Tier 5 Pension Reform signed into law 12/10/2013
________________________________________________________________________ S. 26 A. 26 Twentieth Extraordinary Session S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y December 2, 2009 ___________ IN SENATE -- Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of the Governor) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Silver, Abbate, Arroyo, Clark, Destito, Englebright, Fields, Galef, Hooper, Kellner, Morelle, Paulin, Peoples-Stokes, Sweeney, Thiele, Zebrowski) -- (at request of the Governor) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to establishing police and fire retirement provisions; to amend the retirement and social security law and chapter 625 of the laws of 1975, amending the retirement and social security law relating to the extension of temporary rights and benefits, in relation to making the coordinated-escalator retirement plan and the coordinated retirement plan permanent; to amend the civil service law, in relation to extend- ing the expiration of public arbitration of disputes between public employers and employee organizations (Part A); to amend the retirement and social security law and the general municipal law, in relation to persons joining a public retirement system on or after January 1, 2010; and to amend chapter 729 of the laws of 1994 relating to affect- ing the health insurance benefits and contributions of retired employ- ees of school districts and certain boards, in relation to eliminating the expiration of the provisions thereof (Part B); and to amend the retirement and social security law, the administrative code of the city of New York and the education law, in relation to new entrants to the New York city teachers' retirement system and the New York city board of education retirement system (Part C) THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD12149-15-9 S. 26 2 A. 26 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law legislation relating to retirement 2 for newly hired employees. Each component is wholly contained within a 3 Part identified as Parts A through C. The effective date for each 4 particular provision contained within such Part is set forth in the last 5 section of such Part. Any provision in any section contained within a 6 Part, including the effective date of the Part, which makes reference to 7 a section "of this act", when used in connection with that particular 8 component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding 9 section of the Part in which it is found. Section three of this act 10 sets forth the general effective date of this act. 11 PART A 12 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding 13 a new article 22 to read as follows: 14 ARTICLE 22 15 POLICE AND FIRE RETIREMENT PROVISIONS 16 SECTION 1200. DEFINITIONS. 17 1201. APPLICABILITY. 18 1202. VESTING. 19 1203. OVERTIME. 20 1204. MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS. 21 1205. RECALCULATION OF BENEFITS. 22 1206. CONFLICTING PROVISIONS. 23 S 1200. DEFINITIONS. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE THE TERMS: 24 A. "MEMBER" SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO IS EMPLOYED AS A POLICE OFFICER OR 25 FIREFIGHTER BY ANY EMPLOYER WHO FIRST JOINS THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR 26 AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN. 27 B. "RETIREMENT SYSTEM" SHALL MEAN THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL POLICE 28 AND FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM. 29 S 1201. APPLICABILITY. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE 30 CONTRARY, THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE APPLICABLE TO ALL 31 EMPLOYEES IN THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO FIRST JOINED SUCH SYSTEM ON OR 32 AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN. 33 S 1202. VESTING. A. IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR A SERVICE RETIREMENT BENE- 34 FIT, MEMBERS SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE MUST HAVE A MINI- 35 MUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE. 36 B. IN COMPUTING THE YEARS OF TOTAL CREDITABLE SERVICE OF A MEMBER, 37 FULL CREDIT SHALL BE GIVEN FOR MILITARY SERVICE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI- 38 SIONS TWENTY-NINE-A AND THIRTY OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED TWO OF THIS 39 CHAPTER. 40 S 1203. OVERTIME. A MEMBER'S FINAL AVERAGE SALARY SHALL BE CALCULATED 41 IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE EIGHT OR ARTICLE ELEVEN OF 42 THIS CHAPTER AS GOVERN THE MEMBER'S BENEFITS, EXCEPT THAT EARNINGS CLAS- 43 SIFIED AS OVERTIME COMPENSATION IN AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF FIFTEEN 44 PERCENT OF A MEMBER'S ANNUAL WAGES NOT CLASSIFIED AS OVERTIME COMPEN- 45 SATION SHALL BE EXCLUDED FROM SUCH CALCULATION. "OVERTIME COMPENSATION" 46 SHALL MEAN, FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, COMPENSATION PAID UNDER ANY 47 LAW OR POLICY UNDER WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE PAID AT A RATE GREATER THAN 48 THEIR STANDARD RATE FOR ADDITIONAL HOURS WORKED BEYOND THOSE REQUIRED, 49 INCLUDING COMPENSATION PAID UNDER SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR OF THE 50 CIVIL SERVICE LAW AND SECTION NINETY OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW. 51 S 1204. MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS. MEMBERS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO THE 52 PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL CONTRIBUTE THREE PERCENT OF ANNUAL 53 WAGES TO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN WHICH THEY HAVE MEMBERSHIP. MEMBERS 54 WHO ARE ENROLLED IN A RETIREMENT PLAN THAT LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF CREDITA- S. 26 3 A. 26 1 BLE SERVICE A MEMBER CAN ACCRUE SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO MAKE CONTRIB- 2 UTIONS PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION AFTER ACCRUING THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF 3 SERVICE CREDIT ALLOWED BY THE RETIREMENT PLAN IN WHICH THEY ARE 4 ENROLLED. THE STATE COMPTROLLER SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH REGULATIONS AS MAY 5 BE NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE WITH RESPECT TO THE DEDUCTION OF SUCH 6 CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS' WAGES AND FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF ANY SPECIAL 7 FUND OR FUNDS WITH RESPECT TO AMOUNTS SO CONTRIBUTED. IN NO WAY SHALL 8 THE MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS MADE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION BE USED TO 9 PROVIDE FOR PENSION INCREASES OR ANNUITIES OF ANY KIND. 10 S 1205. RECALCULATION OF BENEFITS. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION 11 OF LAW, ANY MEMBER WHO HAS JOINED THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO THE 12 PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE FOURTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, 13 TWO THOUSAND NINE MAY ELECT TO HAVE HIS OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFITS 14 CALCULATED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE BY FILING WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY 15 DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION A REQUEST FOR SUCH CALCU- 16 LATION WITH THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM IN THE FORM AND MANNER PRESCRIBED BY 17 THE STATE COMPTROLLER. 18 S 1206. CONFLICTING PROVISIONS. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS 19 ARTICLE, OR IN CONFLICT THEREWITH, THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE ELEVEN OF 20 THIS CHAPTER, INCLUDING ANY PLAN THAT HAS BEEN ELECTED BY THE EMPLOYER 21 OR IS OTHERWISE APPLICABLE UNDER ARTICLE EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL 22 GOVERN THE RETIREMENT BENEFITS PROVIDED UNDER THIS ARTICLE. IN THE EVENT 23 OF ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AND ANY OTHER 24 PROVISION OF LAW, THIS ARTICLE SHALL GOVERN. 25 S 2. Subdivision c of section 440 of the retirement and social securi- 26 ty law, as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read 27 as follows: 28 c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions and 29 limitations of this article shall apply, as may be appropriate, to all 30 police officers and firefighters who last joined a public retirement 31 system of the state or a municipality thereof, on or after July first, 32 nineteen hundred seventy-six, but prior to July first, two thousand 33 nine, AND ALL EMPLOYEES SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO 34 OF THIS CHAPTER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN THE CASE OF A CONFLICT 35 BETWEEN THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AND ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO OF THIS 36 CHAPTER, THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO SHALL BE CONTROLLING. 37 S 3. Intentionally omitted. 38 S 4. Section 470 of the retirement and social security law, as amended 39 by chapter 79 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 40 S 470. Temporary suspension of retirement negotiations. [Until July 41 first, two thousand eleven, changes] CHANGES negotiated between any 42 public employer and public employee, as such terms are defined in 43 section two hundred one of the civil service law, with respect to any 44 benefit provided by or to be provided by a public retirement system, or 45 payments to a fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees or 46 payment to retirees or their beneficiaries, shall be prohibited. [Ther- 47 eafter, such changes shall be made only pursuant to negotiations between 48 public employers and public employees conducted on a coalition basis 49 pursuant to the provisions of this article; provided, however, any such 50 changes not requiring approval by act of the legislature may be imple- 51 mented prior to July first, two thousand eleven, if negotiated as a 52 result of collective bargaining authorized by section six of chapter six 53 hundred twenty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-five.] 54 S 5. Section 480 of the retirement and social security law, as amended 55 by chapter 79 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: S. 26 4 A. 26 1 S 480. Extension of temporary benefits and supplementation programs. 2 a. Every temporary right, privilege or benefit conferred pursuant to 3 the provisions of a general, special or local law (other than pursuant 4 to articles fourteen and fifteen of this chapter) for any member of a 5 public retirement system or pension plan funded by the state or one of 6 its political subdivisions, which is scheduled to expire or terminate at 7 any time during nineteen hundred seventy-four, nineteen hundred seven- 8 ty-five, nineteen hundred seventy-six, nineteen hundred seventy-seven, 9 nineteen hundred seventy-eight, nineteen hundred seventy-nine, nineteen 10 hundred eighty, nineteen hundred eighty-one, nineteen hundred eighty- 11 two, nineteen hundred eighty-three, nineteen hundred eighty-four, nine- 12 teen hundred eighty-five, nineteen hundred eighty-six, nineteen hundred 13 eighty-seven, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, nineteen hundred eighty- 14 nine, nineteen hundred ninety, nineteen hundred ninety-one, nineteen 15 hundred ninety-two, nineteen hundred ninety-three, nineteen hundred 16 ninety-four, nineteen hundred ninety-five, nineteen hundred ninety-six, 17 nineteen hundred ninety-seven, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, nineteen 18 hundred ninety-nine, two thousand, two thousand one, two thousand two, 19 two thousand three, two thousand four, two thousand five, two thousand 20 six, two thousand seven, two thousand eight, two thousand nine, two 21 thousand ten or two thousand eleven, is hereby extended [until July 22 first, two thousand eleven], notwithstanding the provisions of such 23 general, special or local law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing 24 in this section shall be construed to extend the provisions of article 25 eighteen of this chapter or to affect any statutory deadlines provided 26 in such article. 27 b. (i) Any program under which an employer in a public retirement 28 system funded by the state or one of its political subdivisions assumes 29 all or part of the contribution which would otherwise be made by its 30 employees toward retirement, which expires or terminates during nineteen 31 hundred seventy-four, is hereby extended [until July first, two thousand 32 eleven], notwithstanding the provisions of any other general, special or 33 local law, except that commencing with the payroll period the first day 34 of which is nearest to January first, nineteen hundred seventy-six[, and 35 until July first, two thousand eleven], the rate of such contribution 36 assumed by an employer in any of the public retirement systems funded 37 and maintained by a city, shall be one-half the rate of such contrib- 38 ution assumed by such employer for the immediately preceding payroll 39 period except as provided in paragraph (ii) of this subdivision. 40 (ii) Commencing with the first payroll period the first day of which 41 is subsequent to October first, two thousand [and until July first, two 42 thousand eleven], the rate of such contribution assumed by an employer 43 in the New York city police pension fund and in the New York city fire 44 department pension fund shall be equal to the rate of such contributions 45 assumed by such employer for the payroll period preceding January first, 46 nineteen hundred seventy-six. 47 c. All supplemental retirement allowances or supplemental pensions 48 paid to pensioners or beneficiaries of any retirement system supported 49 in whole or in part by the state or a political subdivision thereof, 50 which are scheduled to expire at any time during nineteen hundred seven- 51 ty-five, nineteen hundred seventy-six, nineteen hundred seventy-seven, 52 nineteen hundred seventy-eight, nineteen hundred seventy-nine, nineteen 53 hundred eighty, nineteen hundred eighty-one, nineteen hundred eighty- 54 two, nineteen hundred eighty-three, nineteen hundred eighty-four, nine- 55 teen hundred eighty-five, nineteen hundred eighty-six, nineteen hundred 56 eighty-seven, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, nineteen hundred eighty- S. 26 5 A. 26 1 nine, nineteen hundred ninety, nineteen hundred ninety-one, nineteen 2 hundred ninety-two, nineteen hundred ninety-three, nineteen hundred 3 ninety-four, nineteen hundred ninety-five, nineteen hundred ninety-six, 4 nineteen hundred ninety-seven, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, nineteen 5 hundred ninety-nine, two thousand one, two thousand two, two thousand 6 three, two thousand four, two thousand five, two thousand six, two thou- 7 sand seven, two thousand eight, two thousand nine, two thousand ten or 8 two thousand eleven, shall be continued [for an additional year] 9 notwithstanding any other provision of any general, special or local law 10 provided, however, that all such supplemental retirement allowances or 11 supplemental pensions which are scheduled to expire at any time during 12 two thousand nine shall be continued [for two additional years] notwith- 13 standing any other provisions of any general, special or local law. 14 S 6. Section 615 of the retirement and social security law, as amended 15 by chapter 79 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 16 S 615. Duration. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter 17 or of any other law, the provisions of article fourteen of this chapter 18 shall [expire on June thirtieth, two thousand eleven, but shall] no 19 longer apply to members to whom this article applies on the date article 20 fifteen of this chapter becomes effective, provided, however, any member 21 who has retired pursuant to the provisions of article fourteen of this 22 chapter before the effective date of this article or any beneficiary of 23 such a member or a beneficiary of a member who dies before the effective 24 date of this article and who is entitled to a death benefit pursuant to 25 article fourteen of this chapter shall receive such benefits pursuant to 26 the provisions of article fourteen of this chapter, except as provided 27 pursuant to the provisions of section six hundred seventeen of this 28 article. [All benefits provided by a public retirement system of the 29 state shall continue with respect to members to which this article is 30 applicable only until June thirtieth, two thousand eleven.] 31 S 7. Section 6 of chapter 625 of the laws of 1975, amending the 32 retirement and social security law relating to the extension of tempo- 33 rary rights and benefits, as amended by chapter 79 of the laws of 2009, 34 is amended to read as follows: 35 S 6. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this act or of any 36 general, special or local law, on and after July 1, 1975 [and up to and 37 including June 30, 2011]: (a) a participating employer in the New York 38 state and local employees' retirement system or the New York state and 39 local police and fire retirement system and its employees shall continue 40 to have the right to negotiate with respect to any benefit provided by 41 or to be provided by such employer to such employees as members of such 42 system and not requiring approval by act of the legislature; and (b) a 43 public authority or public benefit corporation which is not a partic- 44 ipating employer in the New York state and local employees' retirement 45 system or the New York city employees' retirement system shall continue 46 to have the right to negotiate with its employees with respect to bene- 47 fits to be provided by such employer to such employees upon retirement 48 and not requiring approval by act of the legislature. 49 S 8. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, nothing in 50 this act shall limit the eligibility of any member of an employee organ- 51 ization to join a special retirement plan open to him or her pursuant to 52 a collectively negotiated agreement with any state or local government 53 employer, where such agreement is in effect on the effective date of 54 this act and so long as such agreement remains in effect thereafter; 55 provided, however, that any such eligibility shall not apply upon termi- 56 nation of such agreement for employees otherwise subject to the S. 26 6 A. 26 1 provisions of article twenty-two of the retirement and social security 2 law. 3 S 9. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 4 of section 209 of the civil 4 service law, as amended by chapter 28 of the laws of 2009, is amended to 5 read as follows: 6 (d) The provisions of this subdivision shall expire [thirty-four] 7 THIRTY-SIX years from July first, nineteen hundred seventy-seven, AND 8 HEREAFTER MAY BE RENEWED EVERY FOUR YEARS. 9 S 9-a. Subdivision c of section 500 of the retirement and social secu- 10 rity law, as added by chapter 890 of the laws of 1976, is amended to 11 read as follows: 12 c. If the comptroller certifies that the contribution rate under this 13 article for any participating employer who is participating on the 14 effective date hereof would be at least one percent higher than the rate 15 which would be applicable to such employer for an employee who is 16 subject to article eleven of this chapter and who was hired prior to 17 July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six, the provisions of this article 18 shall not apply with respect to such participating employer, PROVIDED, 19 HOWEVER THAT MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL POLICE 20 AND FIRE RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN 21 SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE. In such event, 22 the provisions of article eleven AND ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER 23 shall continue to be applicable to such participating employer and its 24 employees, as provided in section four hundred fifty-one of this chap- 25 ter. If, as a result of actuarial experience, such employer's contrib- 26 ution rate should increase to the extent that it is not at least one 27 percent lower than the contribution rate under this article, then, upon 28 certification of such fact by the comptroller, the provisions of this 29 subdivision shall no longer apply with respect to the employees of such 30 employer who thereafter first join or rejoin a public retirement system. 31 S 10. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 32 have become a law. 33 PART B 34 Section 1. Subdivision 24 of section 501 of the retirement and social 35 security law, as amended by chapter 891 of the laws of 1976, is amended 36 to read as follows: 37 24. "Wages" shall mean regular compensation earned by and paid to a 38 member by a public employer, EXCEPT THAT FOR MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE 39 STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, 40 TWO THOUSAND TEN, OVERTIME COMPENSATION PAID IN ANY YEAR IN EXCESS OF 41 THE OVERTIME CEILING, AS DEFINED BY THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL NOT BE 42 INCLUDED IN THE DEFINITION OF WAGES. "OVERTIME COMPENSATION" SHALL 43 MEAN, FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, COMPENSATION PAID UNDER ANY LAW OR 44 POLICY UNDER WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE PAID AT A RATE GREATER THAN THEIR STAN- 45 DARD RATE FOR ADDITIONAL HOURS WORKED BEYOND THOSE REQUIRED, INCLUDING 46 COMPENSATION PAID UNDER SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR OF THE CIVIL 47 SERVICE LAW AND SECTION NINETY OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW. THE "OVER- 48 TIME CEILING" SHALL MEAN FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS PER ANNUM ON JANUARY 49 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, AND SHALL BE INCREASED BY THREE PERCENT EACH 50 YEAR THEREAFTER. For the purpose of calculation a member's primary 51 federal social security retirement or disability benefit, wages shall, 52 in any calendar year, be limited to the portion of the member's wages 53 which would be subject to tax under section three thousand one hundred 54 twenty-one of the internal revenue code of nineteen hundred fifty-four, S. 26 7 A. 26 1 or any predecessor or successor provision relating thereto, if such 2 member was employed by a private employer. 3 S 2. Subdivisions a and b of section 502 of the retirement and social 4 security law, as amended by chapter 389 of the laws of 1998, are amended 5 to read as follows: 6 a. A member who first joins a public retirement system of this state 7 on or after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-six shall not be 8 eligible for service retirement benefits hereunder until such member has 9 rendered a minimum of five years of creditable service after July first, 10 nineteen hundred seventy-three, EXCEPT THAT A MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS THE 11 NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANU- 12 ARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE RETIREMENT 13 BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH MEMBER HAS RENDERED A MINI- 14 MUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE. 15 b. A member who previously was a member of a public retirement system 16 of this state shall not be eligible for service retirement benefits 17 hereunder until such member has rendered a minimum of five years of 18 service which is creditable pursuant to section five hundred thirteen of 19 this article. A MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL 20 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN 21 SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS 22 ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH MEMBER HAS RENDERED A MINIMUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDIT- 23 ED SERVICE. 24 S 3. Subdivision c of section 504 of the retirement and social securi- 25 ty law, as amended by chapter 174 of the laws of 1989, is amended to 26 read as follows: 27 c. The early service retirement benefit for general members, except 28 for general members whose early retirement benefit is specified in 29 subdivision d of this section, shall be the service retirement benefit 30 specified in subdivision a or b of this section, as the case may be, 31 without social security offset, reduced by one-fifteenth for each of the 32 first two years by which early retirement precedes age sixty-two, plus a 33 further reduction of: (1) one-thirtieth; OR (2) ONE-TWENTIETH FOR 34 MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIRE- 35 MENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, for each year 36 by which early retirement precedes age sixty. At age sixty-two, the 37 benefit shall be reduced by fifty percent of the primary social security 38 retirement benefit, as provided in section five hundred eleven of this 39 article. 40 S 4. Subdivision a of section 516 of the retirement and social securi- 41 ty law, as amended by chapter 389 of the laws of 1998, is amended to 42 read as follows: 43 a. A member who has five or more years of credited service OR TEN OR 44 MORE YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE FOR MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK 45 STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, 46 TWO THOUSAND TEN upon termination of employment shall be entitled to a 47 deferred vested benefit as provided herein. 48 S 5. Subdivision l of section 601 of the retirement and social securi- 49 ty law, as added by chapter 414 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read 50 as follows: 51 l. "Wages" shall mean regular compensation earned by and paid to a 52 member by a public employer, EXCEPT THAT FOR MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE 53 NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK 54 STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOU- 55 SAND TEN, OVERTIME COMPENSATION PAID IN ANY YEAR IN EXCESS OF THE OVER- 56 TIME CEILING, AS DEFINED BY THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL NOT BE INCLUDED IN S. 26 8 A. 26 1 THE DEFINITION OF WAGES. "OVERTIME COMPENSATION" SHALL MEAN, FOR 2 PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, COMPENSATION PAID UNDER ANY LAW OR POLICY 3 UNDER WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE PAID AT A RATE GREATER THAN THEIR STANDARD 4 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL HOURS WORKED BEYOND THOSE REQUIRED, INCLUDING 5 COMPENSATION PAID UNDER SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR OF THE CIVIL 6 SERVICE LAW AND SECTION NINETY OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW. THE "OVER- 7 TIME CEILING" SHALL MEAN FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS PER ANNUM ON JANUARY 8 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, AND SHALL BE INCREASED BY THREE PER CENT EACH 9 YEAR THEREAFTER. 10 S 6. Subdivisions a and b of section 602 of the retirement and social 11 security law, as amended by chapter 389 of the laws of 1998, are amended 12 to read as follows: 13 a. A member who first joins a public retirement system of this state 14 on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six shall not be eligi- 15 ble for service retirement benefits hereunder until such member has 16 rendered a minimum of five years of credited service, EXCEPT THAT A 17 MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIRE- 18 MENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR 19 AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE 20 RETIREMENT BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH MEMBER HAS 21 RENDERED A MINIMUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE. 22 b. A member who previously was a member of a public retirement system 23 of this state shall not be eligible for service retirement benefits 24 hereunder until such member has rendered a minimum of five years of 25 service which is credited pursuant to section six hundred nine of this 26 article. A MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOY- 27 EES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM 28 ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR 29 SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH MEMBER 30 HAS RENDERED A MINIMUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE. 31 S 7. Subdivision a of section 603 of the retirement and social securi- 32 ty law, as amended by section 3 of chapter 19 of the laws of 2008, is 33 amended to read as follows: 34 a. The service retirement benefit specified in section six hundred 35 four of this article shall be payable to members who have met the mini- 36 mum service requirements upon retirement and attainment of age sixty- 37 two, other than members who are eligible for early service retirement 38 pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-b of this article, 39 subdivision c of section six hundred four-c of this article, subdivision 40 d of section six hundred four-d of this article, subdivision c of 41 section six hundred four-e of this article, subdivision c of section six 42 hundred four-f of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred 43 four-g of this article, subdivision c of section six hundred four-h of 44 this article or subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this 45 article, provided, however, [a member who is a peace officer employed by 46 the unified court system or] a member of a teachers' retirement system 47 or the New York state and local employees' retirement system WHO FIRST 48 JOINS SUCH SYSTEM BEFORE JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN OR A MEMBER WHO 49 IS A UNIFORMED COURT OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED 50 COURT SYSTEM may retire without reduction of his or her retirement bene- 51 fit upon attainment of at least fifty-five years of age and completion 52 of thirty or more years of service, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A UNIFORMED 53 COURT OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM WHO 54 FIRST BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' 55 RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN AND 56 RETIRES WITHOUT REDUCTION OF HIS OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAIN- S. 26 9 A. 26 1 MENT OF AT LEAST FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR 2 MORE YEARS OF SERVICE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE REQUIRED TO MAKE 3 THE MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION F OF SECTION SIX 4 HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE FOR ALL YEARS OF CREDITED AND CREDITA- 5 BLE SERVICE. 6 S 8. Subdivision i of section 603 of the retirement and social securi- 7 ty law, as amended by chapter 19 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read 8 as follows: 9 i. 1. A member of a teachers' retirement system or the New York state 10 and local employees' retirement system who has met the minimum service 11 requirements but who has less than thirty years of credited service OR A 12 MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIRE- 13 MENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR 14 AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN may retire prior to normal retire- 15 ment age, but no earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in which 16 event, unless such person is a member of the New York city teachers' 17 retirement system who is otherwise eligible for early service retirement 18 pursuant to subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this article, 19 the amount of his or her retirement benefit otherwise computed without 20 optional modification shall be reduced in accordance with the following 21 schedule: 22 (i) for each of the first twenty-four full months that retirement 23 predates age sixty-two, one-half of one per centum per month; PROVIDED, 24 HOWEVER, THAT FOR MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL 25 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT 26 SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, SUCH AMOUNTS SHALL 27 BE EQUAL TO ONE-FIFTEENTH PER YEAR; and 28 (ii) for each full month that retirement predates age sixty, one-quar- 29 ter of one per centum per month; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT FOR MEMBERS WHO 30 FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR 31 THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY 32 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, SUCH AMOUNTS SHALL BE EQUAL TO ONE-TWENTIETH 33 PER YEAR, but in no event shall retirement be permitted prior to attain- 34 ment of age fifty-five. 35 2. A member of the New York city employees' retirement system or the 36 board of education retirement system of the city of New York who has met 37 the minimum service requirement, but who is not (a) a participant in the 38 twenty-five-year early retirement program, as defined in paragraph ten 39 of subdivision a of section six hundred four-c of this article (as added 40 by chapter ninety-six of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five), or 41 (b) a participant in the age fifty-seven retirement program, as defined 42 in paragraph three of subdivision b of section six hundred four-d of 43 this article, or (c) a New York city transit authority member, as 44 defined in paragraph one of subdivision a of section six hundred four-b 45 of this article, may retire prior to normal retirement age, but no 46 earlier than attainment of age fifty-five, in which event, unless such 47 person is a member of the board of education retirement system of such 48 city who is otherwise eligible for early service retirement pursuant to 49 subdivision c of section six hundred four-i of this article, the amount 50 of his or her retirement benefit computed without optional modification 51 shall be reduced in accordance with the following schedule: 52 (i) for each of the first twenty-four full months that retirement 53 predates age sixty-two, one-half of one per centum per month; and 54 (ii) for each full month that retirement predates age sixty, one-quar- 55 ter of one per centum per month, but in no event shall retirement be 56 permitted prior to attainment of age fifty-five. S. 26 10 A. 26 1 S 8-a. Section 603 of the retirement and social security law is 2 amended by adding a new subdivision t to read as follows: 3 T. MEMBERS WHO JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON 4 OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE 5 WITHOUT REDUCTION OF HIS OR HER RETIREMENT BENEFIT UPON ATTAINMENT OF AT 6 LEAST FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS OF AGE AND COMPLETION OF THIRTY OR MORE YEARS OF 7 SERVICE. MEMBERS WHO RETIRE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVI- 8 SION SHALL BE REQUIRED TO MAKE THE MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIRED BY 9 SUBDIVISION G OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE FOR ALL 10 YEARS OF CREDITED AND CREDITABLE SERVICE. 11 S 8-b. Subdivisions a and b of section 604 of the retirement and 12 social security law, as amended by chapter 266 of the laws of 1998, are 13 amended to read as follows: 14 a. The service retirement benefit at normal retirement age for a 15 member with less than twenty years of credited service, OR LESS THAN 16 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS CREDITED SERVICE FOR A MEMBER WHO JOINS THE NEW YORK 17 STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOU- 18 SAND TEN, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one-sixtieth of final 19 average salary times years of credited service. 20 b. The service retirement benefit at normal retirement age for a 21 member with twenty years or more of credited service, OR WITH 22 TWENTY-FIVE OR MORE YEARS CREDITED SERVICE FOR A MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINS 23 THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY 24 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, shall be a retirement allowance equal to one- 25 fiftieth of final average salary times years of credited service not in 26 excess of thirty years. 27 S 8-c. Paragraph 2 of subdivision b of section 609 of the retirement 28 and social security law, as added by chapter 414 of the laws of 1983, is 29 amended to read as follows: 30 2. Previous service credit shall not be granted unless such member 31 applies therefor and repays the amount refunded by a public retirement 32 system of the state for service rendered after July first, nineteen 33 hundred seventy-six together with interest through the date of repayment 34 at the rate of five percent per annum compounded annually and three 35 percent of the wages earned for service prior to that date together with 36 interest from July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six through the date 37 of payment at the rate of five percent per annum compounded annually and 38 three percent of the wages earned for service which predates the date of 39 entry into the retirement system together with interest at the rate of 40 five percent per annum compounded annually from the date of such service 41 until the date of payment. ANYTHING IN THIS PARAGRAPH TO THE CONTRARY 42 NOTWITHSTANDING, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN CREDIT FOR PREVIOUS SERVICE, MEMBERS 43 WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR 44 AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN SHALL PAY THREE AND ONE-HALF 45 PERCENT OF WAGES EARNED FOR SERVICE WHICH PREDATES THE DATE OF ENTRY 46 INTO THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM TOGETHER WITH INTEREST AT THE RATE OF FIVE 47 PERCENT PER ANNUM COMPOUNDED ANNUALLY FROM THE DATE OF SUCH SERVICE 48 UNTIL THE DATE OF PAYMENT. 49 S 9. Subdivision a of section 612 of the retirement and social securi- 50 ty law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1999, is amended to 51 read as follows: 52 a. A member who has five or more years of credited service, OR TEN OR 53 MORE YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE FOR A MEMBER WHO FIRST JOINED THE NEW 54 YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE 55 TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, 56 upon termination of employment, other than a member who is entitled to a S. 26 11 A. 26 1 deferred vested benefit pursuant to any other provision of this article, 2 shall be entitled to a deferred vested benefit at normal retirement age 3 computed in accordance with the provisions of section six hundred four 4 of this article. A member of a teachers' retirement system or the New 5 York state and local employees' retirement system who has five or more 6 years of credited service, OR TEN OR MORE YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE FOR 7 A MEMBER WHO FIRST BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL 8 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT 9 SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, upon termination of 10 employment shall be entitled to a deferred vested benefit prior to 11 normal retirement age, but no earlier than age fifty-five, computed in 12 accordance with the provisions of subdivision i of section six hundred 13 three of this article. 14 S 9-a. Section 613 of the retirement and social security law is 15 amended by adding two new subdivisions f and g to read as follows: 16 F. ANYTHING IN SUBDIVISION A OF THIS SECTION TO THE CONTRARY NOTWITH- 17 STANDING A MEMBER EMPLOYED AS A UNIFORMED COURT OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER 18 IN THE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM WHO FIRST JOINS THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL 19 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN 20 SHALL CONTRIBUTE FOUR PERCENT OF ANNUAL WAGES TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND 21 LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. THE HEAD OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND 22 LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH REGULATIONS AS 23 MAY BE NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE WITH RESPECT TO THE DEDUCTION OF SUCH 24 CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS' WAGES AND FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF ANY SPECIAL 25 FUND OR FUNDS WITH RESPECT TO AMOUNTS SO CONTRIBUTED. 26 G. MEMBERS WHO FIRST JOIN THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT 27 SYSTEM ON OR AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN SHALL CONTRIBUTE 28 THREE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT OF ANNUAL WAGES TO THE NEW YORK STATE TEACH- 29 ERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. THE HEAD OF THE NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS' RETIRE- 30 MENT SYSTEM SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH REGULATIONS AS MAY BE NECESSARY AND 31 APPROPRIATE WITH RESPECT TO THE DEDUCTION OF SUCH CONTRIBUTION FROM 32 MEMBERS' WAGES AND FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF ANY SPECIAL FUND OR FUNDS WITH 33 RESPECT TO AMOUNTS SO CONTRIBUTED. 34 S 10. Paragraph 1 of subdivision b of section 902 of the retirement 35 and social security law, as amended by chapter 110 of the laws of 2000, 36 is amended to read as follows: 37 1. An eligible employee (i) with a date of membership in a retirement 38 system on or after July twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-six AND 39 BEFORE JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TEN, and (ii) who has ten or more 40 years of membership or ten or more years of credited service with a 41 retirement system under the provisions of article fourteen or fifteen of 42 this chapter shall not be required to contribute to a retirement system 43 pursuant to section five hundred seventeen or six hundred thirteen of 44 this chapter as of the cessation date. 45 S 11. Intentionally omitted. 46 S 12. Intentionally omitted. 47 S 13. Section 90 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 48 576 of the laws of 1964, is amended to read as follows: 49 S 90. Payment of overtime compensation to public officers or employ- 50 ees. The governing board of each municipal corporation or other civil 51 division or political subdivision of the state, or in the city of New 52 York, the mayor, by ordinance, local law, resolution, order or rule, may 53 provide for the payment of overtime compensation to any or all public 54 officers except elective officers and those officers otherwise excluded 55 by law and to any or all public employees under their jurisdiction at 56 the regular basic pay rate of such officers or employees for all time S. 26 12 A. 26 1 such officers or employees are required to work in excess of their regu- 2 larly established hours of employment or at such other rate as such 3 governing board, or in the city of New York, the mayor, may authorize. 4 The amounts received as overtime compensation under this section shall 5 be regarded as salary or compensation for any of the purposes of any 6 pension or retirement system of which the officer or employee receiving 7 the same is a member, EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN SECTIONS FIVE HUNDRED ONE, 8 SIX HUNDRED ONE, AND TWELVE HUNDRED THREE OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL 9 SECURITY LAW. Such overtime compensation shall not be regarded as sala- 10 ry or compensation for the purpose of determining the right to any 11 increase of salary or any salary increment on account of length of 12 service or otherwise. No such overtime compensation shall be construed 13 to constitute a promotion. 14 S 14. Section 1 of chapter 729 of the laws of 1994 relating to affect- 15 ing the health insurance benefits and contributions of retired employees 16 of school districts and certain boards, as amended by chapter 30 of the 17 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 18 Section 1. From on and after June 30, 1994 [until May 15, 2010,] a 19 school district, board of cooperative educational services, vocational 20 education and extension board or a school district as enumerated in 21 section 1 of chapter 566 of the laws of 1967, as amended, shall be 22 prohibited from diminishing the health insurance benefits provided to 23 retirees and their dependents or the contributions such board or 24 district makes for such health insurance coverage below the level of 25 such benefits or contributions made on behalf of such retirees and their 26 dependents by such district or board unless a corresponding diminution 27 of benefits or contributions is effected from the present level during 28 this period by such district or board from the corresponding group of 29 active employees for such retirees. 30 S 15. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares 31 its intent, in addition to the retirement benefit changes provided for 32 in this act, to enact legislation, in conjunction with the executive, 33 which would offer a three-month period during calendar year 2010, during 34 which members of the collective bargaining unit of the New York State 35 United Teachers ("NYSUT") within the New York state teachers retirement 36 system and the New York state and local employees' retirement system who 37 have reached fifty-five years of age and have accumulated twenty-five 38 years of service as a member of either such retirement system, may 39 retire early without penalty. 40 S 16. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010; provided, however, 41 that the amendments to subdivision a of section 603 of the retirement 42 and social security law made by section seven of this act, shall not 43 affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed to expire 44 therewith. 45 PART C 46 Section 1. Subdivisions a and b of section 602 of the retirement and 47 social security law, as amended by chapter 389 of the laws of 1998, are 48 amended to read as follows: 49 a. [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION B-1 OF THIS SECTION, A member 50 who first joins a public retirement system of this state on or after 51 July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six shall not be eligible for 52 service retirement benefits hereunder until such member has rendered a 53 minimum of five years of credited service. S. 26 13 A. 26 1 b. [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION B-1 OF THIS SECTION, A member 2 who previously was a member of a public retirement system of this state 3 shall not be eligible for service retirement benefits hereunder until 4 such member has rendered a minimum of five years of service which is 5 credited pursuant to section six hundred nine of this article. 6 S 2. Section 602 of the retirement and social security law is amended 7 by adding a new subdivision b-1 to read as follows: 8 B-1. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION A OR B OF THIS 9 SECTION OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, (I) A MEMBER OF 10 THE NEW YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO HOLDS A POSITION 11 REPRESENTED BY THE RECOGNIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLECTIVE 12 BARGAINING PURPOSES, AND WHO BECAME SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS 13 ARTICLE AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, OR (II) A MEMBER 14 OF THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO HOLDS A 15 POSITION REPRESENTED BY THE RECOGNIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLEC- 16 TIVE BARGAINING PURPOSES, AND WHO BECAME SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF 17 THIS ARTICLE AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL NOT BE 18 ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICE RETIREMENT BENEFITS HEREUNDER UNTIL SUCH MEMBER HAS 19 RENDERED A MINIMUM OF TEN YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE. 20 S 3. Subdivision a of section 612 of the retirement and social securi- 21 ty law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1999, is amended to 22 read follows: 23 a. [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION A-1 OF THIS SECTION, A member 24 who has five or more years of credited service upon termination of 25 employment, other than a member who is entitled to a deferred vested 26 benefit pursuant to any other provision of this article, shall be enti- 27 tled to a deferred vested benefit at normal retirement age computed in 28 accordance with the provisions of section six hundred four of this arti- 29 cle. [A] EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION A-1 OF THIS SECTION, A member 30 of a teachers' retirement system or the New York state and local employ- 31 ees' retirement system who has five or more years of credited service 32 upon termination of employment shall be entitled to a deferred vested 33 benefit prior to normal retirement age, but no earlier than age fifty- 34 five, computed in accordance with the provisions of subdivision i of 35 section six hundred three of this article. 36 S 4. Section 612 of the retirement and social security law is amended 37 by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows: 38 A-1. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION A OF THIS SECTION 39 OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, (I) A MEMBER OF THE NEW 40 YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO HOLDS A POSITION REPRESENTED 41 BY THE RECOGNIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 42 PURPOSES, WHO BECAME SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AFTER THE 43 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AND WHO HAS TEN OR MORE YEARS OF 44 CREDITED SERVICE, OR (II) A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCA- 45 TION RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO HOLDS A POSITION REPRESENTED BY THE RECOG- 46 NIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PURPOSES, WHO 47 BECAME SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AFTER THE EFFECTIVE 48 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AND WHO HAS TEN OR MORE YEARS OF CREDITED 49 SERVICE, OTHER THAN SUCH A MEMBER OF EITHER OF SUCH RETIREMENT SYSTEMS 50 WHO IS ENTITLED TO A DEFERRED VESTED BENEFIT PURSUANT TO ANY OTHER 51 PROVISION OF THIS ARTICLE, SHALL, UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT, BE 52 ENTITLED TO A DEFERRED VESTED BENEFIT AT NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE COMPUTED 53 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED FOUR OF THIS 54 ARTICLE. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION A OF THIS 55 SECTION OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER OF THE 56 NEW YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO HOLDS A POSITION REPRES- S. 26 14 A. 26 1 ENTED BY THE RECOGNIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 2 PURPOSES, WHO BECAME SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AFTER THE 3 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, AND WHO HAS TEN OR MORE YEARS OF 4 CREDITED SERVICE, SHALL, UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT, BE ENTITLED TO 5 A DEFERRED VESTED BENEFIT PRIOR TO NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE, BUT NO EARLIER 6 THAN AGE FIFTY-FIVE, COMPUTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF 7 SUBDIVISION I OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED THREE OF THIS ARTICLE. 8 S 5. Paragraph 1 of subdivision b of section 911 of the retirement and 9 social security law, as amended by chapter 110 of the laws of 2000, is 10 amended to read as follows: 11 1. [An] SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH ONE-A OF THIS SUBDIVI- 12 SION, AN eligible member (i) with a date of membership in a retirement 13 system on or after July twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred seventy-six and 14 (ii) who has ten or more years of membership or ten or more years of 15 credited service with a retirement system under the provisions of arti- 16 cle fourteen or fifteen of this chapter shall not be required to 17 contribute to a retirement system pursuant to section five hundred 18 seventeen or six hundred thirteen of this chapter as of the cessation 19 date. 20 S 6. Subdivision b of section 911 of the retirement and social securi- 21 ty law is amended by adding a new paragraph 1-a to read as follows: 22 1-A. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVI- 23 SION OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER OF THE NEW 24 YORK CITY TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF 25 EDUCATION RETIREMENT SYSTEM: 26 (I) WHO IS A TWENTY-SEVEN YEAR PARTICIPANT IN THE AGE FIFTY-FIVE 27 RETIREMENT PROGRAM (AS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH TWELVE OF SUBDIVISION A OF 28 SECTION SIX HUNDRED FOUR-I OF THIS CHAPTER), AND 29 (II) WHO BECOMES SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE FIFTEEN OF THIS 30 CHAPTER AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH, SHALL CONTRIBUTE TO 31 A RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SECTION SIX HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THIS 32 CHAPTER UNTIL HE OR SHE HAS COMPLETED TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF CREDITED 33 SERVICE. 34 S 7. Paragraph 2 of subdivision e of section 604-i of the retirement 35 and social security law, as added by chapter 19 of the laws of 2008, is 36 amended to read as follows: 37 2. A twenty-five-year participant in the age fifty-five retirement 38 program (as defined in paragraph eleven of subdivision a of this 39 section) shall contribute additional member contributions until the 40 later of (i) June twenty-ninth, two thousand eight, or (ii) the date on 41 which he or she has completed twenty-five years of credited service. A 42 twenty-seven-year participant in the age fifty-five retirement program 43 shall contribute additional member contributions only until he or she 44 has completed twenty-seven years of credited service; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, 45 THAT A TWENTY-SEVEN-YEAR PARTICIPANT IN THE AGE FIFTY-FIVE RETIREMENT 46 PROGRAM WHO BECOMES SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE AFTER THE 47 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND NINE THAT 48 AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL CONTRIBUTE ADDITIONAL MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS 49 FOR ALL YEARS OF CREDITED SERVICE AS PROVIDED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF 50 PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVISION. 51 S 8. Subdivision d of section 13-582 of the administrative code of the 52 city of New York is amended to read as follows: 53 d. [Interest] 1. SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS 54 SUBDIVISION, INTEREST shall be allowed on the participant's tax-deferred 55 account in the annuity savings fund at the same rate and in accordance S. 26 15 A. 26 1 with the same rules and procedures applicable to any account in the 2 annuity savings fund, as provided in this chapter. 3 2. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBDIVI- 4 SION, OR ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, OR ANY RETIREMENT BOARD RULE, REGU- 5 LATION OR RESOLUTION TO THE CONTRARY, ON OR AFTER THE FIRST BUSINESS DAY 6 IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH, INTEREST 7 SHALL BE ALLOWED AT THE RATE OF SEVEN PERCENT PER ANNUM, COMPOUNDED 8 ANNUALLY, ON THE TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNT IN THE ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND OF 9 PARTICIPANTS (I) WHO HOLD A POSITION REPRESENTED BY THE RECOGNIZED 10 TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PURPOSES, OR (II) WHO 11 HELD SUCH A POSITION AT THE TIME THEY RETIRED OR DISCONTINUED SERVICE 12 WITH VESTED RIGHTS TO A RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE AND ELECTED TO DEFER 13 COMMENCEMENT OF DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNTS IN ACCORD- 14 ANCE WITH SUBDIVISION G OF THIS SECTION. 15 S 9. Section 13-582 of the administrative code of the city of New York 16 is amended by adding two new subdivisions n and o to read as follows: 17 N. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, OR ANY RETIREMENT BOARD 18 RULE, REGULATION OR RESOLUTION TO THE CONTRARY, THE AMENDMENT TO SUBDI- 19 VISION D OF THIS SECTION ENACTED BY THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOU- 20 SAND NINE WHICH ADDED THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT AFFECT THE RATE OF 21 INTEREST BEING CHARGED ON NEW LOANS FROM THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY 22 PROGRAM, AND THE RATE OF INTEREST THAT WAS BEING CHARGED ON SUCH LOANS 23 IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE 24 USED FOR NEW LOANS FROM THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM MADE ON OR 25 AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, UNLESS THE RETIREMENT 26 BOARD, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS AUTHORITY PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH TWO OF 27 SUBDIVISION L OF THIS SECTION, AS ADDED BY CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED SEVEN- 28 TEEN OF THE LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED NINETY-THREE, SHALL AMEND ITS RULES 29 AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING LOANS FROM THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM TO 30 ESTABLISH A DIFFERENT RATE OF INTEREST APPLICABLE TO SUCH LOANS. 31 O. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, OR ANY RETIREMENT BOARD 32 RULE, REGULATION OR RESOLUTION TO THE CONTRARY, WHERE A PARTICIPANT IN 33 THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM HAS ELECTED TO TRANSFER ALL OR A 34 PORTION OF THE AMOUNT CREDITED TO HIS OR HER TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNT IN THE 35 ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND TO A TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNT IN THE VARIABLE ANNUITY 36 SAVINGS FUND, THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL EFFECTUATE SUCH TRANSFER AS 37 EXPEDITIOUSLY AS IS ADMINISTRATIVELY FEASIBLE. 38 S 10. Subdivision 20 of section 2575 of the education law, as added by 39 chapter 509 of the laws of 1993, is amended by adding a new paragraph 40 (e) to read as follows: 41 (E) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, OR ANY RULE OR REGU- 42 LATION, OR THE PROVISIONS OF ANY RETIREMENT BOARD RESOLUTION TO THE 43 CONTRARY: 44 (1) ON OR AFTER THE FIRST BUSINESS DAY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE 45 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH, INTEREST SHALL BE ALLOWED AT THE RATE 46 OF SEVEN PERCENT PER ANNUM, COMPOUNDED ANNUALLY, ON THE TAX-DEFERRED 47 ACCOUNTS IN THE ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND OF PARTICIPANTS (I) WHO HOLD A 48 POSITION REPRESENTED BY THE RECOGNIZED TEACHER ORGANIZATION FOR COLLEC- 49 TIVE BARGAINING PURPOSES, OR (II) WHO HELD SUCH A POSITION AT THE TIME 50 THEY RETIRED OR DISCONTINUED SERVICE WITH VESTED RIGHTS TO A RETIREMENT 51 ALLOWANCE AND ELECTED TO DEFER COMMENCEMENT OF DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR 52 TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVI- 53 SION; AND 54 (2) THE PROVISIONS OF SUBPARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL NOT 55 AFFECT THE RATE OF INTEREST BEING CHARGED ON NEW LOANS FROM THE TAX-DE- 56 FERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM, AND THE RATE OF INTEREST THAT WAS BEING CHARGED S. 26 16 A. 26 1 ON SUCH LOANS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH 2 SHALL BE USED FOR NEW LOANS FROM THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM MADE 3 ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS PARAGRAPH, UNLESS THE RULES AND 4 REGULATIONS GOVERNING LOANS FROM THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM ARE 5 AMENDED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION TO ESTABLISH A 6 DIFFERENT RATE OF INTEREST APPLICABLE TO SUCH LOANS; AND 7 (3) WHERE A PARTICIPANT IN THE TAX-DEFERRED ANNUITY PROGRAM HAS 8 ELECTED TO TRANSFER ALL OR A PORTION OF THE AMOUNT CREDITED TO HIS OR 9 HER TAX-DEFERRED ACCOUNT IN THE ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND TO A TAX-DEFERRED 10 ACCOUNT IN THE VARIABLE ANNUITY SAVINGS FUND, THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM 11 SHALL EFFECTUATE SUCH TRANSFER AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS IS ADMINISTRATIVELY 12 FEASIBLE. 13 S 11. This act shall take effect immediately. 14 S 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 15 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 16 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 17 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 18 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 19 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 20 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 21 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 22 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 23 S 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that 24 the applicable effective date of Parts A through C of this act shall be 25 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts. FISCAL NOTE.--PROVISIONS OF PART C OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION - OVER- VIEW: With respect to the New York City Retirement Systems ("NYCRS"), Part C of this proposed legislation would amend New York State Retire- ment and Social Security Law ("RSSL") Sections 602, 604-i, 612 and 911.b, Administrative Code of the City of New York ("ACNY") Section 13-582 and Education Law ("Ed Law") Section 2575 to provide changes in the service eligibility requirements for certain members for Vested and Service Retirement benefits, to revise the duration of payability for member contributions for certain Tier IV members hired on and after the Effective Date, and to provide a change to the rate of interest to be credited on Fixed Fund account balances of certain participants in the Tax Deferred Annuity ("TDA") Programs of the New York City Teachers' Retirement System ("NYCTRS") and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System ("BERS"). The Effective Date of the proposed legislation would be the date of enactment. IMPACT ON SECTIONS OF LAW: The proposed legislation would amend the following provisions of law for certain new NYCRS members hired on and after the Effective Date ("New Members") and also impact certain exist- ing members on the Effective Date with respect to certain TDA provisions. SECTION OF LAW PROVISIONS BEING AMENDED TIER I-IV PROVISIONS ACNY 13-582.d Provisions relating to NYCTRS TDA. ACNY 12-582.n.o Provisions relating to NYCTRS TDA loans. TIER IV PROVISIONS RSSL Sec. 602.a,b Service Retirement ("SR") eligibility. RSSL Sec. 604-i Additional Member S. 26 17 A. 26 Contributions ("AMC"). RSSL Sec. 612.a Eligibility for Vested benefits. RSSL Sec. 911.b Limitations on Basic Member Contributions TDA PROVISIONS AND TDA LOANS FOR BERS Ed Law Sec. 2575 TDA provisions and TDA loans for BERS. IMPACT ON NYCRS RETIREMENT PLANS - NON-TDA PROVISIONS: Part C of the proposed legislation would cover certain Tier IV New Members of NYCTRS and BERS and impact provisions of the following Plans: * Basic Tier IV Plan Provisions ("Basic 62/5 Plan") and * Optional Age Fifty-five Retirement Program for New York City Teach- ers and certain other members ("Age 55 Program"). IMPACT ON ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS - NON-TDA PROVISIONS: Under the proposed legislation, certain New Members hired on and after the Effec- tive Date would become subject to the following revised Service Retire- ment and Vesting eligibility requirements: SERVICE RETIREMENT Under the proposed legislation, the minimum service required for a Service Retirement benefit in the Basic 62/5 Plan would be increased to 10 years from 5 years of credited service. VESTING Under the proposed legislation, the minimum service required for a Vested benefit in the Basic 62/5 Plan would be increased to 10 years from 5 years of credited service. While such New Members would participate in the Age 55 Program, in the event a participant terminated employment prior to meeting the eligibil- ity requirements of the Age 55 Program for Service Retirement, the bene- fits payable upon vesting, retirement, disability or death would be based on the provisions of the Basic 62/5 Plan. IMPACT ON MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS - NON-TDA PROVISIONS: Currently, Basic Member Contributions ("BMC") of 3.0% of salary for Tier IV members are required (per Chapter 126 of the Laws of 2000) for only the first 10 years of membership or the first 10 years of credited service, whichever occurs earliest. Under the proposed legislation, certain New Members would be required to pay BMC for all years of credited service up to a maximum of 27 years. Currently, under the existing Age 55 Program, only those participants subject to the 27-year provisions are required to contribute AMC of 1.85% of salary to a maximum of 27 years of credited service. Under Part C of the proposed legislation, New Member 27-year partic- ipants in the Age 55 Program after the Effective Date would be required to contribute AMC for all years of credited service. FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: If enacted into law, the ultimate employ- er cost of this proposed legislation would be determined by the net change in benefits paid, offset by any increases in member contrib- utions, and by the reduced amount of interest credited to TDA Fixed Fund account balances. FINANCIAL IMPACT - NON-TDA PROVISIONS - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES - CURRENT MEMBERS: Based on the census data and the actuarial assumptions and methods currently in effect, the enactment of this proposed legis- lation would not change the APV of benefits, the APV of member contrib- utions or the APV of future salary of current members of NYCTRS or BERS as of June 30, 2008. S. 26 18 A. 26 IMPACT ON NYCRS RETIREMENT PLANS - TDA PROVISIONS: The proposed legislation changes to the TDA provisions would cover both existing members and New Members of NYCTRS and BERS in Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV whose job titles are represented in collective bargaining by the United Federation of Teachers ("UFT") ("Covered Members"). These TDA changes would impact all such NYCTRS and BERS members regardless of the Plan in which they participate. BACKGROUND - EARNINGS ON TDA ACCOUNTS - CURRENT LAW: Under current law, eligible members of NYCTRS who elect to participate in the TDA Program select from among the following funds to allocate their TDA account balances (100.0% in one Fund or proportions (delineated in mini- mum 5.0% increments)) within the following six alternative funds: * A Fixed Fund that provides a guaranteed annual rate of return of 8.25% per annum (for periods on and after July 1, 1988), or * Five separate Variable Funds (i.e., Diversified Equity Fund, Stable Value Fund, International Equity Fund, Inflation Protection Fund or Socially Responsive Equity Fund) that provide alternative risk/reward characteristics. Eligible BERS members who participate in the TDA Program select only from the Fixed Fund and the Diversified Equity Fund. At retirement after age 59 1/2, TDA participants may receive their TDA account balances payable as a lump sum, as a monthly annuity based on annuitization factors used by the NYCTRS or BERS Qualified Pension Plan ("QPP") Programs, respectively, or in other amounts they elect subject to the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") Minimum Required Distribution ("MRD") rules for those age 70 1/2 or greater. BACKGROUND - EARNINGS ON TDA ACCOUNTS - PROPOSED LAW: Under the proposed legislation, the interest crediting rate for TDA participants in the Fixed Fund for Covered Members would be decreased (i.e., 8.25% per annum would decrease to 7.0% per annum). FINANCIAL IMPACT - TDA FIXED FUND ASSETS - OVERVIEW: If enacted into law, the ultimate change in employer cost of this proposed legislation would equal the change in benefits payable by NYCTRS and BERS arising from revised TDA provisions. Simplistically, this change in employer cost would equal the cumula- tive reduction in obligations between crediting 8.25% per annum and 7.0% per annum on TDA Fixed Fund account balances for Covered Members. However, financing this change in obligations is not simplistic. Under current law, TDA Fixed Fund assets of NYCTRS and BERS are co-in- vested with NYCTRS QPP assets. The Investment Policy for NYCTRS QPP assets reflects a broad asset allocation of 70% equity-like securities and 30% bond-like securities. The actuarial assumptions currently in effect include an Actuarial Interest Rate ("AIR") assumption of 8.0% per annum that is consistent with an assumption that the NYCTRS QPP assets are expected to earn an average of 8.0% per year. To the extent that TDA Fixed Fund assets earn more than 8.25% per year (i.e., the crediting rate on TDA Fixed Fund account balances), actuarial gains occur. To the extent that TDA Fixed Fund assets earn less than 8.25% per year, actuarial losses occur. To the extent TDA Fixed Fund account balances are shifted to Variable Funds or vice versa, there are also impacts on the potential cost of the TDA Programs. Under the proposed legislation, access to and earnings payable on the Variable Funds would not change. Under current actuarial practice, the Actuary spreads through the Actuarial Asset Valuation Method ("AAVM") over six years and then over S. 26 19 A. 26 the expected future working lifetimes of NYCTRS QPP and BERS QPP active members the investment gains/losses attributable to the TDA Fixed Fund earnings equaling more/less than the 8.25% per annum TDA Fixed Fund Interest Crediting Rate. In particular, the Actuary includes in the NYCTRS QPP and BERS QPP actuarial valuations a modest load to the Actuarial Present Value of Benefits ("APVB") equal to approximately 2.3% of their respective TDA Fixed Fund assets. This amount is intended to represent a portion of the anticipated difference between the expected earnings on TDA Fixed Fund assets and the TDA Fixed Fund Interest Crediting Rate. These obligations are financed over the expected future working lifetimes of NYCTRS QPP and BERS QPP active members. FINANCIAL IMPACT - TDA FIXED FUND ASSETS - RISK ADJUSTED: As noted earlier, the expected long-term actuarial loss on TDA Fixed Fund assets, under the current actuarial assumptions, is .25% of TDA Fixed Fund assets, per year. However, on a risk-adjusted basis, the economic implications are more significant. Specifically, TDA Fixed Fund account balances are credited with interest at a rate of 8.25% per annum, not subject to any risk to the TDA participants. To earn the AIR assumption of 8.0% per annum, (or the 8.25% per annum crediting rate), TDA Fixed Fund assets are subject to considerable investment risk. Were NYCTRS to set aside TDA Fixed Fund assets whose characteristics had a comparable level of certainty of payment, it would have to invest in some form of risk-free asset class such as U.S. Treasury securities. Although a TDA participant may move, following a modest notification period, his or her TDA account balance between the Fixed Fund and the Variable Funds, the Actuary has assumed an average TDA Fixed Fund hold- ing period of 10 years. Comparing the expected yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury securities would then be a reasonable, risk-adjusted benchmark. Over time, intermediate-term U.S. Treasury securities may be expected to earn a real rate of return of approximately 2.5% per year. Combined with a long-term assumption for inflation of 2.5% per year, a total rate of return for intermediate-term Treasury securities would equal approxi- mately 5.0% per year. Comparing the current risk-free TDA Fixed Fund interest crediting rate of 8.25% per annum with a long-term expected, market place, risk-free yield of 5.0% per year on intermediate-term U.S. Treasury securities indicates that TDA account balances are being credited with an expected 3.25% per year greater rate of return on a risk-adjusted basis than the expected earnings on the supporting TDA Fixed Fund assets. Thus, on an economically robust, risk-adjusted basis, the crediting of TDA account balances with interest at either 7.0% or 8.25% per annum is more expensive than reported on a non-risk-adjusted basis. FINANCIAL IMPACT - TDA VARIABLE ANNUITY CONVERSIONS: In addition, the Actuary holds as obligations of the NYCTRS QPP and BERS QPP, amounts to reflect the actuarial losses anticipated upon the conversion of some TDA account balances into Variable Annuities. This reflects the fact that the annuity factors used for such conversion, by law, are not actuarial- ly equivalent to what the Actuary assumes in the actuarial valuations. Under the proposed legislation, TDA participants would be permitted to transfer their TDA Fixed Fund account balances to one or more of the Variable Funds as soon as feasible under the direction of the Plan administrators of each NYCTRS and BERS. S. 26 20 A. 26 However, it is not expected that enactment of the proposed legislation would result in substantial numbers of TDA participants transferring their TDA Fixed Fund account balances to TDA Variable Funds. FINANCIAL IMPACT - TDA FIXED FUND - SUMMARY: Annual investment returns on the TDA Fixed Fund assets that exceed the guaranteed amounts to be credited to the TDA Fixed Fund accounts produce actuarial gains. Conversely, annual investment returns less than the guaranteed amounts to be credited to the TDA Fixed Fund accounts produce actuarial losses. Under the current AIR assumption of 8.0% per annum, an aggregate long- term net actuarial loss of .25% on TDA Fixed Fund account balances is expected. This loss ultimately increases employer costs. The Actuary anticipates that enactment of the proposed legislation with respect to the decrease to 7.0% per annum from 8.25% per annum of the Interest Crediting Rate on TDA Fixed Fund account balances in NYCTRS and BERS would become effective in the Fiscal Year containing the Effec- tive Date. If enacted before June 30, 2010, the Actuary would likely reduce Fiscal Year 2010 employer contributions to reflect that there would be fewer TDA Fixed Fund account balances expected to be credited at 8.25% per annum. As of June 30, 2008, TDA Fixed Fund account balances equaled approxi- mately $8.970 billion for NYCTRS and $456.8 million for BERS. Assuming a portion of the TDA Fixed Fund account balances would be transferred to the TDA Variable Funds following enactment of this proposed legislation, the Actuary would likely apply the 2.3% load to only non-UFT TDA account balances. If the proposed legislation were enacted on or before June 30, 2010, the impact of reducing expected TDA Fixed Fund actuarial losses would result in decreases in Fiscal Year 2010 employer contributions of approximately $18.7 million for NYCTRS and $.4 million for BERS. It is anticipated that the annualized expected reduction in Fiscal Year 2010 employer contributions to NYCTRS and BERS would continue for future years. PROJECTED CHANGES IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS - CURRENT ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: If the proposed legislation were enacted and effective for certain New Members on or after the Effective Date, these New Members would first join the NYCRS during Fiscal Year 2010 and first be included in the June 30, 2010 actuarial valuations of the NYCRS used to determine Fiscal Year 2012 employer contributions. However, since most New Members of NYCTRS and BERS impacted by this proposed legislation would likely not be hired until September 2010 and would first be included in the June 30, 2011 actuarial valuations of the NYCRS, the first significant impact of the proposed legislation with respect to non-TDA provisions would likely be on the Fiscal Year 2013 employer contributions. The proposed changes to the TDA provisions would first impact the Fiscal Year 2010 employer contributions. The following Table 1 presents an estimate of the reduction in employ- er contributions that would occur based on current actuarial assumptions and methods: Table 1 Estimated Reductions in Employer Contributions If Proposed Legislation is Enacted to be Effective On or Before June 30, 2010* S. 26 21 A. 26 Under Current Actuarial Assumptions and Methods ($ Millions) Fiscal Year NYCTRS BERS Total 2010 18.7 0.4 19.1 2011 17.6 0.4 18.0 2012 16.6 0.3 16.9 2013 23.2 0.5 23.7 2014 29.5 0.7 30.2 2015 35.9 0.8 36.7 2016 42.5 1.0 43.5 2017 49.0 1.2 50.2 2018 55.6 1.4 57.0 2019 62.6 1.5 64.1 * Based on projection assumptions set forth in Actuarial Assumptions and Methods Section and as noted herein. Includes both impact of non-TDA provisions with first significant impact in Fiscal Year 2013 and TDA provisions with impact in Fiscal Year 2010 and later. The estimated reductions in employer contributions shown in Table 1 are based upon the following projection assumptions: * Level workforce (i.e., new employees are hired to replace those who leave active status). * Projected salary increase consistent with those used in projections presented to the New York City Office of Management and Budget ("NYCOMB") on February 20, 2009 ("February Projections"). * New entrant salaries consistent with those used in the February Projections. These "open group" projections include future new entrants introduced into the census data models to project the future workforces. As of each future actuarial valuation date, the current "closed group" actuarial assumptions and valuation methodology are used. Under this methodology only Plan Participants as of each actuarial valuation date are utilized to determine Actuarial Present Values, employer costs and employer contributions. To the extent Plan designs do not change markedly over time, such closed group actuarial methodology is well suited to funding a Retire- ment System. FINANCIAL IMPACT - ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES - POTENTIAL METHODOLOGY: The impact of enactment of the proposed legislation provided in this Fiscal Note has been based on the continued use of the current actuarial assumptions and methods. However, the current actuarial assumptions and methods do not repre- sent the only possible approach for funding the NYCRS. Historically, actuarial assumptions and methods have been reviewed on average every five years in connection with an actuarial experience study mandated by New York City Charter Section 96. Following this review, the Actuary generally proposes changes in actu- arial assumptions and methods that he believes appropriate and reason- ably related to such experience period and future expectations. The next such review is anticipated during Fiscal Year 2011 or 2012. If enacted, the proposed legislation would increase the duration of member contributions of New Members of the NYCTRS and BERS. This increase may possibly impact the timing of their election to retire for service and hence, their future working lifetimes. As such, the Actuary S. 26 22 A. 26 will be considering alternative actuarial methodologies that could, directly or indirectly, reflect the impact of future new entrants as early as the Fiscal Year of enactment. The Actuary may also consider revising the amortization periods for financing certain costs in order to reflect the expected change in the average working lifetimes of New Members hired after enactment of this proposed legislation. Note: The Actuary has not committed to any particular methodology for determining employer costs and employer contributions in connection with the upcoming, experience review of actuarial assumptions and methods. However, the Actuary intends to consider seriously the potential impli- cations for financing the NYCRS that could arise should the benefits and the expected future working lifetimes of certain New Members after the Effective Date differ from those of current new entrants. FINANCIAL IMPACT - ENTRY AGE NORMAL COSTS: Entry Age Normal Costs can provide a useful basis to compare the value of alternative benefit programs. For each member who enters a NYCRS, there is a theoretical net annual employer cost to be paid for such member while such member remains actively employed (i.e., the Entry Age Normal Cost ("EANC")). In addition, such EANC may be expressed as a percentage of salary earned over a working lifetime and referred to as the Entry Age Normal Rate ("EANR"). Under the proposed legislation and based on the actuarial assumptions noted herein, the EANC and EANR of New Members would be less than the EANC and EANR for comparable new members entering at the same attained age and gender under the current NYCRS provisions. A summary of the change in EANC by NYCRS for entry age 25, 30 and 35 follows: Table 2 Comparison of Representative Employer Entry Age Normal Rates* To Implement Proposed Legislation Impacting Certain New Members of NYCTRS and BERS EANR Under Proposed Legislation Retirement Entry Age 25 Entry Age 30 Entry Age 35 System Male Female Male Female Male Femal NYCTRS 5.68% 5.99% 6.39% 6.79% 6.99% 7.53% BERS 3.72% 4.19% 4.21% 4.80% 4.47% 5.21% EANR Under Current Law** NYCTRS 7.08% 7.40% 7.79% 8.21% 8.46% 9.02% BERS 5.07% 5.58% 5.55% 6.18% 5.80% 6.61% Reduction in EANR Due to Proposed Legislation NYCTRS 1.40% 1.41% 1.40% 1.42% 1.47% 1.49% BERS 1.35% 1.39% 1.34% 1.38% 1.33% 1.40% S. 26 23 A. 26 * Based on salaries paid over entire working lifetime. ** EANR were determined as of June 30, 2008 and do not vary signif- icantly over time, absent benefit and/or actuarial assumption changes. FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS FISCAL YEARS 2010, 2011 and 2012 - CURRENT METHODOLOGY: Based on the census data and the actuarial assumptions and methods currently in effect, and assuming enactment to be effective on or before June 30, 2010, the enactment of this proposed legislation would, with respect to the changes in TDA provisions, result in changes in employer contributions to NYCTRS and BERS for Fiscal Years 2010, 2011 and 2012. FINANCIAL IMPACT - EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND BEYOND - CURRENT METHODOLOGY: If enacted to be effective on or before June 30, 2010, the first significant number of New Members would join NYCTRS and BERS during September 2010 and be included in the June 30, 2011 (Lag) actuarial valuations of those NYCRS. Based on the actuarial assumptions and methods currently in effect, those provisions under the proposed legislation that affect New Members would first significantly impact employer contributions to NYCTRS and BERS for Fiscal Year 2013. OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note is the impact of this proposed legislation on Other Post-Employment Benefit ("OPEB") costs. Also not measured are the initial and ongoing additional administrative costs of NYCTRS and BERS and their participating employers to implement the proposed legislation. CENSUS DATA: The starting census data used for the calculations presented herein are the census data used in the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCTRS and BERS. The census data used for the estimates of additional APVB and employer contributions presented herein of the non-TDA portions of the proposed legislation are based on average salaries of new entrants in the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCTRS and BERS. The metrics for new members of NYCTRS were approximately 25% male, age 34 and 75% female, age 34 and a combined average salary of $48,239. The metrics for new members of BERS were approximately 25% male, age 41 and 75% female, age 44 and a combined average salary of $33,774. The census data used for estimates of the impact on employer contrib- utions of the TDA portion of the proposed legislation presented herein are those active participants included in the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actu- arial valuations of the NYCTRS and BERS. For NYCTRS, this consisted of 2,401 Tier I, 1,224 Tier II and 69,273 Tier IV TDA participants included in the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuation of NYCTRS. For BERS, this consisted of 108 Tier I, 58 Tier II and 11,799 Tier IV TDA participants included in the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuation of BERS. ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional APVB, EANR and employer contributions under current methodology presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCTRS and BERS. Employer contributions under current methodology have been estimated assuming the additional APVB would be financed through future normal contributions. Projections of salaries, reflecting the impact of estimated contractu- al wage increases, include information provided by NYCOMB. These and other projection assumptions (such as projected expenses) are set forth in the February Projections. S. 26 24 A. 26 New entrants were projected to replace the NYCRS members expected to leave the active population to maintain a steady-state population. The following Table 3 presents the total number of active employees used in the projections, assuming a level work force, and the net number of New Members as of each June 30 from 2009 to 2017. Table 3 Active* and Net New Members of NYCTRS and BERS* Used in the Projections for Table 1 NYCTRS BERS June 30 Net New Net New Actives Members Actives Members 2009 112,472 0 22,702 0 2010 112,472 0 22,702 0 2011 112,472 6,330 22,702 1,582 2012 112,472 12,213 22,702 3,096 2013 112,472 17,705 22,702 4,553 2014 112,472 22,846 22,702 5,940 2015 112,472 27,652 22,702 7,241 2016 112,472 32,181 22,702 8,457 2017 112,472 36,461 22,702 9,595 * Active members included in the projections assume a level work force based on the June 30, 2008 (Lag) actuarial valuation census data. For simplification, all New Members in TRS and 15% of the New Members in BERS are assumed to be UFT Members. The changes in employer contributions and costs have been estimated assuming that changes in the Actuarial Present Values of Future Employer Costs would be financed through future normal contributions. Information on TDA Fixed Fund and TDA Variable Fund account balances used to estimate the impact on employer costs of the TDA portion of the legislation presented herein also reflect financial information provided by the accountants of NYCTRS and BERS. STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Robert C. North, Jr., am the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein. FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This estimate is intended for use only during the 2009 Legislative Session. It is Fiscal Note 2009-17, dated November 17, 2009, prepared by the Chief Actuary of the New York City Teachers' Retirement System and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System. FISCAL NOTE.--This bill would (1) create new benefits for new members who first join the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System, the New York State Teachers' Retirement System, the New York City Teachers' Retirement System, the New York City Employees' Retire- ment System or the New York City Board of Education Retirement System on or after January 1, 2010 (2) create a new plan in the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System. Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ- ees' Retirement System (ERS), the significant plan design changes for members who join on or after January 1, 2010 include: 1. Employee contributions of 3% of pay for all years of service, except S. 26 25 A. 26 - State correction officer contributions would be limited to 30 years of service, & - uniformed court officers/peace officers employed by the Unified Court System would contribute 4% of pay for all years of service. 2. Ten year vesting, 3. Larger early retirement reductions would be in place for members retiring prior to age 62, and the waiver of reduction with 30 years would be eliminated except for uniformed court officers/peace officers employed by the Unified Court System, 4. Annual overtime pay in excess of $15,000 would not be included in the definition of wages and final average salary. This overtime pay limitation would increase by 3% annually. If this bill is enacted, we will calculate new plan rates for all ERS members who first enter on or after January 1, 2010. The long term expected annual employer contribution rate for new general members will be approximately 8.9% as compared to the current expected long term annual employer contribution rate for Tier 4 general members of approxi- mately 11.0% of payroll. For fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, since the average Tier 4 employer contribution rate is approximately 7%, the new plan rate would be approximately 5.7%. For ERS members in 20 or 25 year retirement plans that allow retire- ment without regard to age, the long term reductions would vary by plan and be less than 2% of salary, with the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010 reductions averaging approximately 1%. Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS), the significant plan design changes for members who join on or after January 1, 2010 include: 1. An employee contribution of 3% of pay will be required for all years of service, except that a member who is enrolled in a plan that limits the amount of creditable service which may be accrued will not be required to contribute after accruing the maximum amount of creditable service under such plan, 2. Overtime pay in an amount in excess of 15% of a member's annual wages not classified as overtime pay shall be excluded from a member's final average salary, 3. Ten year vesting. If this bill is enacted, we will calculate new plan rates for all PFRS members who first enter on or after January 1, 2010. The long term expected annual employer contribution rate would change as follows: -1.8% for municipal 20 year plans with additional 60ths (benefits for members hired on or after 7/1/2009 are now computed under Article 14), -0.6% for the state 20 year plan with additional 60ths (benefits for members hired on or after 7/1/2009 are now computed under Article 14), -2.6% for 20 year plans (benefits for members hired on or after 7/1/2009 are now computed under Article 14), -3.0% for 25 year plans with additional 60ths, 25 year plans, and regular plans previously non-contributory. This estimate, dated November 16, 2009, and intended for use only during the 2009 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2009-297, prepared by the Actuary for the ERS and PFRS. FISCAL NOTE.--This bill would amend various sections of the Education Law and the Retirement and Social Security Law to implement a new retirement benefit structure (Tier 5) for members who first join a public retirement system of the state (or New York City) on or after January 1, 2010. The following provisions are with respect to members of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. Members would be eligi- S. 26 26 A. 26 ble for a service retirement benefit after rendering a minimum of ten years of credited service and attainment of age 55. The service retire- ment benefit formula for a member with less than twenty-five years of service would be equal to one-sixtieth of final average salary times the years of service. The service retirement benefit formula for a member with twenty-five or more years of service would be equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary times the years of service (not in excess of thirty). Years of service in excess of thirty shall provide an addi- tional retirement benefit equal to three two-hundredths of final average salary. Members retiring prior to age 62 would have their retirement benefit reduced by one-fifteenth per year for each of the first two years retirement predates age 62 and by one-twentieth per year for each year retirement predates age 60. However, members who are at least age 57 with 30 or more years of credited service would be permitted to retire without reduction. Members would be required to contribute three and one-half percent of annual salary for ALL years of service. The current required employer contribution rate for the New York State Teachers' Retirement System is 6.19% of pay, applicable to 7/1/09 - 6/30/10 member salaries and to be collected in the fall of 2010. This rate is applicable to the salaries of all members, regardless of tier. In that this proposed benefit structure is only applicable to members joining on or after January 1, 2010, it will be at least several years before it has a noticeable impact on the employer contribution rate. The cost savings impact of this change will become more significant with time as the number of post-1/1/10 members grows as a percentage of the total membership. Our "new entrant rate", a hypothetical employer contribution rate that would occur if we started a new Retirement System without any assets, is equal to 11.8% of pay under the current benefit structure. This can be thought of as the cost of the benefit structure for new entrants, based on current actuarial assumptions. Under the proposed benefit structure, this new entrant rate would be equal to 8.7% of pay. The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2009-92 dated November 16, 2009 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System and is intended for use only during the 2009 Legislative Session.
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