S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4520--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 9, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
   Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee
 
 AN  ACT  in  relation  to  authorizing Lawrence Ecker to receive certain
   service credit with the New York state and local employees' retirement
   system
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.    Notwithstanding  any  provision of law to the contrary,
 Lawrence Ecker, who retired from the New York state and local employees'
 retirement system on January 1, 2021  and  whom,  post  retirement,  was
 again employed as a state supreme court judge from approximately June of
 2021  through  June  of  2022,  shall have his pension with the New York
 state and local employees' retirement  system  recalculated  to  include
 additional  full-time service credit for the period beginning January 1,
 2021 and ending December 31, 2022 if, on or before one  year  after  the
 effective  date  of  this  act,  he shall file a written request to that
 effect with the New York state and local employees' retirement system.
   § 2. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
 shall be borne by the Office of Court Administration.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would grant two years of service credit under Article 15  of
 the  Retirement  and  Social  Security  Law to Lawrence Ecker, a current
 retiree of the New York State and  Local  Employees'  Retirement  System
 (NYSLERS),  for the period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending December
 31, 2022. Lawrence Ecker retired effective January 1, 2021 and  rejoined
 the  NYSLERS  for  one  year before resuming their retirement. This bill

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02390-05-4
              

 S. 4520--A                          2
 
 would therefore grant service credit for a period during which  Lawrence
 Ecker  was  retired  and  collecting a pension benefit. Per the New York
 State and Local Retirement System's policies, Lawrence Ecker is ineligi-
 ble  to  receive  service  credit while they were collecting the pension
 benefit and while the retirement and pension benefit were paused.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  there
 will  be  an immediate past service cost of approximately $238,000 which
 will be borne by the New York State Office of Court Administration as  a
 one-time  payment.  This  estimate  assumes that payment will be made on
 March 1, 2025.
   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 April 15, 2024, and intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-165,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.