Assembly Bill A6860A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6860--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 13, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. ABBATE, GRIFFIN, STERN -- read once and referred
   to the Committee 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
   certain honorably discharged veterans

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 1000 of the retirement and  social
 security  law,  as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2016, is amended
 to read as follows:
   9. Anything to the contrary  in  subdivision  three  of  this  section
 notwithstanding,  to  obtain  such  credit,  a  member who first joins a
 public retirement system of the state on or after April first, two thou-
 sand twelve 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 military service being claimed and [six] 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  decrease  the amount of payment required for Tier 6
 members who are obtaining military service credit  pursuant  to  Section
 1000  of  the  Retirement  and Social Security Law. Under current law, a
 Tier 6 member must pay a sum equal to the product of the number of years
 of military service being claimed  and  six  percent  of  such  member's
 compensation  earned  during the twelve months of credited service imme-
 diately preceding the date that the member made application for  credit.
 This legislation would require such members to pay only three percent of
 compensation per year of service being claimed.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03686-04-2
              

 A. 6860--A                          2
 
   Insofar  as this proposal affects the New York State and Local Employ-
 ees' Retirement System (NYSLERS), if this legislation is enacted  during
 the 2022 legislative session, it is estimated that the past service cost
 will  be  3% of an affected members' compensation for each year of addi-
 tional  service  credit  that  is  purchased. For the NYSLERS, this cost
 would be borne entirely by the State of New York.
   Insofar as this proposal affects the New York State and  Local  Police
 and  Fire  Retirement  System (NYSLPFRS), if this legislation is enacted
 during the 2022 legislative session,  it  is  estimated  that  the  past
 service  cost  will  be 3% of an affected members' compensation for each
 year of additional service that is purchased.  For  the  NYSLPFRS,  this
 cost  would  be  shared  by  the State of New York and the participating
 employers in the NYSLPFRS.
   The exact number of current members as  well  as  future  members  who
 could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2021  Report  of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2020
 and  2021 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, 2021
 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 March 17, 2022, and intended for use only  during
 the  2022  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-103, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.