S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  2095--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- 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
   granting members or officers of the state police credit for service as
   a deputy sheriff, county corrections  officer,  or  state  corrections
   officer
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph 1 of  subdivision  c  of  section  381-b  of  the
 retirement  and  social  security  law, as amended by chapter 581 of the
 laws of 2001, is amended and a new paragraph  3  is  added  to  read  as
 follows:
   (1) Police service. In computing the years of total creditable service
 in such division, full credit shall be given and full allowance shall be
 made  for  service  rendered  as  a police officer or member of a police
 force or department of a state park authority or commission or an organ-
 ized police force or department of a county, city, town, village, police
 district, authority or other participating employer  or  member  of  the
 capital police force in the office of general services while a member of
 the  New  York state and local police and fire retirement system, of the
 New York state and local employees' retirement system or of the New York
 city police pension fund and for all service for which full  credit  has
 been given and full allowance made pursuant to the provisions of section
 three  hundred seventy-five-h of this [chapter] ARTICLE provided, howev-
 er, that full credit pursuant to the provisions of  such  section  shall
 mean  only  such  service as would be creditable service pursuant to the
 provisions of  section  three  hundred  eighty-three  or  section  three
 hundred  eighty-three-a or three hundred eighty-three-b enacted by chap-
 ter six hundred seventy-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-six
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD05576-05-9

 S. 2095--A                          2
 
 of this [chapter] TITLE or pursuant to the provisions of title  thirteen
 of  the  administrative  code  of  the  city  of New York for any member
 contributing pursuant to this section who transferred to the division of
 state police.
   (3)  (A)  DEPUTY  SHERIFF,  COUNTY  CORRECTIONS,  OR STATE CORRECTIONS
 SERVICE. UPON COMPLETION OF MORE THAN SEVENTEEN YEARS OF  SERVICE,  EACH
 SUCH  MEMBER  WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY CREDITED WITH SERVICE CREDIT IN THE NEW
 YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM AS A  DEPUTY  SHERIFF,
 COUNTY  CORRECTIONS  OFFICER,  OR  MEMBER  IN THE UNIFORMED PERSONNEL IN
 INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND
 COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION I OF SECTION EIGHTY-NINE
 OF THIS CHAPTER AND WHO WAS ENGAGED DIRECTLY IN LAW  ENFORCEMENT  ACTIV-
 ITIES  WHILE  PERFORMING SUCH SERVICES SHALL RECEIVE ONE YEAR OF SERVICE
 CREDIT FOR EACH SUCH YEAR OF PREVIOUS SERVICE,  UP  TO  A  TOTAL  OF  NO
 GREATER THAN TWO YEARS OF PREVIOUS SERVICE CREDIT.
   (B)  TO OBTAIN SUCH CREDIT, A MEMBER SHALL PAY SUCH RETIREMENT SYSTEM,
 FOR DEPOSIT IN THE FUND USED TO ACCUMULATE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS, A SUM
 EQUAL TO THE PRODUCT OF THE NUMBER OF  YEARS  OF  POLICE  SERVICE  BEING
 CLAIMED  AND  THREE  PERCENT OF SUCH MEMBER'S COMPENSATION EARNED DURING
 THE TWELVE MONTHS OF CREDITED SERVICE  IMMEDIATELY  PRECEDING  THE  DATE
 THAT THE MEMBER MADE APPLICATION FOR CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. IF
 PERMITTED BY RULE OR REGULATION OF THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, THE MEMBER MAY
 PAY  SUCH MEMBER COSTS BY PAYROLL DEDUCTION FOR A PERIOD WHICH SHALL NOT
 EXCEED THE TIME PERIOD OF POLICE SERVICE TO BE CREDITED PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION. IN THE EVENT THE MEMBER LEAVES THE EMPLOYER  PAYROLL  PRIOR  TO
 COMPLETION  OF  PAYMENT,  HE OR SHE SHALL FORWARD ALL REMAINING REQUIRED
 PAYMENTS TO THE APPROPRIATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM  PRIOR  TO  THE  EFFECTIVE
 DATE  OF RETIREMENT. IF THE FULL AMOUNT OF SUCH MEMBER COSTS IS NOT PAID
 TO THE APPROPRIATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM PRIOR TO THE  MEMBER'S  RETIREMENT,
 THE AMOUNT OF SERVICE CREDITED SHALL BE PROPORTIONAL TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT
 OF THE PAYMENTS MADE PRIOR TO RETIREMENT.
   (C)  IN  NO EVENT SHALL THE CREDIT GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH,
 WHEN ADDED TO CREDIT GRANTED FOR  POLICE  SERVICE  WITH  ANY  RETIREMENT
 SYSTEM  OF  THIS  STATE  PURSUANT TO THIS OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW,
 EXCEED A TOTAL OF TWO YEARS.
   (D) TO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR  POLICE  SERVICE  UNDER  THIS
 PARAGRAPH,  A  MEMBER  MUST  MAKE APPLICATION FOR SUCH CREDIT BEFORE THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF RETIREMENT.
   (E) ALL COSTS FOR SERVICE CREDITED TO A MEMBER PURSUANT TO THIS  PARA-
 GRAPH, OTHER THAN THE MEMBER COSTS SET FORTH IN SUBPARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
 PARAGRAPH, SHALL BE PAID BY THE STATE.
   (F)  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, IN THE EVENT OF DEATH
 PRIOR TO RETIREMENT, AMOUNTS PAID BY THE  MEMBER  FOR  THE  PURCHASE  OF
 POLICE SERVICE CREDIT PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE REFUNDED, WITH
 INTEREST,  TO  THE EXTENT THE POLICE SERVICE PURCHASED WITH SUCH AMOUNTS
 DOES NOT PRODUCE A GREATER DEATH BENEFIT THAN WOULD  HAVE  BEEN  PAYABLE
 HAD THE MEMBER NOT PURCHASED SUCH CREDIT.
   (G)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF  LAW,  IN THE EVENT OF
 RETIREMENT, AMOUNTS PAID BY  THE  MEMBER  FOR  THE  PURCHASE  OF  POLICE
 SERVICE  CREDIT  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE REFUNDED, WITH INTER-
 EST, TO THE EXTENT THE POLICE SERVICE PURCHASED WITH SUCH  AMOUNTS  DOES
 NOT  PRODUCE A GREATER RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN PAYABLE
 HAD THE MEMBER NOT PURCHASED SUCH CREDIT.
   (H) IN THE EVENT THE SERVICE CREDIT GRANTED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS  PARA-
 GRAPH,  WHEN  ADDED TO A MEMBER'S CURRENT SERVICE CREDIT, RENDERS HIM OR
 HER ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE RETIREMENT, SUCH MEMBER SHALL BE DEEMED  ELIGI-

 S. 2095--A                          3
 
 BLE  FOR SUCH SERVICE RETIREMENT AND MAY ELECT TO RETIRE UNDER THE RULES
 SET FORTH BY THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  allow  up  to  two  (2) years of service credit for
 service rendered as a deputy  sheriff,  county  corrections  officer  or
 state  corrections  officer  to  be creditable to State Police officers.
 Such officers must have at least seventeen years of credited service and
 would be required to make a payment  of  three  percent  of  their  most
 recent   compensation  per  year  of  additional  service  credit  being
 purchased under the provisions of this bill.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2019  legislative  session,  it  is
 estimated  that  the past service cost will average approximately 19% of
 an affected officers' compensation for each year of  additional  service
 credit  that is purchased. This cost will be borne entirely by the State
 of New York.
   Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  plan  qualification  issues:  granting
 service  credit  towards  retirement  in  a 20 year plan in the New York
 State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) for  employment
 that  was  not  rendered  in  the  PFRS  could jeopardize the Retirement
 System's governmental plan status and its  exemption  from  ERISA.  This
 could  result in the loss of qualified status, which would mean the loss
 of tax benefits and would substantially impair the System's value to our
 more than one million participants.
   Prior to the enactment of this legislation, we recommend that a favor-
 able ruling be obtained from the IRS stating that these provisions would
 not harm the qualification status of the System. It  is  estimated  that
 the  costs  to obtain such a ruling would be $28,000 for the services of
 the IRS, and $800 per hour for legal consultants.
   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, 2018 actuarial valu-
 ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2018
 Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2018  Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2015,
 2016,  2017  and  2018  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, 2018
 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 June 11, 2019, and intended for use  only  during
 the  2019  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2019-142, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.