S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7196--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. JACKSON, MARTINS -- 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 amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
   granting certain county fire marshals, supervising fire marshals, fire
   marshals, assistant fire marshals, assistant chief  fire  marshals  or
   chief fire marshals pension benefits for service rendered beyond twen-
   ty-five years
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision t of section 604 of the retirement  and  social
 security  law,  as  amended by section 7 of part II of chapter 55 of the
 laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
   t. The early service retirement benefit for a member who  is  employed
 in  the  county  of  Nassau  as  a county fire marshal, supervising fire
 marshal, fire marshal, assistant  fire  marshal,  assistant  chief  fire
 marshal,  chief  fire  marshal  or  division supervising fire marshal as
 defined in section eighty-nine-w 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 county
 fire marshal, supervising fire marshal,  fire  marshal,  assistant  fire
 marshal,  assistant  chief  fire marshal, chief fire marshal or division
 supervising fire marshal, but not exceeding one-half of his or her final
 average salary, FOR SERVICE BEYOND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS  AND  FOR  NON-FIRE
 MARSHAL COUNTY SERVICE THE BENEFIT IS INCREASED BY ONE-SIXTIETH OF FINAL
 AVERAGE SALARY FOR EACH YEAR OF ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11201-04-4
 S. 7196--A                          2
 
              

   §   2.  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 ten years.
   §  3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary none of the
 provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation requirement
 of section twenty-five of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   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 in certain fire marshal job titles. 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,  including non-fire
 marshal service, in excess of twenty-five  years.  The  current  service
 retirement  benefit  is  one-half  of FAS upon completion of twenty-five
 years of creditable service.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of  approximately  $50,000  in  the
 annual  contributions  of Nassau County for the fiscal year ending March
 31, 2025. 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 $770,000 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  to
 amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for each year includ-
 ing interest would be $98,400.
   These  estimated  costs  are  based on 43 affected members employed by
 Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $5.5  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.  2024-21,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.