STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3314 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GALLIVAN, BORRELLO, GRIFFO, HELMING, RHOADS, WEIK -- 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 certain benefits of sheriffs, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs and correction officers with credited service of more than twenty-five years The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision c of section 89-p of the retirement and social 2 security law, as added by chapter 725 of the laws of 1994, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 c. Upon completion of twenty-five years of such service and upon 5 retirement, each such member shall receive a pension which, together 6 with an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of [his] such 7 member's accumulated contributions at the time of [his] such member's 8 retirement and an additional pension which is the actuarial equivalent 9 of the reserved-for-increased-take-home-pay to which [he] such member 10 may then be entitled shall be sufficient to provide [him] such member 11 with a retirement allowance equal to one-half of [his] such member's 12 final average salary, provided however that a member with credited 13 service in excess of twenty-five years shall receive an additional 14 retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of such member's final aver- 15 age salary for each year of creditable service in excess of twenty-five 16 years, provided, however that the pension payable pursuant to this 17 section shall not exceed three-quarters of such member's final average 18 salary. 19 § 2. Subdivision m of section 604 of the retirement and social securi- 20 ty law, as added by chapter 725 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read 21 as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01063-02-5
S. 3314 2 1 m. The early service retirement benefit for a member who is employed 2 in a county that makes the election provided for in subdivision j of 3 section eighty-nine-p of this chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy 4 sheriff or correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-p of 5 this chapter shall be a pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average 6 salary times years of credited service at the completion of twenty-five 7 years of service as such sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or 8 correction officer, [but not exceeding one-half of his or her] plus an 9 additional retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of such member's 10 final average salary for each year of credited service in excess of 11 twenty-five years, provided, however that the pension payable pursuant 12 to such section shall not exceed three-quarters of such member's final 13 average salary. 14 § 3. All past service costs associated with implementing the 15 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county that makes the 16 election provided for in subdivision j of section 89-p of the retirement 17 and social security law. 18 § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none 19 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to the appropriation 20 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law. 21 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all 22 qualified members pursuant to sections one and two of this act who 23 retire on or after such date. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would modify the service retirement benefit for members of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) covered by the provisions of Retirement and Social Security Law section 89-p. The modified service retirement benefit will be one-half of final average salary (FAS) upon completion of twenty-five years of creditable service with additional sixtieths for each year of creditable service in excess of twenty-five years but not more than fifteen such years. The current service retirement benefit is one-half of FAS upon completion of twenty-five years of creditable service. If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic- ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $5.0 million in the annual contributions of the affected counties for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. In future years this cost will vary but is expected to average 1.2% of salary annually. In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be an immediate past service cost (PSC) of approximately $44.8 million which will be shared by the affected counties and will be borne as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2026. Detailed costs with a breakdown by affected counties are as follows: County Name Employer Past Service Future Annual Location Code Cost (one-time) Cost (ongoing) ALLEGANY COUNTY 10002 $ 1,023,000 $ 70,000 CATTARAUGUS COUNTY 10004 511,000 71,000 CAYUGA COUNTY 10005 927,000 89,000 CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY 10006 757,000 90,000 CHEMUNG COUNTY 10007 1,029,000 81,000 CHENANGO COUNTY 10008 363,000 72,000 CLINTON COUNTY 10009 626,000 70,000 COLUMBIA COUNTY 10010 380,000 53,000
S. 3314 3 CORTLAND COUNTY 10011 503,000 51,000 DELAWARE COUNTY 10012 337,000 53,000 DUTCHESS COUNTY 10013 3,095,000 318,000 ERIE COUNTY 10014 6,857,000 692,000 ESSEX COUNTY 10015 459,000 62,000 FULTON COUNTY 10017 393,000 94,000 GENESEE COUNTY 10018 377,000 67,000 HERKIMER COUNTY 10021 335,000 47,000 LEWIS COUNTY 10023 199,000 33,000 LIVINGSTON COUNTY 10024 635,000 75,000 MADISON COUNTY 10025 381,000 67,000 MONROE COUNTY 10026 8,000 7,000 MONTGOMERY COUNTY 10027 624,000 57,000 NIAGARA COUNTY 10029 1,338,000 160,000 ONEIDA COUNTY 10030 3,299,000 280,000 ONTARIO COUNTY 10032 1,241,000 155,000 ORANGE COUNTY 10033 4,859,000 457,000 OSWEGO COUNTY 10035 646,000 113,000 OTSEGO COUNTY 10036 337,000 48,000 PUTNAM COUNTY 10037 775,000 69,000 RENSSELAER COUNTY 10038 1,138,000 152,000 ROCKLAND COUNTY 10039 1,318,000 213,000 SARATOGA COUNTY 10041 901,000 120,000 SCHENECTADY COUNTY 10042 2,175,000 193,000 SCHOHARIE COUNTY 10043 431,000 38,000 SCHUYLER COUNTY 10044 244,000 31,000 SENECA COUNTY 10045 438,000 44,000 SULLIVAN COUNTY 10048 1,013,000 121,000 TIOGA COUNTY 10049 359,000 45,000 TOMPKINS COUNTY 10050 275,000 49,000 ULSTER COUNTY 10051 2,056,000 175,000 WARREN COUNTY 10052 748,000 101,000 WAYNE COUNTY 10054 846,000 102,000 WYOMING COUNTY 10056 213,000 45,000 YATES COUNTY 10057 $ 359,000 $ 44,000 TOTAL All $44,000,000 $5,000,000 Further, we anticipate some administrative costs to implement the provisions of this legislation. These estimated costs are based on 4,728 affected members of NYSLERS employed by certain counties and having a total annual salary base of approximately $402 million, estimated as of March 31, 2025. Summary of relevant resources: Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the impact of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari- al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2024 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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Information.
S. 3314 4 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 23, 2025, and intended for use only during the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-5. As Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica- ble Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.