Allow EMTs Earlier Retirement

Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 13-157.5 to read as follows:

§ 13-157.5 Twenty-two year retirement program for EMT 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. "EMT member" shall mean (i) a member of the retirement system who is employed by the city of New York or by the New York city health and hospitals corporation in a title whose duties are those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician, as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the public health law, and (ii) a member of the retirement system who, on the effective date of this section or thereafter, was employed by the city of New York or by the New York city health and hospitals corporation in a title whose duties require the supervision of employees whose duties are those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician, as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the public health law.

2. "Twenty-two year retirement program" shall mean all the terms and conditions of this section.

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

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD15122-03-0

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4. "Participant in the twenty-two year retirement program" shall mean any EMT 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 twenty-two year retirement program as applicable to him or her.

5. "Discontinued member" shall mean a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program who, while he or she was an EMT member, discontinued service as such a member and has a right to a deferred vested benefit under the provisions of subdivision d of this section.

6. "Allowable city service" for purposes of this section shall mean (i) all service while employed by the city of New York or by the New York city health and hospitals corporation in a title whose duties are those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician, as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the public health law; and (ii) all such service in a title whose duties require the supervision of employees whose duties are those of an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical technician, as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the public health law; and (iii) all service while employed by the city of New York or by the New York city health and hospitals corporation in the title motor vehicle operator.

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

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs five and six of this subdivision, any person who becomes an EMT member after the starting date of the twenty-two year retirement program may elect to become a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty days after becoming such an EMT member, a duly executed application for such participation with the retirement system of which such person is a member, provided he or she is such an EMT member on the date such application is filed.

3. Any election to be a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program shall be irrevocable.

4. Where any participant in the twenty-two year retirement program shall cease to be employed as an EMT member, he or she shall cease to be such a participant and, during any period in which such person is not so employed, he or she shall not be a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program and shall not be eligible for the benefits of subdivision c of this section.

5. Where any participant in the twenty-two year retirement program terminates service as an EMT member and returns to such service as an EMT member at a later date, he or she shall again become such a participant on that date.

6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person who is eligible to become a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program pursuant to paragraph one or two of this subdivision for the full one hundred eighty day period provided for in such applicable paragraph and who fails to timely file a duly executed application

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for such participation with the retirement system, shall not thereafter be eligible to become a participant in such program.

c. Service retirement benefits. 1. A participant in the twenty-two year retirement program:

(i) who has completed twenty-two or more years of allowable city service; and

(ii) who files with the retirement system an application for service retirement setting forth at what time, not less than thirty days subsequent to the execution and filing thereof, he or she desires to be retired; and

(iii) who shall be a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program at the time so specified for his or her retirement; shall be retired pursuant to the provisions of this section affording early service retirement.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the early service retirement benefit for a participant in the twenty-two year retirement program who retires pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision shall be a retirement allowance consisting of:

(i) an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service, equal to the sums of (A) an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of the accumulated deductions from his or her pay during such period, (B) a pension for increased-take-home-pay which shall be the actuarial equivalent of the reserve-for-increased-take-home-pay to which he or she may be entitled for such period, and (C) a pension which, when added to such annuity and such pension for increased-take-home-pay, produces a retirement allowance equal to fifty-five percent of the salary earned or earnable in the year prior to his or her retirement; plus

(ii) an amount for each additional year of allowable city service, or fraction thereof, beyond such required minimum period of service equal to one and seven-tenths percent of the final average salary for such allowable service during the period from the completion of twenty-two years of allowable city service to the date of retirement.

d. Vesting. 1. A participant in the twenty-two year retirement program who:

(i) discontinues service as an EMT member, other than by death or retirement; and

(ii) prior to such discontinuance, completed five but less than twenty-two years of allowable city service; and

(iii) does not withdraw in whole or in part his or her accumulated member contributions pursuant to section 13-141 of this chapter, shall be entitled to receive a deferred vested benefit as provided in this subdivision.

2. (i) Upon such discontinuance under the conditions and in compliance with the provisions of paragraph one of this subdivision, such deferred vested benefit shall vest automatically.

(ii) Such vested benefit shall become payable on the earliest date on which such discontinued member could have retired for service if such discontinuance had not occurred.

3. Such deferred vested benefit shall be a retirement allowance consisting of an amount equal to two and two-tenths percent of such discontinued member's salary earned or earnable in the year prior to his or her discontinuance, multiplied by the number of years of allowable city service.

e. Member contributions. 1. All EMT members of the twenty-two year retirement program shall be required to make member contributions and additional member contributions in accordance with and subject to the

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same rights, privileges, obligations and procedures as govern the member contribution and additional member contributions required by subdivision d of section four hundred forty-five-e of the retirement and social security law.

2. For the purpose of applying under this subdivision, such subdivision d of section four hundred forty-five-e of the retirement and social security law to an EMT member of the twenty-two year retirement program who is subject to the provisions of this section, and is not subject to the provisions of article eleven of the retirement and social security law, the term "credited service", as used in such subdivision, shall be deemed to mean allowable city service.

§ 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:

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 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

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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 476 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: