Bill Text: NY S08151 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes a temporary retirement incentive for certain public employees who are above age fifty-five and with twenty-five years of service.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-16 - PRINT NUMBER 8151A [S08151 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08151-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8151

                    IN SENATE

                                      April 8, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. MARTINEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

        AN ACT to provide temporary  retirement  incentive  for  certain  public
          employees

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act enacts into law  components  of  legislation  that
     2  would  establish  an  age  55/25  temporary incentive for certain public
     3  employees.
     4    § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that the
     5  retirement benefit for certain public employees who are above age 55 and
     6  with 25 years of service provided for in this act is intended only to be
     7  temporary in nature for employees who are eligible to receive and quali-
     8  fy for the applicable benefit during the applicable time periods  speci-
     9  fied  in  this  act.  Further, nothing in this act shall be construed to
    10  create an expectation of a future or continuing retirement  benefit  for
    11  any  public  employee who is not eligible to receive and qualify for the
    12  retirement benefits herein during the applicable time periods.
    13    § 3. Definitions. As used in this  act,  unless  the  context  clearly
    14  requires otherwise:
    15    (a)  "Retirement system" means the New York state and local employees'
    16  retirement system and the New York state teachers' retirement system.
    17    (b) "Teachers' retirement system" means the New York  state  teachers'
    18  retirement system.
    19    (c) "Participating employer" means an educational employer, the state-
    20  operated  institutions of the state university of New York, and a commu-
    21  nity college operating under a program of the state  university  of  New
    22  York,  which  participates  in  a  retirement  system as defined in this
    23  section, who employs members  who  hold  positions  represented  by  the
    24  recognized  collective  bargaining  units  affiliated  with the New York
    25  state united teachers employee organization.
    26    (d) "Educational employer" means a participating employer which  is  a
    27  school  district,  a  board of cooperative educational services, a voca-
    28  tional education and extension board, an institution for the instruction

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14487-02-0
        S. 8151                             2

     1  of the deaf and of the blind as enumerated in section 4201 of the educa-
     2  tion law, or a school district as enumerated in section 1 of chapter 566
     3  of the laws of 1967, as amended; who employ members who  hold  positions
     4  represented  by  the  recognized  collective bargaining units affiliated
     5  with the New  York  state  united  teachers  employee  organization  who
     6  participate  in  the  New York state teachers' retirement system and the
     7  New York state and local employees' retirement system.
     8    (e) "Eligible employee" means a person who is a member of a retirement
     9  system, who is an employee of a participating employer and who  holds  a
    10  position  represented  by  the  recognized  collective  bargaining units
    11  affiliated with the New York state united teachers employee organization
    12  as certified by his or her employer, who makes an election under section
    13  five of this act.
    14    (f) "Active service" means service while being paid  on  the  payroll,
    15  provided  that  (i)  a  leave of absence with pay shall be deemed active
    16  service; (ii) other approved leave without  pay  not  to  exceed  twelve
    17  weeks  from February 1, 2020 and the commencement of the designated open
    18  period; and (iii) the period of time subsequent to the June 2020  school
    19  term  and  on or before August 31, 2020 for a teacher (or other employee
    20  as defined in this act, employed on a school-year basis) who  is  other-
    21  wise in active service on the effective date of this act shall be deemed
    22  active service.
    23    (g)  "Open  period"  means  the period beginning with the commencement
    24  date as defined in subdivision (h) of this section;  provided,  however,
    25  for  the state-operated institutions of the state university of New York
    26  and community colleges, the open period shall be  as  specified  by  the
    27  appropriate  board  of  trustees,  and  shall  be ninety days in length;
    28  provided however that there shall be only one such open period  and  any
    29  such  period  shall  not  extend  beyond August 31, 2020 for educational
    30  employers and shall not extend beyond December 31, 2020 for  the  state-
    31  operated  institutions of the state university of New York and community
    32  colleges. For the purposes of retirement pursuant to this act, a service
    33  retirement application must be filed  with  the  appropriate  retirement
    34  system  not  less  than fourteen days prior to the effective date of the
    35  retirement, unless a shorter time period is permitted under law.
    36    (h) "Commencement date" means the first  day  the  retirement  benefit
    37  mandated by this act shall be made available, which shall mean a date or
    38  dates  on  or after the effective date of this act to be determined by a
    39  participating employer;  provided,  however,  that  for  an  educational
    40  employer, the commencement date shall be June 1, 2020.
    41    § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any eligible employee
    42  serving in an eligible title who (a) has been continuously in the active
    43  service  of  a  participating employer from February 1, 2020 to the date
    44  immediately prior to the commencement date of the applicable open  peri-
    45  od,  (b)  files  an application for service retirement that is effective
    46  during the open period, and (c) is  otherwise  eligible  for  a  service
    47  retirement  as  of  the effective date of the application for retirement
    48  shall be entitled to the retirement benefit provided in section five  of
    49  this act.
    50    §  5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an eligible employee
    51  who is: (a) a member of a retirement  system,  and  (b)  entitled  to  a
    52  retirement  benefit  pursuant  to  section  four  of this act may retire
    53  during the open period without the reduction of his  or  her  retirement
    54  benefit  that  would  otherwise  be  imposed  by article 11 or 15 of the
    55  retirement and social security law if he or she has attained the age  of
    56  55 and has completed at least 25 or more years of creditable service. An
        S. 8151                             3

     1  eligible employee who is covered by the provisions of articles 11 and 15
     2  of  the  retirement  and  social  security  law  shall  retire under the
     3  provisions of articles 11 and 15 of the retirement and  social  security
     4  law.
     5    §  6.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this act shall have
     6  no impact on retirement incentives, options or  inducements  offered  as
     7  part  of a contractual agreement between an eligible employee and eligi-
     8  ble employer which were negotiated prior to the effective date  of  this
     9  act.
    10    § 7. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    11  sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
    12  competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
    13  impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
    14  its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
    15  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    16  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    17  the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
    18  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    19    § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill would provide a temporary retirement incentive during fiscal
        year 2020-2021. This incentive would permit eligible members  to  retire
        without an early retirement reduction upon attainment of at least age 55
        with  25 years of service. Currently 30 years of service are required in
        order to retire without reduction. In order to receive this  benefit,  a
        member  must  retire during the designated 90-day open period, beginning
        on June 1, 2020 for educational employers. In order to  be  eligible,  a
        member  must be an employee of a participating employer and hold a posi-
        tion represented by one of the recognized  collective  bargaining  units
        affiliated  with the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) as certified
        by his or her employer.  The cost of this incentive will  be  socialized
        across all employers.
          The  annual  cost  to  the  employers of members of the New York State
        Teachers' Retirement System for this benefit is estimated  to  be  $39.6
        million or .23% of payroll if this bill is enacted.
          Member  data  is  from  the  System's  most recent actuarial valuation
        files, consisting of data provided by the employers  to  the  Retirement
        System.  Data  distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
        Comprehensive Annual Financial  Report  (CAFR).  System  assets  are  as
        reported  in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
        the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
        Actuarial Valuation Report.
          The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2020-8 dated  February  26,
        2020  prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
        System and is intended for use only during the 2020 Legislative Session.
        I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the  New  York  State  Teachers'
        Retirement  System.  I  am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
        and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of  Actu-
        aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.