S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6438
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 10, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   providing  certain  death  benefits to correction officers, correction
   officer-sergeants,  correction  officer-captains,  assistant  wardens,
   associate wardens or wardens employed by Westchester county
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 89-e of the retirement and social security  law  is
 amended by adding a new subdivision k to read as follows:
   K.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A
 CORRECTION OFFICER WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO RETIRE PURSUANT  TO  THIS
 SECTION  AT  THE  TIME  OF  HIS  OR HER DEATH AND WHERE HIS OR HER DEATH
 OCCURS ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-THREE  THAT  ADDED THIS SUBDIVISION, 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-c to read as follows:
   § 606-C. DEATH BENEFITS FOR CORRECTION OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY  WESTCHES-
 TER  COUNTY.  A.  AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "CORRECTION OFFICER"
 SHALL MEAN A  PERSON  EMPLOYED  BY  THE  WESTCHESTER  COUNTY  CORRECTION
 DEPARTMENT  WITH  A TITLE OF CORRECTION OFFICER, CORRECTION OFFICER-SER-
 GEANT, CORRECTION OFFICER-CAPTAIN, ASSISTANT WARDEN, ASSOCIATE WARDEN OR
 WARDEN.
   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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01825-02-3
              

 A. 6438                             2
 
 OCCURS  ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE THAT ADDED THIS SECTION, THE BENEFICIARY OR  BENE-
 FICIARIES  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.
   §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions  of  this act shall be borne by the county of Westchester 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  Westchester
 County  correction  officers  in Tiers 2 through 6. 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 bill is enacted during the 2023 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will be an increase of approximately $110,000 in the
 annual contributions of Westchester County for the  fiscal  year  ending
 March  31,  2024.  In  future  years, this cost will vary as the billing
 rates and salary of the affected members change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $812,000 which  will  be
 borne by Westchester County as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes
 that  payment  will  be  made on February 1, 2024. If Westchester County
 elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period,  the  cost  for  the
 first year including interest would be $104,000.
   These  estimated  costs  are based on 821 affected members employed by
 Westchester County, with annual salary of approximately $103 million  as
 of March 31, 2022.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2022  Report  of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2020,
 2021,  and  2022  Annual  Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
 tions, 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, 2022
 New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
 Supplementary Information.
   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 January 11,  2023,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2023  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2023-20,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.