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A8269Assembly2017-2018 SessionSame asS6573

Allow Water Police 25-Year Retirement

Official title

“Establishes a twenty-five year retirement program for members of the NYC employees' retirement system employed as water supply police”

Sponsor Michael CusickAD-63+7 co-sponsorsAffects Finance
Status
In Assembly Committee
Governmental Employees
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Governmental Employees

What's happening

This bill creates a 25-year retirement plan with enhanced benefits for New York City water supply police officers, including increased employer contributions.

Why it matters

  1. Recognizes the physically demanding and hazardous nature of water supply police work by allowing retirement after 25 years of credited service. , rather than requiring officers to serve until a set age or for longer periods. This means officers can retire at a younger age with a pension, which may improve both recruitment and retention for these positions.

  2. Provides a more generous pension formula (50% of final average salary after 25 years, plus 2% for each additional year up to 30 years). compared to the standard plans previously available to water supply police. This aligns their benefits more closely with other uniformed services (like police and fire), reflecting the importance and risks of their work.

  3. Requires water supply police officers who join the plan to pay additional member contributions (6% of salary) during their participation. , but also mandates that the City “pick up” these contributions for federal income tax purposes. This structure is designed to maximize take-home pay and ensure compliance with relevant tax laws, while also sharing the cost of the improved benefits between employees and the City.

  4. Creates mechanisms for vesting, loans, refunds, and the handling of contribution deficiencies. that provide flexibility and security for officers who leave service before 25 years, are rehired, or need to borrow against their contributions. These features help protect the interests of officers throughout their careers, not just at retirement.

  5. *Why it matters:**

  6. This bill addresses a longstanding gap in retirement security for a specialized police force, potentially boosting morale and professionalizing the workforce. It also represents a significant new financial obligation for New York City that is justified by the nature of the work and aligned with other public safety retirement benefits.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Allow Water Police 25-Year Retirement

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

History

  1. Print number 8269a
  2. Amend (t) and recommit to governmental employees
  3. Referred to governmental employees
  4. Referred to governmental employees

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

S6573Senate

Early Retirement for Water Police

In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Martin J. Golden

Impact 5 · Moderate0% to pass

Full text

20 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

8269--A

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

June 5, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK, ORTIZ, HARRIS, PHEFFER AMATO, CROUCH, BYRNE, D'URSO, CASTORINA, GIGLIO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, McDONOUGH, SIMON, TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of twenty-five year retirement programs for members of the New York city employees' retirement system employed as water supply police; and in relation to providing for employer pick up, pursuant to provisions of the internal revenue code, of certain additional member contributions required to be made by certain participants in the twenty-five year retirement programs; and providing for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision b of section 440 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 682 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:

b. The provisions of this article shall not be construed to extend coverage to an employee not otherwise eligible for membership in a retirement system or to provide an increase in benefits to a member of a retirement system other than as provided by section four hundred fortyfive-d, or section four hundred forty-five-f, [or] section four hundred forty-five-h, section four hundred forty-five-j, or section four hundred forty-eight of this article.

§ 2. Subdivision a of section 444 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by section 141 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD11156-03-8

A. 8269--A 2

a. Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred fortyfive-a of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred fortyfive-b of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred fortyfive-c of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this article as added by chapter four hundred seventytwo of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this article, and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-j of this article, the maximum retirement benefit computed without optional modification provided to a member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article, other than a police officer, a firefighter, an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a member of the uniformed personnel in institutions under the jurisdiction of the New York city department of correction who receives a performance of duty disability retirement allowance, a member of the uniformed personnel in institutions under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and community supervision or a security hospital treatment assistant, as those terms are defined in subdivision i of section eighty-nine of this chapter, who receives a performance of duty disability retirement allowance, a member of a teachers' retirement system, New York city employees' retirement system, New York city board of education retirement system or a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system or a member of the New York city employees' retirement system or New York city board of education retirement system employed as a special officer, parking control specialist, school safety agent, campus peace officer, taxi and limousine inspector [or], a police communications member, or a member of the water supply police and who receives a performance of duty disability pension, from funds other than those based on a member's own or increased-take-home-pay contributions, shall, before any reduction for early retirement, be sixty per centum of the first fifteen thousand three hundred dollars of final average salary, and fifty per centum of final average salary in excess of fifteen thousand three hundred dollars, and forty per centum of final average salary in excess of twenty-seven thousand three hundred dollars, provided, however, that the benefits provided by subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this article as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five based upon the additional member contributions required by subdivision d of such section four hundred forty-five-d shall be subject to the maximum retirement benefit computations set forth in this section. The maximum retirement benefit computed without optional modification payable to a police officer, an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system or a firefighter shall equal that payable upon completion of thirty years of service, except that the maximum service retirement benefit computed without optional modification shall equal that payable upon completion of thirty-two years of service.

§ 3. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 295 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:

a. No member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retirement for disability, unless he is a policeman, an investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system, fireman, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as

A. 8269--A 3

added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation man, a special officer (including persons employed by the city of New York in the title urban park ranger or associate urban park ranger), school safety agent, campus peace officer or a taxi and limousine commission inspector member of the New York city employees' retirement system or the New York city board of education retirement system, a dispatcher member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a police communications member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a member of the water supply police in a position referred to in paragraph (o) of subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a deputy sheriff member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a correction officer of the Westchester county correction department as defined in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, employed in Suffolk county as a correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a correction officer, uniformed correction division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff, as defined in section eightynine-g of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical technician related services, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as amended by chapter five hundred seventy-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, or employed in Nassau county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed in Albany county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction officer or identification officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-i of this chapter or is employed in Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-l of this chapter or is employed in Jefferson county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-j of this chapter or is employed in Onondaga county as a deputy sheriff-jail division competitively appointed or as a correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-k of this chapter or is employed in a county which makes an election under subdivision j of section eighty-nine-p of this chapter as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer as defined in such section eighty-nine-p or is employed in Broome County as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-m of this chapter or is a Monroe county deputy sheriff-court security, or deputy sheriff-jailor as defined in section eighty-nine-n, as added by chapter five hundred ninety-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-one, of this chapter or is employed in Greene county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-o of this chapter or is a traffic officer with the town of Elmira as defined in section eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is employed by Suffolk county as a park police officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or is a peace officer employed by a county probation department as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as added by chapter six hundred three of the

A. 8269--A 4

laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter or is employed in Rockland county as a deputy sheriff-civil as defined in section eightynine-v of this chapter as added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand one, or is employed in Rockland county as a superior correction officer as defined in section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as added by chapter five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thousand one or is a paramedic employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda and retires under the provisions of section eighty-nine-v of this chapter, as added by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of two thousand one, or is a county fire marshal, supervising fire marshal, fire marshal, assistant fire marshal, assistant chief fire marshal or chief fire marshal employed by the county of Nassau as defined in section eighty-nine-w of this chapter and is in a plan which permits immediate retirement upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to age. Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-a of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-b of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-c of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-d of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-e of this article, subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-f of this article [and], subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-h of this article, and subdivision c of section four hundred forty-five-j of this article, a member in such a plan and such an occupation, other than a policeman or investigator member of the New York city employees' retirement system or a fireman, shall not be permitted to retire prior to the completion of twenty-five years of credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupation is in a plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty years of service regardless of age, he may retire upon completion of twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twenty-five years of service, but in such event the benefit provided from funds other than those based on such a member's own contributions shall not exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of credited service.

§ 4. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new section 445-j to read as follows:

§ 445-j. Optional twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program for water supply police members. a. Definitions. The following words and phrases as used in this section shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context.

1. "Retirement system" shall mean the New York city employees' retirement system.

2. "Water supply police member" shall mean a member of the retirement system who is subject to the provisions of this article, who is employed by the city of New York in a position referred to by paragraph (o) of subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law.

3. "Twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program" shall mean all the terms and conditions of this section.

4. "Starting date of the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program" shall mean the effective date of this section, as such date is certified pursuant to section forty-one of the legislative law.

5. "Participant in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program" shall mean any water supply police member who, under the applicable provisions of subdivision b of this section, is entitled to the rights, benefits and privileges and is subject to the obligations of the

A. 8269--A 5

twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program, as applicable to him or her.

6. "Administrative code" shall mean the administrative code of the city of New York.

7. "Accumulated deductions" shall mean accumulated deductions as defined in subdivision eleven of section 13-101 of the administrative code.

8. "Optional retirement provisions" shall mean the right to retire and receive a retirement allowance under this section upon the completion of twenty-five years of credited service.

b. Election of twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program. 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs five and six of this subdivision, any person who is a water supply police member on the starting date of the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program may elect to become a participant in the twenty-five year improved benefit retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty days after such starting date, a duly executed application for such participation with the retirement system, provided he or she is such a water supply police member on the date such application is filed.

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