S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6840
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 25, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
   Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   increasing the amount of years of military service credit a member may
   purchase

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 1000 of the retirement and  social
 security  law,  as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2016, is amended
 to read as follows:
   4. In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section, when
 added to credit granted for military service with any retirement  system
 of  this  state pursuant to this or any other provision of law, exceed a
 total of [three] FOUR years.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 1000 of the retirement and social  secu-
 rity  law,  as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
 read as follows:
   1. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain  a
 total  not  to  exceed  [three]  FOUR  years of service credit for up to
 [three] FOUR years of military duty, as defined in section  two  hundred
 forty-three  of  the  military  law,  if  the  member  (a) was honorably
 discharged from the military, or (b)  has  a  qualifying  condition,  as
 defined  in  section  three  hundred fifty of the executive law, and has
 received a discharge other than bad conduct or  dishonorable  from  such
 service,  or  (c)  is  a  discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
 three hundred fifty of the executive law, and has received  a  discharge
 other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service.
   § 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 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4. 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.
                                                            LBD09124-02-5
 S. 6840                             2
 
   This  bill  would amend the current military law to allow for a member
 to obtain up to a total of four years of service credit for up  to  four
 years  of  military  duty  if  the  member was honorably discharged. The
 current maximum is three years of service credit. Members must  have  at
 least  five  years of credited service (not including military service).
 For each year of additional service credit granted by  this  bill,  Tier
 1-5  members would be required to pay 3% member contributions and Tier 6
 would pay 6% contributions.
   The provisions of Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law
 shall not apply.
   Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and  Local  Employees'
 Retirement  System (NYSLERS), the increased costs would be shared by the
 State of New York and the local participating employers in  NYSLERS.  If
 this  bill were enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, it is esti-
 mated that the past service cost will be 18% (15%  for  Tier  6)  of  an
 affected  member's  compensation for each year of service credit that is
 purchased.
   Insofar as this bill affects the New York State and Local  Police  and
 Fire  Retirement  System (NYSLPFRS), the increased costs would be shared
 by the State of New  York  and  the  local  participating  employers  in
 NYSLPFRS. If this bill were enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session,
 it  is estimated that the past service cost will be 23% (20% for Tier 6)
 of an affected member's compensation for each  year  of  service  credit
 that is purchased.
   Further,  we anticipate some additional administrative costs to imple-
 ment the provisions of this legislation.
   The exact number of current members as  well  as  future  members  who
 could  be  affected  by  this  legislation cannot be readily determined.
 Through December 31, 2024, approximately 12,200 members  have  purchased
 military service credit pursuant to Chapter 41 of the Laws of 2016, with
 a  total  cost  of approximately $436 million. It is estimated that, had
 this proposal been law since 2016, approximately 8,400 of these  members
 could  have  purchased  a  fourth year of military service credit for an
 additional cost of approximately $120 million.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2024
 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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 March 24, 2025, and intended for use only during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-98. As Chief Actu-
 ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
 Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable  Actu-
 arial  Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct
 and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
 al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.