S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9851
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 20, 2020
                                ___________
 
 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
   providing death benefits for correction officers  employed  by  Nassau
   county
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 508-b to read as follows:
   § 508-B. DEATH BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION  OFFICERS  EMPLOYED  BY  NASSAU
 COUNTY.  A. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "CORRECTION OFFICER" SHALL
 MEAN A PERSON EMPLOYED BY NASSAU  COUNTY  WITH  A  TITLE  OF  CORRECTION
 RECRUIT,  CORRECTION  OFFICER, CORRECTION CORPORAL, CORRECTION SERGEANT,
 CORRECTION LIEUTENANT, OR CORRECTION CAPTAIN.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  WHERE  A
 CORRECTION  OFFICER  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 THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, 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 ESTAB-
 LISHED 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.
   § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
 section 606-b to read as follows:
   § 606-B. DEATH BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION  OFFICERS  EMPLOYED  BY  NASSAU
 COUNTY.  A. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "CORRECTION OFFICER" SHALL
 MEAN A PERSON EMPLOYED BY NASSAU  COUNTY  WITH  A  TITLE  OF  CORRECTION
 RECRUIT,  CORRECTION  OFFICER, CORRECTION CORPORAL, CORRECTION SERGEANT,
 CORRECTION LIEUTENANT, OR CORRECTION CAPTAIN.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  WHERE  A
 CORRECTION  OFFICER  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 THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14765-02-0

 A. 9851                             2
 
 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 ESTAB-
 LISHED 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.
   §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Nassau and may be
 amortized over a period of ten years.
   §  4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall  be  subject  to  the  appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  modify  the in-service death benefit for retirement
 eligible tiers 3 through 6 members of  the  New  York  State  and  Local
 Employees'  Retirement  System  who  are  employed  by  Nassau County in
 certain correction officer job titles. 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 this legislation is enacted during the 2020 legislative session, we
 anticipate that there will be an increase in the annual contributions of
 Nassau County of approximately $160,000 for the fiscal year ending March
 31,  2021.  In  the future, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
 salaries of those affected change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $2.88 million which will
 be borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate is  based
 on  the  assumption  that  payment  will be made on February 1, 2021. If
 Nassau County elects to amortize this cost over a  10-year  period,  the
 cost for the first year would be $381,000.
   These  estimated  costs  are based on 822 affected members employed by
 Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $102  million  as  of
 March 31, 2019.
   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, 2019  actuarial  valu-
 ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2019
 Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2019  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
 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 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 February 6,  2020,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2020  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2020-39,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.