NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6633A

Senate Bill S6633A

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Authorizes the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue, in the county of Suffolk, to offer the 20-year retirement option to Bridget Topping, a police officer employed by such county and village

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2024	print number 6633a
Jan 05, 2024	amend and recommit to civil service and pensions
Jan 03, 2024	referred to civil service and pensions
May 02, 2023	referred to civil service and pensions

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2023-S6633 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6908
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: A10411

2023-S6633 - Summary

2023-S6633 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6633

SPONSOR: PALUMBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to authorize the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue
to offer an optional twenty-year retirement plan to police officer
Bridget Topping

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize Suffolk County and Nissequogue Village to offer an optional
twenty year retirement plan to Bridget Topping.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Authorizes that Bridget Topping be offered the optional twen-
ty-year retirement plan established pursuant to section 384-d of the
retirement and social security law.

Section 2. Employer past service costs shall be borne by Suffolk County.

Section 3. Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Bridget Topping was registered as a Tier 2 member of the New York State
and Local Police & Fire Retirement System (PFRS) on December 6, 2004 in
connection with her employment with the New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation & Historic Preservation. At that time, she was covered under
Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 383-a.

In 2014, the Legislature changed the law, adding RSSL section 1201-a
making the default plan for police and fire members employed by an
employer who has elected the benefits of RSSL section 384-d to RSSL
384-d. This was a beneficial change for law enforcement officers and
should have done years ago as most law enforcement officers want to be
in 384-d. However, how they wrote the law was problematic at least for
Officer Topping in that it states, 'members who first become members of
the New York state and local police and fire retirement system on or
after January 1, 2015...

Since Officer Topping was previously a member of PFRS in connection with
her employment as a NYS Police Officer, RSSL 1201-a did not apply to her
and when she became a Suffolk County Police Officer on October 23, 2017
and she had to be defaulted into the RSSL 375-i general plan. On Novem-
ber 21, 2017 PFRS sent her a letter advising her that she was currently
covered by section 375-i but could elect coverage under section 384-d.
The appropriate forms had to be submitted within one of the date of her
appointment.

Similarly, a subsequent membership application came in July 2, 2018 for
her part-time employment with the village of Nissequogue as a Police
Officer. Her first day worked with the Village was June 6, 2018 She was
covered user 375-i. PFRS sent her a letter dated January 3, 2019 and
advised her that she was covered under section 375-i but could elect
coverage under 384-d if she elected coverage within one year of the date
of her appointment.

Unfortunately, PFRS never received the 384-d election form from Officer
Topping until February 14, 2022 for her employment with the Suffolk
County Police Department. By law this was several years too late. There-
fore, PFRS sent her a letter dated March 16, 2022 advising her that she
had to elect coverage under section 384-d within one year of her date of
appointment. Since no election was submitted within one year, she was
not eligible for section 384-d.  Due to these errors, and through no
fault of her own, Officer Bridget Topping should be allowed to partic-
ipate in the optional twenty year retirement plan.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See fiscal note in bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S6633 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6633
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 2, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue
   to offer an optional twenty-year retirement  plan  to  police  officer
   Bridget Topping

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue, in the  county  of
 Suffolk,  participating employers in the New York state and local police
 and fire retirement  system,  which  previously  elected  to  offer  the
 optional  twenty-year  retirement  plan, established pursuant to section
 384-d of the retirement and social  security  law,  to  police  officers
 employed  by  such  county  and  village,  are hereby authorized to make
 participation in such plan available to Bridget Topping, a police  offi-
 cer  employed  full-time  by  the county of Suffolk and part-time by the
 village of Nissequogue, who, for  reasons  not  ascribable  to  her  own
 negligence,  failed  to make a timely application to participate in such
 optional twenty-year retirement plan. The  county  of  Suffolk  and  the
 village  of Nissequogue may so elect by separately filing with the state
 comptroller, within nine months of  the  effective  date  of  this  act,
 resolutions of its own county legislature and the village board of trus-
 tees  together  with  certification that such police officer did not bar
 herself from participation in such retirement plan as a  result  of  her
 own  negligence. Thereafter, such police officer may elect to be covered
 by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement and social security
 law and shall be entitled to the full  rights  and  benefits  associated
 with  coverage  under such section as well as section 384-e of such law,
 by filing a request to that effect with the state comptroller within one
 year of the effective date of this act.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07215-02-3
 S. 6633                             2

 
   § 2. All employer past service costs associated with implementing  the
 provisions  of  this act shall be borne by the county of Suffolk and may
 be amortized over a ten-year period.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow the County of Suffolk and the Village of Nisseq-
 uogue  to  reopen the provisions of section 384-d, together with section
 384-e, of the Retirement and Social  Security  Law  for  police  officer
 Bridget Topping.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2023 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $11,000 in the
 annual contributions of the County of Suffolk and $1,800 in  the  annual
 contributions  of  the Village of Nissequogue for the fiscal year ending
 March 31, 2024. In future years, these costs will vary  as  the  billing
 rates and salary of Bridget Topping change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $449,000 which will be
 borne by the County of Suffolk as  a  one-time  payment.  This  estimate
 assumes  that payment will be made on February 1, 2024. If the County of
 Suffolk elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
 the first year including interest would be $57,300.
   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.
   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 May 2, 2023, and intended for use only during the
 2023  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-150, prepared by the
 Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

2023-S6633A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6908
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: A10411

2023-S6633A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S6633A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6633A

SPONSOR: PALUMBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to authorize the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue
to offer an optional twenty-year retirement plan to police officer
Bridget Topping

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize Suffolk County and Nissequogue Village to offer an optional
twenty-year retirement plan to Bridget Topping.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Authorizes that Bridget Topping be offered the optional twen-
ty-year retirement plan established pursuant to section 384-d of the
retirement and social security law.

Section 2. Employer past service costs shall be borne by Suffolk County.

Section 3. Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Bridget Topping was registered as a Tier 2 member of the New York State
and Local Police & Fire Retirement System (PFRS) on December 6, 2004, in
connection with her employment with the New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation & Historic Preservation. At that time, she was covered under
Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 383-a.

In 2014, the Legislature changed the law, adding RSSL section 1201-a
making the default plan for police and fire members employed by an
employer who has elected the benefits of RSSL section 384-d to RSSL
384-d. This was a beneficial change for law enforcement officers and
should have done years ago as most law enforcement officers want to be
in 384-d. However, how they wrote the law was problematic at least for
Officer Topping in that it states, 'members who first become members of
the New York state and local police and fire retirement system on or
after January 1, 2015...

Since Officer Topping was previously a member of PFRS in connection with
her employment as a NYS Police Officer, RSSL 1201-a did not apply to her
and when she became a Suffolk County Police Officer on October 23, 2017,
and she had to be defaulted into the RSSL 375-i general plan. On Novem-
ber 21, 2017 ,PFRS sent her a letter advising her that she was currently
covered by section 375-i but could elect coverage under section 384-d.
The appropriate forms had to be submitted within one of the date of her
appointment.

Similarly, a subsequent membership application came in July 2, 2018, for
her part-time employment with the village of Nissequogue as a Police
Officer. Her first day worked with the Village was June 6, 2018 She was
covered under 375-i. PFRS sent her a letter dated January 3, 2019 and
advised her that she was covered under section 375-i but could elect
coverage under 384-d if she elected coverage within one year of the date
of her appointment.

Unfortunately, PFRS never received the 384-d election form from Officer
Topping until February 14, 2022, for her employment with the Suffolk
County Police Department. By law this was several years too late. There-
fore, PFRS sent her a letter dated March 16, 2022, advising her that she
had to elect coverage under section 384-d within one year of her date of
appointment. Since no election was submitted within one year, she was
not eligible for section 384-d.

Due to these errors, and through no fault of her own, Officer Bridget
Topping should be allowed to participate in the optional twenty-year
retirement plan.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See fiscal note in bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S6633A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6633--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 2, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- 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 to authorize the county of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue
   to  offer  an  optional  twenty-year retirement plan to police officer
   Bridget Topping
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 the  county  of Suffolk and the village of Nissequogue, in the county of
 Suffolk, participating employers in the New York state and local  police
 and  fire  retirement  system,  which  previously  elected  to offer the
 optional twenty-year retirement plan, established  pursuant  to  section
 384-d  of  the  retirement  and  social security law, to police officers
 employed by such county and  village,  are  hereby  authorized  to  make
 participation  in such plan available to Bridget Topping, a police offi-
 cer employed full-time by the county of Suffolk  and  part-time  by  the
 village  of  Nissequogue,  who,  for  reasons  not ascribable to her own
 negligence, failed to make a timely application to participate  in  such
 optional  twenty-year  retirement  plan.  The  county of Suffolk and the
 village of Nissequogue may so elect by separately filing with the  state
 comptroller,  within  nine  months  of  the  effective date of this act,
 resolutions of its own county legislature and the village board of trus-
 tees together with certification that such police officer  did  not  bar
 herself  from  participation  in such retirement plan as a result of her
 own negligence. Thereafter, such police officer may elect to be  covered
 by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement and social security
 law  and  shall  be  entitled to the full rights and benefits associated

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07215-03-4

 S. 6633--A                          2
 
 with coverage under such section as well as section 384-e of  such  law,
 by filing a request to that effect with the state comptroller within one
 year of the effective date of this act.
   §  2. All employer past service costs associated with implementing the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Suffolk  and  may
 be amortized over a ten-year period.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow the County of Suffolk and the Village of Nisseq-
 uogue to reopen the provisions of section 384-d, together with 384-e, of
 the  Retirement  and  Social  Security  Law  for  police officer Bridget
 Topping.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of  approximately  $14,000  in  the
 annual  contributions  of the County of Suffolk and $2,000 in the annual
 contributions of the Village of Nissequogue for the fiscal  year  ending
 March  31,  2025.  In  future  years, this cost will vary as the billing
 rates and salary of Bridget Topping change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $540,000 which  will  be
 borne  by  the  County  of  Suffolk as a one-time payment. This estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2025. If the County  of
 Suffolk elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
 each year including interest would be $69,000.
   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.  2024-22,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

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