Office of Legislative Services
State House Annex
P.O. Box 068
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Legislative Budget and Finance Office
Phone (609) 847-3105
Fax (609) 777-2442
www.njleg.state.nj.us
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[Second Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 2884
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JULY 1, 2024
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Provides for purchase of PFRS credit for service as class two special
law enforcement officer.
Type of Impact: Potential State cost increase and potential local cost increases.
Agencies Affected: Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Year 1 Thereafter
Potential State Cost Increase None Indeterminate
Potential Local Cost Increase None Indeterminate
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that this bill will have no impact on the
Police and Firemen’s Retirement System following enactment because the bill requires the
member of the retirement system to cover both the employee and employer costs of service
credit.
The OLS does not have the information to determine the number of members who served as
class two special law enforcement officers in the State prior to becoming eligible to participate
in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, nor the number of such members who would
choose to purchase credit. However, the OLS anticipates that requiring members to be
appointed to a position covered by the retirement system less than 365 days after leaving
service as a class two special law enforcement officer and restricting the application window
for current members to purchase credit to one year from the bill’s enactment date will limit the
number of applications.
The OLS acknowledges that permitting members to purchase credit for prior service as a class
two special law enforcement officer may result in such members attaining the 25 year service
threshold required to qualify for employer paid post-retirement medical benefits before the
member otherwise would have, but maintains that the requirements cited in the preceding FE to A2884 [2R]
2
paragraph will limit the number of members who are able to accelerate qualification for
employer paid post-retirement medical benefits through the mechanism provided in this bill.
The OLS therefore anticipates that the bill’s provisions will have no impact on the retirement
system and a modest, if any, impact on post-retirement health care costs of employers.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill allows members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System to purchase credit
for service as a class two special law enforcement officer with a public employer in the State prior
to membership in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System.
Current law enables members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System to purchase
credit for public employment rendered in other states, with the federal government, or for military
service in the Armed Forces of the United States, not to exceed 10 years. Applicants are required
to cover both the employee and employer share of the cost for such prior service.
The bill extends these and other provisions of current law to the purchase of credit in the Police
and Firemen’s Retirement System for prior service as a class two special law enforcement officer
contingent upon a break between such service and the date of appointment to a position covered
by the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System of fewer than 365 days. Currently enrolled
members will have one year from the bill’s effective date to apply for a purchase.
Class two special law enforcement officers are required to complete a course approved by the
Police Training Commission. They receive instruction in physical fitness, criminal law, patrol
concepts, firearms, vehicle operations, defensive tactics, handcuffing, and arrest, search, and
seizure. They have similar powers to that of full-time police officers but on a restricted basis.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS estimates that this bill will have no impact on the Police and Firemen’s Retirement
System following enactment because the bill requires the member of the retirement system to cover
both the employee and employer costs of service credit.
The OLS does not have the information to determine the number of members who served as
class two special law enforcement officers in the State prior to becoming eligible to participate in
the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, nor the number of such members who would choose
to purchase credit. However, the OLS anticipates that requiring members to be appointed to a
position covered by the retirement system less than 365 days after leaving service as a class two
special law enforcement officer and restricting the application window for current members to
purchase credit to one year from the bill’s enactment date will limit the number of applications.
The OLS acknowledges that permitting members to purchase credit for prior service as a class
two special law enforcement officer may result in such members attaining the 25 year service
threshold required to qualify for employer paid post-retirement medical benefits before the FE to A2884 [2R]
3
member otherwise would have, but maintains that the requirements cited in the preceding
paragraph will limit the number of members who are able to accelerate qualification for employer
paid post-retirement medical benefits through the mechanism provided in this bill.
The OLS therefore anticipates that the bill’s provisions will have no impact on the retirement
system and a modest, if any, impact on post-retirement health care costs of employers.
Section: State Government
Analyst: Anna Harris
Assistant Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).