S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  5640--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 24, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CROCI  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Civil  Service  and  Pensions  in
   accordance  with  Senate  Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee
 
 AN  ACT  to  provide  temporary  retirement incentive for certain public
   employees
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  This  act  enacts into law components of legislation that
 would establish an age 55/25 temporary retirement incentive for  certain
 public employees.
   § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that the
 retirement benefit for certain public employees who are above age 55 and
 with 25 years of service provided for in this act is intended only to be
 temporary in nature for employees who are eligible to receive and quali-
 fy  for the applicable benefit during the applicable time periods speci-
 fied in this act. Further, nothing in this act  shall  be  construed  to
 create  an  expectation of a future or continuing retirement benefit for
 any public employee who is not eligible to receive and qualify  for  the
 retirement benefits herein during the applicable time periods.
   §  3.  Definitions.  As  used  in this act, unless the context clearly
 requires otherwise:
   (a) "Retirement system" means the New York state teachers'  retirement
 system.
   (b)  "Teachers'  retirement system" means the New York state teachers'
 retirement system.
   (c) "Educational employer" means a participating employer which  is  a
 school  district,  a  board of cooperative educational services, a voca-
 tional education and extension board, an institution for the instruction
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02162-05-8

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 of the deaf and of the blind as enumerated in section 4201 of the educa-
 tion law, or a school district as enumerated in section 1 of chapter 566
 of the laws of 1967, as amended.
   (d)  "Eligible  employee" means a person who is a member of the teach-
 ers' retirement system, who is an employee of an  educational  employer,
 who holds a position represented by the recognized collective bargaining
 units affiliated with the New York state united teachers employee organ-
 ization  as  certified  by his or her employer, and who has attained the
 age of fifty-five and has  at  least  twenty-five  years  of  creditable
 service in the retirement system.
   (e)  "Active  service"  means service while being paid on the payroll,
 provided that (i) a leave of absence with pay  shall  be  deemed  active
 service;  (ii)  other  approved  leave  without pay not to exceed twelve
 weeks from March 1, 2018 and the commencement  of  the  designated  open
 period;  and (iii) the period of time subsequent to the June 2018 school
 term and on or before August 31, 2018 for a teacher (or  other  employee
 as  defined  in this act, employed on a school-year basis) who is other-
 wise in active service on the effective date of this act shall be deemed
 active service.
   (f) "Open period" means the period  beginning  with  the  commencement
 date  as defined in subdivision (g) of this section and shall be 60 days
 in length. For educational employers who make election  after  June  30,
 2018,  the  open period shall begin immediately after such election, and
 shall not extend beyond August 31, 2018. For the purposes of  retirement
 pursuant  to  this  act,  a service retirement application must be filed
 with the appropriate retirement system not less than 14  days  prior  to
 the  effective  date of retirement to become effective, unless a shorter
 time period is permitted under law.
   (g) "Commencement date" means the first  day  the  retirement  benefit
 mandated by this act shall be made available, which shall mean a date or
 dates on or after the effective date of this act to be determined by the
 educational  employer  which  elects  to participate pursuant to section
 four of this act, but no sooner than June 30, 2018.
   § 4. On or after June 30, 2018 an educational employer  may  elect  to
 provide its employees the retirement incentive authorized by this act by
 the  adoption  of  a  resolution  of  its governing body. A copy of such
 resolution shall be filed with the appropriate  retirement  system.  The
 resolution  shall  be  accompanied  by the affidavit of the school board
 president or trustee or other comparable official certifying the validi-
 ty of such resolution.
   § 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any eligible employee
 serving in an eligible title who (a) has been continuously in the active
 service of an educational employer who has elected to participate in the
 retirement incentive provided in section six of this  act,  pursuant  to
 section  four  of  this  act, from March 1, 2018 to the date immediately
 prior to the commencement date of the applicable open period, (b)  files
 an  application for service retirement that is effective during the open
 period, and (c) is otherwise eligible for a service retirement as of the
 effective date of the application for retirement shall  be  entitled  to
 the retirement benefit provided in section six of this act.
   § 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any eligible employee
 who  is:  (a) a member of the teachers' retirement system, and (b) enti-
 tled to retirement benefits pursuant to section five  of  this  act  may
 retire  during  the  open  period  without  the  reduction of his or her
 retirement benefit that would otherwise be imposed by article 11  or  15
 of  the retirement and social security law if he or she has attained the

 S. 5640--A                          3
 
 age of 55 and has completed at least 25  or  more  years  of  creditable
 service.  An eligible employee who is covered by the provisions of arti-
 cle 11 or 15 of the retirement and  social  security  law  shall  retire
 under  the  provisions  of article 11 or 15 of the retirement and social
 security law.
   § 7. The pension benefit costs of section six of  this  act  shall  be
 paid  by  employers  as  provided  by  applicable law for the retirement
 system covered by this act over  a  period  not  to  exceed  five  years
 commencing in the state fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.
   §  8.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this act shall have
 no impact on retirement incentives, options or  inducements  offered  as
 part  of  a  contractual  agreement  between an eligible employee and an
 educational employer which were negotiated prior to the  effective  date
 of this act.
   §  9. Severability clause.  If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by  any  court  of
 competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
 its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
 the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
   § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would provide a temporary retirement incentive to members of
 the  New York State Teachers' Retirement System during fiscal year 2018-
 2019. This incentive would permit eligible members to retire without  an
 early  retirement  reduction  upon attainment of at least age 55 with 25
 years of service. Currently 30 years of service are required in order to
 retire without reduction. In order to receive this benefit, a member  of
 an employer who has elected to participate must retire during the desig-
 nated  60-day  open  period,  beginning  on or after June 30, 2018 which
 shall not extend beyond August 31, 2018. In  order  to  be  eligible,  a
 member  must  be an employee of an educational employer and hold a posi-
 tion represented by one of the recognized  collective  bargaining  units
 affiliated  with the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) as certified
 by his or her employer. In  order  to  participate  in  this  retirement
 incentive,  the  educational employer must be a school district, a board
 of cooperative educational services, a vocational education  and  exten-
 sion  board,  an  institution for the instruction of the deaf and of the
 blind as enumerated in Section 4201 of the Education  Law  or  a  school
 district  as enumerated in Section 1 of Chapter 566 of the Laws of 1967.
 Employers who elect to participate would pay the cost of the  retirement
 incentive over a period not to exceed five years, beginning in the state
 fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.
   The  estimated  increase  in the present value of benefits due to this
 temporary retirement incentive is approximately $210 million. The annual
 cost, over a five-year period, to the participating employers of members
 of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System for  this  benefit  is
 estimated  to  be  $56.2  million  or  .34%  of  payroll if this bill is
 enacted.
   Member data is from  the  System's  most  recent  actuarial  valuation
 files,  consisting  of  data provided by the employers to the Retirement
 System.  Data contributions and statistics can be found in the  System's
 Comprehensive  Annual  Financial  Report  (CAFR).  System  assets are as

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 reported in the System's financial statements, and can also be found  in
 the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
 Actuarial Valuation Report.
   The  source  of  this  estimate is Fiscal Note 2018-16 dated March 26,
 2018 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers'  Retirement
 System and is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.
 I,  Richard  A.  Young,  am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
 Retirement System. I am a member of the American  Academy  of  Actuaries
 and  I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
 aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.