What's happening
This bill allows George A. Amendola to retroactively receive Tier II retirement status, with recalculated benefits, at the Niagara Falls school district’s expense.
Why it matters
Sets a precedent for individual exceptions to retirement system rules. , potentially opening the door for similar requests by others who may have missed more favorable retirement tiers due to administrative errors.
Financial impact falls directly on the local school district. , not the state or retirement system, meaning Niagara Falls school district taxpayers ultimately bear the cost of the retroactive benefit upgrade.
Highlights the importance of accurate and timely retirement enrollment. , as the bill acknowledges the missed opportunity was not due to the employee’s own negligence, underscoring systemic or employer-related administrative responsibility.
Does not refund previous employee contributions. , meaning George Amendola’s earlier payments remain with the retirement system, even as his benefits increase—avoiding a direct windfall but still providing a substantial benefit recalculation.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
George A. Amendola
He would receive Tier II status and recalculated retirement benefits if he files a written request with the state comptroller within one year of the bill’s effective date, but would receive no refund of contributions.
Niagara Falls school district
The district would bear all past service costs associated with the change, estimated in the fiscal note at approximately $25,700 as a one-time payment.
State comptroller and New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System
They would implement Amendola’s membership date change to September 20, 1974, and recalculate and pay his retirement benefits accordingly.
Headline styles
Grant Amendola Tier II Status
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 62
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to civil service and pensions
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.
Restore Tier II for Amendola
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Employees · Sponsor Angelo J. Morinello
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7822
IN SENATE
February 28, 2018
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
AN ACT to authorize George A. Amendola Tier II status in the New York state and local employees' retirement system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, George A. Amendola, who was first eligible to join the public retirement system as of September 20, 1974 and who was employed by the Niagara Falls school district from September 20, 1974 to June 2, 1978 and who for reasons not ascribable to his own negligence was not afforded the opportunity to join the New York state and local employees' retirement system with Tier II status, shall be deemed to have become a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system as of September 20, 1974; and shall have Tier II status, if, no later than one year after the effective date of this act he shall file a written request with the state comptroller; and upon receipt of such application, the comptroller shall recalculate George Amendola's retirement benefits and thereafter pay such benefits accordingly as if he shall have been deemed to have joined such retirement system on September 20, 1974.
§ 2. No contributions made to the New York state and local employees' retirement system shall be returned or refunded to George A. Amendola pursuant to this act.
§ 3. All past service costs associated with the implementation of this act shall be borne by the Niagara Falls school district.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill will grant Tier 2 status to George A. Amendola, a retired
Tier 4 member of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement
System, by changing his date of membership to September 20, 1974, his
first date of employment with the Niagara Falls school district. The
retirement benefit will be recalculated and payment will be made retro-
active to his date of retirement. There will be no refund of member
contributions.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14790-03-8
S. 7822 2
If this legislation is enacted during the 2018 legislative session,
there will be an immediate past service cost of approximately $25,700
which will be borne by the Niagara Falls school district as a one-time
payment. This cost is based on the assumption that payment will be made
on February 1, 2019.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
tions, 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, 2017
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 February 27, 2018, and intended for use only
during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-63,
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 authorize George A. Amendola Tier II status in the New York state and local employees' retirement system
Purpose
This legislation provides George Amendola Tier II Status as of September 20, 1974
Summary of provisions
Section 1 allows George Amendola to join ERS as of September 20, 1974 who through no fault of his own was not enrolled in the retirement system.
Section 2 states that there are no contributions to be returned to George Amendola.
Section 3 states cost will be borne by the Niagara Falls School District.
Section 4 is the effective date.
Justification
Through no fault of his own George Amendola was not enrolled in the retirement system when first eligible on September 20, 1974. This legis- lation seeks to fix this inequity.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
Immediate past service cost of $25,700
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.