Relates to establishing a twenty year retirement plan for members or officers of law enforcement; includes every non-seasonally appointed sworn member or officer of the division of law enforcement in the department of environmental conservation, a forest ranger in the service of the department of environmental conservation, a police officer in the department of environmental conservation, the regional state park police, and university police officers in such twenty year plan.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8918
SPONSOR: Pheffer Amato TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
establishing a twenty year retirement plan for members or officers of
law enforcement
PURPOSE:
To allow members of the regional state park police, environmental
conservation officers, forest rangers, and university police officers to
receive 20-year retirement plans.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new Section 383-E to the Retirement and Social
Security Law to allow environmental conservation officers, forest
rangers, regional state park police, and university police officers to
receive a 20-year retirement plan similar to the New York State Troopers
and the vast majority of municipal police officers.
Section 2 states that the newly created Section 383-E of the Retirement
and Social Security Law authorizes all past service costs associated
with implementing the provisions of this act shall be borne by the State
of New York and may be liquidated over a period of ten years.
Section 3 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The Police Benevolent Association of New York State, which is comprised
of Forest Rangers, Regional Park Police, Environmental Conservation
Officers and State University Police Officers are members of the Agency
Police Bargaining Unit. The Agency Police Bargaining Unit currently has
a 25-year retirement plan in which they receive 50% of their final aver-
age salary and 1.66% thereafter, at a maximum of 32 years with a maximum
61.66% final average salary.
However, New York State Troopers and approximately 97% of municipal
police officers have a 20-year retirement plan in which they can receive
50% of their final average salary. Many of them have the additional
benefit commonly referred to as "1/60th," which means for every year
above 20 years of employment, they get an additional 1/60th, or 1.66% of
their final average salary. For example, a police officer who has a
20-year retirement benefit, who works for 21 years, will get a pension
equal to 51.66%, whereas a police officer with 22 years of experience
will receive a pension worth 53.33%.
There will be a cap after 32 years of service, which will equate to 70
percent. Police officers can work beyond 32 years, but their pension
will not reach beyond 70 percent of the final average salary. Members of
the Agency Police Bargaining Unit currently do not have this benefit.
To rectify this discrepancy and to provide equity among law enforcement
officers, this legislation authorizes the Agency Police Bargaining Unit
to be given a 20-year retirement plan.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023: A.4018 - Vetoed
2021-2022: A. 9325 - Vetoed Memo 133
2021-2022: A6457 - Vetoed Memo 77
2019-2020: S.8148 - Referred to Civil Service and Pensions/A.10253
Referred to Governmental Employees
2019-2020: 5.5207 - Vetoed Memo 275/A.4431 - Vetoed Memo 275
2017-2018: 5.6234-A - Amend and Recommit to Civil Service and
Pensions/A.10416 - Reported Referred to Ways and Means
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See fiscal note.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8918
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
establishing a twenty year retirement plan for members or officers of
law enforcement
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 383-e to read as follows:
3 § 383-e. Retirement of officers of state law enforcement; twenty year
4 retirement plan. a. Membership. Every non-seasonally appointed sworn
5 member or officer of the division of law enforcement in the department
6 of environmental conservation, a forest ranger in the service of the
7 department of environmental conservation, which shall mean a person who
8 serves on a full-time basis in the title of forest ranger I, forest
9 ranger II, forest ranger III, assistant superintendent of forest fire
10 control, superintendent of forest fire control or any successor titles
11 or new titles in the forest ranger title series in the department of
12 environmental conservation, a police officer in the department of envi-
13 ronmental conservation, the regional state park police, and university
14 police officers who enter or re-enter service in any such title shall be
15 covered by the provisions of this section, and every member described in
16 this subdivision in such service on or before one year prior to the
17 effective date of this section may elect to be covered by the provisions
18 of this section by filing an election therefor with the comptroller. To
19 be effective, such election must be duly executed and acknowledged on a
20 form prepared by the comptroller for that purpose.
21 b. Retirement allowance. A member, covered by the provisions of this
22 section at the time of retirement, shall be entitled to retire upon
23 completion of twenty years of total creditable service in such titles,
24 and shall retire upon the attainment of the mandatory retirement age
25 prescribed by this section, by filing an application therefor in a
26 manner similar to that provided in section three hundred seventy of this
27 article.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01826-03-4
A. 8918 2
1 1. Upon completion of twenty years of such service and upon retire-
2 ment, each such member shall receive a pension which, together with an
3 annuity for such years of service as provided in paragraph four of this
4 subdivision, shall be sufficient to provide him or her with a retirement
5 allowance of one-half of his or her final average salary.
6 2. Upon completion of more than twenty years of such service and upon
7 retirement, each such member shall receive, for each year of service in
8 excess of twenty, an additional pension which, together with an annuity
9 for each such year as provided in paragraph four of this subdivision,
10 shall be equal to one-sixtieth of his or her final average salary,
11 provided, however, that the pension payable pursuant to this section
12 shall not exceed three-quarters of final average salary.
13 3. Upon attainment of the mandatory retirement age without completion
14 of twenty years of such service, each such member shall receive a
15 pension which, together with an annuity for such years of service as
16 provided in paragraph four of this subdivision, shall be equal to one-
17 fortieth of his or her final average salary for each year of creditable
18 service in such titles. Every such member shall also be entitled to an
19 additional pension equal to the pension for any creditable service
20 rendered while not an employee in such titles as provided under para-
21 graphs three and four of subdivision a of section three hundred seven-
22 ty-five of this article. This latter pension shall not increase the
23 total allowance to more than one-half of his or her final average sala-
24 ry.
25 4. The annuity provided under paragraphs one, two and three of this
26 subdivision shall be the actuarial equivalent, at the time of retire-
27 ment, of the member's accumulated contributions based upon the rate of
28 contribution fixed under section three hundred eighty-three of this
29 title and upon the salaries earned while in such service. Such annuity
30 shall be computed as it would be if it were not reduced by the actuarial
31 equivalent of any outstanding loan nor by reason of the member's
32 election to decrease his or her contributions toward retirement in order
33 to apply the resulting amount toward payment of contributions for old
34 age and survivor's insurance. Any accumulated contributions in excess of
35 the amount required to provide the annuity computed pursuant to this
36 paragraph shall be used to increase the member's retirement allowance.
37 c. Credit for previous service. In computing the years of total cred-
38 itable service for each member described herein, full credit shall be
39 given and full allowance shall be made for service rendered as a police
40 officer or state university peace officer or member of a police force or
41 department of a state park authority or commission or an organized
42 police force or department of a county, city, town, village, police
43 district, authority or other participating employer or member of the
44 capital police force in the office of general services while a member of
45 the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, of the
46 New York state and local employees' retirement system or of the New York
47 city police pension fund and for all service for which full credit has
48 been given and full allowance made pursuant to the provisions of section
49 three hundred seventy-five-h of this article provided, however, that
50 full credit pursuant to the provisions of such section shall mean only
51 such service as would be creditable service pursuant to the provisions
52 of section three hundred eighty-three, three hundred eighty-three-a,
53 three hundred eighty-three-b, as added by chapter six hundred seventy-
54 four of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-six, three hundred eighty-
55 three-b, as added by chapter six hundred seventy-seven of the laws of
56 nineteen hundred eighty-six, three hundred eighty-three-c or three
A. 8918 3
1 hundred eighty-three-d of this title or pursuant to the provisions of
2 title thirteen of the administrative code of the city of New York for
3 any member contributing pursuant to this section who transferred to the
4 jurisdiction of the department of environmental conservation including
5 but not limited to environmental conservation officers and forest
6 rangers, regional state park police or state university of New York
7 peace officers.
8 d. Retirement for cause. Upon receipt of a certificate from the head
9 of the entity where such member is employed or his or her designee, a
10 member as described in subdivision a of this section, who has accrued
11 twenty-five or more years of service credit under this section shall be
12 retired on the first day of the second month next succeeding the date
13 such certificate was filed with the comptroller.
14 e. Credit for military service. In computing the years of total cred-
15 itable service full credit shall be given and full allowance shall be
16 made for service of such member in war after world war I as defined in
17 section three hundred two of this article, provided such member at the
18 time of his or her entrance into the armed forces was in police service
19 as defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred two of this
20 article.
21 f. Transfer of membership to employees' retirement system. Any member
22 currently enrolled pursuant to this section and who previously trans-
23 ferred service credit from the New York state and local employees'
24 retirement system to the New York state and local police and fire
25 retirement system, may elect to transfer such previously transferred
26 service credit back to the New York state and local employees' retire-
27 ment system, and such member shall have the option to retroactively
28 transfer his or her membership into such employees' retirement system.
29 g. The provisions of this section shall be controlling, notwithstand-
30 ing any provision of this article to the contrary.
31 § 2. All past service costs associated with implementing the
32 provisions of this act shall be borne by the state of New York and may
33 be amortized over a period of ten years.
34 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
35 have become a law.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow any non-seasonally appointed sworn member or
officer of the division of law enforcement, police officer, or forest
ranger in the department of environmental conservation; any regional
state park police officer; or any university police officer to become
covered by the provisions of a special 20-year retirement plan, which
will provide a benefit of one-half of final average salary upon retire-
ment and an additional benefit of one-sixtieth of final average salary
for each year of creditable service in excess of 20 years, not to exceed
12 years.
If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $6.6 million in
the annual contributions of the State of New York for the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary but is
expected to average 3.9% of salary annually.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $70.3 million which will
be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This estimate
assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2025. If the State of New
York elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
each year including interest would be $8.98 million.
A. 8918 4
These estimated costs are based on 1,228 affected members employed by
the State of New York, with annual salary of approximately $131 million
as of March 31, 2023.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023
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, 2023
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 January 22, 2024, and intended for use only
during the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-90,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
