Let Probation Officers Retire Sooner

Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new section 604-j to read as follows:

§ 604-j. Twenty-five year retirement plan for New York city probation officers. 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. "Probation officer" shall mean a member (as defined in subdivision e of section six hundred one of this article) who is a peace officer employed by the New York city department of probation.

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

3. "Starting date of the twenty-five 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.

4. "Participant in the twenty-five year retirement program" shall mean any probation officer 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-five year retirement program, as applicable to him or her.

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

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

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD05884-02-9

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b. Participation in twenty-five year retirement program. 1. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs six and seven of this subdivision, any person who is a probation officer member on the starting date of the twenty-five year retirement program and who, as such a probation officer member or otherwise, last became subject to the provisions of this article prior to such starting date, may elect to become a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program by filing, within one hundred eighty days after the starting date of the twenty-five 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 a probation officer member on the date such application is filed.

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

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

4. Each probation officer member who becomes subject to any of the provisions of this article on or after the starting date of the twentyfive year retirement program shall become a participant in the twentyfive year retirement program on the date he or she becomes such a probation officer member.

5. Where any participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall cease to be employed by the city of New York as a probation officer 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-five year retirement program and shall not be eligible for the benefits of subdivision c of this section.

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

7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person who is eligible to elect to become a participant in the twentyfive 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 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-five year retirement program:

(i) who has completed twenty-five or more years of credited service; and

(ii) who has paid, before the effective date of retirement, all additional member contributions and interest (if any) required by subdivision e of this section; and

(iii) who files with the retirement system of which he or she is a member an application for service retirement setting forth at what time,

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not less than thirty days subsequent to the execution and filing thereof, he or she desires to be retired; and

(iv) who shall be a participant in the twenty-five 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. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and subject to the provisions of paragraph six of subdivision e of this section, the early service retirement benefit for participants in the twenty-five year retirement program who retire pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision shall be a retirement allowance consisting of:

(A) an amount, on account of the required minimum period of service, equal to fifty-five percent of his or her final average salary; plus

(B) an amount on account of credited service, or fraction thereof, beyond such required minimum period of service equal to one and seventenths percent of his or her final salary;

(ii) The maximum retirement allowance computed without optional modification payable pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall equal that payable upon completion of thirty years of service.

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

(i) who discontinues service as such a participant, other than by death or retirement; and

(ii) in the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised plan member, who prior to such discontinuance, completed five but less than twenty-five years of credited service or, in the case of a participant who is a New York city revised plan member, who prior to such discontinuance, completed ten but less than twenty-five years of credited service; and

(iii) who, subject to the provisions of paragraph seven of subdivision e of this section, has paid, prior to such discontinuance, all additional member contributions and interest (if any) required by subdivision e of this section; and

(iv) who does not withdraw in whole or in part his or her accumulated member contributions pursuant to section six hundred thirteen of this article unless such participant thereafter returns to public service and repays the amounts so withdrawn, together with interest, pursuant to such section six hundred thirteen; 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) In the case of a participant who is not a New York city revised plan member, 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 or, in the case of a participant who is a New York city revised plan member, such vested benefit shall become payable at age sixty-three.

3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph seven of subdivision e of this section, 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 final average salary, multiplied by the number of years of credited service.

e. Additional member contributions. 1. In addition to the member contributions required by section six hundred thirteen of this article, each participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall

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contribute to the retirement system of which he or she is a member (subject to the applicable provisions of subdivision d of section six hundred thirteen of this article) an additional six and three-quarters percent of his or her compensation earned from (i) all credited service, as a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program, rendered on or after the starting date of the twenty-five year retirement program, and (ii) all credited service after such person ceases to be a participant, but before he or she again becomes a participant pursuant to paragraph six of subdivision b of this section. The additional contributions required by this subdivision shall be in lieu of additional member contributions required by (i) subdivision d of section six hundred four-c of this article, as added by chapter ninety-six of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five, or (ii) subdivision f of section six hundred four-d of this article, and no member making contributions pursuant to this section shall be required to make contributions pursuant to either such subdivision d of section six hundred four-c of this article, or such subdivision f of section six hundred four-d of this article.

2. A participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall contribute additional member contributions until the later of (i) the first anniversary of the starting date of the twenty-five year retirement program, or (ii) the date on which he or she completes thirty years of credited service as a probation officer member.

3. Commencing with the first full payroll period after each person becomes a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program, additional member contributions at the rate specified in paragraph one of this subdivision shall be deducted (subject to the applicable provisions of subdivision d of section six hundred thirteen of this article) from the compensation of such participant on each and every payroll of such participant for each and every payroll period for which he or she is such a participant.

4. (i) Each participant in the twenty-five year retirement program shall be charged with a contribution deficiency consisting of the total amounts of additional member contributions such person is required to make pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision which are not deducted from his or her compensation pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision, if any, together with interest thereon, compounded annually, and computed in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph.

(ii) (A) The interest required to be paid on each such amount specified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall accrue from the end of the payroll period for which such amount would have been deducted from compensation if he or she had been a participant at the beginning of that payroll period and such deduction had been required for such payroll period, until such amount is paid to the retirement system.

(B) The rate of interest to be applied to each such amount during the period for which interest accrues on that amount shall be equal to the rate or rates of interest required by law to be used during that same period to credit interest on the accumulated deductions of retirement system members.

(iii) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph five of this subdivision, no interest shall be due on any unpaid additional member contributions which are not attributable to a period prior to the first full payroll period referred to in paragraph three of this subdivision.

5. (i) Should any person who, pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph ten of this subdivision, has received a refund of his or her addi-

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tional member contributions including any interest paid on such contributions, again become a participant in the twenty-five year retirement program pursuant to paragraph six of subdivision b of this section, an appropriate amount shall be included in such participant's contribution deficiency (including interest thereon as calculated pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph) for any credited service for which such person received a refund of such additional member contributions (including any amount of an unpaid loan balance deemed to have been returned to such person pursuant to this subdivision), as if such additional member contributions never had been paid.