What's happening
This bill allows retired New York state and local employees to be re-employed for the period requested by a prospective employer without reducing their retirement allowance.
Why it matters
Makes it easier for public employers to rehire retirees for exactly as long as needed. , potentially improving flexibility in workforce planning for agencies facing staff shortages or seeking specific expertise.
Removes the previous two-year limit on post-retirement employment waivers for certain retirees. , allowing for longer appointments without requiring frequent waiver renewals, simplifying the administrative process.
Does not impose additional costs on the state or local retirement systems. , meaning the change is designed to be budget-neutral and should not affect pension fund stability or taxpayer liability.
Maintains a one-year waiting period before re-employment in the same or similar position. , continuing to guard against immediate post-retirement rehire abuses while still enabling longer-term employment when appropriate.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Retirees Work Full-Time
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 4
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Referred to civil service and pensions
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2945
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2017
Introduced by Sen. BOYLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to employment of retired persons without diminution of retirement allowance and period of employment requested by the prospective employer
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The closing paragraph of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 211 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 640 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
Such approvals shall, for retired persons receiving a retirement allowance from the New York state and local employees' retirement system, be granted for the period of time requested by the prospective employer and may be granted for periods not exceeding two years each, provided that such person may not return to work in the same or similar position for a period of one year following retirement. The authority or officer specified in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, upon approving employment of a retired person under this section, shall certify such approval to the retirement system or pension plan from which such person is receiving a retirement allowance.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill amends Section 211 of the Retirement and Social Security Law
to require that when a prospective employer has submitted a written
request for a Section 211 waiver on behalf of a retired person, approval
of such request shall be granted for the period of time requested by
such prospective employer.
If this bill is enacted, there will be no additional costs to the New
York State and Local Employees' Retirement and the New York State and
Local Police and Fire Retirement System.
Summary of relevant resources:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03844-02-7
S. 2945 2
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2016 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2016
Report of the Actuary and the 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
and 2016 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and
the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2016
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This estimate, dated January 12, 2017 and intended for use only during
the 2017 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2017-7, prepared by the
Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to employment of retired persons without diminution of retirement allowance and period of employment requested by the prospective employer
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this legislation is to require that approvals of 211 waivers be granted for the period of time requested by the prospective employer.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends Section 211 of the Retirement and Social
Security Law (RSSL) to require that when a prospective employer has submitted a written request for a Section 211 Waiver on behalf of a retired person, approval of such request shall be granted for the period of time requested by such prospective employer. According to the New York State Comptroller's Office, this bill does not incur additional costs to the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
Fiscal Note.
Justification
Pursuant to RSSL 211, public employers who wish to hire a person retired from public service at a salary exceeding the limitations set forth in RSSL 212, must submit a written request to the specified authority. For municipal employers outside of New York City, such request must be approved by the State Civil Service Commission. There have been instances where these approvals have been granted for periods less than the period requested by the prospective employer. This bill is necessary to ensure that prospective employers who make an application for a waiver pursuant to this section are either granted or denied the waiver for the amount of time requested in the application.
In some recent situations with law enforcement. personnel, the Commissioner has granted waivers for shorter periods of time than those requested by the employer. As a result of the reduction by the Commissioner, long-term, confidential investigations have been abandoned or compromised. In many situations with District Attorney's Investigators, the employer intended to engage in a long term investigation with the applicant, yet, was unable to do so due to the risk of the applicant having to reapply for another waiver before the investigation is completed. As mentioned in Governor Paterson's approval memo regarding waivers for law enforcement when this Section was enacted, "Indeed, the productive use of the investigative skills possessed by such an officer. is the epitome of what section 211 seeks to achieve." Accordingly, this amendment will avoid these unintended consequences in the future.
Prior legislative history
2016: S 5920-A passed committee, died in rules
Fiscal implications
There are no additional costs to the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.