Bill Text: NY S04739 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows a buyback of up to five years of military service credit; provides that members of a public retirement system may obtain a total of up to five years of service credit for up to five years of military duty; represents an increase from the current allowable three year buyback.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S04739 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S04739-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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4739
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 19, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO -- 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
allowing a buyback of certain military service credit
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2, 4 and 5 of section 1000 of the retire-
2 ment and social security law, as added by chapter 548 of the laws of
3 2000, are amended to read as follows:
4 1. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
5 total not to exceed [three] FIVE years of service credit for up to
6 [three] FIVE 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 and all or part of such military service was rendered
9 during the following periods: (a) commencing December seventh, nineteen
10 hundred forty-one and terminating December thirty-first, nineteen
11 hundred forty-six; (b) commencing June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred
12 fifty and terminating January thirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five;
13 or (c) commencing February twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred sixty-one and
14 terminating May seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-five;
15 2. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
16 total not to exceed [three] FIVE years of service credit for up to
17 [three] FIVE years of military duty, as defined in section two hundred
18 forty-three of the military law, if honorably discharged therefrom, if
19 all or part of such services was rendered in the military conflicts
20 referenced below, as follows:
21 (a) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United
22 States in Lebanon, from the first day of June, nineteen hundred eighty-
23 three to the first day of December, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, as
24 established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the navy
25 expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal;
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09926-02-3
S. 4739 2
1 (b) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United
2 States in Grenada, from the twenty-third day of October, nineteen
3 hundred eighty-three to the twenty-first day of November, nineteen
4 hundred eighty-three, as established by receipt of the armed forces
5 expeditionary medal, the navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps
6 expeditionary medal;
7 (c) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United
8 States in Panama, from the twentieth day of December, nineteen hundred
9 eighty-nine to the thirty-first day of January, nineteen hundred ninety,
10 as established by receipt of the armed forces expeditionary medal, the
11 navy expeditionary medal, or the marine corps expeditionary medal; or
12 (d) hostilities participated in by the military forces of the United
13 States, from the second day of August, nineteen hundred ninety, to the
14 end of such hostilities in case of a veteran who served in the theater
15 of operations including Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, AFGHANISTAN,
16 Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the
17 Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the airspace above
18 these locations.
19 4. To obtain such credit, a member shall pay such retirement system,
20 for deposit in the fund used to accumulate employer contributions, a sum
21 equal to the product of the number of years of military service being
22 claimed and three percent of such member's compensation earned during
23 the twelve months of credited service immediately preceding the date
24 that the member made application for credit pursuant to this section. If
25 permitted by rule or regulation of the applicable retirement system, the
26 member may pay such member costs by payroll deduction for a period which
27 shall not exceed the time period of military service to be credited
28 pursuant to this section. FOR ANY CURRENT MEMBER APPLYING TO OBTAIN
29 SERVICE CREDIT IN ADDITION TO A TOTAL OF THREE YEARS OF SERVICE CREDIT
30 ALREADY OBTAINED, SUCH MEMBER SHALL PAY SUCH RETIREMENT SYSTEM, FOR
31 DEPOSIT IN THE FUND USED TO ACCUMULATE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION, A SUM
32 EQUAL TO THE PRODUCT OF THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE BEING
33 CLAIMED AND THREE PERCENT OF SUCH MEMBER'S COMPENSATION EARNED DURING
34 THE TWELVE MONTHS OF CREDITED SERVICE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE
35 THAT THE MEMBER MADE HIS OR HER FIRST APPLICATION FOR CREDIT PURSUANT TO
36 THIS SECTION. IF PERMITTED BY RULE OR REGULATION OF THE APPLICABLE
37 RETIREMENT SYSTEM, THE MEMBER MAY PAY SUCH MEMBER COSTS BY PAYROLL
38 DEDUCTION FOR A PERIOD WHICH SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TIME PERIOD OF MILI-
39 TARY SERVICE TO BE CREDITED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. In the event the
40 member leaves the employer payroll prior to completion of payment, he or
41 she shall forward all remaining required payments to the appropriate
42 retirement system prior to the effective date of retirement. If the full
43 amount of such member costs is not paid to the appropriate retirement
44 system prior to the member's retirement, the amount of service credited
45 shall be proportional to the total amount of the payments made prior to
46 retirement.
47 5. In no event shall the credit granted pursuant to this section, when
48 added to credit granted for military service with any retirement system
49 of this state pursuant to this or any other provision of law, exceed a
50 total of [three] FIVE years.
51 S 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to current
52 and future members.
FISCAL NOTE.-- This bill would increase the amount of eligible mili-
tary service credit under Chapter 548 of the Laws of 2000 from three
years to five years. In addition, this bill will extend the benefits of
such Chapter to members of public retirement systems in New York State
S. 4739 3
who rendered military service during the period of conflict in Afghanis-
tan and were assigned to the theater of operations. 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. For those members who have already purchased
three years of such credit that will now be permitted to purchase up to
two additional years of service credit, the member's payment will be
based on the compensation used in the initial calculation.
If this bill is enacted, insofar as this proposal affects the New York
State and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS), it is estimated that
the past service cost will average approximately 12% (9% for Tier 6) of
an affected members' compensation for each year of additional service
credit that is purchased.
Insofar as this proposal affects the New York State and Local Police
and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), it is estimated that the past service
cost will average approximately 17% (14% for Tier 6) of an affected
members' compensation for each year of additional service that is
purchased.
The exact number of current members as well as future members who
could be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
ERS Costs: Pursuant to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Securi-
ty Law, the increased cost to the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System would be borne entirely by the State of New York and
would require an itemized appropriation sufficient to pay the cost of
the provision. Since a member can apply for this service credit at any
time prior to retirement, a precise cost can't be determined until each
member, as well as future members, applies for the service credit. Every
year a cost will be determined (and billed to the state) based on those
benefiting from this provision.
PFRS Costs: These casts would be shared by the State of New York and
the participating employers in the PFRS.
Summary of relevant resources:
Data: March 31,2012 Actuarial Year End File with distributions of
membership and other statistics displayed in the 2012 Report of the
Actuary and 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
Assumptions and Methods: 2010, 2011 and 2012 Annual Report to the
Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, Codes Rules and Regulations of the
State of New York: Audit and Control.
Market Assets and GASB Disclosures: March 31,2012 New York State and
Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Informa-
tion.
Valuations of Benefit Liabilities and Actuarial Assets: summarized in
the 2012 Actuarial Valuations report.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This estimate, dated April 2, 2013 and intended for use only during
the 2013 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2013-112, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement
System and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement
System.
