Bill Text: NY S08686 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the retirement of Nassau county 911 operators; provides an optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county police communications operator, police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communications) in the county of Nassau.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-10 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S08686 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S08686-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8686 IN SENATE March 30, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- 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 the retirement of Nassau county 911 operators The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding 2 a new section 89-x to read as follows: 3 § 89-x. Optional twenty-five year retirement plan for county police 4 communications operator, police communications operator supervisor, 5 assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) and bureau direc- 6 tor (police 911 communications) in the county of Nassau. a. A member 7 who serves as a county police communications operator, police communi- 8 cations operator supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 9 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communications), and is 10 employed by the county of Nassau shall be eligible to retire pursuant to 11 the provisions of this section. Such eligibility shall be an alternative 12 to the eligibility provisions available under any other plan of this 13 article to which such member is subject. The county executive of the 14 county of Nassau shall certify to the comptroller, periodically and at 15 such intervals of time as may be required of him or her and in such 16 fashion as may be prescribed, the identity of the eligible police commu- 17 nications operator, police communications operator supervisor, assistant 18 bureau director (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 19 911 communications) in his or her employ. 20 b. Such member shall be entitled to retire upon the completion of 21 twenty-five years of total creditable service by filing an application 22 therefor in the manner provided for in section seventy of this article. 23 c. Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon 24 retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together 25 with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her 26 accumulated contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an 27 additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserved- 28 for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be entitled EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14836-03-2S. 8686 2 1 shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement allowance 2 equal to one-half of his or her final average salary. 3 d. As used in this section "creditable service" shall include any and 4 all services performed as a county police communications operator, 5 police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director and 6 bureau director employed by the county of Nassau. 7 e. Credit for service as a member or officer of the state police or as 8 a paid firefighter, police officer or officer of any organized fire 9 department or police force or department of any county, city, village, 10 town, fire district or police district, or as a criminal investigator in 11 the office of a district attorney shall also be deemed to be creditable 12 service and shall be included in computing years of total service for 13 retirement pursuant to this section. 14 f. A member contributing on the basis of this section at the time of 15 retirement, may retire after the completion of twenty-five years of 16 total creditable service. Application therefor may be filed in a manner 17 similar to that provided in section seventy of this article. Upon 18 completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon retirement, 19 each such member shall receive a pension which, together with an annuity 20 which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his or her accumulated 21 contributions at the time of his or her retirement and an additional 22 pension which is the actuarial equivalent of the reserved-for-in- 23 creased-take-home-pay to which he or she may then be entitled shall be 24 sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement allowance equal to 25 one-half of his or her final average salary; for service beyond twenty- 26 five years and for non-police communications operator, police communi- 27 cations operator supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 28 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communications) county 29 service the benefit is increased by one-sixtieth of final average salary 30 for each year of additional service credit. 31 g. In computing the twenty-five years of total service of a member 32 pursuant to this section full credit shall be given and full allowance 33 shall be made for service of such member in time of war after World War 34 I as defined in section two of this chapter, provided such member at the 35 time of his entrance into the armed forces was in the service of the 36 county. 37 h. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a member, who 38 does not retire pursuant to the provisions of this section, from utiliz- 39 ing service which is creditable service pursuant to the provisions of 40 this section for service credit pursuant to the provisions of any other 41 plan of this article to which such member is subject. 42 i. The provisions of this section shall be controlling notwithstanding 43 any other provision in this article to the contrary. 44 § 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi- 45 ty law, as amended by chapter 245 of the laws of 2021, is amended to 46 read as follows: 47 a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions 48 of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire- 49 ment for disability, unless he or she is a police officer, an investi- 50 gator member of the New York city employees' retirement system, fire- 51 fighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined in section 52 eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of the laws 53 of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation worker, a 54 special officer (including persons employed by the city of New York in 55 the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger), school 56 safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine commissionS. 8686 3 1 inspector member of the New York city employees' retirement system or 2 the New York city board of education retirement system, a dispatcher 3 member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a police 4 communications member of the New York city employees' retirement system, 5 an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a depu- 6 ty sheriff member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a 7 correction officer of the Westchester county correction department as 8 defined in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk 9 county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added 10 by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred 11 ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk county as a 12 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of this chapter, 13 or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer, uniformed 14 correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff, 15 as defined in section eighty-nine-g of this chapter, or employed in 16 Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical 17 technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical techni- 18 cian related services, or a police medic, police medic supervisor or a 19 member who performs police medic related services, as defined in section 20 eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred seventy-eight of the 21 laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, or employed in 22 Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, 23 as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of the laws of nineteen 24 hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed in Albany county as a 25 sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction officer or identifica- 26 tion officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is 27 employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sher- 28 iff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-i of this 29 chapter or is employed in Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff, 30 deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section 31 eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in Jefferson county as a 32 sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined 33 in section eighty-nine-j of this chapter or is employed in Onondaga 34 county as a deputy sheriff-jail division competitively appointed or as a 35 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-k of this chapter 36 or is employed in a county which makes an election under subdivision j 37 of section eighty-nine-p of this chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, 38 deputy sheriff or correction officer as defined in such section eighty- 39 nine-p or is employed in Broome County as a sheriff, undersheriff, depu- 40 ty sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-m of 41 this chapter or is a Monroe county deputy sheriff-court security, or 42 deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in section eighty-nine-n, as added by 43 chapter five hundred ninety-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred nine- 44 ty-one, of this chapter or is employed in Greene county as a sheriff, 45 undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in 46 section eighty-nine-o of this chapter or is a traffic officer with the 47 town of Elmira as defined in section eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is 48 employed by Suffolk county as a park police officer, as defined in 49 section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or is a peace officer employed by 50 a county probation department as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as 51 added by chapter six hundred three of the laws of nineteen hundred nine- 52 ty-eight, of this chapter or is employed in Rockland county as a deputy 53 sheriff-civil as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as 54 added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand one, 55 or is employed in Rockland county as a superior correction officer as 56 defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapterS. 8686 4 1 five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thousand one or is a paramedic 2 employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda and retires 3 under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v of this chapter, as added 4 by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of two thousand one, or 5 is a county fire marshal, supervising fire marshal, fire marshal, 6 assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire marshal or chief fire 7 marshal employed by the county of Nassau as defined in section eighty- 8 nine-w of this chapter, or is a county police communications operator, 9 police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director 10 (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communi- 11 cations) employed by the county of Nassau and is in a plan which permits 12 immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service 13 without regard to age. Except as provided in subdivision c of section 14 four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of section four 15 hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of section four 16 hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of section four 17 hundred forty-five-d of this article, subdivision c of section four 18 hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of section four 19 hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of section four 20 hundred forty-five-h of this article, a member in such a plan and such 21 an occupation, other than a police officer or investigator member of the 22 New York city employees' retirement system or a firefighter, shall not 23 be permitted to retire prior to the completion of twenty-five years of 24 credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupa- 25 tion is in a plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty 26 years of service regardless of age, he or she may retire upon completion 27 of twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twen- 28 ty-five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from 29 funds other than those based on such a member's own contributions shall 30 not exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of cred- 31 ited service. 32 § 3. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is amended 33 by adding a new subdivision u to read as follows: 34 u. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred 35 four of this article shall be payable to members with twenty-five years 36 of creditable service, without regard to age, who are employed in the 37 county of Nassau as a county police communications operator, police 38 communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 39 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communications) as 40 defined in section eighty-nine-x of this chapter if: (i) such members 41 have met the minimum service requirements upon retirement, and (ii) in 42 the case of a member subject to the provisions of article fourteen of 43 this chapter, such member files an election therefor which provides that 44 he or she will be subject to the provisions of this article and to none 45 of the provisions of such article fourteen. Such election, which shall 46 be irrevocable, shall be in writing, duly executed and shall be filed 47 with the comptroller within one year of the effective date of this 48 subdivision or within one year after entering the employment with such 49 county upon which eligibility is based, whichever comes later. For the 50 purposes of this subdivision, the term "creditable service" shall have 51 the meaning as so defined in both sections eighty-nine-x and six hundred 52 one of this chapter. 53 § 4. Section 604 of the retirement and social security law is amended 54 by adding a new subdivision u to read as follows: 55 u. The early service retirement benefit for a member who is employed 56 in the county of Nassau as a county police communications operator,S. 8686 5 1 police communications operator supervisor, assistant bureau director 2 (police 911 communications) and bureau director (police 911 communi- 3 cations) as defined in section eighty-nine-x of this chapter shall be a 4 pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times years of 5 credited service at the completion of twenty-five years of service as 6 such police communications operator, police communications operator 7 supervisor, assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) and 8 bureau director (police 911 communications), but not exceeding one-half 9 of his or her final average salary. 10 § 5. All past service costs associated with implementing the 11 provisions of this act shall be borne by Nassau county. 12 § 6. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would permit members of the New York State and Local Employ- ees' Retirement System who are employed by Nassau County in the title of police communications operator, police communications operator supervi- sor, assistant bureau director (police 911 communications) or bureau director (police 911 communications) to retire upon completion of twen- ty-five (25) years of creditable service with a benefit of one-half (50%) final average salary. Affected members in Tiers 1 or 2 would be awarded additional sixtieths for all service beyond 25 years. Addi- tionally, for those members covered under the provisions of Article 14, this bill would permit an irrevocable election to forfeit the benefits of Article 14 in favor of the 25-year plan benefit, when elected within one year of the effective date of this bill or within one year of enter- ing service in any of the above titles with Nassau County, whichever comes later. If this bill is enacted during the 2022 legislative session, we antic- ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $630,000 in the annual contributions of Nassau County for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and salary of the affected members change. In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be an immediate past service cost of approximately $1.84 million which will be borne by Nassau County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2023. These estimated costs are based on 203 affected members employed by Nassau County, with annual salary of approximately $16.8 million as of March 31, 2021. The affected members were identified using information provided by the office of Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate Jr.. Summary of relevant resources: Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari- al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020 and 2021 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, 2021 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.S. 8686 6 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 25, 2022, and intended for use only during the 2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-98, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
