Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Provides for recalculation of retirement allowance without reenrollment for certain elected public officials who have retired from PERS.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the benefits of certain elected public officials who have retired from the Public Employees' Retirement System and amending P.L.2017, c.344.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.2017, c.344 (C.43:15A-7.5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. The Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury shall reenroll in the Public Employees' Retirement System, established pursuant to P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-1 et seq.), any person holding elective public office on the effective date of this act, P.L.2017, c.344, who was a member of the retirement system as of the effective date of sections 1 through 19 of P.L.2007, c.92 (C.43:15C-1 through C.43:15C-15, C.43:3C-9, C.43:15A-7, C.43:15A-75 and C.43:15A-135) on the basis of holding an elective public office and who was elected to another elective public office after that effective date, provided the person has at least 15 years of continuous service in elective public offices of this State. The person shall be eligible for membership in the retirement system based on service in another elective office pursuant to sections 7 and 75 of P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-7 and C.43:15A-75), or section 1 of P.L.1972, c.167 (C.43:15A-135), as amended by P.L.2017, c.344. This reenrollment provision shall include any person holding elective public office on the effective date of this act, P.L.2017, c.344, who is receiving a retirement allowance from the retirement system on that effective date. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to have met the requirement for holding elective public office on the effective date of this act, P.L.2017, c.344, if the person's term of office expired within 30 days before that effective date.
As of the date of enrollment in the system, the elected official's participation, if any, in another State-administered retirement program on the basis of that elective public office shall be suspended. The elected public official may elect to waive enrollment in the Public Employees' Retirement System by signing a form prepared by the division.
b. An elected public official eligible for enrollment in the Public Employees' Retirement System pursuant to subsection a. of this section may request, in writing, within 180 days of the effective date of this act, P.L.2017, c.344, that the official's enrollment in the system be made retroactive to the date of his or her assumption of another elective office without a break in service as required by sections 7 and 75 of P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-7 and 43:15A-75), or section 1 of P.L.1972, c. 167 (C.43:15A-135), as amended by P.L.2017, c.344. The division shall grant the request only if the elected official complies with such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the division to ensure compliance with federal law, to ensure that the elected official will not be eligible to receive a benefit from both the Public Employee's Retirement System and another State-administered retirement program for the same period of service in the elective public office, and to ensure that the employer is reimbursed for any contributions made to the other program by either the program or the elected official unless those contributions may be rolled over into the PERS. Before fulfilling the request, the division shall inform the elected official, in writing, of the terms and conditions for granting the request, and shall include an estimate of any resulting loss of contributions and earnings, penalties that may be imposed by federal or State law, and contributions to be paid to the system by the employee and employer or former employer for the period of retroactive enrollment.
c. Any person holding elective public office who was subject to reenrollment pursuant to subsection a. of this section while receiving a retirement allowance from the retirement system shall be provided with an option to request, in writing, that the person's service credit in and retirement allowance from the system be recalculated without the cancellation of the retirement, and reenrollment, of the person. Upon receipt of the request, the division shall recalculate the service credit and retirement allowance of that person as if the person had been reenrolled in the system and the reenrollment made retroactive to the date of his or her assumption of another elective office without a break in service as permitted in subsection b. of this section. The recalculation shall include the additional service credit in the system that would have been available prior to the retirement of the person if that person had been a member of the system until retirement and the additional compensation that the person received during that period of additional service credit until the date of retirement.
The person shall be granted a retroactive payment for the amount of the retirement allowance that the retiree of the system would have received if that recalculated retirement allowance had been the retirement allowance from the date of retirement.
No additional contributions shall be required to be made by the person or the person's employer to the system for the recalculation of the service credit and retirement allowance. The division shall make such adjustments and transfers of funds with regard to the person's participation in the Defined Contribution Retirement Program as shall be deemed necessary due to the recalculation of the service credit and retirement allowance in the system to ensure that the person does not receive a benefit from the program and the system for the same period of time and the same position held.
This subsection shall apply only if the person making the request was qualified for reenrollment pursuant to subsection a. of this section. This subsection shall apply even if the person was reenrolled in the system pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and even if the enrollment was made retroactive pursuant to subsection b. of this section, prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), in which event the division shall make such adjustments as necessary to comply with the request.
The request provided for under this subsection shall be submitted no later than 180 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.2017, c.344, s.5)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits an elected public official who has retired from the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), but who is eligible to reenroll in the PERS as an elected public official according to N.J.S.A.43:15A-7.5, enacted in 2017, to submit a written request to have the person's service credit and the retirement allowance in the PERS recalculated without reenrollment. The person's service credit and retirement allowance would be recalculated as if the person had been reenrolled retroactively, but only to the date on which the person had retired. The person would receive a retroactive payment based upon the difference between the original retirement allowance and the recalculated retirement allowance. Neither the person nor the person's employer would have to make any additional payments to the system for the recalculation.