                          3

  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 June 12, 2015, and intended for use only during
the 2015 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2015-137,  prepared  by
the  Actuary  for  the  New  York  State and Local Employees' Retirement
System.

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

                                 7801--B

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 27, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. RUSSELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged,  bill  amended,
  ordered  reprinted  as  amended  and  recommitted to said committee --
  recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees  in  accordance
  with  Assembly  Rule  3, sec. 2 -- 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
  death  benefits  for  certain members; and providing for the repeal of
  such provisions upon expiration thereof

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

  Section  1.  Subdivision b of section 448 of the retirement and social
security law is amended by adding a new paragraph 3 to read as follows:
  3. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION  OF
THE  DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD HAVE
BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR  HER
DEATH  AND  WHERE  HIS  OR  HER DEATH OCCURS ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE  EQUAL  TO  THE  PENSION
RESERVE  THAT  WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE
DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF  THE  DEATH  BENEFIT  AND  THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S 2. Subdivision b of section 508 of the retirement and social securi-
ty law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read
as follows:
  b.  A  member of a retirement system subject to the provisions of this
article who is a policeman, fireman,  correction  officer,  investigator
revised  plan  member  or  sanitation man and is in a plan which permits
immediate retirement upon completion of a specified  period  of  service

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11357-07-6
              

A. 7801--B                          2

without  regard  to  age  or who is subject to the provisions of section
five hundred four or five hundred  five  of  this  article,  shall  upon
completion of ninety days of service be covered for financial protection
in the event of death in service pursuant to this subdivision.
  1. Such death benefit shall be equal to three times the member's sala-
ry  raised  to the next highest multiple of one thousand dollars, but in
no event shall it exceed three times the  maximum  salary  specified  in
section one hundred thirty of the civil service law or, in the case of a
member  of  a  retirement system other than the New York city employees'
retirement system, or in the case of a  member  of  the  New  York  city
employees'   retirement   system  who  is  a  New  York  city  uniformed
correction/sanitation revised plan member  or  an  investigator  revised
plan member, the specific limitations specified for age of entrance into
service  contained  in subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of para-
graph two of subdivision a of this section.
  2. PROVIDED FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS ARTI-
CLE TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A MEMBER IS IN A TITLE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
SION I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE OF THIS CHAPTER UNDER THE JURISDICTION  OF
THE  DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, AND WOULD HAVE
BEEN ENTITLED TO A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFIT AT THE TIME OF HIS OR  HER
DEATH  AND  WHERE  HIS  OR  HER DEATH OCCURS ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, TWO
THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE BENEFICIARY OR BENEFICIARIES MAY ELECT TO RECEIVE,
IN A LUMP SUM, AN AMOUNT PAYABLE WHICH SHALL BE  EQUAL  TO  THE  PENSION
RESERVE  THAT  WOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED HAD THE MEMBER RETIRED ON THE
DATE OF HIS OR HER DEATH, OR THE VALUE OF  THE  DEATH  BENEFIT  AND  THE
RESERVE-FOR-INCREASED-TAKE-HOME-PAY, IF ANY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
  S  3.  This  act  shall  take effect immediately and shall expire five
years after the date on which it shall have become a law.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would modify  the  in-service  death  benefit  for  tiers  2
through  6  state correction officers. The in-service death benefit will
be the value of the pension reserve as if  the  member  had  retired  on
their  date  of  death.  The provision is scheduled to expire five years
after the date it is enacted.
  If such a proposal is enacted during  the  2016  legislative  session,
there will be a one-time past service cost of $13.4 million, which would
be  borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment.  This estimate
is based on the assumption that payment will be made on March 1, 2017.
  If this provision is extended or made permanent by  subsequent  legis-
lation, there would be additional costs.
  These  estimated  costs  are based on 20,228 state correction officers
with a total annual salary of approximately $1.48 billion for the fiscal
year ending March 31, 2015.
  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, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2015
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2015
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, 2015
New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.

A. 7801--B                          3

  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  February  4,  2016,  and intended for use only
during the  2016  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2016-47,
prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
System.