S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9878
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               July 19, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to authorize the county of Monroe to  offer  an  optional  twenty
   year retirement plan to Christopher R. Fay, a captain employed by such
   county
 
   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 Monroe, a participating employer in  the  New  York  state
 employees'  retirement  system,  which has elected to offer the optional
 twenty year retirement plan, established pursuant to article 14-B of the
 retirement and social security law, to captains employed by such county,
 is hereby authorized to make participation in  such  plan  available  to
 Christopher  R.  Fay,  a captain employed by the county of Monroe with a
 start date of August 26, 1991, who, for reasons not  ascribable  to  his
 own  negligence,  failed  to make a timely application to participate in
 such optional twenty year plan contained in article 14-B of the  retire-
 ment  and  social  security  law.  The  county of Monroe may so elect by
 filing with the state comptroller, on or before 180 days after this  act
 shall  have  become  a  law, a resolution of its governing body together
 with certification that such captain did not bar themself  from  partic-
 ipation  in  the  retirement  plan  as a result of their own negligence.
 Thereafter, such captain may individually elect to  be  covered  by  the
 provisions of sections 552 and 553 of the retirement and social security
 law, and the retirement system shall credit service from August 26, 1991
 to present under sections 552 and 553 of the retirement and social secu-
 rity  law.  Such  member  may  effectuate by filing an election with the
 retirement system 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 Monroe and may be
 amortized over a five-year period.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13964-03-4
              

 S. 9878                             2
 
   This  bill would allow Christopher R. Fay, a current member of the New
 York State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed as a  captain
 by the County of Monroe and covered under the 25-year retirement plan of
 Section  89-p of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), to elect
 to  be  covered  under  the  20-year plan of Sections 552 and 553 of the
 RSSL. All past service costs will be borne by the County of  Monroe  and
 may be amortized over a period of five years.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $12,000 in the
 annual contributions of the County of Monroe for the fiscal year  ending
 March 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary as the billing rates
 and salary of Christopher R. Fay change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $145,000 which will be
 borne by the County of Monroe  as  a  one-time  payment.  This  estimate
 assumes  that payment will be made on February 1, 2025. If the County of
 Monroe elects to amortize this cost over a five-year  period,  the  cost
 for each year including interest would be $32,300.
   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 May 24, 2024, and intended for  use  only  during
 the  2024  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-167, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.