Bill Text: NY A05936 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Increases the amount of years of military service credit a member may purchase from three years to four years; provides that the provisions of such act shall not be subject to the requirement that the state shall make an equal payment to the retirement system.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-9)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-16 - reported referred to ways and means [A05936 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05936-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Increases the amount of years of military service credit a member may purchase from three years to four years; provides that the provisions of such act shall not be subject to the requirement that the state shall make an equal payment to the retirement system.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-9)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-16 - reported referred to ways and means [A05936 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05936-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5936 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 24, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SILLITTI -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Governmental Employees 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: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 4 of section 1000 of the retirement and 2 social security law, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2016, are 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a 5 total not to exceed [three] four years of service credit for up to 6 [three] four years of military duty, as defined in section two hundred 7 forty-three of the military law, if the member was honorably discharged 8 from the military. 9 4. In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section, when 10 added to credit granted for military service with any retirement system 11 of this state pursuant to this or any other provision of law, exceed a 12 total of [three] four years. 13 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 1000 of the retirement and social secu- 14 rity law, as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 2022, is amended to 15 read as follows: 16 1. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a 17 total not to exceed [three] four years of service credit for up to 18 [three] four years of military duty, as defined in section two hundred 19 forty-three of the military law, if the member (a) was honorably 20 discharged from the military, or (b) has a qualifying condition, as 21 defined in section three hundred fifty of the executive law, and has 22 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such 23 service, or (c) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09065-02-3A. 5936 2 1 three hundred fifty of the executive law, and has received a discharge 2 other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service. 3 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section two 4 of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as 5 chapter 585 of the laws of 2022, takes effect. FISCAL NOTE.-Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: 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). Tier 1-5 members would be required to make a payment of three percent of their most recent compensation per year of additional service credit granted by this bill. Tier 6 members would be required to make a payment of six percent of their most recent compensation per year of additional service credit. Insofar as this proposal affects the New York State and Local Employ- ees' Retirement System (NYSLERS), pursuant to Section 25 of the Retire- ment and Social Security Law, the increased costs would be borne entire- ly by the State of New York and would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay the cost of the provision. If enacted during the 2023 legislative session, it is estimated 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 proposal affects the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), all costs would be shared by the State of New York and the local participating employers in the NYSLPFRS. If enacted during the 2023 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. 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 March 3, 2023, and intended for use only during the 2023 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-78, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
