Relates to the definition of wages earned from multiple employers and of plan year for the New York city retirement systems

BILL NUMBER:S5692

Title of bill

An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to the definition of wages earned from multiple employers and of plan year for the New York city retirement systems

Summary of Provisions:

This bill amends subdivision 1 of Section 601 of the retirement and social security law to clarify the definition of multiple employers for purposes of exclusion of wages and amends paragraphs I and 2 of subdivision a of section 613 of the retirement and social security law to allow New York city pension funds to utilize the calendar year for the purpose of calculating member contributions.

Reasons for Support:

The proposed legislation clarifies and facilitates the administration of Tier 6 for the New York city pension funds.

First, the proposal to amend subdivision 1 of Section 601 will clarify how state and city pension funds determine what wages are to be included when an employee is receiving wages from three or more employers during the period of one year. This section of the bill does not change the intent of the law, but instead eliminates any ambiguity that results from using the word successive to define the additional salaries that are not included in the calculation of employees' yearly wages. By clarifying the plain meaning of the statute and better defining which wages are not included, this bill helps to prevent needless litigation that otherwise may result In addition, currently some of the New York city pension funds are administratively unable to determine which employer is deemed a "successive" employer The proposed clarification will alleviate that burden on those New York city funds, therefore facilitating implementation of the law without altering its intent.

Second, this bill adjusts the timeframe for the calculation of Tier 6 contributions for the New York City pension funds from the New York State fiscal year (April first to March thirty-first) to the calendar year (January first to December thirty-first). Currently the New York city pension funds do not use the New York State fiscal calendar to administer any aspect of the pension funds Therefore, switching from the State's fiscal year to a calendar year, which is more readily used within the city systems, promotes an ease of administration and facilitates implementation of the law with respect to complex member contribution calculations.

Accordingly, the NYCERS Board of Trustees urges the favorable consideration of this proposal by the Legislature.

Effective Date of the Bill:

This act shall take effect immediately.

Budgetary Implications of the Bill:

FISCAL NOTE