S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7257--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 16, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on
   Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.  2  --
   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
   retirement  of  county correction officers, uniformed correction divi-
   sion personnel, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and undersheriffs in  Nassau
   county
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions c and g of section 89-g of the retirement  and
 social  security  law, as added by chapter 653 of the laws of 1988, such
 section as renumbered by chapter 771 of the laws of 1988, are amended to
 read as follows:
   c. Upon completion of twenty-five  years  of  such  service  and  upon
 retirement,  each  such  member  shall receive a pension which, together
 with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent  of  [his]  SUCH
 MEMBER'S  accumulated  contributions  at the time of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S
 retirement and an additional pension which is the  actuarial  equivalent
 of  the  reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay  to which [he] SUCH MEMBER
 may then be entitled shall be sufficient to provide  [him]  SUCH  MEMBER
 with  a  retirement  allowance  equal to one-half of [his] SUCH MEMBER'S
 final average salary, PROVIDED  HOWEVER  THAT  A  MEMBER  WITH  CREDITED
 SERVICE  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  SHALL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL
 RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIXTIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL  AVER-
 AGE  SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE
 YEARS BUT NOT IN EXCESS OF THIRTY YEARS.
   g. A member, contributing on the basis of this section at the time  of
 retirement, [shall] MAY retire after the completion of twenty-five years
 of  total  creditable  service.  Application  therefor may be filed in a
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10387-04-4
              

 A. 7257--A                          2
 
 manner similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon
 completion of AT LEAST  twenty-five  years  of  such  service  and  upon
 retirement,  each  such  member  shall receive a pension which, together
 with  an  annuity  which shall be the actuarial equivalent of [his] SUCH
 MEMBER'S accumulated contributions at the time of  [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 retirement  and  an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent
 of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which [he] SUCH MEMBER may
 then be entitled shall be sufficient to provide [him] SUCH MEMBER with a
 retirement allowance equal to one-half  of  [his]  SUCH  MEMBER'S  final
 average salary PLUS AN ADDITIONAL RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO ONE-SIX-
 TIETH  OF SUCH MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF CREDITABLE
 SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS  BUT  NOT  IN  EXCESS  OF  THIRTY
 YEARS.
   § 2. Subdivision e of section 604 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty  law,  as  amended  by chapter 771 of the laws of 1988, is amended to
 read as follows:
   e. The early service retirement for a member who is employed in Nassau
 county as a correction officer, uniformed correction division personnel,
 sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff, as defined in  section  eighty-
 nine-g  of  this  chapter,  shall  be a pension equal to one-fiftieth of
 final average salary times years of credited service at  the  completion
 of  twenty-five  years  of service as such correction officer, uniformed
 correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff[,
 but not exceeding one-half of his or her] PLUS AN ADDITIONAL  RETIREMENT
 ALLOWANCE  EQUAL  TO  ONE-SIXTIETH OF SUCH MEMBER'S final average salary
 EACH YEAR OF CREDITED SERVICE IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BUT NOT  IN
 EXCESS OF THIRTY YEARS.
   §   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 and  shall  apply  to  all
 members that retire on or after such date.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would modify the service retirement benefit for members of
 the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement  System  employed  by
 Nassau County as (1) sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or undersheriffs engaged
 directly in criminal law enforcement activities, or (2) correction offi-
 cers  or  uniformed  correction division personnel. The modified service
 retirement benefit will be one-half of final average salary  (FAS)  upon
 completion  of  twenty-five  years of creditable service with additional
 sixtieths for each year of creditable service in excess  of  twenty-five
 years  but not in excess of thirty years. The current service retirement
 benefit is one-half of FAS upon completion of twenty-five years of cred-
 itable service.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2024 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $780,000  in  the
 annual  contributions  of Nassau County for the fiscal year ending March
 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary but is expected to average
 0.7% of affected salary annually.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $10.5 million which will
 be borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This  estimate  assumes
 that  payment  will be made on February 1, 2025. If Nassau County elects
 A. 7257--A                          3
 
 to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for the first year
 including interest would be $1.35 million.
   These  estimated  costs  are based on 752 affected members employed by
 Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $94.2 million  as  of
 March 31, 2023.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
 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, 2023
 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 January 3, 2024, and intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No.  2024-17,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.