Count Assistant Work for Pensions

Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, a member of the New York state teachers' retirement system who joined such system on or prior to July 1, 1992, shall be eligible for credit for service, if service was rendered as a graduate assistant, teacher assistant or teaching assistant during the period July 1, 1982 to September 30, 1991 for a state-operated institution or community college under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees of the state university which participates in such system. Payments for such service shall be made by members subject to article 14 or 15 of the retirement and social security law in accordance with section 609 of such law, in the case of such service rendered prior to such member joining such system, provided the member must be credited with two years of service credit at the time credit for such service is granted. Payments for such service shall be made by members subject to article 14 or 15 of the retirement and social security law in accordance with section 613 of such law, in the case of such service rendered after such member joined such system, together with interest at the rate of five percent per annum from the date such service was rendered to the date of payment.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after June 30, 2018. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.

FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD03965-02-9

S. 1385 2

This bill would allow active members of the New York State Teachers'

Retirement System with a date of membership on or prior to July 1, 1992

to claim service credit for service rendered as a graduate assistant,

teacher assistant or teaching assistant during the period July 1, 1982

to September 30, 1991 for a state-operated institution or community

college under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees of the state

university which is a participating employer of the New York State

Teachers' Retirement System. Payments for such credit must be made by

those members subject to Article 14 or 15 of the Retirement and Social

Security Law in accordance with section 609 of such law in the case such

service was rendered prior to such member joining the New York State

Teachers' Retirement System provided the member is credited with two

years of service credit at the time credit for such service is granted.

Payments for such credit must be made to those members subject to Arti-

cle 14 or 15 of the Retirement and Social Security Law in accordance

with section 613 of such law in the case such service was rendered after

such member joined the New York State Teachers' Retirement System

together with interest at the rate of five percent annum from the date

such service was rendered to the date of payment.

It is not possible to determine the total annual cost to the employers

of members of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System since the

total amount of service credit which would be claimed under this bill

cannot be estimated. Therefore, it is not possible to estimate the annu-

al increase in the employers' cost for this bill. Whatever increase in

liabilities that arises for service credited under this bill would be

shared and spread through the employer contribution rate. It is esti-

mated that the increase in liabilities as a percentage of the member's

salary per year of service credited would be 13.6% for Tier 1, 2, 3 and

4 members. The increase in liabilities as a percentage of the member's

salary per year of service credited would be 11.1% for Tier 5 members

and 10.7% for Tier 6 members. These percentages would be offset by

member contribution percentages required under this bill if enacted.

Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation

files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement

System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). System assets are reported

in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in the CAFR.

Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's Actuarial

Valuation Report.

The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2019-8 dated January 7,

2019 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement

System and is intended for use only during the 2019 Legislative Session.

I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'

Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries

and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-

aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.